The Business Growth Blog by Rob Cuesta

Schrodinger's Lunch - does business networking work?

At a recent workshop I ran, one of the attendees asked whether networking works.

I know people in business who swear by the power of networking meetings in growing their business. I also know people who swear just at the thought of going networking. The reality is that for some people it works, and for others it doesn't.

It's a little like Schrodinger's cat. Schrodinger imagined a thought experiment that goes as follows: imagine a cat in a sealed box. In the box there is also a piece of radioactive material that is decaying and will ultimately kill the cat (remember - this is an imaginary cat, not a real one!). How do you know the cat whether the cat is alive or dead? You can't know until you open the box¹.

Networking is much the same: you won't know if it works for you until you try it. And whether networking will work for a particular person is down to two things.

Stand for something. Anything. But stand up and be noticed!

For a while I've complained that there is no truly neutral news service here in the UK. All the newspapers have their own slant, and so do the TV news bulletins. Even the newspaper "The Independent" has it's own opinions. We just can't get unbiased reporting. It struck me as a gap in the market.

Until today.

What do you have to do to get customer satisfaction around here?

We seem to live in a world where fewer and fewer companies are willing to do something for their customers out of a sense of service. Instead they have to be cajoled, coaxed and ultimately threatened before they'll take action.

A few months ago I suspended my membership of a subscription music site while I decided whether to continue. I'd forgotten about this until I got an email advising me that my latest payment had gone through successfully. I was understandably err "peeved", as it had happened without any warning. At the very least one would expect a reminder saying "your holiday period is ending soon. Do you want to renew?"

Before you get into social media, what does your audience look like?

I just found a new online tool that could just be ESSENTIAL for any business that is serious about using social media to reach its target audience.

Forrester Research's Groundswell Consumer Profile Tool will give you a "technographic" profile (think demographic for the internet age) of your audience based on country, age and gender. There are 8 categories of user and a link to an explanation of each category. More detail and analysis can be found in Forrester's new book "Groundswell".

Unmissable :)

Motivation, success and wealth 2

Last week I posted a link to the first of success-guru Tony Robbins' videos on weath and success. Here is the second video, in which he interviews internet marketer John Reese, who managed to generate $1m on the web in the midst of chaos and destruction in the wake of a tornado strike.

Again, watch it once as an inspirational piece to remind you that however bad the economy seems, at least it's still there, generating wealth and prosperity. Then watch it a second time as an example of masterful use of video to build a personal brand.

Enjoy!

Motivation, success and wealth 1

As anyone who has attended one of my courses or workshops knows, I'm a huge fan of personal development guru Tony Robbins.

Lately, Tony has issued a couple of motivational web videos around the subject of wealth and success. the first of them is notable not only because its a deeply motivational story, but because it's one of the best web videos I've seen. Granted, it was filmed during a break in the filming of something else more substantial, but even so, it's definitely raised the standard that anyone using video to build their brand should aspire to.

So watch it, enjoy the message, and learn from the production values.

Enjoy!

Customer satisfaction? It's the unexpected extras that count

Recently, I had a nasty dent in the rear wing of my car. The insurance company chose the body shop they wanted me to use so I dropped it off.

Three weeks and four aborted attempts to return my car later, I finally have it back. The first time, the paintwork was full of bubbles. The second time, the bubbles were gone but it looked like the whole thing had been rubbed with emery paper and left. The third time, the repair was a different colour from the rest of the wing, and they had splashed my rear bumper (fender, for the Americans among you!) with grey primer - not a good look for a flame red coupe! The fourth time, they brought the car back with the engine management light on. Suffice to say, I was NOT happy.

Fifth delivery, and I finally got Mr Tibbs (it's a Hyundai Tiburon - what else would I call it?) back on Tuesday, and as soon as the delivery driver left I went inside to draft a strongly worded complaint. It's all forgotten now though, so what changed my mind?

Do Your Targets Hear The Sizzle?

There's an old advertising adage that says "Sell the sizzle not the steak". In recent years, it's been distorted and misapplied by less scrupulous ad-men, to become "sell the sizzle, and forget the steak". marketers have taken products with little or no real value to the consumer and hyped them up just to increase the price. It's the basic premise behind the book "Never Mind the Sizzle...Where's the Sausage?" which I reviewed last year.

Of course, one of the common misconceptions people have about personal branding - and branding in general - is that it's ALL about the sizzle, so I thought this afternoon I'd look at the world of sizzle and steaks.

Have you made yourself scarce?

Have you ever paid over the odds for a 'limited edition' of something? Have you ever felt an irresistible urge to buy something NOW because it was part of a limited offer? And what about those REALLY old (and rare) bottles of vintage wine that sell for thousands, even though everyone - including the seller AND the buyer - know that the wine is undrinkable after so many years?

The answer is simple...    

Personal Branding and the Accounting Profession

Even as far back as 2005, members of the UK's Institute of Chartered Accountants were being advised to work on their personal brand. Addressing that year's prizewinners and the Institute's annual awards, Steve Easterbrook (UK CEO of McDonalds) said: “Chartered Accountants are in such high demand due to their well-rounded flexibility. [Accountants] learn from and observe business management competencies, behaviours and soft skills - both good and bad. To be respected today you have to be authentic. You must understand who you are, your strengths, your weaknesses and your personal values. By being open about these and by being consistent you will be able to build and protect your own reputation.”