by nick on October 31, 2008
There’s a lovely corner shop in my village. It’s completely typical, run by an Indian family where nana holds the night shift ‘till 10pm. It’s an extremely well run family business where the profits have gone back into structural renovations. You couldn’t buy a pack of mints from a more spotless mini supermarket.
But Tesco has spotted the success and is planting an Express at the other end of the village to open before Christmas. Tesco’s area and local managers will have set a pact to obliterate the incumbent. Our local staple for over a decade is now an impala in front of the cheetah.
Suddenly papers and magazines are being sold at this corner shop (much to the dismay of the paper shop, whose days really are numbered now), the already immaculate store is getting a winter revamp, and the long opening hours just got longer. They’re fighting and bravo to them.
What would you do if a whale – a metaphorical Orca in Tesco’s case – opened close enough to your business (on or offline) for you to smell their breath? Remember, if it all comes down to price, the whale wins.
Better yet, why aren’t we all treating each week as if it was our last whale-free week and fighting that hard? Why isn’t that par for effort?
by nick on October 26, 2008
A good while ago I heard website editor of the Telegraph.co.uk, Marcus Warren, being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The Message. He was quoting figures that showed 5 million new users for his site month on month.
I’m sure Mr Warren is no different from hundreds of other managers and directors responsible for websites in that he’s focused on talking about one of the most raw stats available (granted, it’s factual and very impressive). Business numbers in the black and not the red are generally regarded in the positive, but web traffic demands more examination than a cursory look at one or two sets of statistics.
I’m willing to bet that a massive percentage of these uniques, perhaps between 70 and 90%, land deeply i.e. not on the home page or submenu pages (possibly from Digg or Stumbleupon as much as from the big search engines). Of course this is an excellent example of “if you build it, they will come”.
However, I’m also willing to bet their bounce rate (people who exit the site quickly after visiting only one page) is also between 70 and 90%. If I were responsible for targeting Mr Warren I’d want to see visitors staying on site longer and I’d want fewer bouncing – yes, even at the expense of total visitor numbers (presuming my previous guesswork is good). A million visitors leaving inside 3 seconds and returning to Google to improve their search term does nothing for your site. In fact it hinders because it confuses your analytics and success becomes more difficult to ascertain.
I’m in no doubt that the Telegraph’s web traffic is growing because of their increased content. More relevant content equals a larger web presence, which should lead to more search results pointing to you. Just think BBC, the mother of all sites.
Chasing such headline numbers as unique visitors is misguided but commonplace. It’s better to look at how engaged a site is with potential and current customers. How many pages are listed on the major search engines (and how many pages are published)? How often is content updated? How keyword rich is the copy? What does the site offer its audience other than ‘get into my shopping cart’?
Mr Warren and his ilk will tell you this is where the real work comes in: the writing, the images, the advice pages, the tips and FAQs, the alternative viewpoint, the video tutorials, the understanding of your market, the educating of your customer. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not recommending spamming the system with a load of useless link bait but sites do require deep and relevant content.
Of course, it’s all very time consuming and not directly attributable to today’s sales figure, but it’s absolutely invaluable. Just ask the chap from the Telegraph.
by nick on October 18, 2008
I recently attended the Chartered Institute of Marketing event, ‘Communication for profitable customer relationships.’ I wasn’t going to post about it, but the best speaker of the day (Dr Neil Hair) blogged about it and I wanted to join him.
The day’s speakers were good, although Prof. Ballantyne from New Zealand was probably too academic for the business audience that (I felt) were looking for pointers, advice and ideas. But you kind of get the feeling that organisers of this ilk are pleased simply with bums on seats, not the strength of the message (i.e. the product). As the registration fills, you can almost feel the sense of relief as it becomes more about the number of paid attendees, than it does about the transfer of thoughts – surely the aim of the day.
The day was filled with references to Web 2.0, but it smacked of double standards: there wasn’t a video camera in sight. Where is the ‘sharable’ content following the event: speakers’ slides and notes, videos, discussion boards/walls, wikis, blog posts with comments? The exclusive network opportunity? Where is the follow up on a full room of highly interested (we’d paid to attend) business people? For an organisation that sells education, what does the CIM recommend for the attendees in line with what they heard on the day?
The idiots’ guide to marketing starts with ‘where’s the call to action’ so I stop myself anytime I’m about to say that, but the CIM really needs it said to itself. Personally, I’d have at least put a video running in the breaks, touting my wares with half a dozen CIM faces helping delegates ‘buy in’ to the institute and its offerings.
It all adds to my confusion with this organisation. They have a goliath website, but I cannot discover anything worth investigating amongst the plethora of PDFs (and yes, I have had paid access). Compare that to the content at the Marketing Profs site (or the more obvious FT and BBC business) where you could easily lose a day, or even a week, swimming in first-rate discovery and intellect.
Bang goes my chances of a Branch Chair offer now but I’ll say it again, TED is where the bar is for this type of event and the CIM should be striving toward them.
by nick on October 13, 2008
Does social networking demand you be an extrovert?
Maybe, maybe not. But a Facebook account makes you a narcissist. I read it on the Beeb so it must be true. Unless your name is Elmo Keep – she’s not allowed to be.
by nick on October 8, 2008
Heard anyone talking (bragging?) lately that her industry is recession resistant? It seems the DVD business is just that according to DreamWorks CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Chocolate and cycling are seeing the same anecdotal sentiment as the crunching of credit gets ever louder.
But, just like the man, no business is an island. It needs a bank to handle transactions (and probably allow an overdraft); solicitors and accountants; suppliers who need their own supply chain; manufacturers who perhaps use global resources. And interest rates, inflation and oil prices will affect it and its staff universally.
It strikes me that regardless of your product, no company could possibly be wholly ‘resistant’ to the current trouble. Surely it becomes a case of how you handle the external pressures.
Yet again, Tesco appear to be teaching the high street that lesson.
by nick on October 3, 2008
The Royal Mint said last week that one in 50 pound coins you come across could be fake. This really hit home that bogus goods are seeping into everyday consumerism.
Earlier this year Channel 4’s Dispatches programme reported that companies are losing a fortune in revenue and brand credibility to counterfeiters. Much of the goods were imported, getting past the under-resourced customs agents. Some cases can be potentially lethal with the increased exposure of counterfeit drugs (I’m not thinking Viagra).
An Adidas fraud officer was filmed as he discovered luminous Chelsea football jerseys in an Asian street market two weeks before the shirt had been launched in London. Fake chicken eggs (yes, with yellow yokes) are apparently going down a storm in certain parts of China too poor to rear chickens – they actually manufactured one for the cameras. Product from Colgate to Channel was shown to be within the fraudsters’ varied capability.
The crux of the Dispatches’ argument was that if you employ developing countries to manufacture for you, then you can expect those countries to be imitating you as well. Especially if you leave and set up [a cheaper] shop elsewhere – highly likely as cost was the motivator that took you there in the first place.
Imitation is said to be the largest form of flattery but I doubt the Mint or Versace et al would agree here.
There’s a lovely corner shop in my village. It’s completely typical, run by an Indian family where nana holds the night shift ‘till 10pm. It’s an extremely well run family business where the profits have gone back into structural renovations. You couldn’t buy a pack of mints from a more spotless mini supermarket.
