The Business Growth Blog by Rob Cuesta

Is this the worst business card ever?

I was at a show for startup businesses a couple of weeks ago in London. Taking a break from the stand I joined some fellow exhibitors for lunch. At one point we were interrupted by the arrival of a shadowy figure who walked up to the table and - without a word - dropped a single business card into the centre of the table then walked on to the next table.

Now, I could probably write a whole blog post just discussing his method of approaching us, but let's look at his business card...

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?"

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?

Even the homeless are getting in on Personal Branding

I was fascinated by an almost throwaway comment on the Workshifting blog that describes how the homeless in Orlando are making the best of the resources and opportunities available to improve their lot. It's easy for all sorts of prejudices and preconceptions to cloud our ideas about the homeless, and lead us to make all sorts of generalisations, so I found this story truly heartwarming.

"

Jeff told me that any homeless person in Orlando that had ID and no outstanding balance could have a library card, which entitled them to time on the public computers. [...] Some were even attempting to start their own business, find contract work or rebuild their lives via research, personal branding and financial education."

If people like Jeff can make so much of the little that they have available to them, just imagine what you can do with all the resources at your disposal...

The name's Bond, James Bond...

I remember the first time I heard that line. I was four years old, sitting in a darkened cinema watching a rerun of Goldfinger (my parents were pretty liberal when it came to things like that, and we knew the manager of the cinema).

For two hours I sat, transfixed as 007 battled the bad guys, got the girl and saved the world. Without knowing it, though, it set the tone for many aspects of my life over the years since then.

It's "just" a word, and "just" a brand

I was in a branch of Marks & Spencer the other day and saw their new in-store promotional materials. If you're not familiar with M&S, it's a British chain of department stores, not unlike Sears in the US, or The Bay in Canada, but notable primarily for the fact that they only sell private label goods: there are no big consumer brands.

Adult ADHD or renaissance (wo)man?

Not strictly speaking a personal branding item, but I spotted an article in yesterday's Times Career supplement that the WHO now 'recognises' that ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder) can continue into adult life. Apparently, the symptoms include a compulsion to move on to the next project once the most challenging bits are done, and getting fidgety after sitting still for too long.

Personally, I prefer to point clients to Belbin's definitions of team roles - not everyone is a completer-finisher; some people thrive on challenge while others are quite happy to let someone else handle the challenges then take over and manage the project through to its conclusion.

Alternatively, take a look at  "What Do I Do When I Want to Do Everything?" If you're one of those people who is fascinated by anything and everything; if your bookshelf looks like the main stack at the British Library; if your workshop is full of half-completed projects, fear not: you may be a 'scanner', and the world needs you. Read this book to find out if you are, and why everyone needs a scanner around.

Check back in a few days for a more detailed review

What is marketing?

OK, it's been a while since I posted. I've been busy with a major branding project overseas and I have some professional exams coming up which need my attention too. I'm also in the middle of setting up a couple of new joint ventures. Add in the need for some R&R after a very busy last two years for the business and it was about time I took a break.

But now I'm back, and I was asking myself, just what IS marketing? What are we, as marketers (and everyone is a marketer, whether they call themselves that or not) trying to achieve exactly?

What were they thinking?

Several years ago, Gerald Ratner - a famous UK entrepreneur - virtually destroyed his successful high street jewellery chain by boasting on national television that his products were basically cheap and nasty but that if you market it the right way people will buy almost anything. Needless to say the customers proved him wrong.

A few years later, the CEO of Volkswagen came close to 'doing a Ratner' (the expression has ended up in the language as a euphemism for a very public marketing gaffe) when he boasted that Audi A6s, Passats and the latest Skodas all shared many common parts and technologies, and were even made on the same production line. It was something car buyers knew, deep down, but they didn't want it made quite so public.

Now Lurpak, the Danish butter manufacturer, is running a new advertising campaign and you have to wonder what their marketing director was thinking.

When clutter becomes junk

OK, confession time. I'm going to let you in on a secret. One that I'm actually rather ashamed of.

I walked into my study last weekend. Well actually, I didn't so much walk in as step gingerly in, around and over various piles of accumulated junk. I've been working out of town a fair amount lately, and I started renting an office in the centre of town, so my home office hasn't been used as much as it used to. But now it's got to the stage where I can't use it, and something has to give.