New strategies for doing business june 2010

1. 1 New Strategies for Doing Business Presented by: Finola Howard The Marketing Table Limited

2. So what’s that about? Letting go of the assumptions of how you’ve done business in the past. Creating something that works for you now and in the future. Understanding how business and communication has changed. The ingredients now for a successful business are: True Innovation of your Product or Service Authentic Human Interaction. Planning for Long Term Growth & not Short Term Profits. 2

3. The World has changed over the last few years… And so too…. has the business world… 3

4. We’ve had… 7 Year Olds whose number one worry was terrorism just a few years ago… The boundaries between Offline and Online blurring simply because the world’s gone mobile… Online Interaction now fueling real world meet ups fostering a new culture of “Mass Mingling”. Young people who will likely stay “linked” for the rest of their lives… Our Culture of Consumption now radically changing … and moving towards the “experiential”. The pace at which we live moving so fast that people are in a constant state of “Future Shock” & so “Nowism” takes centre stage. And let’s not mention the economy… 4

5. We’ve had… A World of Change… 5

6. And for business… We’ve got “noise” everywhere. Everyone is talking so much that it’s hard to stand out. The traditional “points of difference” are just average now and have become commodities in themselves. The customer wants a say… and in a lot of cases businesses are trying to control that… There’s a fear of letting go of how we did business in the past thinking that “lip service” to new ways of communicating will be enough. It’s not… 6

7. A recent study… 2,000 people surveyed in the UK and US earlier this year by Alterian… Only 5% of consumers trusted advertising and 8% believe what the company says about itself. Consumers actively engaging in Social Media feel more in control of relationships and more positive about their connection with brands in general. A third of respondents using social media believe that “companies are genuinely interested in them.” Mass Communication and One Way Conversations won’t work anymore. Traditional Marketing is Dead… You’ve got to look at the individual customer and develop your strategy around that… 7

8. So what do you do now? 8

9. Take a look around… Move beyond the obvious about your customers… Move beyond the surface demographics… What do you really know about them? How has all this change… changed them? Are they really your customers any more? Are you sure? What do they need now? How do they communicate? 9

10. Now take a look at yourself… Are you average or are you remarkable? And remarkable means… “Are you worth remarking on?” How can you turn your “commodity” into something remarkable… it’s been done for toasters, vacuum cleaners and so much more… so you can do it too… 10

11. Try taking it to the edge… Most businesses rest in the middle… You can’t be the best at everything… so invariably you end up being “average”. And average isn’t safe… especially now… Jack Welch revolutionsed GE by saying “If we can’t be #1 or #2 then get out” Try this exercise… and think about making your product… your marketing… 11

12. 12 Right now you’re in the centre… and the things you’re really good at can be described at each edge. Find the Edges… And pick one that you can be remarkable at… And move yourself there…

13. A story for you… How a taxi driver in New York changed how he did business… … and another about a homeless guy… 13

14. Now think about… What would you do if your customer talked back… 14

15. It’s a connected world… One where people are sharing their lives and interacting with each in a way that they never have before… Facebook 5 Million, Twitter 100 Million, LinkedIn 65 million and the list goes on… Are you talking at or with your customers? Are you listening to them? Do you live in their communities? If not, start thinking about it. We are not in a flat transaction world any more… And customers are checking for authenticity… they want to trust who they do business with… 15

16. Build Situations… Where they have an input… Where they can meet you or meet up… Where they can tell their story… Where they can get to know you, your business, your staff… Where they can influence what you do next… Where they can trust you… 16

17. Now turn this into a strategy… And stop thinking short term… and start thinking visionary… 17

18. To Sum Up… Take what you do… to the edge… And be the best at that… Find those customers that love that edge… and get to know them… Take your customers out of the box and start to like them… and maybe, just maybe they’ll like you back… Keep asking how you can build a two way conversation with them… that’s authentic… Stop thinking short term… and play the long game… with vision… 18

19. Books you gotta read… Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin It’s now how good you are, it’s how good you want to be by Paul Arden Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin Zag by Marty Neumeier Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 19

20. Videos you gotta watch… Social Media Revolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 UsNow Film – More4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3UrP4wT288 The Virtual Revolution – BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution/ 20

21. Thanks for Listening… Any questions? 21