One of the great benefits of the Like Minds conference is the fact that they use every opportunity to add value to your attendance. A great example is the Lunch Time Talks; you get to spend lunch time with someone who knows an awful lot about a specific subject. At the October event I took the opportunity to have lunch with Robert Clay.
Robert helps businesses to be market leaders in their sector, and lets face it, what business-owner wouldn't appreciate some expert advice on how to achieve that? The lesson Robert shared with us over lunch was this:
There are three ways to grow a business:
• Get more new customers
• Get existing customers to buy more often
• Get existing customers to buy higher value products or services
A great lesson for any business to take on board, but from a brand perspective it's really fascinating. A lot of people struggle to understand, or articulate, the value of brand to a business. Robert Clay gave us three. Your brand is integral to each of those strategies listed above, and arguably any decent brand communication strategy should really be working on all three.
But I just want to look briefly at the last two - how to nurture loyalty in existing customers - because that's the key to influence their behaviour. Loyalty is the result of developing strong relationships with your customers, relationships built on trust and honesty. If you deliver what you promise to your customers, they will be loyal to you, because they trust you.
At the heart of this relationship is the personality of your business - your brand - the culture and values that your promise to your customers is built on. For your personality to add maximum value to your business it should tell your customers four things:
• Who you are
Typically through your visual identity (logo, colours etc.)
• What you do
Not the products and services you offer, but the benefit of them to your customer
• How you do it
The way you deliver the benefits. Often reflected in your values.
• Where you are going
If they buy from you, how will make their life/business better? Where will you take them?
If you can achieve this, you're well on your way to developing a loyal customer base. And a loyal customer base will give you the opportunity to put Robert's strategies into practice, and realise the value of brand to your business.
If you'd like to learn more about your brand and how it could help to grow your business, you might be interested in the free seminar's we're running in December and January. If you'd prefer to have a chat call 01392 248107 or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk
Showing posts with label Like Minds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Like Minds. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Like Minds. Brand lesson #1: Focus
Last week saw the Like Minds Autumn 2010 conference take place in Exeter again. It was another great event. There was great debate, discussion and insight. Lots to take away. But I just want to share a few things that caught my attention. A few lessons that businesses can apply to their brand and brand strategy.
Brand lesson #1: Focus on your customers
In a busy environment focus can be a real challenge, and this was the point that stood out for me in the keynote presentation on Friday afternoon from Karren Brooks. She described the scenario of going into a meeting with a client, and the importance of being fully focused on what you need to achieve. But in that scenario you're competing with whatever else is going on in your clients head; the phone call they have just had, their next appointment, domestic issues... the list is endless.
If you look at virtually any business, they face exactly the same challenge: competing for their customers head-space. So how do you do it? In the final keynote on Friday, Robin Wight (@RobinWightUK), told us that, on average, we are bombarded by 3000 messages every day. With so much competition, how do you get your audience to listen to you?
Well, this is where 'focus' comes in. There are two things you need to focus on: Who are your audience? and What do they want to hear?
Who are your audience?
The answer to this isn't 'everyone' or 'anyone'. Or 'businesses' or 'consumers'. It should be a very specific description. If it's a business you might specify size, sector, turnover, location, age etc. For a consumer it might be age, gender, location, income, profession, the car they drive, the newspaper they read. The people you want to focus on are those that are most valuable to you. So take a look at your existing customers and figure out who they are.
What do they want to hear?
Now that you know who you want to talk to, you can work out what they want to hear. That last bit's important: What they want to hear. It's very different from: What you want to tell them. Your audience is only interested in services or products that will provide some benefit for them. Not benefit for other people - benefit for them. So you need to have a very clear understanding of what benefit your products or services provide. And they're not interested in what you do, just in how it benefits them. Your audience is very self-centred. Very focused. So you need to be too.
And the reason why? The more focused you are on who your audience are and what they want to hear, the more easily you will be able to sell to them. That should save you time and money, and give you a better return on your investment.
So, if you want to develop your focus, take a look at your brand. Brand is all about focus. Focus on your business, your audience and your relationship with them.
If you'd like to take a look at your brand, you might be interested in one of our free seminars.
So what works for you? What brand or company manages to get your attention? And how do they do it? Let me know, I'd be really interested to find out.
Brand lesson #1: Focus on your customers
In a busy environment focus can be a real challenge, and this was the point that stood out for me in the keynote presentation on Friday afternoon from Karren Brooks. She described the scenario of going into a meeting with a client, and the importance of being fully focused on what you need to achieve. But in that scenario you're competing with whatever else is going on in your clients head; the phone call they have just had, their next appointment, domestic issues... the list is endless.
If you look at virtually any business, they face exactly the same challenge: competing for their customers head-space. So how do you do it? In the final keynote on Friday, Robin Wight (@RobinWightUK), told us that, on average, we are bombarded by 3000 messages every day. With so much competition, how do you get your audience to listen to you?
Well, this is where 'focus' comes in. There are two things you need to focus on: Who are your audience? and What do they want to hear?
Who are your audience?
The answer to this isn't 'everyone' or 'anyone'. Or 'businesses' or 'consumers'. It should be a very specific description. If it's a business you might specify size, sector, turnover, location, age etc. For a consumer it might be age, gender, location, income, profession, the car they drive, the newspaper they read. The people you want to focus on are those that are most valuable to you. So take a look at your existing customers and figure out who they are.
What do they want to hear?
Now that you know who you want to talk to, you can work out what they want to hear. That last bit's important: What they want to hear. It's very different from: What you want to tell them. Your audience is only interested in services or products that will provide some benefit for them. Not benefit for other people - benefit for them. So you need to have a very clear understanding of what benefit your products or services provide. And they're not interested in what you do, just in how it benefits them. Your audience is very self-centred. Very focused. So you need to be too.
And the reason why? The more focused you are on who your audience are and what they want to hear, the more easily you will be able to sell to them. That should save you time and money, and give you a better return on your investment.
So, if you want to develop your focus, take a look at your brand. Brand is all about focus. Focus on your business, your audience and your relationship with them.
If you'd like to take a look at your brand, you might be interested in one of our free seminars.
So what works for you? What brand or company manages to get your attention? And how do they do it? Let me know, I'd be really interested to find out.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Like Minds 2010 - brand lesson #4
It's taken a while to get this post out - February and Like Minds seem a long way away as I look out the window at Spring sunshine! The reason for the delay is that this topic has been bouncing round my head, in an interesting way, for the past few weeks. But now I've figured out my opinion, so I thought I'd share it!
It's the question of customer relationships with brands, and it came out of one of the afternoon panel sessions at Like Minds. It was a really interesting discussion, and there were two statements particularly that caught my attention. They're addressing the same issue - customer relationships with brands - but from opposite sides; The first the brand perspective, the second the customer perspective:
• "Brands don't want friends, they want customers".
• "You can't be friends with a brand".
Brands don't want friends, they want customers
Is that true? On one level, yes. The bottom line for commerce is that you have to make a profit. You have to sell your product or your service. So you need customers; you don't necessarily need friends. But who makes the best customer? A friend? Or a casual acquaintance?
Well, I'd consider a friend as someone you have some kind of emotional engagement with. A friend is someone who recognises that there is something about you that is special, or different, or better. Something they prefer. A friend is loyal.
So it's true, brands do want customers. But the smart brands want their customers to be friends.
You can't be friends with a brand
So that leads us neatly to our second statement. Can you be 'friends' with a brand? And do you want to be? I think, to a certain extent, it depends on the scale of the brand. If you're a consumer dealing with a national, or international, brand, you can't be a friend. They're too big and you're too small. Often you're not even a name to them, just a customer number. That's not friendship. But their scale is often fundamental to the service, or benefit of the service, they bring to you. If they weren't that big, they couldn't bring you those benefits.
But that's not to say that they can't be friendly - and this where many (if not most) large brands fail. Not only are you a number, they treat you like a number. You're of no value, because there are plenty more where you came from. So you receive poor customer service when you need to engage with them. And because it happens so often it's what customers expect, so when the brand does engage and does (genuinely) listen, it makes such a difference in your perception and experience of that brand.
I think an example of a big brand that does the whole 'friend' thing very well is Innocent. Their brand personality is very relaxed and easy going. Their tone of voice, conversational. They come across as very approachable. So big doesn't have to mean remote, distant and difficult to talk to. But it often is.
So at the other end of the scale - typically local and regional brands - why can't you be friends with a brand? When a company works on a scale (and has the right systems in place) that they do know who their customers are, you can have a closer relationship with them.
Now whether that relationship is 'friendship' is another matter. (Do I want to think of my accountant as a friend? Trusted advisor - yes. Honest, dependable, professional - yes). Exactly what kind of relationship is appropriate for different situations is a subject for a post of it's own I think.
So my advice to any business? Build a brand that builds relationships, because a customer who considers you a friend is a loyal customer. And loyalty is the key to success.
If you'd like to have a chat about your brand and what it can do for your business, call us on 01392 248107, or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk. It would be great to hear from you.
If you'd like to see a snapshot of Like Minds (in 3 minutes and 47 seconds), take a look at this film from Wide Eye Communication.
It's the question of customer relationships with brands, and it came out of one of the afternoon panel sessions at Like Minds. It was a really interesting discussion, and there were two statements particularly that caught my attention. They're addressing the same issue - customer relationships with brands - but from opposite sides; The first the brand perspective, the second the customer perspective:
• "Brands don't want friends, they want customers".
• "You can't be friends with a brand".
Brands don't want friends, they want customers
Is that true? On one level, yes. The bottom line for commerce is that you have to make a profit. You have to sell your product or your service. So you need customers; you don't necessarily need friends. But who makes the best customer? A friend? Or a casual acquaintance?
Well, I'd consider a friend as someone you have some kind of emotional engagement with. A friend is someone who recognises that there is something about you that is special, or different, or better. Something they prefer. A friend is loyal.
So it's true, brands do want customers. But the smart brands want their customers to be friends.
You can't be friends with a brand
So that leads us neatly to our second statement. Can you be 'friends' with a brand? And do you want to be? I think, to a certain extent, it depends on the scale of the brand. If you're a consumer dealing with a national, or international, brand, you can't be a friend. They're too big and you're too small. Often you're not even a name to them, just a customer number. That's not friendship. But their scale is often fundamental to the service, or benefit of the service, they bring to you. If they weren't that big, they couldn't bring you those benefits.
But that's not to say that they can't be friendly - and this where many (if not most) large brands fail. Not only are you a number, they treat you like a number. You're of no value, because there are plenty more where you came from. So you receive poor customer service when you need to engage with them. And because it happens so often it's what customers expect, so when the brand does engage and does (genuinely) listen, it makes such a difference in your perception and experience of that brand.
I think an example of a big brand that does the whole 'friend' thing very well is Innocent. Their brand personality is very relaxed and easy going. Their tone of voice, conversational. They come across as very approachable. So big doesn't have to mean remote, distant and difficult to talk to. But it often is.
So at the other end of the scale - typically local and regional brands - why can't you be friends with a brand? When a company works on a scale (and has the right systems in place) that they do know who their customers are, you can have a closer relationship with them.
Now whether that relationship is 'friendship' is another matter. (Do I want to think of my accountant as a friend? Trusted advisor - yes. Honest, dependable, professional - yes). Exactly what kind of relationship is appropriate for different situations is a subject for a post of it's own I think.
So my advice to any business? Build a brand that builds relationships, because a customer who considers you a friend is a loyal customer. And loyalty is the key to success.
If you'd like to have a chat about your brand and what it can do for your business, call us on 01392 248107, or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk. It would be great to hear from you.
If you'd like to see a snapshot of Like Minds (in 3 minutes and 47 seconds), take a look at this film from Wide Eye Communication.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Like Minds 2010 - brand lesson #3
The third lesson of the day for me at Like Minds came from Olivier Blanchard, and touched on possibly the biggest brand issue for businesses to get their heads round: Exactly what is our brand?
Olivier's presentation took a look inside an average company - with a neat X-ray photo. He explored how social media engagement should be something that every department within a company embraces, to uncover the opportunities that exist to add value to their business. But the stumbling block for most businesses is looking at social media as an independent activity - something unconnected to the other, everyday, activities of the company. Each department sits in their separate box, doing their 'job' in the same way that they always have, and not necessarily looking at the benefits and opportunities that social media offers to communicate - and not just with customers, but with colleagues too.
What struck me was, that in my experience, a lot of businesses look at their brand in much the same way. For many companies their brand is their logo. For the more enlightened ones their brand might include everything they stick that logo on to - business cards, brochures, websites... Most businesses think that their brand is their marketing strategy (at best) or marketing material (at worst). They just see their brand as a (one-dimensional) communication tool. And for that reason brand is the responsibility of the marketing department, and its usually jealously guarded!
But a brand is so much more! A brand is the personality of your company or organisation, and it will communicate with your audience every chance it gets. It is a communication tool, don't get me wrong. But it's not just the words and pictures on your website or brochure. It's every aspect of your business. It's the product or service you provide to your customers. It's the people within your business. And it's the place where you do business.
Every department, or individual, within your business has an opportunity to communicate your brand. And if they do, it will only make your brand, and your business, stronger. So take your brand out of its box. Let it stretch its legs. Let everyone take a look at it to see how it can add value to what they do within your company. It's a very useful tool. I guarantee there is at least one thing it can do within YOUR business to add real, tangible value.
If you would like to know more about what your brand can do for your business, you might be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop. It's been designed to help ambitious businesses exploit the opportunities that they create. To find out more email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.
Olivier's presentation took a look inside an average company - with a neat X-ray photo. He explored how social media engagement should be something that every department within a company embraces, to uncover the opportunities that exist to add value to their business. But the stumbling block for most businesses is looking at social media as an independent activity - something unconnected to the other, everyday, activities of the company. Each department sits in their separate box, doing their 'job' in the same way that they always have, and not necessarily looking at the benefits and opportunities that social media offers to communicate - and not just with customers, but with colleagues too.
What struck me was, that in my experience, a lot of businesses look at their brand in much the same way. For many companies their brand is their logo. For the more enlightened ones their brand might include everything they stick that logo on to - business cards, brochures, websites... Most businesses think that their brand is their marketing strategy (at best) or marketing material (at worst). They just see their brand as a (one-dimensional) communication tool. And for that reason brand is the responsibility of the marketing department, and its usually jealously guarded!
But a brand is so much more! A brand is the personality of your company or organisation, and it will communicate with your audience every chance it gets. It is a communication tool, don't get me wrong. But it's not just the words and pictures on your website or brochure. It's every aspect of your business. It's the product or service you provide to your customers. It's the people within your business. And it's the place where you do business.
Every department, or individual, within your business has an opportunity to communicate your brand. And if they do, it will only make your brand, and your business, stronger. So take your brand out of its box. Let it stretch its legs. Let everyone take a look at it to see how it can add value to what they do within your company. It's a very useful tool. I guarantee there is at least one thing it can do within YOUR business to add real, tangible value.
If you would like to know more about what your brand can do for your business, you might be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop. It's been designed to help ambitious businesses exploit the opportunities that they create. To find out more email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Like Minds 2010 - brand lesson #2
The second brand lesson that struck me at Like Minds came during one of the panel sessions, and was a question that came from the floor. It was along the lines of - When an individual who has been the social media voice/face of a brand leaves, what's the impact on the brand?
It raises a really fundamental issue about people to people communication and the roll of a brand in that process. Or to look at it another way, the roll of people in the brand communication process. And this applies offline, as well as online.
The roll of your brand is pretty simple. It's loyalty. As a business, you want your customers (or audience) to be loyal to your brand, not to individuals within the company. This is really important for staff, but it's important for business owners too.
The simple reason is staff aren't permanent. I've written about loyalty to brand v loyalty to staff in a previous post. To resolve this issue there are two things to remember. Make sure your staff understand their role (they are there to communicate the brand, not be the brand). And make sure that your brand has more personality than they do.
For the business owner it's the same issue, but for a different reason. You want customers to be loyal to your brand, not you. Because you might not always want to be the owner. You might want to sell it at some point. And when you do, you want the business (brand) to retain its customers (and its value), which will get you a much better price.
So the answer to that question - What's the impact on the brand?
It should have no impact, because the brand hasn't changed. The brand is bigger than any individual within the business - even the owner. So it should survive any change of personnel, however significant. A business that is built on individuals is fragile. A business that is built on a brand is built to last.
How do you do that? That's probably a topic for another post, but if you'd like to know more, email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call us on 01392 248107. You might be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop, for ambitious businesses that want to make the most of their opportunities.
To find out more about what was said at Like Minds, and everything that's been said about it since, there's a great resource here.
It raises a really fundamental issue about people to people communication and the roll of a brand in that process. Or to look at it another way, the roll of people in the brand communication process. And this applies offline, as well as online.
The roll of your brand is pretty simple. It's loyalty. As a business, you want your customers (or audience) to be loyal to your brand, not to individuals within the company. This is really important for staff, but it's important for business owners too.
The simple reason is staff aren't permanent. I've written about loyalty to brand v loyalty to staff in a previous post. To resolve this issue there are two things to remember. Make sure your staff understand their role (they are there to communicate the brand, not be the brand). And make sure that your brand has more personality than they do.
For the business owner it's the same issue, but for a different reason. You want customers to be loyal to your brand, not you. Because you might not always want to be the owner. You might want to sell it at some point. And when you do, you want the business (brand) to retain its customers (and its value), which will get you a much better price.
So the answer to that question - What's the impact on the brand?
It should have no impact, because the brand hasn't changed. The brand is bigger than any individual within the business - even the owner. So it should survive any change of personnel, however significant. A business that is built on individuals is fragile. A business that is built on a brand is built to last.
How do you do that? That's probably a topic for another post, but if you'd like to know more, email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call us on 01392 248107. You might be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop, for ambitious businesses that want to make the most of their opportunities.
To find out more about what was said at Like Minds, and everything that's been said about it since, there's a great resource here.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Like Minds 2010 - brand lesson #1
The Like Minds conference on Friday was a great day, with lots of great speakers and great insight. If you want to find out more about the rest of the day there is some good comment here from John Bell, James Whatley and Gemma Went - and you can even see it here! But I just want to talk - briefly - about some specific bits, where the whole issue of brand and social media came together. So this is the first.
Now, the day's theme was People-to-people, which was especially interesting for me, following on from our recent seminar on How to build a customer-focused brand. And Jonathan Akwue, who kicked the day off, made a great point, which is relevant offline as well as online. When you're delivering to your audience - products or services - do it in their space, not yours. If you want your audience to engage with you, go and find them, and give them something that is genuinely valuable to them. Pull them to you, don't try and push them.
That's what your brand is there for; to create an emotional link to your audience that will pull them towards you (and away from your competitors).
If you want to talk about what that means for your business, call us on 01392 248107 or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk. You might also be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop, which will give ambitious companies the opportunity to develop some practical actions for their business.
Now, the day's theme was People-to-people, which was especially interesting for me, following on from our recent seminar on How to build a customer-focused brand. And Jonathan Akwue, who kicked the day off, made a great point, which is relevant offline as well as online. When you're delivering to your audience - products or services - do it in their space, not yours. If you want your audience to engage with you, go and find them, and give them something that is genuinely valuable to them. Pull them to you, don't try and push them.
That's what your brand is there for; to create an emotional link to your audience that will pull them towards you (and away from your competitors).
If you want to talk about what that means for your business, call us on 01392 248107 or email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk. You might also be interested in our Brand to Deliver workshop, which will give ambitious companies the opportunity to develop some practical actions for their business.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Like Minds - My ROI
I was really interested in the idea of Like Minds from the outset, because the stated aim was to bring together a group of people who were united in attitude, rather than location or discipline - and that seemed a really refreshing approach. And as the dust settles on the event, interest and discussion about the topics and issues raised is still bouncing around the internet on Twitter and blogs. So did it deliver what was promised? Did I get my return on investment?
The simple answer is yes. Like Minds wasn't a conference about social media, it was a conference about what to do with it, and that's what I was looking for. (From some of the chat going around yesterday it seems that some people did want a conference about social media - how to use it, what to use etc. There's nothing wrong with that, and I know where you can find it - contact Dave Thomas at Bluegrass. He runs a great Social Media workshop). But Like Minds was about ideas, about what you can do with social media. Because social media is just a tool - a means to an end. It's not the end itself.
Trey Pennington (@treypennington) kicked the whole event off on that theme, by asking the question: What's the value of social media? The answer: It depends. What is the problem you are trying to solve? It's a simple answer, but the beauty of that is that it works for everyone. There was a lot more good stuff from Trey, and you can see it here. Social media is just a marketing tool, to help you achieve an objective. You have to have a clear idea of what that objective is.
And once you have your objective then you need to measure it, and that was where Olivier Blanchard (@theBrandBuilder) came in. On one level measuring your ROI from social media is the same as any other marketing activity: Compare activity after launching your social media strategy, to activity pre-launch. The difference is the impact / value - your ROI. You can find Olivier's presentation here. (Some people in the audience seemed to want something more tangible - but it's the same for any communication media: compare before and after. Yes, there are other variables. It's not an exact science. But it's the same for any media).
But out of those two presentations, and the discussion that followed, came the two nuggets that I took way - my ROI for my attendance at Like Minds.
1/ ROI is about business impact
2/ Small is the future
Business impact
This was the focus of Olivier's presentation. Social media ROI isn't how many people follow you, look at your blog, visit your website; it's what difference that activity makes to you business. It's revenue. It's financial. Now, it's useful to remember Trey's answer to the question of value - It depends. Because for some people the financial measure might be value per transaction, for others it might be the number of transactions. But the important thing to hold on to is that there needs to be some financial benefit for a business to be able to justify it's investment in social media.
Small is the future
This was a statement from Rick Waghorn (@MrRickWaghorn) as part of the really interesting panel discussion (also involving Vanessa Warwick (@4_Walls) and James Barisic (@jamesmb)), following Trey's presentation. There was a discussion about large v small and the panel's view was that big is bankrupt - big banks, big business, big media. They have lost trust. Small is the future. And social media is fundamental to that.
The reason is that social media allows users to communicate with their audience one-to-one, whether you're large or small. It levels the palying field. As Vanessa pointed out, it's easier for small businesses to be more personal, because they're much closer to what's going on in their business - it's more transparent, more honest, more real. And that's why a brand is so valuable for a business - whatever size - beacause it communicates the personality of your business.
This really resonates with me because a lot of our clients are 'small' in size, but not in attitude. And that's where our work with their brand can be so valuable. The personality of their business is the reason customers buy from them, and the 'thing' that differentiates them from their competitors - and social media is a great channel for communicating personality. (It's interesting that this came out of the conference, because giving your business personality is the theme of our next Brand to Deliver seminar on 11 November).
So what did I get from Like Minds? I got the opportunity to hear some really interesting ideas being given a thorough work out. That's always a good use of time. And the satisfaction of knowing that with our views and attitude we're not alone - that was a bonus.
But to close I must congratulate Scott Gould (@scottgould) and Drew Ellis (@drewellis) on the foresight (and energy, passion, enthusiasm...) to create Like Minds and produce such a good event. Can't wait for February!
To get some more feedback from Like Minds take a look at these blog posts from Alastair Banks (@banksy6), Director of Opitx Solutions and Nick Tadd (@nicktadd).
The simple answer is yes. Like Minds wasn't a conference about social media, it was a conference about what to do with it, and that's what I was looking for. (From some of the chat going around yesterday it seems that some people did want a conference about social media - how to use it, what to use etc. There's nothing wrong with that, and I know where you can find it - contact Dave Thomas at Bluegrass. He runs a great Social Media workshop). But Like Minds was about ideas, about what you can do with social media. Because social media is just a tool - a means to an end. It's not the end itself.
Trey Pennington (@treypennington) kicked the whole event off on that theme, by asking the question: What's the value of social media? The answer: It depends. What is the problem you are trying to solve? It's a simple answer, but the beauty of that is that it works for everyone. There was a lot more good stuff from Trey, and you can see it here. Social media is just a marketing tool, to help you achieve an objective. You have to have a clear idea of what that objective is.
And once you have your objective then you need to measure it, and that was where Olivier Blanchard (@theBrandBuilder) came in. On one level measuring your ROI from social media is the same as any other marketing activity: Compare activity after launching your social media strategy, to activity pre-launch. The difference is the impact / value - your ROI. You can find Olivier's presentation here. (Some people in the audience seemed to want something more tangible - but it's the same for any communication media: compare before and after. Yes, there are other variables. It's not an exact science. But it's the same for any media).
But out of those two presentations, and the discussion that followed, came the two nuggets that I took way - my ROI for my attendance at Like Minds.
1/ ROI is about business impact
2/ Small is the future
Business impact
This was the focus of Olivier's presentation. Social media ROI isn't how many people follow you, look at your blog, visit your website; it's what difference that activity makes to you business. It's revenue. It's financial. Now, it's useful to remember Trey's answer to the question of value - It depends. Because for some people the financial measure might be value per transaction, for others it might be the number of transactions. But the important thing to hold on to is that there needs to be some financial benefit for a business to be able to justify it's investment in social media.
Small is the future
This was a statement from Rick Waghorn (@MrRickWaghorn) as part of the really interesting panel discussion (also involving Vanessa Warwick (@4_Walls) and James Barisic (@jamesmb)), following Trey's presentation. There was a discussion about large v small and the panel's view was that big is bankrupt - big banks, big business, big media. They have lost trust. Small is the future. And social media is fundamental to that.
The reason is that social media allows users to communicate with their audience one-to-one, whether you're large or small. It levels the palying field. As Vanessa pointed out, it's easier for small businesses to be more personal, because they're much closer to what's going on in their business - it's more transparent, more honest, more real. And that's why a brand is so valuable for a business - whatever size - beacause it communicates the personality of your business.
This really resonates with me because a lot of our clients are 'small' in size, but not in attitude. And that's where our work with their brand can be so valuable. The personality of their business is the reason customers buy from them, and the 'thing' that differentiates them from their competitors - and social media is a great channel for communicating personality. (It's interesting that this came out of the conference, because giving your business personality is the theme of our next Brand to Deliver seminar on 11 November).
So what did I get from Like Minds? I got the opportunity to hear some really interesting ideas being given a thorough work out. That's always a good use of time. And the satisfaction of knowing that with our views and attitude we're not alone - that was a bonus.
But to close I must congratulate Scott Gould (@scottgould) and Drew Ellis (@drewellis) on the foresight (and energy, passion, enthusiasm...) to create Like Minds and produce such a good event. Can't wait for February!
To get some more feedback from Like Minds take a look at these blog posts from Alastair Banks (@banksy6), Director of Opitx Solutions and Nick Tadd (@nicktadd).
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
I've got an idea
There's a lot of problems out there. And a lot of solutions. But it's harder to find them. You have to really make an effort, which is why a lot of people don't bother looking for them. So when you find one on your doorstep, it's really exciting...
Like Minds is an event taking place in Exeter on Friday 16th October. It's a conference, and the theme of this first event is measuring social media. It's the brainchild of Scott Gould (A guest blogger in September) and Andrew Ellis. What interests me about Like Minds isn't the content (which will be really interesting - there's great speakers), but the attitude. I think there is nothing more exciting than people with ideas.
I came across a great explanation of what's so exciting about an idea. I found it at Ted.com, and it's part of their explanation about how TED started:
Core to this goal is a belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than a powerful idea. Consider:
• An idea can be created out of nothing except an inspired imagination.
• An idea weighs nothing.
• It can be transferred across the world at the speed of light for virtually zero cost.
• And yet an idea, when received by a prepared mind, can have extraordinary impact.
• It can reshape that mind's view of the world.
• It can dramatically alter the behavior of the mind's owner.
• It can cause the mind to pass on the idea to others.
And that's what's so exciting; with ideas the possibilities are endless. It's very neatly captured in the recent Christian Aid ad - if people put their mind to something anything is achievable.
As I said, there are plenty of problems out there. But there are solutions too, and we might just find one at Like Minds. Who knows!
Like Minds is an event taking place in Exeter on Friday 16th October. It's a conference, and the theme of this first event is measuring social media. It's the brainchild of Scott Gould (A guest blogger in September) and Andrew Ellis. What interests me about Like Minds isn't the content (which will be really interesting - there's great speakers), but the attitude. I think there is nothing more exciting than people with ideas.
I came across a great explanation of what's so exciting about an idea. I found it at Ted.com, and it's part of their explanation about how TED started:
Core to this goal is a belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than a powerful idea. Consider:
• An idea can be created out of nothing except an inspired imagination.
• An idea weighs nothing.
• It can be transferred across the world at the speed of light for virtually zero cost.
• And yet an idea, when received by a prepared mind, can have extraordinary impact.
• It can reshape that mind's view of the world.
• It can dramatically alter the behavior of the mind's owner.
• It can cause the mind to pass on the idea to others.
And that's what's so exciting; with ideas the possibilities are endless. It's very neatly captured in the recent Christian Aid ad - if people put their mind to something anything is achievable.
As I said, there are plenty of problems out there. But there are solutions too, and we might just find one at Like Minds. Who knows!
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