So if you are like us at PCE, you are already well into planning for 2014.
And part of that planning process invariably asks what is it that we do best and secondly what do we need to improve?
This is however where most business plans and therefore most businesses fail. What occurs thereafter are brainstorming sessions, that generate a plethora of ideas, of initiatives to deliver to go from "good to great" by innovating, coming up with the competitive edge that will blitz the competition.
Often the ability to deliver such growth is overstated and what ends up happening is that the business forgets to deliver the answer to the very first question : what is it that we do best?
Focussing on weaknesses highlights and delivers just that : weaknesses or at best improved weaknesses.
Paul Leinward and Cesare Mainardi (Harvard Business Review June 2010, pp 86-92) posed the question as to whether you business had the courage and discipline to focus intensely on what it does best.
Rather than chase business in markets where the company does not have capabilities to sustain success, "coherent" companies align what they do best with the right market positioning.
In other words they position their offer to their ideal clients in a way that resonates.
Every decision then is focussed on being able to answer 3 questions (the 3 that need to be in your business plan).
According to Leinward and Mainardi these are :
How are we going to face the market? In oner words : what is our value proposition? Understanding the value you create for the customer and being able to articulate it in a replicable/repeatable phrase is key here.
What capabilities do we need? In other word : To deliver on our value proposition what 3-6 capabilities to we need to display / deliver?
What are we going to sell and to whom? In other words: the product and services that make up the product mix are the ones that are key to your value proposition and highlight the capabilities that your business has, are delivered to the right customers in the right communication mix.
So the key is:
- figure our what you are really good at, develop the capabilities you have to deliver that so that they are best of breed, align this with the market place opportunities and be rewarded with sustained superior returns.
Ask these 3 questions in your business planning process : which by the way should include all team members (it's a great way to assess if you actually need to reassess whether the capabilities you have in your team are actually the right ones for you!!)
Friday, 27 December 2013
Thursday, 12 December 2013
A Short Guide For a Big Impact Communication Strategy
So here's a quick guide if: you are thinking of a social media strategy for professional service clients and have a website as a main plank for showcasing your business.
1) Just because social media exists does not mean it is appropriate for your communication strategy
2) First determine what is your message, to whom you will convey it
3) Next determine where your clients are getting information from : where are they congregating and interacting : if it is Facebook : Facebook might need to be part of your strategy : if not : then don't waste time
4) Twitter : great for broadcasting, sourcing information : but who is your audience and where do you get your news from : if audience is niche/specific : then twitter may not be appropriate
5) Blogs : allow you to update clients with value and position you as a subject matter expert : it is regular communication without being intrusive
6) Website : where you want to direct clients to : so they connect : great for referrals to be able to interact
7) Analyse your client base and determine the appropriate mix of communication strategies for you
8) Consider your website and update with staff profiles/videos, contact capturing section, blog page, and as for client communications : client personalised emails, client personalised video messages
9) Write your blog regularly: once a week: at least one a fortnight
10) Update LinkedIn and post your blog : the people connected to you will then be directed to your website
11) Hide your connections
12) Stalk your clients : see if they are on LinkedIn : see if they are active : connect with them : see who they are connected to : potential new clients?
13) Post videos on LinkedIn and on your website
14) Continue your personalised emails
15) Your "news" items are also things to post on LinkedIn and on your Blog
1) Just because social media exists does not mean it is appropriate for your communication strategy
2) First determine what is your message, to whom you will convey it
3) Next determine where your clients are getting information from : where are they congregating and interacting : if it is Facebook : Facebook might need to be part of your strategy : if not : then don't waste time
4) Twitter : great for broadcasting, sourcing information : but who is your audience and where do you get your news from : if audience is niche/specific : then twitter may not be appropriate
5) Blogs : allow you to update clients with value and position you as a subject matter expert : it is regular communication without being intrusive
6) Website : where you want to direct clients to : so they connect : great for referrals to be able to interact
7) Analyse your client base and determine the appropriate mix of communication strategies for you
8) Consider your website and update with staff profiles/videos, contact capturing section, blog page, and as for client communications : client personalised emails, client personalised video messages
9) Write your blog regularly: once a week: at least one a fortnight
10) Update LinkedIn and post your blog : the people connected to you will then be directed to your website
11) Hide your connections
12) Stalk your clients : see if they are on LinkedIn : see if they are active : connect with them : see who they are connected to : potential new clients?
13) Post videos on LinkedIn and on your website
14) Continue your personalised emails
15) Your "news" items are also things to post on LinkedIn and on your Blog
Monday, 9 December 2013
Getting Social : Social Media : are you forgetting the social and focussing on the media?
So tonight we are presenting for a group of financial service professionals about how can you build your brand, deepen client engagement and increase referrals and new business by listening and communicating with clients.
It's a topic we love, and love engaging and connecting with people on.
And there is the essence of what social media is....it is social.
Too often the "media" is the focus and old style marketing is thrust upon clients and prospects from a business that thinks it is getting social.
Too often the messages are not about the client, they are about the business.
Times have changed, in that no longer is the primary information that shapes our choices as consumers, coming from the business selling the goods or services.
We have as humans have always done but with accelerated power and scale made choices by consulting trusted sources, our social circle.
Now that social circle is no longer the people in a tiny village. Rather our social circle is global and instantaneous!
We have a bigger voice than the company and we are using it.
The way to get social and become the most interesting person in the room (or on the web) is as it has always been : to listen.
Can't wait to hear what people are saying and feeling tonight.
It's a topic we love, and love engaging and connecting with people on.
And there is the essence of what social media is....it is social.
Too often the "media" is the focus and old style marketing is thrust upon clients and prospects from a business that thinks it is getting social.
Too often the messages are not about the client, they are about the business.
Times have changed, in that no longer is the primary information that shapes our choices as consumers, coming from the business selling the goods or services.
We have as humans have always done but with accelerated power and scale made choices by consulting trusted sources, our social circle.
Now that social circle is no longer the people in a tiny village. Rather our social circle is global and instantaneous!
We have a bigger voice than the company and we are using it.
The way to get social and become the most interesting person in the room (or on the web) is as it has always been : to listen.
Can't wait to hear what people are saying and feeling tonight.
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Getting Social : Part 2 What businesses need to know
So what is the process around getting social for businesses wanting to create customers from engagement via social media?
One principle that should guide your thinking here is that we, humans, like to connect and therefore forge communities with people like us.
So to demonstrate that you have shared values or at least empathy for the values of your ideal clients, you need to :
- create shareable stories around what it is that you do
- in turn create and demonstrate a culture that will prompt people to take action to promote you
The platforms for that interaction are social media.
So, when thinking about your ideal clients :
- your messages ie your content needs to be focussed on the members of your community of ideal client ie what ties them together?
- the content needs to be shareable
- you need to develop a rich in depth view of these groups and individuals : social helps you do that fast
- and you need to deliver content succinctly and with impact
Gossieaux and Moran in The Hypersocial Organisatiin talk about :
- listening, engaging on their terms, collaboration, and storytelling
All this is part of the process.
Importantly you need to be genuine, real, candid, and be willing to offer more than corporate speak and generic content.
You need to be you.
Finding out and defining who exactky that is, is your first step.
One principle that should guide your thinking here is that we, humans, like to connect and therefore forge communities with people like us.
So to demonstrate that you have shared values or at least empathy for the values of your ideal clients, you need to :
- create shareable stories around what it is that you do
- in turn create and demonstrate a culture that will prompt people to take action to promote you
The platforms for that interaction are social media.
So, when thinking about your ideal clients :
- your messages ie your content needs to be focussed on the members of your community of ideal client ie what ties them together?
- the content needs to be shareable
- you need to develop a rich in depth view of these groups and individuals : social helps you do that fast
- and you need to deliver content succinctly and with impact
Gossieaux and Moran in The Hypersocial Organisatiin talk about :
- listening, engaging on their terms, collaboration, and storytelling
All this is part of the process.
Importantly you need to be genuine, real, candid, and be willing to offer more than corporate speak and generic content.
You need to be you.
Finding out and defining who exactky that is, is your first step.
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Getting Social : What any business needs to consider
We can't believe it's been a month since our last post. We bad!
But during this busy time of reflection we had the fortunate pleasure of revisiting Gossieaux and Moran and some of the key principles when businesses are getting social : in other words using social media to engage with clients.
Social Media is about basic human behaviours, hard wired in fact, but now at an unimagined scale.
The purpose of any business is to create a customer ( we can talk profit later ) and that means that your basic functions critical to success is your message and how you deliver it. How creative are you prepared to be?
No one, repeat no one has formed an online community and got social over just a product or service. What businesses who are getting social successfully have done is to engage with what is valuable to their prospective and existing clients.
There is a process around this and later today we will step it out.
But during this busy time of reflection we had the fortunate pleasure of revisiting Gossieaux and Moran and some of the key principles when businesses are getting social : in other words using social media to engage with clients.
Social Media is about basic human behaviours, hard wired in fact, but now at an unimagined scale.
The purpose of any business is to create a customer ( we can talk profit later ) and that means that your basic functions critical to success is your message and how you deliver it. How creative are you prepared to be?
No one, repeat no one has formed an online community and got social over just a product or service. What businesses who are getting social successfully have done is to engage with what is valuable to their prospective and existing clients.
There is a process around this and later today we will step it out.
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Finding Balance : A ReFocus on Priorities
Perspective.....the ability to find perspective allows you to see things as they really are. It's that ability in any given moment to step out of yourself and have a birds eye view on a situation and assess it for what it is. Perspective allows clarity of thought and that mindfulness leads to better decisions, more creativity and greater satisfaction with life.
The greatest challengers to perspective are time and awareness.
In today's unrelenting modern lifestyles the time for perspective is seldom allocated. Secondly with our minds bombarded more than ever before with information at speeds never before experienced in human history our awareness of our feelings, of situations is challenged and ignored. We become expressions of that which we have knowledge of but not necessarily understood. And that knowledge without understanding applies to ourselves.
We all understand the problem. What's the solution? Awareness is the key. But to give awareness an opportunity to change our direction, our perspective we need to allocate the time to gaining perspective.
Our advice is simple: time block it.
1) Allocate to start 10 mins in the morning and 10 minutes at night to mindfulness. This may start as simply a quiet spot where initially you don't think of anything. So don't take your smartphone with you. Now if you can't find a quiet room at work or home, then multi task. In all seriousness this might be time spent in the lavatory or in the shower. If that's all you can grab then take the opportunity.
2) Move next to assessing your life and how you feel about it. Ask yourself how you feel about certain aspects of your life, rank it on a scale of 1 to 5 and then write about what you want in the future and how you want to feel. This is a great exercise to do as a couple. The areas you are assessing include : relationships, health, fitness, philanthropy, community involvement, friends, spirituality, hobbies, work, house and home, finances, personal space, education and personal development.
3) Identify the three most important areas for you and assess whether you are spending enough time and resources in these areas.
4) By now that 10 mins hopefully has moved to 15 now you need to start a dialogue with your self and significant others : try setting time aside and this may start as only once a week that you and your partner just talk about your world and perhaps it's just as simple as a download of the week. Take turns. Listen don't solve.
5) Start focussing on what's really important (identified in 3)
Check in with PCE after a few weeks and let us know how you did.
The greatest challengers to perspective are time and awareness.
In today's unrelenting modern lifestyles the time for perspective is seldom allocated. Secondly with our minds bombarded more than ever before with information at speeds never before experienced in human history our awareness of our feelings, of situations is challenged and ignored. We become expressions of that which we have knowledge of but not necessarily understood. And that knowledge without understanding applies to ourselves.
We all understand the problem. What's the solution? Awareness is the key. But to give awareness an opportunity to change our direction, our perspective we need to allocate the time to gaining perspective.
Our advice is simple: time block it.
1) Allocate to start 10 mins in the morning and 10 minutes at night to mindfulness. This may start as simply a quiet spot where initially you don't think of anything. So don't take your smartphone with you. Now if you can't find a quiet room at work or home, then multi task. In all seriousness this might be time spent in the lavatory or in the shower. If that's all you can grab then take the opportunity.
2) Move next to assessing your life and how you feel about it. Ask yourself how you feel about certain aspects of your life, rank it on a scale of 1 to 5 and then write about what you want in the future and how you want to feel. This is a great exercise to do as a couple. The areas you are assessing include : relationships, health, fitness, philanthropy, community involvement, friends, spirituality, hobbies, work, house and home, finances, personal space, education and personal development.
3) Identify the three most important areas for you and assess whether you are spending enough time and resources in these areas.
4) By now that 10 mins hopefully has moved to 15 now you need to start a dialogue with your self and significant others : try setting time aside and this may start as only once a week that you and your partner just talk about your world and perhaps it's just as simple as a download of the week. Take turns. Listen don't solve.
5) Start focussing on what's really important (identified in 3)
Check in with PCE after a few weeks and let us know how you did.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
What Award Winning Businesses Do Well
Last week the Association of Financial Advisors named its 2013 Advisor of the Year.
All the businesses and advisors that were nominated were put through a rigorous process that involved an assessment of client engagement as well as systems, processes, community involvement, leadership and the advice proposition.
What made the 6 finalists and ultimate winner stand out from the crowd?
It is apparent that clients value the financial planning process. Data from the Beddoes institute confirms that once clients start taking advice they get incredible value out of the process. They are happier, more likely to refer and maximise the possibility of living a financially secure life. Clients point to aspects such as the personal qualities of the advisor, understanding the process and feeling that the advisor understand them, as key components of client satisfaction.
What these businesses, these finalists, do goes beyond those client pre-requisites.
These award winning businesses :
- have defined in client terms what it is that they do so clients can easily articulate the value in their own words
- consequently have referral rates from existing clients well into the 90% levels
- have dynamic, client focussed communication methods that allow trust to be built before they have even met a protective client
- on meeting a new client, take the client through a process that defines what a clients values and motivators are with clarity and resonance
- they deliver advice that is connected to these values and the advice is delivered by a team
- have teams that understand what it is that they are providing and the impact on each individual client
- set benchmarks in the client journey and celebrate and acknowledge theses milestones with clients
- have multiple methods of communication with their clients
- are active in their community
- lead industry discussions
- share their experiences and successes with peers
But most of all these award winning businesses know who they are as a business as individuals and are true to label.
They celebrate themselves, their clients, their staff and their community each step of the way.
Congratulations.
All the businesses and advisors that were nominated were put through a rigorous process that involved an assessment of client engagement as well as systems, processes, community involvement, leadership and the advice proposition.
What made the 6 finalists and ultimate winner stand out from the crowd?
It is apparent that clients value the financial planning process. Data from the Beddoes institute confirms that once clients start taking advice they get incredible value out of the process. They are happier, more likely to refer and maximise the possibility of living a financially secure life. Clients point to aspects such as the personal qualities of the advisor, understanding the process and feeling that the advisor understand them, as key components of client satisfaction.
What these businesses, these finalists, do goes beyond those client pre-requisites.
These award winning businesses :
- have defined in client terms what it is that they do so clients can easily articulate the value in their own words
- consequently have referral rates from existing clients well into the 90% levels
- have dynamic, client focussed communication methods that allow trust to be built before they have even met a protective client
- on meeting a new client, take the client through a process that defines what a clients values and motivators are with clarity and resonance
- they deliver advice that is connected to these values and the advice is delivered by a team
- have teams that understand what it is that they are providing and the impact on each individual client
- set benchmarks in the client journey and celebrate and acknowledge theses milestones with clients
- have multiple methods of communication with their clients
- are active in their community
- lead industry discussions
- share their experiences and successes with peers
But most of all these award winning businesses know who they are as a business as individuals and are true to label.
They celebrate themselves, their clients, their staff and their community each step of the way.
Congratulations.
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