Brand Quarterly Nov 2013

Brand

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Issue 1 | Volume 3

November 2013

Quarterly

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

It’s Our Birthday!

And YOU Get The Presents.

See Inside For More Details.

Industry Insights:

Franchising

Franchisors Share What It Takes To Succeed Connect First: Techniques For Owning The Room Networking 2.0: Your Network Is Your Net Worth Brand Quarterly™

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Brand

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Happy Birthday

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

To Us And A Big

Thanks To You!

We’re celebrating Brand Quarterly’s 2nd birthday with a HUGE thank you and special gift for you.

A V.I.P. reduction of

50%

on your next design job with Vesey Creative!

Current clients and new ones.

Big job or small.

Contact us by 31st December 2013 and mention this advert to secure your V.I.P. rate.

(Jobs must be started by 1st April 2014)

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

• Are you a Marketer or Manager with responsibility for revenue?

• A Client company with a need to sell more, or an Agency with Clients who need to improve sales?

• Fed up with the ongoing challenge of ROI (return on investment)?

• Finding it hard to justify your budget?

• Want to get the Product or Service Right, First Time?

Then come on board now!

'The Epsilon Project' is a project created by professional Marketers, for professional Marketers.

We all see more and more options, technologies, business models, channels, digital everything, added day upon day.

There is greater competition in the marketplace daily; we all need to become more competitive and want to know precisely what our USP is, our advantage that will make us different and effective, and what it could be.

Our 'Proposition' - the mix of ingredients we hope will compete spectacularly and win us more business - could take one of any number of different forms or 'iterations'. What is your KILLER mix? If we have so many variables that can make up our Proposition, what are the key variables, those important features, benefits or options that will make the most money?

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www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-epsilon-project/x/4985523 The Epsilon Project Partners: Torchbearer Ltd

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Global

CMO THE MAGAZINE

Quarterly

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

In This Issue Industry Insights:

Franchising

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How do you balance marketing both the ‘franchise opportunity’ and the ‘business’?

22

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given on growing your franchise business?

32

How do you ensure brand and marketing consistency across your franchise network?

44

How do you support your franchisees in growing their individual businesses?

58

What’s the one piece of advice you would give someone who is looking to buy a franchise?

10

Connect First:

16

Finding Your Brand’s Emotional Truth

20

Success By Design:

26

The New Science Of Winning

28

Connect, Convince, Convert:

30

Be Heard, Be Seen

36

Networking 2.0:

40

Developing Your Change Management Plan

Techniques For Owning The Room

7 Keys To Improved Brand And Marketing Returns

3 Steps To Compelling Web Copy

With Insightful Branding

Your Network Is Your Net Worth

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

48

Did Price Really Lose The Sale?

54

200 Million Reasons To Be On Linkedin

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Innovation In Business Models

62

Get The Best Quality From Your Logo

From The Editor Thanks For Being Here We’re thrilled to be celebrating Brand Quarterly’s 2nd birthday with you!

What a fantastic journey so far, I feel so grateful for all of the support we’ve received, both from our loyal readers and world class contributors. You may or may not know, Brand Quarterly’s readership has been created 100% through being shared and promoted online and through people recommending it to their networks. It’s humbling to receive the support we have, and it’s important to let you know that each and every tweet, linkedin share and recommendation you have made is what has made this magazine possible THANK YOU! One of my favourite parts of this job is selecting each issue’s contributors. It’s exciting to present you with such fantastic contributors, and this issue is certainly a continuation of that, with contributors from 7 different countries (America, England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan). A huge thank you and welcome to Bill Hoogterp, Porter Gale, Bernard Marr, Tony Zambito, Mike Freedman, David Tovey, Andrea Gardner, Dionne Kasian-Lew, Babar Khan and the Vesey tribe for providing such top quality content and adding value to our reader’s businesses.

Fiona Vesey Vesey Creative

You’ll also notice, spread through this issue is the arrival a new feature - ‘Industry Insights’. Focusing on the franchising industry (for this first edition), ‘Industry Insights’ showcases 45 franchises, each sharing their experience and insights on franchising and their businesses. Great stuff.

So, as always… Enjoy and Share :)

Fiona Issue 1 | Volume 3 | November 2013 Brand Quarterly magazine www.brandquarterly.com Publisher/Design: Vesey Creative Ltd studio@veseycreative.com

As the publishers of Brand Quarterly, we take every care in the production of each issue. We are however, not liable for any editorial error, omission, mistake or typographical error.

The views expressed by all contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Brand Quarterly™

Copyright: This magazine and the content published within are subject to copyright held by the publisher, with individual articles remaining copyright to the named contributor.

Express written permission of the publisher and contributor must be acquired for reproduction.

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Featured Contributors Bill Hoogterp Bill Hoogterp is an executive communication coach with over twenty years of work experience in the nonprofit sector. He developed his own trademarked methodology for teaching public speaking, the Own The Room® course, and founded Blue Planet Training, LLC, a company that teaches public speaking courses all over the world. Hoogterp has coached celebrities, C-Suite executives, and politicians one-on-one in public speaking and communication.

Invited to deliver his first commencement address while still in his twenties, Blue Planet Training founder Bill Hoogterp has been a public speaker for three decades. www.owntheroom.com

Bernard Marr Bernard Marr is one of the world’s leading experts on data and business management. He helps organizations across the globe implement and learn about big data and the new science of winning.

He has written many books including ‘The Intelligent Company’, which outlines how companies can make better use of their data. He regularly writes for LinkedIn, where he has over 100,000 followers (Feel free to connect with Bernard on LinkedIn). www.ap-institute.com

Dionne Kasian-Lew Dionne is the CEO of The Social Executive, a consultancy supporting Boards and senior executives to use social and digital media for business. She’s the author of Stand Out Klout (publishing 2014), The Social Executive: winning in the trillion-dollar social media economy and the eBook Relevance. She is a regular contributor to Leading Company and Smart Company and also writes for Women’s Agenda, Company Director, Uncluttered White Spaces, Medium and Salesforce. Dionne blogs at The Connected Leader (www.dionnekasianlew.com/blog) on leadership including the challenges of leading in the digital era. Dionne is also an author, speaker & blogger at beyourwholeself.com, synthesizing insights from psychology, philosophy and science on the leadership and self-awareness, the self in complexity and the impact of technology on collective intelligence and learning.

Ken Vesey Ken Vesey styles himself as a ‘QA Specialist, People Management Specialist, Facilitator, Implementer, and Technical Writer of policy and procedures’. His passion is towards the small business owner, whether in business or in education.

Over the past 27 years, Ken has compiled a wealth of management knowledge whilst holding the positions of NZQA Panelist & Moderator, Learning Manager at the Employers and Manufacturers Association, and Regional Director of Training for the Order of St John Auckland. www.approachableconsultancy.com

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Andrew Vesey Andrew is Director of the New Zealand and United Kingdom based Graphic Design and Branding Agency, Vesey Creative - the official Brand Guardians for Global Marketing Network (GMN).

Working in partnership with a wide variety of clients around the globe, Andrew’s business experience includes over a dozen years leading design and branding studios and agencies. He is also a member of GMN’s Global Advisory Council Andrew is a strong believer in continually upskilling, learning and staying relevant in business. This ‘education brings growth’ mentality lead him to create Global CMO™ The Magazine, a digital magazine for Professional Marketers, and the magazine you are now reading. www.veseycreative.com

Porter Gale Porter Gale is a marketing expert, public speaker and start-up advisor with over twenty years of experience. She is also the author of Your Network Is Your Net Worth. Her clients include Rocket Fuel, AirPR, ZOZI, WePay, RouteHappy, Sumazi and more. www.portergale.com

Tony Zambito Tony is the creator and today’s leading authority on buyer personas. In 2002, Tony established the first-ever buyer persona development methodology designed specifically for B2B Marketing and Sales. This innovation has helped leading companies gain a deeper understanding of their buyers resulting in improved business, marketing, and sales strategies. Over the past dozen years, Tony has conducted hundreds of buyer interviews and has helped some of today’s leading Fortune 100 companies acquire deep buyer insights. Providing him with a pulse on rapidly changing buying behaviors in the new digital age. www.tonyzambito.com

Mike Freedman Following a career in advertising as an award-winning copywriter and creative director, in 2000 Mike founded Freedthinkers which has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Freedthinkers works with clients in the private and public sectors to understand what is, discover what can be and reach clarity on how to get there.

He is also the author of monthly think-pieces on brands, culture and strategy, trustee of the Impact Trust, and a public speaker. www.freedthinkers.com

Brand Quarterly™

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Featured Contributors Fiona Vesey Fiona is Co-Founder and the Creative Spark at Vesey Creative, the New Zealand and United Kingdom based Branding and Graphic Design agency. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Brand Quarterly and Global CMO™ The Magazine.

She thrives in partnering with people and companies wanting more than just aesthetically pleasing design.

Her initial training lead Fiona to becoming a well respected multi-award winning professional photographer. As an active member in the photographic industry, Fiona sat on the Auckland board for the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography for 3 years. www.veseycreative.com

Andrea Gardner Andrea Gardner is an author, marketer and copywriter, who started her career writing for newspapers and magazines.

Her company Purplefeather specializes in authentic communication, bringing brands to life through the power of story, and has opened the hearts and minds of people and organizations throughout the world with its viral video ‘The Power of Words’. www.purplefeather.co.uk

David Tovey David Tovey is a motivational speaker, coach, consultant and author of Principled Selling – How to Win More Business Without Selling Your Soul, published

by Kogan Page. With over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, David works with individuals and organisations to help them build amazing business relationships and achieve outstanding sales growth with a joined up approach to inbound marketing, social media, sales, major account management and sales leadership. www.principledselling.org/david-tovey

Babar Khan Babar Khan is a Start-up Builder at DYL Ventures, an editor at Trango.co and speaker for the Marketing Association of Pakistan.

DYL Ventures is a Pakistan oriented, seed stage venture fund and consultancy that empowers gifted entrepreneurs. Babar is a partner on the Trango.co project and in attracting foreign investment for sharing economy business models.

Current beneficiaries include the World Bank, The Citizens Foundation, oBeeble and Ephlux. www.dyl-ventures.com

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

From The Web I think design covers so much more than the aesthetic. Design is fundamentally more.

Design is usability. It is Information Architecture. It is Accessibility. This is all design.

Mark Boulton

The 80/20 Rule Of Time Management Perry Marshall offers some wonderfully blunt wisdom: Stop Wasting Your Time.

Click the image to read via Entrepreneur.com

Has Your Business Stayed True To Your Vision?

Many small businesses stray from their original intent.

How to get on track.

Click the image to read via Inc.com

Richard Branson Gives Advice... ... on taking advice!

Click the image to view via Virgin.com.

Brand Quarterly™

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Connect First: Techniques For Owning The Room You get a call from your boss’s boss just as you are boarding a plane. There’s a big problem with a client, and he needs a five-page report from you immediately. You say, “No problem. On it.” You write a beautiful report, but you can’t send it.

There’s no Wi-Fi on the airplane. As you land, shuttle over to your hotel and quickly check in, your cell phone is blowing up. “Where is that report?”

You hustle up to your hotel room, throw down your bags and flip open your laptop. Can you click the “send” email button, or do you have to do something first?

Oh, right.

You first have to connect to the hotel Wi-Fi. Wait, what happens if you hit “send” email before you connect to the Wi-Fi? 10

It doesn’t go anywhere.

It’s the same with all audiences and the content of all presentations. Until you connect with the audience, ain’t nothing going anywhere.

Connect first. Send, second.

Think of it like a cell phone signal. You want a four or five bar signal with your audience. It doesn’t matter if that audience is a small group in a meeting, a big crowd at a conference, millions of people you’re reaching through a video camera, or an audience of one. A four or five-bar signal means you’re message is getting through.

In the business world, the average connection is a hair under two bars. Meeting efficiency averages about 37 percent. On a scale of one to ten, the

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

average business person’s skills as a speaker or communicator would rate about a four. Not bad, but not great. Most people coast by on talent, personality, intelligence and charm—similar to the weekend golfer who plays with fun and flair, but never improves his score. But, when you add technique to talent, skill level shoots up, and so do results. As a speaker, you’ll see the difference in your ability to sell your message and motivate and inspire others. Don’t rent the room, baby. Own it!

Most people can learn the techniques they need to own the room in two days of intense training, but here are some simple tips to help you right now.

Eliminate Weak Language. What is the definition of the word “basically?” It’s a fancy way to say “um.”

Weak language is any word or phrase that does not add value to your message, and up to half of what people say in business is weak language, filler that undercuts your power. Let me just start by saying… in my opinion…in other words… These phrases mean nothing. If all weak language was eliminated, a sixty-minute meeting could be cut to thirty minutes just from that alone.

Paint Pictures, Evoke Emotions. If weak language is the excess fat we want to eliminate from our speech, then strong language is the muscle we want to pack on. We are using strong language when we use our words to paint pictures in the minds of our audience, and evoke emotions in their hearts. This helps us establish an emotional connection with our audience, and makes our content memorable for our audience. Here is a test. If someone can remember what you say three days later, you delivered the content. If they can’t remember what you said three days later, you just presented the content.

Make Eye Contact And Smile. Most people think charisma is the secret to being an amazing speaker.

It’s part of it, but the true secret super power is the ability to read an audience. Once you can do that, there is almost no limit to how good you can become. Make sure you are locking eyes with the people in your audience—not just scanning the room. It’s not just about getting their attention, but their data. Their eyes tell you what content is landing, how they are feeling, how long pauses need to be and what is working best for your personal style.

Modulate Your Voice. No one wants to listen to a monotone drone on and on. When speaking, vary the speed and volume of your voice, using super-fast, staccato/slow, loudness and whispers to accentuate your content. Learn to use pauses to create dramatic effect, and to give the audience time to digest and process what you’ve been saying. Silence is the speaker’s greatest tool.

Use The Space. Mono-spot is the boring cousin of monotone. Move with purpose in whatever space you have, whether you are using your feet to move around a stage, or using your hands on the table in front of you. Harmonize your movements with your content. Change topics, change position slightly.

Move so that your movements punctuate, enhance and emphasize what you are saying.

Involve The Audience. Ask your audience questions. Take quick, fun polls or surveys related to your content. Assign them jobs to do. Play games. Pass a ball or object around the room and ask people to offer a one-word or one-sentence comment.

These are all techniques that Bill Hoogterp help make your audience a Blue Planet Training part of the presentation. It keeps them engaged, brands you as an interesting and dynamic speaker, keeps energy levels high—and gives you a break from speaking.

Get Over Yourself. This three word sentence may sound harsh, but it is the secret to unlocking your greatness. Your presentation is not about you, it’s about the audience. What most people think of as nervousness is really just trapped energy, energy that you can release by getting over yourself, and focusing on your audience. Most people try to overcome nervousness—or fear—with willpower.

How well has that been working? It doesn’t work because the issues is not nervousness.

Demand Feedback. After each presentation, grab one person and ask them two questions: What did I do well? What could I improve? Practicing without feedback will not help you improve. It will just make you more comfortable at the level you are already at. Always ask for the positives first. They are much more important than weaknesses. Building on your strengths is the most direct path to greatness.

Be Yourself. Your style is the perfect style for you.

Your true self is your best self. Let your authentic personality shine through, show your passion for your topic, and you will establish a deep, authentic connection with your audience.

Practice. I am often asked if people like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan are natural born speakers.

The truth is that while some people do have more natural talent than others, persistence does outlast talent. Nobody is born doing a keynote, and most great speakers invest a great deal of time practicing and perfecting their technique. Take advantage of today’s digital technology and video yourself. The camera is always the best public speaking coach in the room.

Brand Quarterly™

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Industry Insights:

How do you balance marketing both the ‘franchise opportunity’ and the ‘business’?

Franchising Chemex www.chemexfranchises.co.uk

The fact is concentrating on the business actually helps the franchise sell itself.

Most prospective franchisees want independence but they also want security. At Chemex we develop business across a range of sectors that directly and indirectly influence a new franchisees turnover. Supplying 60% of the UK’s ambulance services directly affects the majority of franchisees whilst supplying notable names like Heston Blumenthal or G4S is a great reference to use. This promotes the brand and drives prospects to our site.

etyres www.etyres.co.uk/franchise We believe that the key to successfully marketing our franchise opportunity lies in having a strong business. This is why we continually strive to build up the etyres brand with our marketing initiatives. It is all very well promoting the fact that we have been operating for more than two decades and have a tried and tested formula which works, but our prospects want to see that our business is thriving, especially during this tough climate. The core business and brand have to be successful in order for us to be attractive to potential franchise owners.

Mail Boxes Etc. www.mbe.co.uk Everything we do to promote the business to customers also helps market Mail Boxes Etc. to potential franchisees. Our website is a powerful marketing tool, with high visibility of the franchise opportunity, where anyone interested in buying a franchise can find out how to do so. We also have a dedicated team focusing on franchise sales marketing and prospecting: we attend major exhibitions, have a comprehensive franchise sales brochure and our marketing efforts are underpinned by a proactive PR programme. We also see considerable organic growth, with franchisees opening additional MBE stores, which is an excellent form of recommendation.

Granite Transformations www.gtfranchise.co.uk By maintaining the balance between selling into the trade and selling out to the consumer, although in the case of a ‘franchise opportunity’ you need to promote all commercial and administrative aspects of the business offering – the franchise packages, technical and marketing support, training courses, profitability coaching and so on – not simply the product proposition. In fact, there needs to be a constant equilibrium between growing the franchise network, by recruiting suitable entrepreneurs, and creating customer leads for existing franchisees, by publicising the product offering and identifying the local retail showrooms.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Lawnscience www.lawnsciencefranchise.co.uk We spend extensively on marketing and have a simple philosophy when it comes to where we invest our marketing spend. Our first priority is to support our current franchisees, therefore any investment in this area is made before we invest in franchisee recruitment. It might seem a strange way to work, but we have a happy and motivated team and they tend to bring in new franchisees. It seems to work quite well for us.

2B Interface www.2binterface.com Over the years we have developed a unique, extremely cost effective and profitable recruitment solution that has earned us multiple industry rewards. We offer our model as a ready-to-use franchise for others to make a successful business. The great thing about launching a franchise is that you already have the experience of putting together a marketing plan and general set-up of a business. We do both simultaneously.

Hire A Band www.hireaband.co.uk One goes hand in hand with the other. Your web site should have a dedicated section for franchise marketing. When you market your business as a whole, franchise marketing benefits too. Your company ethos should be identical to both markets – honesty, outstanding service and efficiency will always sell both your franchise and your core business effectively.

ComputerXplorers www.computerxplorers.co.uk The ‘franchise opportunity’ and the ‘franchise business’ are two different entities when it comes to marketing; it is the franchisors job to support franchisees and to provide a range of programmes, collateral and advice to help franchisees to maximise their business opportunity. It is also the responsibility of the franchisor to expand their network and part of the marketing of the franchise opportunity is to promote the opportunity to speak with existing franchisees – who will be more inclined to speak positively about the franchise if they are in receipt of a high level of support

Jasper’s www.jaspers-franchise.co.uk Good question, in theory a franchisor should treat each business as a separate entity BUT there is only one franchisor! If you are a global giant this is easier if you are a new or medium growing franchisor this is different. You have to allocated budget and time and be rigid with it, you also must put measurement in place, there is far too much emphasis on ‘what is spent’ rather than what is returned in marketing full stop and even when what is spent is recorded it often doesn’t include time discussing and thinking about the strategies, let alone writing the prose! If it is costing you £15,000 to recruit a franchisee you might want to look at what that might add if you spent that on advertising for your current network – would you NET have more cash in the bank with a happier network?

Brand Quarterly™

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PC PAL www.pcpal.co.uk/franchise The 2 sides of the business actually go hand in hand. By offering the training to new franchisees in-house, we can see firsthand the various learning styles that franchisee prefer and respond to. Some franchisees like physical manuals to read, others prefer video and bullet points/flow charts, while most prefer the one-to-one hands on training offered with supporting documentation and advice. We can see what works and what doesn’t and make changes quickly. This then feeds back into the franchise opportunity we offer where we can refine the type of prospect that we believe will make a successful franchisee. It can be summed up on one word: Kaizen – continuous improvement!

Tea Monkey www.teamonkeyfranchise.com As far as we are concerned we are one business and the franchise element is another part of the opportunity. We see our future franchisees as partners so we are being very selective about who we work with and bring into the brand. Any business is about balance but more importantly about balancing priorities and areas that are critical to the growth and success of Tea Monkey. This goes hand in hand with delighting our customers. Tea Monkey is so much more than tea and we want to get that message across in all of our marketing activity.

Pyjama Drama www.pyjamadrama.com The franchisees are responsible for marketing at a local level (to parents, nurseries and schools) but we also have a national marketing fund that we use to help raise awareness of the brand and we feel that our social media activity also assists with that. It’s probably 50/50 in terms of time spent on marketing the franchise opportunity and time spent on more generic brand awareness marketing.

Stepping Stones for Business www.SteppingStonesForBusiness.co.uk The franchise opportunity and the business have to be treated as two totally separate business streams, with separate business plans, visions and goals. I try to keep them separate by having Marketing Mondays for planning and marketing the business and Franchise Fridays for marketing the franchise.

Ed’s Garden Maintenance www.edsgardenbusinessfranchise.co.uk At Ed’s Garden Maintenance we have two different brand messages. The message for our Franchise opportunity is “growing a successful business” whereas the marketing for customers is that we aim to be “prompt reliable and efficient”. The focus is on delivering a service not an hourly rate. We have two quite separate budgets allocated to attracting each audience which have to work together. i.e. there is a delicate balance between demonstrating how successful a franchisee can be versus the cost of delivering the service not being too expensive.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

IRT Surveys www.irtsurveys.co.uk/franchises We make sure that both efforts are mutually supportive. Effective national marketing of the ‘business’ brings 3 key results: (1) Greater public awareness of the brand and service makes it easier for our Franchisees to sell to their customers; (2) We get more enquiries from potential customers which helps meet the demands of our Franchisees and; (3) We get more enquiries from prospective Franchisees which in turn helps meet the demand from the customer.

Effective marketing of the ‘franchise opportunity’ brings us the greatest number of enquiries from which to choose the best people. Then as Franchisees, those best people ultimately strengthen the ‘business’ and the ‘franchise opportunity’.

Contempo Lettings www.contempolettings.co.uk All of our Franchisees are very pro-active in their own area in terms of promoting their own businesses and building up their contact sphere. We do help with National marketing campaigns which benefit all of our Franchisees and are geared towards the letting business side of the group and attracting new Landlords.

With regards to the Franchise opportunity, whilst all Franchisees are ambassadors for the opportunity, we have a dedicated Business Development Manager, Judith MacDonald, herself a Franchisee, who helps market this aspect through her wide contact sphere, relevant press, social media etc.

Dogknows www.dogknows.biz Yes, it’s important to know who you are talking to but essentially our brand message remains the same to whomever we target. At dogknows, we create positive relationships by nurturing, training and caring for dogs of all ages, so they get the best from life. So, be it our central franchise office or a franchise offering our services we share the same values and by being focussed on putting a dog’s needs first, we are able to balance our business communication and the language we use.

Identifying this was our very first step when embarking on franchising the brand. On a more practical basis, we have separate websites for our dog owning customers and potential franchisees.

Cafe2U www.cafe2u.com/uk/franchise-opportunities There needs to be distinct responsibilities for this laid out in the Operations Manual, and the Franchise Agreement so that everyone clearly understands. Within Cafe2U, everyone recognises that the growth of the network is good for everyone’s business, but the cost and responsibility for franchise marketing is the responsibility of the franchisor. We ask our franchisees to support us, but we make sure it isn’t a significant amount of time. Local business marketing is the responsibility of the franchisees, using the systems and tools provided by the franchisor and their own initiative. Cafe2U’s central marketing fund covers the cost of 90% of our franchisees’ local marketing, like POS material and branded items, which is brilliant!

Brand Quarterly™

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Van Gogh, by Van Gogh

Gauguin, by Van Gogh

Finding Your Brand’s Emotional Truth Vincent van Gogh needed an incentive. He wanted Paul Gauguin to join him in Arles and together begin a movement there that would galvanise the European art scene.

Gauguin, tempted, but undecided was older than Mike Freedman van Gogh, more worldly, Freedthinkers more recognised in the circles van Gogh wished to move. He was studious and carefully contemplated each brush-stroke, whilst the impetuous van Gogh painted fast, fuelled by 16

emotion. They could learn much from each other – but how to give Gauguin that final push. Van Gogh wrote saying he had completed a self-portrait as well as one of Gauguin. Intrigued and flattered, the elder artist came to Arles and the above paintings are what he saw.

Van Gogh’s chair was one he used – the pipe, tobacco and box of onions, as well as the colour palette, display his rustic self-view. Gauguin’s chair reveals a more sophisticated man, the books and multi-coloured carpet show his larger embrace. They are not literal self-portraits – they convey a deeper truth, the Emotional Truth.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

low road, looking for applause in the smoke and mirrors of adland.

The search for emotional truth flows from your purpose, so begin with a journey to the source.

Why do you exist? Why will we be better off because of you?

Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita and Panasonic, hailed by John Kotter, Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School, as the greatest entrepreneur of the 20th century, has this to say: “Happiness of man is built on mental stability and material affluence. To serve the foundation of happiness, through making man’s life affluent is the duty of the manufacturer.

Profit comes in compensation for contribution to society. Profit is a yardstick with which to measure the degree of social contribution made by an enterprise.

If the enterprise tries to earn a reasonable profit but fails to do so, the reason is because the degree of its social contribution is still insufficient.”

Today, as we stumble towards sustainability, organisations that serve a real purpose by adding value to society attract committed employees and loyal customers. Companies will also attract shareholders and analysts burnt and dismayed by the toxic bubbles that the ‘greed is good’ mantra continues to blow up and burst.

We join organisations in the hope that financial reward for hours and inspiration is only part of the deal. Working with others of complementary skills propels us to become the best we can be. We hunger to know what we can achieve together...the difference, however small or large, we can make in this world.

The Search Begins All your product development, service and communications should combine to answer one simple question. “Why should I choose you?”

You can show off your attributes – engine size, special ingredients, investment skills - and receive polite interest. Moving to rational benefits - like fuel consumption, stain removal and expected returns – may put you on the ‘to be considered’ list. But so far, no cigar. You need a powerful emotional connection, a truth to make your own. Omo claims dirt is good, Allan Gray laterally shows us the benefits of long-term thinking whilst 90% of car ads take the

An organisation’s purpose may never be fully achieved – Google will always aspire to “organise the world’s information and make it useful”, Sam Walton’s descendants know they cannot totally succeed in their quest “to give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people”.

A purpose is a direction, not a destination. If ever you do get there, you will need a new place to go. Rather than human beings, we are human becomings.

Brand Quarterly™

“The king was not content with being.

He was striving to become.”

Salman Rushdie – The Enchantress of Florence

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From Purpose To Emotional Truth For brands that bear the organisation’s name – from Nando’s to Nike, from Save the Children to SANBI – the emotional truth connects inner purpose with prospect. The Nike purpose is: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Their emotional truth, best expressed in a TV commercial launched at the time of the London Olympics, showing hundreds of athletes of all ages all over the world, participating rather than winning, is Find Your Greatness.

For multi-brand companies, the purpose should be constant for the organisation, while each brand finds its own emotional truth. Unilever has defined its corporate purpose as “adding vitality to life”. This is how its purpose cascades into attributes, rational benefits and emotional truth for Dove, one of the fastest growing brands in the Unilever stable.

DOVE Product Attribute

Contains moisturising cream

Rational Benefit

Nourishes and protects skin and hair

Emotional Truth

(You don’t have to be a model or film star to) “Feel Beautiful, Every Day”

The insight to feature women of different shapes and sizes in advertising come from research where female consumers complained of adland’s impossibly, perfect bodies. Using this emotional truth led to the highest viewed branded video on YouTube, with 56 million views and counting.

When Dove decided to double its brand territory by bringing out a range for men, research again provided the direction.

“We hear from 73% of men that they’re falsely or inaccurately depicted in advertising” Rob Candelino, Unilever VP-skin-care marketing There were three aggravating stereotypes: • alpha males with chiseled abs driving highpowered sports cars • guys obsessed with winning the affections of women • buffoon dads We wanted something to show real men in real life and what most men in Dove’s target say is “First and foremost, I’m a dad”.

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And that’s what Dove Men + Care showed, in print and TV. The “+ Care” part of the name encapsulates rational benefit and the emotional truth. As the brand cares for your skin, you show your care as a dad. Powerful stuff.

For that younger guy, Unilever has Axe, adding vitality to life in a way that would be a stereotype, but for the humor.

AXE Product Attribute

Selection of male fragrances, renewed annually

Rational Benefit

Protection with a good smell

Emotional Truth

Gives guys the edge in the mating game.

“Goddess Will Surrender”

For their leading washing powder, Unilever captured another emotional truth.

OMO Product Attribute

Unique stain-removing technology

Rational Benefit

Removes awkward stains

Emotional Truth

“Dirt Is Good”

Attributes only convince and excite those who develop them. We give rational benefits half an ear, as they do not answer why – Why should I choose you?

The answer to this question can sometimes be because you are the cheapest, or most accessible, or newest. More often though and best for growth is the answer:- Because you really understand me – you get me.

An emotional truth, whether by Van Gogh, Unilever or Nike contains deep insight on which you can build your communications.

“I think therefore I am” is the statement of an intellectual who underrates toothache. “I feel therefore I am” is a truth much more universally valid.”

Milan Kundera

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

The (Design) Answer TM

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Talk to the Global Marketing Network’s Brand Guardians today. | Brand | Implementation | Design |

Success By Design: 7 Keys To Improved Brand And Marketing Returns They say content is king.

But if that king looks like a pauper, how much respect will they get?

To get the best returns on your brand and marketing spend, you need to have the respect of your target audience. Whether we like it or not, people will almost always ‘judge a book by it’s cover’. If you want people to ‘read your book’, then it needs to be visually appealing and portray the appropriate level of quality and professionalism.

To help you in your mission to improve your returns, here are your seven keys to success.

1. Build A Complete Visual Identity It’s difficult for people to visually represent your brand if they don’t have a clear idea what it looks like. Review your brand manual (if you don’t 20

have one - get one) and find the gaps in your brand. Approved logo and variations, fonts, brand elements, colours, basic messaging and image selection criteria are all important in painting a complete picture for your designer to follow. Once this is done, ensure you have original ‘vector’ files of your logos and brand elements, plus all of your brand fonts. Package these files up with an electronic copy of your brand manual and you can easily supply your complete visual identity to any supplier or media outlet.

2. Systemise For Efficiency And Quality Time (is money) efficiencies and improved quality assurance can both be created through the correct application of design. The foundation stone of this is the systemisation of your brand and visual identity. From here, you can create a number of standardised design elements and templates for regularly re-used materials. Done right, you will end

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

4. Design For Your Target Market With all the market intelligence and customer insights available to us today, and the (positive) peer pressure to be more customer focused, it’s easy to get caught up in ‘the marketing’ and forget that design is a part of that marketing. You’ve put in all this time and energy to make sure your product/ service, brand values, messaging and promotions are just perfect for your target market. So don’t drop the ball and settle on a design just because it appeals to you (unless of course you are the ‘ideal customer’ - then you’re onto a winning formula).

5. Be Willing To Experiment As with the way you try different promotions, and test the same promotion with different groups and at different times of the year, it is also beneficial to be constantly testing your designs. Regularly make small changes (and a major one from time to time) and find out how it affects your promotion results. As with promotions, it’s the measuring and analysing of the results that’s important. Without measurement (and action on that measurement) it’s just change for change’s sake. Remember: adjust the promotion OR the design, not both. Otherwise you won’t know what results they each produced.

6. Avoid ‘Design By Committee’

up with a design toolkit which allows for a great versatility of design within your brand guidelines, without having to reinvent the wheel all the time.

3. Remember: Good Design Is Only An Amplifier Great design on it’s own, more than likely won’t make you a leader in your market. It takes a combination of a complete (and appropriate) brand, a great product/service, solid systems, a wonderful offer, etc, etc. Getting your design right will be the difference-maker with competitors on a similar level to yourself. Don’t sacrifice the rest and hope design alone will get you to the top. A lemon is a lemon, no matter how pretty it is.

On the flip side - bad design alone can torpedo your chances of success.

While getting plenty of feedback is great and securing buy-in from people through consultation is vital, it is important to keep the decision making circle as small as possible. It is the decision-maker’s job to take all the feedback and recommendations received, and action those that are appropriate.

This maintains focus on the brief, plus can save a lot of time and money.

7. Find A Designer You Can Trust Your brand and marketing are vital to the success of your business. Make sure you put them in the hands of someone you have faith in. There will be times when you just don’t know how to go forward and you’ll need some advice you can trust. You also need to know that they are willing to advise you against something if they believe it to be an incorrect decision.

Go forth and conquer with your command of the Seven P’s of marketing: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical Evidence - and your secret weapon - the eighth P: Presentation.

Brand Quarterly™

Andrew Vesey Vesey Creative

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Industry Insights:

Franchising

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given on growing your franchise business?

Dr.FIX www.drfix.co.uk I would say the best piece of advice I got was right at the start of my Franchise Journey. We were shown how to streamline our system’s within the business to make them easy for others to understand and follow. This was an education for myself and my staff as it was a good reminder of how we should carry out our daily duties with precision and in a way that can be replicated.

Chemex www.chemexfranchises.co.uk Back in the day when franchising was the wild west I met a man called Desmond Cook, he was the owner of Safeclean and a stalwart BFA enthusiast. Desmond’s untimely death robbed the franchise community of a great supporter and franchisor.

However the pearl of wisdom he imparted on a young and admittedly naïve manager was “Never forget, business is not just systems, models, marketing or products its people, people with families, sons daughter, wives and parents” “As sure as eggs are eggs if you ever forget that the business will surely fail” Sound words and a script that we could all learn from.

Bright Care www.brightcare.co.uk Be highly selective in your recruitment process. Try to find a franchisee who thinks like you - almost a duplicate of you. You have to get “married” to your franchisees and be absolutely certain that you can commit to them long term and see yourself working effectively together. Franchisees have to be able to get out and “sell” the product and be up for hard graft.

Ovenu www.ovenufranchise.co.uk Tell everybody that you are a franchised business! Let the world know that you’re always on the lookout for new franchisees; especially your customer base. Using a soccer analogy, treat your customers as your supporters. It’s then worth remembering that you have to shoot to score goals. Chances are that the more goals you score the more games you win! Enthuse your supporters by scoring lots of goals and ultimately a few supporters or a family member might want to join the team.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

2B Interface www.2binterface.com My business mentor Peter Landau said that franchises will be similar to having young children to look after and they will require a lot of attention and time. Also Jean- Paul da Costa and Manzoor Ishani advised that launching a franchise project cannot be rushed as I could miss key considerations. It took me a good 2 years to prepare the franchise package for my company, all based on years of experience in the recruitment and PR industry.

Maid2Clean www.maid2cleanfranchise.co.uk There a dozens of marketing avenues that will not provide a franchisor with a tangible return on investment. In the early days focus the majority of your franchise advertising online and never pay the rate-card price. There is always a deal to be had. Only venture into other marketing areas after recommendation from another franchisor.

IRT Surveys www.irtsurveys.co.uk/franchises That the ultimate goal is repetition of quality and success, rather than simply growth by any means.

I want to be confident that anyone who wants to join our network can pick up the phone to any of our existing franchisees and get an honest and positive appraisal of what a great opportunity this is. If our recruitment policy was simply to sell a franchise to anyone who wants one, then we would be saying that growth in itself is more important to our brand than quality. The advice we follow is to put quality and achievement first and then use that success to create and attract growth.

Raring2go! www.getraring2go.co.uk Join the bfa. That was pretty good, solid advice and in many ways it’s true. As a franchise business we came out of the dark and into the light and joining the bfa gave us a significant measure of credibility, status and assurance I don’t think we would have garnered otherwise. It was a brilliant decision. Another thing that has been really helpful is the power and strength of an engaged franchise network. I have worked hard to develop mutual trust and respect with my network and I know are tremendous ambassadors for our business. Knowingly or not, they constantly help to grow and develop our business.

Brand Quarterly™

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Driver Hire www.driverhirefranchise.co.uk It’s vital to recruit the right people and provide the right training. This matters for recruiting head office staff, just as it does for recruiting franchisees and helping them recruit their own people. Driver Hire’s head office has a team of over 50 staff who are passionate about delivering an excellent level of customer service to its network.

Being a recruitment franchise it’s something we’re good at. Besides investing in our people we also invest in the right technology to enable our staff and franchisees to concentrate on their role and growing their business.

Knitting For All www.knittingforall.co.uk Finding the right people to take on a franchise is vital. A good team of franchisees will be wonderful ambassadors for your business as their success will advertise your business to other potential franchisees. Decide on your criteria for ideal candidates and stick to it. It might be tempting to accept anyone with pockets deep enough to pay for a franchise but not everyone who approaches you with enthusiasm to get on board will be good for your business in the long run.

Anytime Fitness www.anytimefitness.co.uk Momentum is everything, with momentum comes growth, understanding and awareness. Once you have these, the support is critical to your franchisees achieving their goals. As a Franchisor, you must ensure that the franchisee feels part of the brand and has the best chance of realising their ambitions of financial freedom.

Cafe2U www.cafe2u.com/uk/franchise-opportunities We try as much as possible to ensure that the management team demonstrate five key behaviours as often as possible: 1. Demonstrate a clear strategy for the brand – make sure everyone understands it and knows how it will benefit them 2. Be fair and consistent in dealings with franchisees – have a policy and stick to it! 3. Listen to franchisees and don’t be afraid to incorporate their ideas and criticisms 4. Care about the franchisees profitability and show that you do 5. Embody the values of the business and brand throughout your own dealings.

Auntie Anne’s www.auntieannes.co.uk The need to consider scalability when starting your Franchise – we have learnt that without systems in place to support the Franchisee in each area of their business (in our case Operational Support, Supply Chain, Marketing, Property) you can end up expanding the Franchise faster than you can support them. In concentrating on growth without support you can find problems grow exponentially which can engender a lack of faith from your existing network.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Hire A Band www.hireaband.co.uk Don’t run before you can walk. The temptation is to go flat out to complete your franchise network. As a new franchisor, you have as much to learn as your franchisees.

Work closely with your initial franchisees, as you’ll be certain to make changes. If you get something wrong early then you have the chance to fix or improve rather than making mistakes on a large scale.

PHP Lettings www.phplettings.co.uk/franchise-opportunities The best piece of advice about recruiting franchisees and growing the business was that we should be selective in our approach. We needed to take the view that we were looking for like-minded people to become members of our team rather than just willing volunteers who happened to have the money to invest.

As a family business growing through franchising this advice has stood us in good stead. Lettings is after all a people business and we seek to develop a large franchise network with a strong team bond comprised of people with shared aims and values.

Prokill www.prokill.co.uk Anticipate where you want to be in ten years and shape the franchise with this in mind.

Don’t simply launch a replica of the core business without proving it can perform in a stand-alone capacity. Don’t recruit just anyone as a franchisee to create cash flow as this will have serious repercussions on performance and recruiting more capable individuals later. Provide a genuine, well supported, route to a profitable future for your franchisees and they’ll provide you with a healthy future as well. Lastly – be firm – it’s your brand, your reputation, your vision – don’t compromise this by acceding to the disparate opinions of your franchisees unless it’s for the good of your brand.

Tea Monkey www.teamonkeyfranchise.com Don’t be in a hurry – do it right and do it well. This certainly fits into our ethos and we are not about scattering the opportunity to anyone who wants a piece. We believe that if we take our time to work closely with franchisees that are most suited to this business and work closely with them then we will be in the best position for scale later on. The investment made by people is hard earned and we respect this enormously.

We are also mindful of geography and the ability to provide on-site support where needed and this takes planned resource. We intend to support our franchise partners every step of the way.

Brand Quarterly™

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The New Science Of Winning The businesses that win in the future are those that apply what I call the science of winning. Science is all about evidence-based insights and using the best available data to draw new conclusions.

Businesses, big or small, that apply the same principles will outperform their competition.

At the moment, 90% of business decisions are not based on good data or the principles of science.

Instead, they are mostly based on a mix of gut-feel, hearsay, anecdotes and poor data. This also means that most business decisions are not as good as they could be.

Today, there is no excuse not to make solid decisions supported by good data. If there is one certainty at the moment, it is the fact that we already have more data at our fingertips than we need and the rate at with we are generating new data is scary. If we take all the data in the world that we created from the beginning of civilisation until 2008, the same amount of data will be generated every 10 minutes by the end of this year!

The data explosion is fuelled by the digitalisation of our world, where we consume music digitally (which leaves a data trace), where we search for 26

things online (which leaves a data trail), where we have conversations over email or on Facebook and Twitter (which is all recorded and stored). In addition to this, every minute we are uploading 200,000 new photos to Facebook and 100 hours of video to YouTube. Finally, sensors generate a plethora of data: Our smart phones track our position, our wearable devices like UpBand or FitBit as well as smart watches (which are just starting to enter the market) track our calorie consumption, activity levels, sleep quality, and soon so much more.

For many of these technologies it is early days, their ability to capture and transmit data will only improve and add to an unstoppable data tsunami.

So, what does this now mean for business? Aren’t our corporations clogged up already with data, information, KPIs, management reports? The answer is yes, but 90% of it is never used to inform decision-making. The point I want to make here is that we have to stop collecting and reporting the unnecessary and old-fashioned data and embrace the new world of ‘Big Data’ (the term we use to describe our ability to collect and analyse the masses of data that is coming at us).

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

business. Start with your strategic objectives and priorities and identify the key questions you need to answer. Then think about the data you might need to answer the question, but think ‘Big Data’, not just the small stuff you have collected for years.

Let’s look at some practical Bernard Marr examples of how companies Advanced Performance Institute apply the new science of winning. For example, retailers can combine data collected from loyalty cards and internal transactional systems with social media data and Internet browser logs to detect and leverage changing buying patterns and trends. Applying these tools makes is easy for retailers to predict, for instance, that a woman is pregnant, simply based on the changing buying patterns (vitamins, pregnancy tests, baby magazines, baby cloths, etc.)

This allows retailers to target pregnant women at the right time (e.g. second and third trimester) with promotions for baby related goods.

I can hear you ask your next question: With our existing IT budget and infrastructure we are struggling to manage what we already have, how could we possibly leverage ‘Big Data’? It is easier and cheaper than you think. There is more data out there than you might think. For example, many government agencies now make their data available for free. Many companies do the same – just think of Google analytics or Google Trends.

They collect the data and crunch it for you. For more specific needs you can now rent software and hardware, so called SaaS – Software as a Service, and cloud computing solutions. All this makes it very easy for small and medium sized companies to do the kind of stuff only the big boys could do a few years back.

Big data is currently transforming the world of marketing. Let’s look at what some of the big boys are doing already: Wal-Mart is able to take data from your past buying patterns, their internal stock information, your mobile phone location data, social media as well as external weather information and analyze all of this in seconds so it can send you a voucher for a BBQ cleaner to your smart phone – but only if you own a barbeque, the weather is nice and you currently are within a 3 miles radius of a Wal-Mart store that has the BBQ cleaner in stock.

But before you start here is a big warning: Remember that more data does not guarantee better decisions. We need the ‘right’ data to support your most critical business questions, which brings us back to the science part.

Branding is another area that is being transformed using Big Data Analytics. Companies realize the power of social media to boost and damage brands. We have all seen how stories like a single tweet from a disgruntled airline passenger can go viral in minutes. The brand Gatorade, for example, has created a social media analytics room, from where it monitors, analyses and reacts to social media stories 24hours a day. And again, a tool to detect what people are saying about your brand, including a sentiment analysis of whether they are saying positive or negative things, is available for free!

Good science is about identifying the questions you want to answer and then collecting the right data to answer them. The same should apply in

There are no excuses anymore and not embracing the new science of winning will simply mean that you’ll be left behind.

Brand Quarterly™

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Connect, Convince, Convert: 3 Steps To Compelling Web Copy Making The Right Connections One of the questions I get asked a lot at courses and seminars is: “How does writing online copy for websites or blogs etc, differ from writing copy for offline materials such as brochures and flyers?”

And the honest answer is that there are certainly differences... but not as many as you would expect.

For example, whatever you’re writing the purpose remains the same. You want to bring someone’s attention to something.

So you’ll need to start with a headline or opening sentence that’s really going to get them to sit up and take notice. You probably want to persuade them to follow your train of thought for a little longer before getting them to actually do something. In other words, you’ll want to encourage them to connect before you convince and convert them to your way of thinking. Sounds blunt when you put it like that doesn’t it? But that’s fundamentally the purpose of marketing. And along with good spelling and grammar, it’s the same whether you’re writing online or offline materials.

There is one major difference though and it’s the reason why just bunging your brochure text online is really not going to work. Whereas the job of a glossy brochure is to attract someone’s attention while they’re busy doing something else, when most people come to your website they are likely to already have pre-formed questions in their minds about what they’re looking for. So your job is to get inside their heads and work out what those questions might be in advance... and then answer them. To do that most effectively, there are a few things you need to know. Who your customer is, what motivates them, what demotivates them and how your competitors are responding to their needs.

Phew. That’s a lot of detective work right there upfront. I hope you brought a spade.

Imagine understanding exactly what someone’s biggest headache is and what they may have tried to relieve it with in the past, and knowing that you have a specially formulated pill crafted just for them that will take away their headache in minutes. What a sense of relief you’re going to be able to bring to them! And that’s exactly how you connect with people. By identifying what their problem or pain is and presenting them with a tailored solution.

We all want to feel that we’re being spoken to directly, that the message we’re reading was written especially for us so your copy should feature three times more ‘you’s’ than ‘I’s or ‘we’s’. Why? Because we all like to feel special, unique. I’m sure at some point you’ve received a piece of direct mail or a letter that starts with ‘Dear Customer’. How does that make you feel? Like one of the crowd probably. Unless they’re offering you something you’ve been desperate for, you are very unlikely to read any further. So keep that in mind when you write your copy. For you to be able to market effectively to your ideal customer, you have to write a script specifically for that one person. And that means getting inside their heads. Who are they?

What interests them? What do they want to know?

What kind of questions and objections are they likely to have? How can you make their life better? Who do you most want to serve? What reasons are you going to give them to tell all their friends about you?

Convince Them You’re The Real Deal If you look at some of the most successful brands, they often use stories to hook us in. For those of you who were around in the UK during the 1980s, you might remember the Nescafe Gold Blend adverts on TV which centred around a couple on the edge of an affair. The whole script revolved around whether or not their relationship would go beyond a cup of coffee! It was every bit as compelling as a soap opera storyline.

Stories create an experience that connects with our hearts, not just our intellect. They weave an invisible but very strong thread between a brand and its customers. So let’s take a look at how you can use stories to bring your message alive and convince your customers to follow wherever you lead.

How did your brand originate? What’s your unique story? Perhaps, like my dad, you started out in your garden shed. His lifelong ambition was to create something practical that people would feel comfortable sharing their homes with so he designed a range of home office furniture with a real wood veneer. He would travel around the highend furniture stores with a prototype in the back of

his car and whenever we holidayed anywhere it invariably involved visiting several furniture shops on the way. Twenty years later he runs a very successful business supplying some of the biggest retailers in the UK. If your brand can tell an interesting story that people can identify with, which is backed up by a solid demonstration of the founder’s original values, you’ll deliver a very strong and authentic customer experience. And because people trust stories more than they trust general information, those customers will follow you anywhere. They’re also much more likely to tell their friends about you.

Convert Lookers To Bookers So by now you’ll know what you’re passionate about, why that matters to your reader and exactly who that reader is. You’ll also understand the problem you solve and what makes your product or service stand out.

But what are the missing ingredients that are going to give your reader the final nudge they need to commit to you and make a purchase or sign up to your list or rave about you to their friends on Facebook?

Andrea Gardner Purpule Feather

Social proof. In the form of testimonials, statistics and any positive PR or press coverage you’ve received.

This is also the part of your copy where you need to address and overcome any objections your customer is likely to have by answering questions directly and providing reassurance.

Finally there’s the Call to Action - where you tell them to buy now, with urgency. And it’s where most web copy falls flat on its face. I’m amazed at the number of times I’ve read a really compelling piece of copy, only to have it kind of wimp out at the end.

This is where the energy needs to be ramped up!

Sometimes it helps to write this piece of your content first. What do you want them to do as a result of engaging with your content? People expect to be reminded of the benefits and be told exactly what to do next.

So there you have it – 3 steps to compelling web copy. One extra tip to finish: offer a money back guarantee and you’ll improve your conversion rates dramatically without increasing the number of people who abuse your generosity.

Brand Quarterly™

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Be Heard, Be Seen - With Insightful Branding

Tony Zambito Buyer Personas

When we engage in discussions or group meetings, there usually are several people who like to observe and listen. Pushing their seat back, as to take in the full view from afar. Becoming a spectator as opposed to a participant. In the end, leaving the participants to wonder and guess at what spectators of a discussion or meeting are really thinking.

In similar ways, branding can create an environment of spectators to our brands. Leaving branding and messaging communicators with doubt. Doubt about having the right dialogue and conversations with interested customers and prospective buyers.

Oftentimes, branding and messaging efforts can amount to a guessing game.

It does not have to be this way.

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Choice And Insight Understanding how to present meaning in your brand and communicate meaningful messages has become more complex. The advent of new advances in technologies is allowing buyers to quietly sit as virtual spectators. Making choices to either engage or remain spectators. How to prompt buyers to engage versus remaining virtual spectators is the end goal many have when it comes to branding and messaging.

One way many organizations are attempting to engage buyers with branding and messaging is through insight. Buyer insight gives us the pathway to a very critical component of branding and messaging. Which is, a deep dive into understanding: • • • • •

How buyers think What perceptions matter What attitudes influence decisions How certain beliefs shape their behavior What goals drive their behavior and actions

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Gaining deep insight into this level of understanding provides the first layer foundation for branding.

Informing us on what branding and messaging platform will foster engagement versus virtual observation. More importantly, creating branding and messages, which provide buyers with clarity in the choices which can be made.

Talking To The Right People Understanding audiences today is not as clear as it once was. The physicality of knowing audiences has given way to a need to understand audiences in the new digital age. Presenting a host of confounding challenges to branding and messaging professionals. The older practice of using one generalized platform for branding and messaging is no longer adequate.

themselves or farm out to qualitative research professionals.

2. Develop believable personas.

Personas are archetypal representations of your users, customers, or prospect buyers. They serve as a communications platform on breaking down complex insights into meaningful understanding.

Communicating important insights related to goals, attitudes, and perceptions.

3. Create persona-based stories.

Before jumping to branding and messaging, make attempts to understand the story of your customers and prospect buyers. You can do this by developing stories about your buyers with your teams. Themes and storylines important to branding and messaging will begin to emerge.

To overcome the limitation of using a generic platform for branding and messaging, companies can begin to utilize buyer insights to not only understand their audiences better – but also know their differences. Insight helps us to craft branding and messaging to specific audiences. Connecting with the specific goals and attitudes most important to a certain audiences.

4. Map branding and messaging to specific personas.

Knowing the differences as well as the gaps buyers are experiencing helps in creating responsive engagement. Providing a means for decreasing virtual spectatorship and facilitating a multi-faceted virtual branding experience. Helping to solve a critical dilemma. Which is, how to serve up a consistent branding and messaging experience in multiple forms of digital media as well as channels.

One of the aims of buyer insights is to inform media and channel preferences on the part of buyers.

5. Create insight message maps.

Insightful Branding Game Plan Incorporating buyer insights into branding and messaging development can be a significant game changer for organizations. Making this important business practice less of a guessing game plan to a deliberate plan. Helping to engage customers and buyers into a dynamic experience. Here are several key components you can use to put an Insightful Branding game plan into place: 1. Conduct buyer insight research.

Taking time to truly understand customers and audiences is the first big step. Depending on scale, some organizations can find the means to do this

When developing branding and messaging platforms, focus on how each platform will be unique to audience personas, which have been derived from insights. Utilize the insights learned for each to build-in the required nuances to create engagement.

When insights are clearly identified, it is important to create insight-based message maps. Allowing you to map back branding and messaging to specific insights as well as the identified goals of your audience. Helping to create a very targeted brandmessaging platform for specific audiences.

Being Heard In The New Digital Age For today’s savvy organizations to succeed in the new digital age, it will take deep and profound insights into how buyers think and engage. This can no longer be a guessing game or a conference room exercise. What is at risk is this: if branding and messaging is not insights-based, then you may have an overwhelming amount of virtual spectators but no engagement.

When this happens, virtual spectators begin to tune out. And, when they tune out, all the hard work you have put into branding and messaging will not be heard. To be heard today and rise above the loud digital humming confronting buyers and customers requires adopting Insightful Branding. Helping you to be both seen and heard.

Brand Quarterly™

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Industry Insights:

Franchising

How do you ensure brand and marketing consistency across your franchise network?

Ableworld www.ableworldfranchise.co.uk This is a very important aspect of the franchise especially as we expand across the UK. Inconsistent or poor marketing by one or more franchises can create problems for all franchises so the first step is to help franchisees understand the need for a universal approach. Some marketing is done centrally and we have a comprehensive Marketing Manual for franchisees to follow. The manual also includes the Ableworld Brand Guidelines. Finally, our regular franchise support visits give us an opportunity to ensure a consistent approach and protect the brand image for the benefit of the franchise network.

Little Kickers www.littlekickers.co.uk During upfront training we explain Little Kickers brand guidelines, and emphasise the importance of adhering to these. We also train franchisees how to use our materials, which are accessed via an online database, which enables franchisees to view templates for an extensive range of formats (flyers, brochures, banners etc) and customize them. If franchisees need materials or formats which are not included within the online database, we either have them developed at Head Office level and then add them to the database, or the franchisee can have the materials developed themselves, and run them by the Head Office Marketing Team for approval.

The Interface Financial Group www.interfacefinancial.co.uk Brand consistency is relatively easy. The franchise agreement is firm that brand guidelines be followed. The brand “bible” is clear and the marketing department who have to sign off any communications are both helpful and responsive which ensures that there is really no reason for franchisees to go off-piste. Marketing consistency is further aided by this and a Cloud based repository of pre-approved leaflets, brochures, emails and other communications, regularly added to and updated.

What this does not control is what we might call personal marketing messages – verbal and written – from franchisees. Here it is about training, training and training.

Saks www.saks.co.uk We invest a great deal of time and money into ensuring all Saks people are fully trained in the brand’s ethos of making each and every customer feel special. This ultimately helps harness the team behind the brand and ensures a consistently high level of service delivery across the network. To ensure a consistent brand image we provide strict brand guidelines to enable salons to produce the highest quality consumer communications. A salon assets disk with POS and advertising templates is also made available. National marketing campaigns targeting salons customers direct also ensure a consistent message.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Providing working capital for business

WABBA www.wabba.co.uk/franchise_UK.php By having a fully operational blueprint in place, covering all product and service delivery from us to our franchisees, and then from our franchisees to their clients, we are able to keep a smooth and uncomplicated, yet highly synchronised and efficient product delivery. Our main online learning and assessment platforms, coupled to our ISO 9001 Quality Assurance Programme, plus regular visits to our franchise outlets, ensure that our franchisees keep to what has become known in our industry as ‘The WABBA Way’.

Granite Transformations www.gtfranchise.co.uk This is an ongoing task, since we need to promote a uniform brand message across the national franchise network. Entrepreneurial franchise owners have their own ideas on how best to promote to their customers, which we channel through a national marketing committee and an internal approvals procedure, so that we maintain branding disciplines and meet consumer advertising guidelines. We have developed an online resource, the Hub, where franchise owners can browse all the current advertising, point of sale, direct marketing and print options, which can then be tailored with their own showroom locations.

Wagging Tails www.waggingtailsfranchise.co.uk When a franchisee takes on a franchise they are buying the brand and the good reputation of that brand so ensuring consistency is paramount. As part of the franchise cost our franchisees get all the branded material they need to run their business, from business cards to gazebo’s to car decal! If after that a franchisee needs another item of clothing or some balloon’s we have suppliers in place. All the marketing material is produced in house and personalised for each franchisee. Not only does this control over brand and marketing makes consistency easier for us to ensure but it saves time and money for our franchisees because it’s all been done for them.

Card Connection www.card-connection.co.uk All the branding and marketing material required by our franchisees is supplied by Card Connection’s head office. This includes promotional flyers for product launches and greetings card display equipment and point of sale material. Our brand is a particularly important asset to our franchisees, as our valued retail customers have come to trust it and associate it with our quality greeting cards and accessories. Our dedicated in-house team develop the ideas and designs – for example we recently revamped our point of sale material. The concept was rolled out across the network and now shows off our greetings cards on their displays to the very best advantage!

Maid2Clean www.maid2cleanfranchise.co.uk By insisting that franchisees follow clear the guidelines in our operations manual and that they follow an approval process for new designs. All online and printed matter needs to be pre-approved by Head Office. We encourage franchisees to spot infringers and will pursue third parties that attempt to pass-off our intellectual property rights.

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Raring2go! www.getraring2go.co.uk By working closely and cohesively with our network of franchisees we all see, appreciate and value the equity of a united and strong Raring2go! brand. We monitor where and how our logos are used, offer guidance, support and assistance whenever necessary to ensure it is used correctly. We provide a wide range of marketing collateral so they recognise that there is a strong family tie in of all our public facing branding. If necessary we use head office buying power to assist the network so they enjoy cost effective acquisition and we ensure adherence to our brand values.

Bang & Olufsen www.beoretailer.com Bang & Olufsen employ a permanent Marketing Specialist in each country to work specifically and closely with our Franchisees. Working to our strong brand marketing guidelines, we ensure consistency and performance through regular contact and meetings, providing the necessary support to each partner. Digital and physical marketing materials are supplied to each dealer, guaranteeing clear communication to our prospective clients and customers.

Belvoir Lettings www.belvoirfranchise.com Belvoir’s dynamic, award-winning marketing team works hard to raise the brand profile and promote franchise owners in the trade, property and national press.

Business mentors regularly monitor, telephone and visit offices to ensure Belvoir’s system and brand standard is fully understood and adhered to.

“With a strongly supported and recognised brand, Belvoir with its distinctive logo and excellent marketing plan enables me to take the best of this and weave it into a dynamic and highly successful local campaign. From Belvoir branded cars, to local marketing campaigns, Belvoir supports and educates the network to ensure a consistent and compliant message.” Simon Bell, Belvoir Telford

Wilkins Chimney Sweep www.franchisechimneysweep.co.uk Our franchisees love our brand and are excellent gatekeepers of it as a result.

They tell us the branded vans are their best marketing tool, with our logo standing out amongst the competition. To protect our brand we design all our franchisee’s marketing collateral, gratis using just one printer. Franchisees must present any new publicity material they want to use at an audit meeting. Our brand guidelines are clearly laid out in the operations manual, which franchisees often overlook, so reminding them how important the manual is and how to get the best out of it is something we reinforce regularly.

Business Doctors www.businessdoctors-franchise.co.uk Business Doctors franchisees receive marketing training as part of our intense training programme. During this we provide brand and social media guidelines to ensure brand consistency across the network. In addition we provide all our franchisees with a complete marketing tool kit that includes templates for email campaigns, online and offline advertisements, flyers and presentations. Our recently appointed brand manager is also on hand to provide marketing support.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

®

Prokill www.prokill.co.uk The Prokill identity is protected by trademark and our robust legal agreement with franchisees commits them to use only approved applications of it, which are detailed in published guidelines. Although the majority of our corporate presence is generated from Head Office (hence easier to control) it’s human nature for suppliers and franchisees to apply their own interpretations of identity and brand whenever time pressures, space limitations or a lack of brand awareness creeps in. We offer an artwork service to circumvent this.

We’re ever conscious that diligently applied branding allows us to ‘punch above our weight’ against the household names in our industry and attract blue chip customers with our strong consistent visibility in the marketplace.

Century 21 www.estate-agency-franchise.co.uk Brand consistency is absolutely vital to us; the Century 21 UK Marketing Team provide digital, print and PR support to the network, assisting them from day one, providing everything needed for business launches plus initial and ongoing marketing. We employ a team of graphic designers within our Marketing Team to create artwork; whether a standardised proof which we can prescribe to our whole network or a bespoke request for an individual office. We have created online portals which act as the office’s marketing toolboxes. They are able to download anything they need, including brand guidelines, design elements and advertising and press release templates. The offices can personalise and order approved stationary online through our Brand Demand platform.

PHP Lettings www.phplettings.co.uk/franchise-opportunities We started with the premise that the PHP Lettings Brand should be simple, attractive to our target audience and be easily understood. It should also reflect our ethical, modern approach to the property lettings market.

To ensure consistency across the network, we centralised control of the various marketing elements while also providing easy access to them for our franchisees. In that way we ensure brand consistency whilst fully supporting our network’s ongoing marketing effort.

Franchisees benefit from our marketing experience and support but also from the training we give them to ensure that they always deliver a consistent message.

Auntie Anne’s www.auntieannes.co.uk We have international brand guidelines; however, within this there are some country to country variations which allow our brand to be adapted in each territory. In the UK we have a central marketing fund which is paid into by each Franchisee and is administered by our Marketing Manager – in this way we centrally create seasonal marketing promotions and work with each Franchisee to ensure it is applied to the stores within the brand standards. The franchisees also have access to our approved designers to create posters/vouchers/counter cards and various other in store materials for regular promotions. Our designers are well versed on our brand guidelines and therefore Franchisees will always maintain the consistency required.

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Networking 2.0: Your Network Is Your Net Worth If you’re like many, the topic of networking isn’t your favorite dinner party conversation. Many perceive networking as boring or they equate it with “schmoozing.” Even for me, the thought of walking into a room of strangers used to fill me with anxiety.

However, a couple of years ago I woke up and realized how full my life had become. My career and social life were rich and my level of happiness was at an all time high. I sat in gratitude and realized 36

my success wasn’t just because of hard work – much of it was directly correlated to the people in my life and in my network.

Either by fate or design, I met a literary agent that believed in my concepts and ultimately I wrote a book called Your Network Is Your Net Worth. If you are one of the millions who are aspiring to do better— in work or relationships— I’m thrilled to share some of my core ideas with you.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

networking is transformational or an inside game first.

As executives, we spend hours crafting strategies and defining messaging and sales plans but often fail to chart our own course by defining our own passions and purpose. Networking based on values and passions is not only more natural, I believe that seeking out and working in collaboration with others who share your interests can be the basis for building a strong network foundation, enabling you to reach a higher level of success than you would on your own.

2. Define Your Passions And Purpose With The Funnel Test Based on 20 years of experience in marketing, I’ve created a simple test that I call “The Funnel Test” to help you clarify your personal passions and purpose (see diagram on following page). Over the years, I’ve worked with many companies and found the ones with lucid and succinctly described visions are more likely to succeed than those with unclear or highly complex visions. Some companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars defining their brand positioning, core values and vision. Yet as individuals, we often don’t take the time to clearly articulate our own passions or purpose.

Imagine that you have five floors of elevator stops and you need to convince someone to be your business partner while you ride up together. Or you are given three minutes on a stage in front of your peers and you have to describe your personal mission.

Porter Gale What would you say? How would you create a memorable connection?

Your Network Is Your Net Worth

3. Recognize How Technology Has Changed How We Connect

1. Approach Networking As Transformational Not Transactional If you remember one concept remember this: networking should NOT be viewed as a series of transactions. The old way to network involved climbing a ladder for individual benefit. The past was about competition, pursuit of materialism and “keeping up with the Joneses.” In today’s model,

Technology has accelerated networking, reduced the degree of separation between contacts, amplified our global playing field and redefined the job prospecting process. Technology is speeding up everyone’s reaction time and changing how and when we connect. Because of technology, the degree of separation between our contacts has reduced. The team at PeopleBrowsr, a company that has analyzed Twitter data from 2007 to the present, has a hypothesis that on a global level, we’re four degrees apart; on a community level (i.e., fitness lovers), we’re three degrees apart; and on a niche level (i.e., those who love kite surfing), we’re two degrees apart.

The world has moved from the famous “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” to two, three or four degrees of

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The Funnel Test

Passion

Passion

Passion

Sweet Spot

TONE

Purpose

separation from you. For the brand community, the impact of technology on connecting is significant.

Most likely, every reader of this article is linked by fewer than three degrees of separation. With this in mind, consider the role of reputation, job performance and your personal brand as you navigate the business community and build your connections.

It is clear that technology has changed how we network and make connections. If you use technology wisely, you can use it to find new contacts and nurture global connections, and you can transform your deal making and job prospecting or recruiting. My advice is to embrace rather than shun the new online tools and social sites and to recognize how technology has changed how we network.

4. Focus On Giving More Than Getting The last concept I’d like to share is about the power of helping others. The phrase I’ve coined to help you remember this idea is “Give Give Get”; that is, put greater energy into giving than receiving.

Amy Rao, the CEO of Integrated Archive Systems said, “The more you give, the more you get. I feel incredibly privileged, beyond privileged. I never dreamed I would have the life I have. I grew up on the lower end of the middle class.” Ms. Rao feels that giving back and helping are keys to happiness.

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She also manages her sixty-plus-person team at the office based these concepts: “The greatest joy isn’t when they bring in the big elephant; what I love is seeing when one of them gives back. If they are giving a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars or a day of time, that is all I care about. What are you giving back? That’s what defines us.”

I believe the key to unlocking the power of connections is helping others when you don’t expect anything in return. If you put giving back and helping others at the center of your networking and relationship building, you are likely to have more impactful and stronger relationships, among other benefits. I encourage you to think about the value of your connections. Time and time again I’ve found that the people and relationships in my life have a direct impact on my feelings of happiness and the business opportunities that land in my path.

Remember to look inside first, outside second. If you focus on your passions and reorganize your networking around your values and beliefs, you will discover the kind of lasting relationships, personal transformation, and, ultimately, tangible wealth that are the foundation for happiness and success.

If you have any questions or networking tips you’d like to share, feel free to connect with me at @portergale.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

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Developing Your Change Management Plan If we are serious about making productive and sustained changes to our business, we need to follow a logical process.

As highlighted in the previous articles, the biggest part of any change is the ‘thinking’ stage. Unfortunately many organisations stop as this point Ken Vesey and put the project into the Approachable ‘too hard basket’. How, after so Consultancy much thought can you delegate the project to the too hard to do basket? You are actually nearly 75% of the way to making the change.

Ideally your plan should be put down on paper in a form that staff can understand. Use whatever format works best for you and your staff. You may want to have a more detailed copy that includes information that general staff members do not need to know (e.g., potential obstacles).

In essence, the development of a change management plan uses the same skills required to plan any project.

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Stage 1.

Begin the Plan by stating the problem/issue at the top of the page.

Stage 2.

Write a very clear concise paragraph which explains ‘Why’ the change needs to occur. Remember you will need to sell this need to those going through the change process. Imagine this paragraph as the organisational statement that is going to convince others to contribute to your growing business because it appears to be a ‘sure punt’ which will provide the contributor a healthy return on investment.

Stage 3.

Write a very clear concise paragraph which explains ‘How’ the change is going to assist the organisation to move forward and achieve even greater efficiency and productivity

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Stage 4.

Stage 5.

Identify and write down the major stages or phases you think the organisation will need to follow to reach the end point. I use the word ‘think’ advisedly as it is not until the action plan is in action that the real problems come to the surface.

Select your sponsor or sponsors. In change projects, the normal hierarchy of management control is often broken as the project stretches across many parts of the organisation. This hierarchy is replaced with sponsorship, where individual sponsors in the organisation take on the temporary role of providing the formal authority by which changes are made.

The same person can be an initial and key sponsor.

Be specific with your stages/phases. Remember these can be the milestones or measurable and observable points which need to be reached before we can move any further forward. For each identified stage or phase, involve the planning team in: • Identifying and determining the detailed steps that will need to be accomplished under the stage before we move on or can say the stage/phase has been fully completed.

• Identifying what resources are going to be needed to carry out the project. Resources include employees and their skill sets, along with potential outside resources like consultants or trainers.

• Setting appropriate budgets. Staff will get frustrated if you are asking them to complete a task, but do not provide them the necessary funding to do so. Be realistic with your budget.

• Identifying potential obstacles. There are several things that could get in the way of the change being implemented effectively.

List these in your change management plan. Though you cannot anticipate all of them, identify what you can and create contingency plans to help you work around them if they arise.

• Identifying how the potential changes within the stage/phase will impact on and affect different groups of people within and outside the organisation. Looking at how the change will affect the entire organisation is important.

However, many change managers fail to consider how each separate department will have to deal with the changes being made. Discuss with department leaders how the anticipated changes might affect their schedules, workload, and resources. Also, look at how the change will affect your customers.

• Setting a time frame for the stage. The estimated pace of the change will have a large influence on how effectively the change is implemented, as well as how people respond. Move too slowly and you lose momentum and interest. Move too quickly and staff members will feel confused or disoriented. Select an appropriate pace for your organisation.

• Initiating sponsor: This is the person who starts the change project and may well be the person with whom you meet at the first meeting.

• Key sponsor: This is one person (often the most senior manager) who can resolve the stickiest of problems, such as differences between other primary sponsors, and who provides the ultimate authority for the project, and may have a hand in direction and approval.

• Primary sponsors: This is a small group of managers whose support is critical and who have sufficient clout to unblock most problems, including problems with secondary sponsors. They are sometimes also called ‘sustaining sponsors’ and often work together as a core team.

• Secondary sponsors: These are managers whose support is needed, albeit at a limited level. They are important at least as they have the ability to block change. However, if they were all to be members of the core team, then that team would become unwieldy and difficult to manage.

Stage 6.

You cannot over-communicate when you are asking your organisation to change. I have never worked as a change agent with an organisation in which employees were completely happy with communication. Communication is one of the toughest issues in organisations at the best of times.

I would offer the following recommendations about communication for effective change management.

• Communicate consistently, frequently, and through multiple channels, including speaking, writing, video, training, focus groups, bulletin boards, Intranets, and more about the change.

• Communicate all you known about the changes, and as speedily as the information becomes available. Make it very clear to staff that your bias is toward instant communication, so some of the details may change at a later date.

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• Provide significant time for people to ask questions, request clarification, and provide input. If you have been part of a scenario in which a leader presented changes, on overhead transparencies, to a large group, and then fled, you know what bad news this is for change integration.

• Clearly communicate the vision, the mission, and the objectives of the change management effort. Help people to understand how these changes will affect them personally.

• Communication is a “conversation.” It is twoway and real discussion must result. It cannot be just a presentation.

• The change sponsors need to spend time conversing one-on-one or in small groups with the people who are expected to make the changes.

• Communicate the reasons for the changes in such a way that people understand the context, the purpose, and the need.

• Listen. Avoid defensiveness, excuse-making, and answers that are given too quickly. Act with thoughtfulness.

• Ensure leaders or change sponsors are available, daily when possible, to mingle with others in the workplace.

• Hold interactive workshops and forums in which all employees can explore the changes together, while learning more. Use training as a form of interactive communication and as an opportunity for people to safely explore new behaviours and ideas about change and change management. All levels of the organisation must participate in the same sessions.

• Communication should be proactive • Provide opportunities for people to network with each other, both formally and informally, to share ideas about change and change management.

• Publicly review the measurements that are in place to chart progress in the change management and change efforts.

• Publicise rewards and recognition for positive approaches and accomplishments in the changes and change management.

Celebrate each small win publicly.

Stage 7.

Identify the likely sources of resistance. Do not be surprised by resistance! Comfort with the status quo is extraordinarily powerful. And fear of moving into an unknown future state creates anxiety and stress, even if the current state is painful. Project teams and change management teams should expect resistance and work to address it and mitigate it but they should never be surprised by it.

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When the project is getting started, be proactive and specific about where resistance is likely to come from and the likely objections that drive this resistance. Then, act on this knowledge ahead of time before the resistance impacts the project.

These are some likely sources of resistance for most changes: • Employees that are highly invested in the current way of doing work • People who helped create the current way of doing work that will be replaced • Employees who expect more work as a result of the change • Those who advocated a particular alternative, say Option B, when Option A was ultimately selected • People who have been very successful and rewarded in the current way of doing work Each of these groups are likely sources of resistance and should be addressed proactively in the change lifecycle with targeted tactics for mitigating these objections.

Managing resistance should not be solely a reactive tactic for change management practitioners.

There are many proactive steps that can be used to address and mitigate resistance that should be part of the change management approach on a project. For example during the creation of the change management strategy, anticipate points of resistance and generate special tactics.

Managing resistance is ineffective when it simply focuses on the symptoms. The symptoms of resistance are observable and often overt - such as complaining, not attending key meetings, not providing requested information or resources, or simply not adopting a change to process or behaviour. While they are more evident, focusing on these symptoms will not yield results. To be effective at managing resistance, you must look deeper into what is ultimately causing the resistance. Effective resistance management requires identification of the root causes of resistance - understanding why someone is in resistance, not simply how that resistance is manifesting itself.

Employees: the number one reason employee’s resist change is a lack of awareness of why the change was being made. If no one makes a compelling case for why the change is being proposed, employees are left wondering “why?” which drives resistance.

Managers: the number one reason for manager resistance is a lack of awareness about and involvement in the change. If Managers are not told why the change is happening and not had their input solicited, this will ultimately result in resistance to the change.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

A final note on resistance to change - resistance is ultimately an individual phenomenon. While benchmarking and analysis can identify broadly the root causes for resistance, it is important to ultimately address resistance by individuals at the individual level. The best way to identify the root cause of resistance is through a personal conversation between a resistant employee and their supervisor, which leads us to my final tip for managing resistance; engage the “right” resistance managers.

Stage 8.

The “right” resistance managers in an organisation are the senior leaders, middle managers and front-line supervisors or team leaders. The change management team and Human Resources are not an effective resistance manager. Ultimately, it takes action by leadership in an organisation to manage resistance.

• At a high level, senior leaders can help to mitigate resistance by making a compelling case for the need for change and by demonstrating their commitment to a change.

Employees look to and listen to senior leaders when they are deciding if a change is important and they will judge what they hear and what they see from this group. If senior leaders are not committed to a change or waver in their support, employees will judge the change as unimportant and resist the change.

• Managers and supervisors are the other key group in terms of managing resistance.

They are the closest to front-line employees who ultimately adopt a change. If they are neutral to or resistant to a change, chances are that their employees will follow suit.

However, if they are openly supportive of and advocating a particular change, these behaviours will also show up in how employees react to the change.

Remember, though, you must address resistance from managers first before asking them to manage resistance

The change management team can do much of the leg work in understanding and addressing resistance, but the face of resistance management in the organisation is ultimately senior leaders, managers and supervisors.

The change management team can help to enable the “right” resistance managers by providing data about where resistance is coming from, likely root causes of resistance, potential tactics for addressing resistance and tools to identify and manage resistance - but the “right” resistance managers must take action to address objections and move employees forward in the change process.

In summary your written change management plan is putting to paper all the thoughts you have had and to help organise all the thoughts into a logical sequence which will give all of those involved in the proposed change direction. Keep in mind, many of your wonderful staff and employees are ‘wired’ to resist!!

The next article will address the last step – Step 8 Reinforcing the change once it has occurred through collecting and analysing feedback, diagnosing the ‘gaps’ in your original thinking and implementing corrective actions and celebrating success.

Sorry. You are not finished yet.

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Industry Insights:

Franchising

How do you support your franchisees in growing their individual businesses?

The Interface Financial Group www.interfacefinancial.co.uk We see this as a key part of our offer to franchisees and it starts from the moment they have completed their training and are operational. We provide a detailed 13 week road map for the franchisee to get their business started and ensure they develop good habits and get quick wins. This is reinforced by field support in the initial period and on-going coaching and mentoring which keeps them on track and motivated to grow their business. Throughout the term of the franchise there is also unlimited nocost access to franchisor senior management and staff across all disciplines.

Lawnscience www.lawnsciencefranchise.co.uk Our support is really extensive, it starts right at the conception of our franchisees business and continues through to the eventual sale. Initially out accounts teams ensure that each franchisees business is established in a legal and efficient way in order to increase income after tax for each franchisee. We then train each franchisee 50% longer than our industry average in “state of the art” facilities in Milton Keynes.

At franchise launch we are “in the field” on days one, two and three with each franchisee. Regular field visits and personal coaching are tailored to the needs of each franchisee, it means we can provide the most relevant and personal support for each of our partners.

Mail Boxes Etc. www.mbe.co.uk We work with new franchisees pre- and post- opening to get them off to the right start, devising a bespoke six-month marketing plan for each new store. Ongoing support includes generating sales via our website, leads from direct and online marketing campaigns, and a suite of point-of-sale and seasonal materials for database marketing. We run targeted Pay-Per-Click online advertising campaigns, and advertise in specific sector publications. Our suite of training modules is available online, and franchisees are encouraged to pool ideas with other local stores to maximise advertising spend. We also help franchisees use social media to promote their business.

Ableworld www.ableworldfranchise.co.uk Central to growing the business is following the Ableworld Franchise System. We offer support across the board with initial and on-going training forming the foundation of that support. Regular field visits from our Franchise Support Manager and our MD give us the chance to offer advice on all aspects of growing the business with special emphasis on marketing the franchise. We also run periodic incentive schemes all of which are based on growing the business.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Providing working capital for business

Contempo Lettings www.contempolettings.co.uk We operate a centrally managed finance and legal department on behalf of all our franchisees, meaning they can operate with far lower set up costs than comparable franchises and can put their whole focus onto growing their business.

Ongoing training and support is key to our model. We include membership of a BNI chapter or BNS Group for the relevant area where each Franchise is sold.

Outwith this, we tailor specific training to the individual Franchisees. For example some our Franchisees have come from a lettings background, however they may need assistance with creating a business plan or book-keeping for their business and we can provide all of this in house.

ComputerXplorers www.computerxplorers.co.uk We provide access to a wide and varied range of support to our franchise network – including but not limited to: Marketing collateral, appointment generating systems, new curriculum, business review meetings, website and intranet development, hosting and promotion, conferences and network meetings, access to senior management, 1-2-1 coaching and business development discussions, regular ‘magazine’ style bulletins.

As a franchisor we take responsibility for helping our franchisees understand the market place and for providing the tools to assist them to access the market. We want to enable franchisees to develop an understanding of how to deliver the product/service and to get, retain and grow their customers – both organically and in absolute terms.

Driver Hire www.driverhirefranchise.co.uk Driver Hire has a highly qualified team of Area Development Managers who provide support on every facet of the business, from planning to attending sales meetings.

Our National Accounts team wins business on behalf of the network - accounting for 20% of total network turnover. Naturally we provide ongoing training for franchisees and their staff and promote a ‘share best practice’ culture. As part of this we facilitate communication between franchises through our forum and regular network meetings. With an in-house marketing and design team franchisees have access to a wide range of marketing collateral (both off and online) and structured marketing campaigns to target the right customers at the right time.

London House International www.londonhouseinternational.com At London House we recognise that it is our responsibility to prove the business model locally as well as nationally. To this end we have created a range of marketing and sales support tools (we call it our “Business in a Box”) designed to make our people as effective as possible on the ground. These include a fully functioning local website which is integrated with the central site but with local editorial control to gain the maximum benefit from SEO as well as keeping it locally focused.

Add into this the constant support (cajoling?) from head office and we believe we have the recipe for success for any franchisee in our network.

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Little Kickers www.littlekickers.co.uk We closely monitor every franchisee to identify areas where they may need additional support and have a Head Office team (which comprises experts in a variety of fields, the majority of whom are ex-Little Kickers franchisees) on hand to help out. As the network has grown we have moved more towards IT-based solutions to assist our franchisees in developing their businesses – we’ve developed an IT system, that enables franchisees to manage their business admin (sign ups, payments, renewals) with minimal time and effort. We also have a range of web-based tools such as coaching videos, online marketing materials and forums to provide further support.

Belvoir Lettings www.belvoirfranchise.com A dedicated franchise support team at Belvoir’s Central Office provides comprehensive support to franchisees. One-to-one mentoring is provided to all new franchise owners for six to 12 months, depending on individual requirements. Training and business development is available throughout the franchisee’s association with Belvoir and support is offered in accounting, IT, legal matters, compliance, marketing, acquisitions and exit strategies.

When someone joins Belvoir they join an extended business family, enjoying the support and guidance of everyone else in the network. The ability to network with other experienced franchise owners, who in any other circumstance would be competitors, is key to success.

PC PAL www.pcpal.co.uk/franchise Our franchisees benefit from the thousands of hours of experience we have managed to distil down into a comprehensive training program encapsulating the many aspect of starting and running your own business. This begins with 6 week classroom style intensive technical training bootcamp, achieving two IT qualifications and learning the tricks of the PC repair trade. It’s very hands-on! This is followed by in depth training on marketing, lead generation and building up a customer base, culminating with a bespoke launch and marketing plan. On going mentoring, marketing and technical advice & support is also provided.

Century 21 www.estate-agency-franchise.co.uk We’ve invested a lot of time improving our prescribed launch strategy including Sales Associate recruitment, initial marketing strategy, PR and help with coordinating launch events. Our Franchise Development Directors provide “in-the-field” contact following launch, identifying training and marketing needs and briefing the centralised support team. Initial induction training is provided by our Professional Development function.

We also run refresher training courses and ad-hoc seminars on a variety of topics.

Marketing support is crucial in supporting business growth; everything we do is about helping them to win more listings and business. Digital marketing is vital, so we have negotiated property portal discounts and focus on SEO to increase traffic to our own website.

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Wilkins Chimney Sweep www.franchisechimneysweep.co.uk We find that some franchisees need more support than others - there is a support structure that is fixed and the rest is flexible and dictated by the franchisee. Fixed plan consists of telephones calls initiated by us, audits in territory to ensure compliance, monthly P&L discussions, annual business planning, biannual professional association meetings, quarterly regional meetings, Skype based training sessions and an annual conference with franchisee of the year and ‘best’ awards! The stick and the carrot work well if used together!

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Dogknows www.dogknows.biz At dogknows we take an individual approach to our franchisees. We want them to be the best and fulfil their ambitions. Following their initial ten day training they start on our Support & Mentoring programme. We have an on-hand and structured system, working with franchisees at their level to develop their business acumen and dog knowhow. After twelve months we train them to expand their business by growing and training their own team. We want our franchisees to have successful thriving businesses, keeping up-to-date and at the forefront of the dog care industry, so we provide tailored training sessions and our dog training and behaviour advice line is always open to franchisees.

Jasper’s www.jaspers-franchise.co.uk Every franchisor should remember that a franchisee is in fact a human and with that comes all sorts of habits, challenges and sometimes strange behaviors that could and will get in the way of growing there franchise, the answer to this is to train your franchisee’s and never let them deviate whatsoever from the model that you know works – the worst thing you can do as a franchisor is adapt to your franchisees requests, especially in the early stages as they simply don’t have your knowledge and experience and could be making a fatal deviation. In short Provide structure and discipline to help them grow.

Cash Generator www.cashgenerator.co.uk Our Regional Managers work alongside franchisees during the first days and weeks of trading, and then visit the store regularly and keep in close contact. Business performance is monitored and compared against the pre-launch Business Plan, and ongoing training, marketing and support needs are identified and fulfilled.

Established franchises receive regular business reviews to assist with goal setting, business planning, and further training and development. Franchisees also benefit from ongoing investment in the franchise system, for example in television advertising, and the development of the website and IT systems.

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Did Price Really Lose The Sale?

If you asked your colleagues why they or your organisation have recently lost business to a competitor, what would they give as the most common reason? When I’ve asked clients or audiences the same question, without fail the immediate response is ‘price’ – and that happens pretty much anywhere in the world I happen to be working.

David Tovey Author: Principled Selling

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If you get the ‘price’ response go on to ask your colleagues about how they won their best client or customer - a dream client that they really value and who gets real value from working with your organisation. In my experience the answer is rarely that a dream client was won on price.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

When I ask that question people tend to become really animated and they smile a lot. They explain about how the chemistry was right and how well they and the customer got on. They explain how much they invested in getting to know the client, their plans, critical success factors and their motivations. They explain how their proposal was carefully crafted, without any ‘cut and paste’ and that their presentation was like poetry in motion, hitting all the needs and wants of the client. They tell me the client got value from the selling process and that money was discussed but that both sides ended up with a price they were happy with.

Too often price is blamed when in fact we got something else wrong – we didn’t understand the client as well as our competitors did, which meant they did a better proposal, a better presentation a better negotiation. Just like we did when we won our great clients.

We Choose Who We Allow To Understand Us We all know that winning business, that selling, involves ‘understanding’ the customer. Just check out how many businesses claim through their web sites and marketing materials to ‘really understand’ their clients.

One of the most profound comments I’ve heard from a professional buyer is “We choose who we allow to understand us”. Buyers know that sales people are taught questioning techniques. They know about open, leading and closed questions.

They also recognise genuine interest. To today’s more sophisticated and internet savvy buyer it is obvious when questions are being asked just to get closer to a sale rather than from genuine interest.

They see through those who ask questions to uncover ‘pain’ or ‘hot buttons’. They are annoyed when what looks like a buying signal is pounced on with an instant solution.

What Ernest Hemingway Teaches Us About Selling Ernest Hemingway was an American writer who developed a style of writing called the ‘iceberg principle’. He learned to write in a surface level way where he omitted or hinted at the real point of the story. Hemingway believed that the crux of a story lies below the surface. Sometimes known as the theory of omission it provided him with a very distinctive but often frustrating style of writing.

When people begin a new relationship they tend to share information that is in the same style as

Hemingway – they give their surface level story, only sharing the full picture with those close to them or people they trust.

You don’t have to be a ship’s captain to know that an iceberg is only around 10% above the water with 90% lying under the surface. For a ship it is the 90% that the Captain doesn’t see that is the dangerous part. The iceberg principle also applies to business relationships. Most potential customers and clients have their stories of ‘omission’ – the information about themselves and their business that they share with people they only have surface level relationships with. It isn’t an attempt to deceive or catch you out; it is just what normal people do.

The risk is that a relationship is often sunk before it can flourish, not because of lack of understanding about the surface story, the prospects story of omission, but a lack of understanding about the full picture. To win a dream client you have to be the one who they allow to get beyond their story of omission and who gains the insight that comes from getting below their iceberg.

Demonstrating Genuine Interest You have to earn the right to have the full story shared with you. It isn’t good enough anymore to go through the motions and only show interest long enough to find buying signals or explore ‘what keeps you awake at night’. We can all tell when someone else isn’t really listening, when they are on their own agenda not ours – and when that happens we feel misled because the behaviours demonstrated are not congruent with marketing messages that make claims about being client focused.

When we earn the right to hear the full story, to get the full picture it makes it so much easier to produce that well-crafted proposal or presentation and to come up with exactly the right solution.

You earn the right to hear more than a client’s story of omission when: • • • •

You ask insightful questions You listen for understanding You avoid manipulation You behaviours are congruent with your marketing messages • You are authentic; selling ethically and with integrity.

• You are human – remembering that buying is rationalised emotion.

If you want to avoid being told yet again you came a ‘close second’, ensure you demonstrate genuine interest and get the full picture.

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Innovation In Business Models The three elements of a business model are value creation, business logic and profit model. Value creation model describes how the ventures creates and delivers value to its customers including the product, target customers, value proposition, where the venture is positioned within the value chain and distribution. After establishing the value created we can extract some it, bringing us to the profit model which Babar Khan shows how we extract revenue DYL Ventures and find the cost structure.

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The business logic model is an explanation on why the venture is going to work and how we can actually create value and extract some of it for ourselves. On a daily basis, the VC’s at DYL Ventures sit through five or six different presentations on businesses. These presentations & ideas are both engaging and dull, so first let’s evaluate the dull business ideas models: a. Saturated market b. Requires outdated tech c. Extended sales cycles d. Overstated launch costs e. One hit wonders / hit or miss driven f. Too many stakeholders

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

The VC’s job is to make money as a result of the business they invest in to be worth it. If it takes a lot of money and you make a small amount, then it’s not worth the risk. Complexity is horrible piece to a business model, it’s been done & managed well by a few business but the most straight forward systems appeal the most. A good example is Google which has a model that earns of clicks essentially.

Everything else Google does is just sub-parts of the same concepts. Crowded market places are complicated which means differentiation takes up most of the business manager’s time against many players which drives up the cost of customer acquisition and penetrating the market. Models with a legacy system slow down the business model. Gaming companies are hit driven, but if

your next game isn’t a hit, it takes a few seconds for the customers to switch over to the competition.

Long sales cycles cost a lot of money. You need to consider whether the market values your company or not.

The flip side of this are the models that are appealing and are in essence the counter-tops of the points mentioned above: a. Capital efficient & high margins b. Great upfront unit economics [LTV/CAC is quick to >1] c. Least complexity d. Independent of external assistance e. Quick adoption cycle

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The VC wants the giveaway the least amount of money in the proof of concept phase. Simple is good and complexity is bad. The customers must easily understand and adopt the product or service being offered. At DYL Ventures, we are especially attracted to business that demonstrate or estimate unit economics greater than one calculated with Life Time Value divided by Customer Acquisition Cost which demonstrates the fastest return on investment.

Let’s now examine Skype, an interesting business because it upset an expensive and slow industry making it impossible for incumbents to react in time.

A few months after the launch of Skype, the CEO of AT&T said in a public statement that people would not be interested in speaking into their computers and that free software is not a business model.

The value was created with a software based solution to a traditional hardware model – a very inexpensive and smart way to go. The profit structure is even more appealing, with a zero cost to operate allowing users to utilize the service for “free” and they only charge a premium on services that cost them money thus contributing towards their Freemium revenue model. The business logic at Skype is least complex and most simple – it combines the viral acquisition with network effects for retention and growth. With CAC at USD 0.001 and a service that promoted users to enforce their friends and family to use it (not recommend) it had a network effect wherein the more people that use Skype, the more valuable it becomes.

Skype was built and launched on less the half a million dollars, then raised USD 2.5 million while growing. In the first year, revenue was USD 5 million, USD 50 million in year two and 300% of year two’s in year three. It did not require any outside assistance (no Facebook, no partners) and they controlled their own destiny. The value delivered to customers was so immense that a point came where customers would tell their friends (non customers) “this is how you can reach me” and thus more conversions occurred. At the launch, the founders used the bad boy history to gain massive press with Kazaa and RIAA. A similar area of mass disruption is occurring in 3D printing, where it allows manufacturing at a unit level which is something large manufacturers are having a hard time reacting to. Another area is the concept of the sharing economy, which provides a business model using existing assets.

RelayRides is the world’s largest peer to peer car sharing market place with the largest network of cars with comprehensive geographic covering, a unique car selection, amazing value for renters, high income for the lenders and most of all; it’s a safe and trusted marketplace. The business disrupts 52

traditional car sharing, car rental and car ownership by enabling easy access to a massive fleet of vehicles. In the USA, the car ownership market is worth USD 1.3 trillion of which the car rental market comprises roughly 2.3% and the sharing market at 0.0007% of that market which comes to a USD 1 billion valuation. It’s worth noting that traditional car sharing was made popular by ZipCar in the USA. In the current US market, the demographic category known as “millennial” prefer access to transportation instead of ownership of it. Drivers between the ages of 21 and 30 drive 12% fewer miles today than 15 years ago, more than half of millennial says that driving less is preferred as it helps the environment and worst of all, no one car brand ranks high with the demographic. Even more striking, 46% of this market would rather have constant internet access instead of car ownership.

The sharing economy is revolutionizing how consumers spend their money: a. Airbnb had 5 million nights booked in the first half of 2012, with average consumer age at 35 and a business valuation at USD 2.5 billion b. taskrabbit has four thousand rabbits and has a revenue growth rate at 300% c. RentTheRunway has over three million members, has raised over USD 50 million from VC’s and earned USD 20 million in 2011 revenues.

The ability that software has in connecting people is going to disrupt many established industries because the business models are essentially low cost, little infrastructure and deliver measurable value. RelayRides provides a disruptive value proposition for car owners – powerful economics.

The average car on RelayRides is 4-5 years old, owners rent them out one-third a month and earn an average USD 150 per month. That revenue is the cost of maintaining the car in the first place, and these car owners have access to their vehicles for two thirds of the month so their personal utility cycle is not being affected. One of the most rewarding aspects of the peer to peer sharing economy is that these business are not just selling a service or product, they are also empowering people to make money. RelayRides provides a disruptive value proposition’s for renter’: a. better value since the average RelayRides rental is 40% cheaper than ZipCar and 20% cheaper than traditional rental agencies. It’s all-inclusive with insurance and miles and there is no annual fee unlike ZipCar b. unique vehicle selection; the traditional car rental market tries to capitalize from economics of scale by purchasing a bulk of one type of vehicle and more often than not, they are the mid-range vehicle that few want

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

to or aspire to rent out. At RelayRides, users have a wide selection to choose from the Camaro to the 2002 Thunderbird and even smart cars. c. easier access: the network trumps the geographic penetration of any other car rental. They have cars across all 50 states (accomplished only 12 months after launch) and the company aims that by 2015 they will have a car within 10 minutes walking distance for Americans which would be the densest geo-reach for any car rental company in the world.

On the appealing side, the “if and when” this idea works equals enormous revenue due to its disruptive nature. In the US, it is estimated that cars are used 8% of the time which means that 92% of the time car owners have a depreciating asset locked away doing nothing. Unlike its competitors, RelayRides does not need to acquire vehicles in order to rent them out which is a huge positive for any VC as the cost of initial set up is significantly lowered and the renting of 60% vehicles at traditional firms is what allows them to break even so those companies have to be very careful how the expand and mistakes made in expansion cost too much.

All expansion costs with RelayRides are being compensated (inventory costs if you will) by the consumer car owner and renter. However, the most striking challenge of this business model is clearly the myriad of insurance coverage that need to be distributed for the car owners, renters and other related parties that need protection against worst case scenarios. RelayRides are partnered with a large insurance company in placing safety nets to assess the renters driving ability and other essentials needed to make this work. So without appropriate insurance this business would not have moved forward.

The future will clearly find us in a position where auto manufacturers will actively want to part of the network. When the 2015 goal of having a RelayRides car within 10 minutes walking distance is achieved, the need to own a car will be eliminated and RelayRides will become the platform by which an alternative car ownership model will be explored going forward. The large auto makers will be applying tech to their vehicles to accommodate this new car market. Rather than being tied to one vehicle, the user experience can be tied to as many vehicle as per the need arises.

RelayRides is a transactional market place that charges the owners 25% for every rental made and charge the renters a 10% fee on top of that and renters pay for the level of insurance & protection that they want based on existing coverage or their risk profile ranging from premium to basic coverage

packages. And while Airbnb, Amazon and eBay charge a mere 15% on transactions, RelayRides charges more purely to cover and offset the insurance offset and minimize damages if any for a smoother experience and stakeholder engagement cycle; providing owners and renters with liability coverage which is an incremental cost which doesn’t affect an eCommerce market place which is why the revenue take rate is higher than others.

So key costs are insurance, customer service and traditional fixed costs are the tech, marketing, staff, salaries, benefits. But how do you trust the counterparty and the other side?

The most important part of the trust in sharing economy models is reputation, the more data you have on both parties (on time, is the car clean) the trust is built by reputation over the time and what it does as a bonus is that as the reputation gains strength it becomes harder for copycat businesses to compete with the same model. RelayRides greatest advantage is that they screen drivers of the cars to understand driving history and experience using data publicly available that makes this possible. In order to have access to this market place, reputation is key. And this is based on the life view is the statistical proof that people are good which is a good belief to start with or every set back will just demotivate. There are always bad things that can happen so you don’t want to be naive and the job of the market place manager is to make sure that those things that do happen occur as less as possible and are solved as they occur. A combination of trust and safety, the former is the visible component that makes users feel good about partaking in the market place while the latter is the hardcore component behind the scenes to weed out the bad people.

One of the most important capabilities to build when managing a market place is business intelligence and that means being good at metrics like supply (traffic, conversions to new owners, fulfilling requests, transaction values, lifetime value), demand (sign-ups, sign-up conversions, repeat rentals) and transaction which allows them to optimize the marketing strategy and spend.

Trust and safety metrics are things like, what % of transactions result in claims (for damages), the nature of the claims, “how to anticipate who is the high risk customer?” and be able to place more safeguards to mitigate those risks.

A young company needs a model that works using the metrics and in the end, all the answers aren’t clearly present in any company – ever – and the entrepreneurs’ need to work towards perfection with measuring tools, trying new tactics to get data, to improve over time and reach a stage where the progress pleases invested stakeholders.

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200 Million Reasons To Be On Linkedin In an age of algorithms who you are is in part determined by your digital footprint, which means that if you network for business then you will need to do so online.

Why? Because while business is in some ways the same as it ever was (based on mutually beneficial relationships) social media has turned the way we form those relationships on its head.

Dionne Kasian-Lew The Social Executive

You may look around and think that you (or your peers) don’t use social media and are still doing fine but this is not looking in the right direction.

Almost two billion people use social media right now and that trend shows no signs of abating with predictions it will reach 2.55 billion by 2017.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

(fig1.)

Professionals need to look ahead and adapt the way they connect and communicate to keep up with this change.

One way they are doing so is on LinkedIn. Often referred to as the ‘new networking for business’ LinkedIn is not so new really, at 10 years old and with 200 million members around the world.

But just signing up and doing nothing is like going to a cocktail party and standing in the corner. You’ve got to know what to do once you are there.

Naturally how you use the platform depends on what you want to achieve and that varies widely. Businesses can use it to raise funds, for recruitment, job search or networking with peers, amongst other things.

Whatever your goal, I find that executives tend to have similar questions about what to do when starting out. While there are rarely cut-and-paste answers to what’s right, here are some valuable tips.

Should I Use A Photograph?

Yes, use a recent high quality, close-up photograph.

People like to deal with people. Remember too that digital does not replace real life connection it extends it. Many virtual connections become part of real life and this creates continuity.

Faceless avatars are offputting and on some social media platforms like Twitter the ‘bots’ that clean up fake accounts see them as spam.

What Do I Say About Myself?

Your 120–character headline is prime real estate so use it to differentiate yourself. There are lots of ‘senior executives’ out there. Be the “CEO who successfully

delivered a 300% increase in health heart funding in two years”. The key words in your headline affect how you will be found ensure they’re in your title.

You can put your current job title, but think how many CEOs there are in a 200 million-strong pool.

Say something about yourself.

Do I Share My Employment History?

Your employment history provides legitimacy in particular if it comes with credible recommendations.

You don’t need to write War and Peace though.

Who Should I Connect With?

You need to build strategic connections with influencers, colleagues and potential business interests.

But algorithms also work out your interests and throw unknowns in your path. How open you are to them depends on your personality. Only connecting if there’s a potential business outcome feels a bit like pyramid selling to me and I’ve met up with many people just because I found them interesting. It’s enriching and I’ve made many amazing contacts as a result.

Do I Have To Give Recommendations/Endorsements Back?

Do you have to reciprocate when someone recommends you? The answer is no – as in real life, so online. Your recommendations go to your reputation so use them judiciously. But where they are deserved, go ahead.

LinkedIn also prompts you to endorse the skills of people you are connected with (fig1.). Views about the value of endorsements differ. Only endorse people for skills you know they have. If you mistakenly endorse someone don’t worry, you can withdraw it.

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(fig2.)

What Do I Share?

You can share content from most sites by pressing the LinkedIn share button, the content will automatically show up in your stream and anyone in your network can see it. Comment on articles you find interesting, if you type in the full name of a person in the text LinkedIn will prompt them that they’ve been mentioned, which creates a conversation. You can also use the ‘share an update’ (fig2.) space on your Home page to send updates or information.

What Are Groups And Should I Join Them?

Groups bring together people with strong interests and can be great for exchanging views. However, some people just post links to their own content and don’t add to the community. As a result, the value varies greatly. If you are time poor, which most executives are, I’d try niche groups with members who are seriously interested in a topic. Some of the biggest ‘brand’ groups generate lots of thumbs up and ‘love it’ comments that are quite exhausting to scroll through.

Who Is Checking Me Out? You can change the way you appear on LinkedIn in your Settings. Some people like to be anonymous which means if they view your profile you’ll see something like this.

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Some people find this confronting. It does have its uses though, for example, if you are researching job candidates and want to keep your search private.

Many recruiters use it in this way. Personally, I don’t like it but it comes with the platform, at least at this stage.

Can I Outsource My Linkedin Engagement?

Would you send your assistant to a cocktail party to talk on your behalf? I don’t think so. Why is LinkedIn different? A virtual connection is a personal connection that has not yet made its way into real life (IRL). By all means get a consultant to set up, brand or teach you LinkedIn and even manage the basic administration. But engagement is about the real you.

If you want help, do your due diligence. Many people are appending ‘social media’ to their CVs without being on platforms or knowing how to use them. What’s their ‘social proof’? What’s their history? How do they manage their presence on the platform you’re interested in? Do they engage with people or just push out links to their own material?

Putting someone’s name into Kred or Klout will give you a measure (albeit imperfect) of his or her abilities.

How Will I Find The Time?

Allocate an hour a week to reading but arrange for the material to be shared across the week by using scheduling tools like Bufferapp, Sprout Social or Hoot Suite. You probably already read after hours and pass on articles, it’s no different. The reality is that networking takes time, whether it’s having lunch or playing golf or engaging online. But you do it because it’s worthwhile.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

YOUR

BRAND OUR

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Coming Soon To A Brand Near You

VESEY CREATIVE LIMITED PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRAND QUARTERLY A VESEY CREATIVE PRODUCTION ‘THE BIG REVEAL’ STARRING YOUR BRAND AND OUR TEAM OFFERING BRAND ESTABLISHMENT, BRAND REVIEW, BRAND MANAGEMENT, BRAND IMPLEMENTATION AND BRAND DEVELOPMENT BASED ON YOUR COMPANY VISION SUPPORTED BY A VISUAL IDENTITY MANUAL PLUS GRAPHIC DESIGN, PRINT MANAGEMENT, WEB DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING CONSULTANCY IN CONJUNCTION WITH STRATEGY, TRADE SHOW DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL MEDIA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND COPY WRITING PRODUCED BY FIONA VESEY DIRECTED BY ANDREW VESEY

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Industry Insights:

Franchising

What’s the one piece of advice you would give someone who is looking to buy a franchise?

Knitting For All www.knittingforall.co.uk When choosing a franchise, obviously looking at the numbers and the business model is important. You need to be sure that you’re buying into a business that has been proven successful. But equally important is that you are excited by the business itself.

The ethos and vision of the business should be things you truly believe in and are prepared to get on board with whole-heartedly.

Dr.FIX www.drfix.co.uk If you’re looking to purchase a Franchise I would advise to look at a turnkey operation that delivers a guaranteed income from day one. Of course I am biased towards Retail Franchisees but I think they offer a security that wont have you trying to find customers on your first day as they will come to you. I do wonder what it must be like for a Franchisee who has to go out on day one of their investment and try and find customers. A turnkey, proven business model takes the stress out of that problem.

Card Connection www.card-connection.co.uk Choose a well-established franchise with a proven business idea and an organisation that is a member of the British Franchise Association. This means the franchisor has the franchisee’s best interests at heart and adheres to the BFA’s code of ethics. Ask to talk to existing franchisees to get a feel for the business to ensure it’s the right choice for you!

Ovenu www.ovenufranchise.co.uk Look at the franchise as an investment rather than a purchase. People who make investments tend to have more of a long-term view as ‘buyers’ look more to the short-term. The objective of any investment is ultimately to see a good return on the initial outlay and this is far more likely to be a few years down the track rather than a few months.

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Bright Care www.brightcare.co.uk Put everything on the line. If you jump in with both feet with no option to retreat - you will be highly motivated to push yourself forwards and you will be successful.

Wagging Tails www.waggingtailsfranchise.co.uk Buy a franchise in a sector that you are passionate about. To be successful you need to believe in the service or product you are selling, otherwise why should a client believe in it? In an employment role you have the opportunity to walk away at the end of the day and put the day’s work behind you. However, when running a business you invest more of your time and emotion so if you’re going to be investing more of yourself it makes sense to do so in something you feel strongly about.

etyres www.etyres.co.uk/franchise It is very important that you chose a franchise in an industry you feel comfortable working in and that you know will be recession proof during times of economic hardship. The reason for this is that you have to feel confident in your ability to make the most of your franchise opportunity and that is always easier if you really believe in what you are doing. By choosing a franchise that suits your skills set, experience and lifestyle, the challenge you face will be much more enjoyable and rewarding.

London House International www.londonhouseinternational.com Everyone will tell you that it’s vital to do your due diligence properly and check everything out thoroughly. As someone who spent his early career in the mergers and acquisitions field I would add that this due diligence is different – it’s “personal”.

Remember to include in your analysis a careful review of what it’s actually like to run one of these franchises, to do the work every day. No amount of training by your franchisor can make the work suit you if, fundamentally, it’s not your cup of tea!

Business Doctors www.businessdoctors-franchise.co.uk Beware of franchises that are more concerned with recruitment and less concerned with helping their franchisees to run successful businesses. A franchisee will only be successful if the franchise invests time and support in all aspects of the business. It is essential that the franchise values and practices resonate with your own.

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Saks www.saks.co.uk Look for a franchise with a good business profit model. It’s no secret that successful businesses are based on a sound and healthy business and profit model. Of course the majority of franchises will have this, they wouldn’t be operating otherwise, but check to what extent and whether it is sustainable – the better the profit model then generally the easier it is to start up and maintain a successful business. Franchises with strong brand names and reputations tend to have stronger financial models because their customers are prepared to pay a higher price to receive a trusted product or service.

Anytime Fitness www.anytimefitness.co.uk Believe in yourself and follow your dreams. Decide what you want to do e.g. ‘Deal with products’: ‘Give exceptional service’ or ‘Change people’s lives’. Once you know what motivates you, research franchises available, meet them and talk to current franchisees, talk to the banks about their understanding of the franchise. How transparent are the franchise company about the supply of information? Are they BFA accredited? Most importantly, is a franchise right for you? You will have to give up some entrepreneurial freedom to follow a proven model that will reduce your risk.

Once decided, enjoy your journey and financial freedom.

Pyjama Drama www.pyjamadrama.com Do your research! Really find out as much as you can about the franchise, its financial model, the support offered and of course, how good the product is. There may be other aspects that particularly matter to you such as how established the business is and whether they’re members of the BFA. It’s also important that you connect well with the franchisor as you will have a very close working relationship.

Ed’s Garden Maintenance www.edsgardenbusinessfranchise.co.uk Ed’s Garden Maintenance finds that its more successful franchises do their research and involve their spouse / a friend at the outset. One of the best starting places for this is the British Franchise Association’s website thebfa.org.uk . Find a sector that you think you will enjoy working in. Make a short list, take a look at their websites and arrange to meet with them. You will soon form a view and understand if you think franchising is for you and difference between the Franchisors.

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Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Bang & Olufsen www.beoretailer.com Always be customer oriented. A Bang & Olufsen franchise is run with the support of our brand, but with a real focus on being a thriving, independent business. Be prepared to be hands-on, customer facing at the floor level, at least for the first two years and practice good fiscal controls. Our franchisees who, first and foremost, operate as professional business controllers/operators along with the support of our brand succeed faster than those who want their hands held. Customers are far wiser today, and can identify and will appreciate a proficient business operation.

Stepping Stones for Business www.SteppingStonesForBusiness.co.uk Buy because you feel passionate about the product or service. We all know that people buy from people, and for many franchises it’s about meeting people and having a strong relationship with the client. If you see the franchise as a means just to make money it’s unlikely to work. A strong belief in what you do will shine through and make the franchise more successful.

Cash Generator www.cashgenerator.co.uk However successful the franchise model is, and however good is the support from the franchisor, the franchisee’s input is still the most important factor in determining how the business will perform. Success requires the franchisee to totally immerse themselves in the business, and follow the tried and tested franchise system. This is much more likely to happen when the franchisee has selected a franchise which they enjoy running, and feel passionate about. It’s therefore vital before committing to join a franchise to think carefully about the day-to-day activity of running the business, and consider whether this is really what you want to do, and believe in.

WABBA www.wabba.co.uk/franchise_UK.php In a nutshell, a prospective franchisee should in the first instance try to choose a potential business in which they already have either a keen interest, or possibly some past experience. For example it’s far better to already be keen on some form of fitness training and be involved in some way, if you intend to buy a franchise which operates within the fitness industry, rather than never liking sport or fitness activities from school age onwards, which could be a major drawback and handicap to your success! The reason for this is a simply one, in that whenever someone already has a passion for something, they find it easy to transmit this passion and enthusiasm to prospective customers without it ever seeming to be ‘sales-pitch’.

Brand Quarterly™

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Get The Best Quality From Your Logo There is no excuse for a low resolution or distorted logo ruining your brand integrity!

A few people think because they have a JPG file of their logo, they have all they need. If you’re one of these people, I’m afraid I’m about to burst your bubble.

While it’s important to have a JPG file of your logo, and it’s helpful to have a selection of file formats and sizes at your disposal. In regards to quality and consistency, a ‘Vector’ file of your logo is vital.

Fiona Vesey Vesey Creative

“Why?” I hear you asking. Let’s have a look at the file types to compare:

Raster Images: Are (JPG, TIFF, GIF, PNG) files and are made up of pixels. Pixels are the tiny dots of individual colour that make up what you see on your screen and in print.

All these tiny dots come together to form the images you see.

These Raster images are resolution dependent.

Resolution is the number of pixels in an image and is usually stated as dpi (dots per inch).

When you scale a raster image, the dots get larger (or smaller if scaling down), and you start to lose definition and image quality. The more you scale it, the worse it gets.

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Vector Images: Are composed of well-defined geographical shapes, lines, and curves – essentially points connected by lines of various shapes and sizes which can then be filled with colour.

Vector images are mathematically derived by the computer and not based on pixels.

This makes the vector image highly scalable, and the best choice for logos and brand elements. A vector logo can be easily scaled down to fit on a business card, or scaled up to fit on a trade-show display, the side of a van or bus, or larger without losing any definition or quality.

Vector images can also have transparent backgrounds, making them easy to place or layer on top of other graphics.

Your logo and its accompanying brand elements are the backbone of your company’s identity.

To ensure you maintain quality, consistency and flexibility for your brand and marketing collateral, I highly recommend all businesses have vector files of their precious logo and brand elements.

The current file you have for your logo or brand element can be used to create this high quality, highly scalable vector illustration. The image is hand drawn/traced to accurately reproduce it as an Adobe Illustrator vector file.

There truly is no excuse for your brand to be represented in any way but the best.

Building Your Business From The Brand Up™

Marketers: Improve your craft with the help of your industry’s thought leaders.

Issue 1 | Volume 1

March 2013

What Every CEO Should Expect From Their CMO Jonathan Becher Issue 3 | Volume 1

May 2013

LEGO Enters The Girls Domain

Improving The Industry Through Global Accreditation April 2013

Three Requirements For CMO Longevity

A View From The C-Suite

Markus Pfeiffer:

Are You Ready For A Digital-First Future?

Meet GMN’s ‘Digital Doctor’

What The New Breed Of CMOs Know That You Don’t MaryLee Sachs fgmn

Understanding The Digital Consumer Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones

Join GMN At Brand2Global

Tracy Tuten:

Global CMO™ is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Global CMO™ TheNetwork, Magazine the Global Body for Marketing Professionals.

March 2013 | 1

Turning Customers Into Co-Designers

David Hood pgmn

Andrew Vesey ggmn

Navigating the future of Brand Management

From Pawns To Partners

Andrew Vesey ggmn

trendwatching.com

Brand Transcendence

Michael Solomon:

What The Hell Is A Marketer?

Implement Or Die

Kevin Lane Keller:

Danette Breitenbach & Antony Michail

Bridging The Gap

Alan See

Danette Breitenbach pgmn

Martin Lindstrom

Focus: South Africa

James MacAskill fgmn

Trend Report: Clean Slate Brands

The Spear And The Smartphone

The Chinese: Global Branding Geniuses

Get Published - And WIN!!

50 Marketing Leaders Over 50

An Interview With Jon Iwata

Kirk Wakefield

David Mattin

A Model Approach To Wine Marketing

Ian Derbyshire fgmn

June 2013

Currencies Of Change Marketing Leaders Of Tomorrow

Laura Patterson

The Chairman’s Report Issue 4 | Volume 1

Svend Hollensen

Why Do Fans Buy Tickets?

Darrell Kofkin fgmn

Issue 2 | Volume 1

Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine May 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

Global CMO™ is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine April 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

The Zones Framework

A Different Way Of Understanding The Landscape Of Social Media Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine June 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

Issue 5 | Volume 1

July 2013

The Golden Rule Of Closing The Sale Richard Denny

Key Account Management Issue 7 | Volume 1

September 2013

Take Part In The DNA Of A Growth-CMO Study

by SAP and Human 1.0, with GMN, Global CMO™ and The CMO Club

Issue 6 | Volume 1

August 2013

Issue 8 | Volume 1

October 2013

Take Part In The DNA Of A Growth-CMO Study

by SAP and Human 1.0, with GMN and The CMO Club

Your Customers Are Talking About You. Are You Listening?

Tim Minahan

7 Keys To Improved Brand & Marketing Returns

Laura Patterson

Marketing Misanthropy David J Hood pgmn

The Panel Measuring Marketing ROI

Fiona Vesey pgmn

New Frontiers In Adland: China

Why Do We Follow?

Mark Tungate

The Sweet Taste Of Failure

“Corpnations” The Metamorphosis Of 20th Century Institutions

Sheikh Hussein A Al-Banawi

Are We Really Customer Centric?

Anuja Prashar pgmn

David J Hood pgmn

Value To Each Customer The Only Pricing Strategy That Really Works

Emmanuel Gobillot

The Panel The Key Qualities Of A Leader

Peter Hill

Marketing In Africa Is Changing Darrell Kofkin fgmn

The Panel Building A Global Marketing Strategy

Andrew Vesey ggmn

5 Ways To Turn Big Data Into Insight And Action

A Conversation With Elisa Steele, CMO at Skype

Robert Shaw fgmn:

Antony Michail fgmn

Six Best Practices For Opportunity Management Laura Patterson

Does Your Brand Have GAME?

Greg W. Marshall fgmn:

Andrew Vesey ggmn

The Evolving Role of Sales

What Selling Is Really About David Tovey

(and Marketing) Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine July 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

MaryLee Sachs fgmn:

Great Leaders Are Great Learners

Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine September 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

Svend Hollensen fgmn:

‘Glocalisation’

The Mantra For Today’s Global Marketing Strategies Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global CMO™ Body The Magazine August 2013 | 1 Global for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

Return On Ideas:

Searching, Selecting And Improving Your Marketing

Global CMO is the Official Magazine of Global Marketing Network, the Global Body for Marketing Professionals. www.theglobalcmo.com

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Global CMO™ is the Official Magazine and Community of Global Marketing Network, the Global Body for Marketing Professionals.

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