BulletinThe PLUS Awards! What are they good for? Five ways to improve your cyber security The Psychology of Money SpotlightStephenonChurch Sponsored by NO ADVERTORIALS ENGAGING CONTENT PRACTICAL ADVICE Issue 22 Now with &AUDIOVIDEO content!
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Welcome to The Business Bulletin - a monthly magazine - which now includes regular columnists, a business book review, as well as some audio and video content; not forgetting the great collection of articles.
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Disclaimer – no responsibility can be accepted for any actions that you take as a result of the content provided in this magazine. There is no guarantee that implementing any of the advice contained in the articles will definitely ensure your business success or have a positive impact. They are presented as information based on the experience of the authors working with many different types of businesses in their field of expertise and are provided as a choice for you to consider if they will be useful for your business.
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The Psychology of Money 51 Mhairi Richardson
Awards! What are they good for? 21 Jessica Shailes
Spotlight on 30 Stephen Church
Do you feel like reading this article? 14 Charlotte Whelan
Five reasons why you should invest in a Stocks & Shares ISA 9 Neil Wattam
Five ways to improve your cyber security 34 Bharat Panchal
How to deal with a data breach 27 Gayle Parker
How are you going to get your business through tough times? 24 Roger Eddowes
The BusinessIssueBulletin22 | 5
Do you have the power to make changes? 49 Jacky Sherman
Never assume when it comes to commercial finance 6 James Blacklaws
Contents
Say goodbye to your spreadsheets 38 Daishik Chauhan
Why don’t strategic plans work anymore (and what does)? 40 Amos Beer Management without vision 43 Dr Colin Thompson
How to manage stress 46 Duncan Price
Avoid the one button bye-bye –five reasons why your content succeeds or fails 18 Christina Robinson
Sales pipeline forecasting –is there a better way? 12 Mike Palman
Banks operate to strict credit guidelines and if your business does not fit to their preferred profile then it is highly possible that your request
Never assume when it comes to commercial finance
Invoice finance and factoring companies are generally relaxed about credit history (within reason) as long as the business is sound, and the debtor book is of good quality while asset-based lender are forgiving as long as the underlying
Assumption Two: My bank have declined my lending request so surely nobody will help me?
Absolutely not true! I hope that is one lesson can be taken from this article then this is it. Anyone who believes that they have more chance of being accepted by their own bank or will get the best deal possible from their own ban hasn’t been paying attention over the last decade or so.
The same applies for unsecured business lending. While most individuals have a credit card or a personal loan or overdraft, borrowing for your business is often a real learning curve for the business owner.
6 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin FINANCE
asset is sound. There can even be unsecured lender who will consider lending to businesses or individuals with a blemish in their credit history if there is a ‘story’ to go with the black mark. The one situation where it is almost impossible to overcome is if there is an outstanding CCJ with no justification
Assumption One: I have a poor credit history, so my business won’t be able to borrow money
James Blacklaws
While a majority of adults in the UK own their own residential property (and sometimes many) and therefore, personal mortgage lending is a well-known commodity, commercial (business) mortgages are considered more of a mystery, even by business owners.
JB Commercial Finance
James, an ex-banker, is a highly experienced and fully Independent Commercial Finance broker, authorised and regulated by the FCA. With whole-ofmarket access. He specialises in helping businesses declined by their banks; businesses looking to grow, survive and purchase commercial07722property.432128 james@jbcommercialfinance.co.ukjbcommercialfinance.co.uk
This article is a starting point to help dispel some commonly held myths relating to business lending most of which come from ‘Dave’ down the pub who knew someone who knew someone!
Somewhat true! OK, so let’s be real here. It is far from ideal if a client has a poor credit history. This usually relates to missed mortgage payments, credit defaults or County Court Judgements (CCJ). But, despite this, there are still options open to a business in this position.
Assumption Four: I have never borrowed money in the past so I must have a great credit history
How is inflation affecting business?your
Not true! It is called credit history for a reason. If an individual or business has no history or repayment debt, then it can be harder for a lender to quantify that you will be able to repay debt in the future. They cannot reasonably identify a history of debt servicing to base their decision on.
Roger Eddowes
was completed by 911 UK SMEs and shows that despite the multiple pressures faced, around 66% of businesses would still be looking to seek funding for investment within the next 12 months and 39% feel they have missed an opportunity recently due to lack of available finance.
will be declined no matter your previous history with them or your previous account conduct.
Around two-thirds of businesses have been negatively impacted by rising inflation and only 40% believe that the 2% target from the Bank of England is realistic in today’s environment.
Like I said in point two, you have not been paying attention! I still hear this all the time. While a long-established history with one bank is nice and certainly wont harm any application you make, it will be considered alongside multiple other factors and is unlikely to be a deal breaker. I will also put here the old wives tail that if you get on well with your bank manager then you are more likely to be approved for finance. Now, it doesn’t do you any harm to have your manager ‘onside’ or looking to fight your corner, but the power of local managers has been significantly reduced in recent years to the point where while they are likely to write the credit report and put together the report for an underwriter to review, they are highly unlikely to have a huge amount of influence over the final decision.
Assumption Three: I have banked with my bank for 20 years- surely, they will help me!
In addition to this, 23% have chosen not to pass the increased costs onto their customers (27% will pass them on fully, 49% partially) this will have an impact on their cashflow which could cause problems in the future. Around 42% admit that the increased cost of doing business has actually caused them cashflow issues already.
We’re all aware of the current cost of living crisis but are we considering the increasing cost of doing business? Independent research from the Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing, emphasises the increasing costs businesses are having to swallow because of the current financial climate.Thesurvey
To help out their employees, 60% of businesses plan to raise wages to keep pace with the cost of inflation even though this is something they have not been asked to do.
When seeking financial support and advice, 25.4% of business owners contact an accountant, that’s where Essendon come in. We are happy to help with financial advice and support at this time when we all need it most. Contact us – and we will be happy to help in any way we can.
COLUMNIST – FINANCE Essendon Accounts and Tax 07595 essendonaccounts.co.ukroger.eddowes@essendonaccounts.co.uk021376
The reality is that if your business is in a position where borrowing money is an option you want to consider (growing, struggling, buying an asset) it is always best to put any assumptions aside and do your own research. If you don’t fancy doing this yourself or don’t know where to start then it’s best to employ the services of a regulated broker to search the marketplace for you as they are likely to have an understanding of the quirks in this article.
Not true. While a personal and liability assessment will likely form a part of many lenders’ credit
There have been many occasions where an experienced business owner has ‘failed’ a credit search for a nominal facility due to their reluctance to borrow in the past. This can be overcome by applying for and maintaining a small credit facility such as a credit card or an overdraft and ensuring payments to the facility are kept up to date and agreed limits respected.
are more forgiving over lossmaking situations as long as there is an explanation as to why the business has lost money and a plan to improve the situation moving forward.
appraisals, there are other lenders who won’t place a major emphasis on this document. They are more focused on business performance and if a business can fulfil its debt obligations without recourse to personal assets
Assumption Six: My business is lossmaking or insolvent so I can’t apply for credit at the moment
Sometimes true but certainly not always It is certainly preferable for a client to apply for finance when in a position of strength i.e., they are showing significant profitability, solvency and turnover growth. But it isn’t essential! There are lenders who
Do you want to make a meaningful difference in your local community? Find out more at northantscommunityaid.org.uk Support us from just £25 per month Set up a Direct Debit, or one off donation – no matter how small – it all makes a difference Small charities often support our most vulnerable people, but don’t attract the funding which larger charities can access. In these cases, even a modest amount of money can make a huge difference. This is why we’ve set up Northants Community Aid, and we need your help. BENEFITS OF BEING A SUPPORTING US: • Opportunity to nominate your particular Cause for funding. • Usage of the NCA logo and the logos of the Charities we support. • Free invite to our Annual Ball. • Regular charity updates and stories from those who benefit. • Significant local networking opportunities. Raising money for local causes who support the health & wellbeing of the Northamptonshire community. Northants Community Aid is a registered charity in England and Wales (1120895). For more info, contact: admin@northantscommunityaid.org.uk The Business Bulletin FINANCE
Assumption Five: I am not a homeowner therefore lenders won’t want to lend to me
Five reasons why you should invest in a Stocks & Shares ISA
Neil has worked in various finance and accounting roles since 2004, starting as an auditor, followed by senior positions within FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, including as Finance Director. His experience of working in numerous businesses and sectors, including running a limited company, provides a sound base from which to help clients. Neil is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and holds the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (CII). Neil is studying towards Chartered status with the CII.
0116 218 neil@wkmwealth.co.uk4891www.wkmwealth.co.uk Issue 22 | 9 The Business Bulletin FINANCE
ISAs, or Individual Savings Accounts, have been a feature of the personal finance world since 1999, yet I still get asked if they are ‘worth it’? ISAs protect your money from income tax (such as interest or dividends) and capital gains tax, on any profits realised. You can also make withdrawals free from tax.
Neil Wattam Wattam Kirby Mee
Cash ISAs are the most prominent. They offer the tax benefits as noted above, for cash savings. There will be an assigned interest rate and the interest is paid tax-free into the account. Cash ISAs are typically instant access or fixed term, with the latter committing you to leaving the cash for a period.
■ We’re advocates of pensions being a great option for saving for your future, but there are various limitations and rules when you want to access them
■ Consistency over time is key
ISAs offer the opportunity to lend money to
■ Support costs for University or a new car perhaps
Junior ISAs (JISAs) are for children aged 16 and under. Notable differences to a standard ISA including the contribution allowance (£9,000 per tax year, per child) and no withdrawals can be made in normal circumstances until they are 18. These accounts replaced the Child Trust Fund and once a JISA is opened by a parent or guardian, anyone, such as grandparents, can make contributions.
Here are the five reasons why you should invest in a Stocks & Shares ISA
Lifetime ISAs are a quasi-pension. They are designed to either help you purchase a first home or save for retirement. There are restrictions to be mindful of, which we’ll cover another
The Business Bulletin 10 | Issue 22 FINANCE
■ Stocks & Shares ISA
■ Junior ISA
There are various types for consideration
■ Lifetime ISA
3. Generate a tax-free income
■ Your tax status may well change in future. You might be paying income tax at 40% today, but you could find yourself an additional rate taxpayer at 45% in time. If you have additional income or gains from other investments, it’s possible you’ll pay tax on them.
5. Give your children a tax-free pot
4. It will take time to build a sizeable tax-free pot
Stocks & Share ISAs enable you to invest your money. Here at WKM Wealth, we provide setup & provide investment management for our clients Stocks & Shares ISAs. Any gains or income are free from tax. Frequently our clients seek growth over the long term, but offer flexibility should they want to pay for something, such as a family holiday or new car. There is no fixedterm period or exit penalties, but investments can fall as well as rise.
■ Innovative Finance ISA
■ Stocks & Shares ISAs can typically be accessed without any tax implications
■ Make contributions each year and watch your ISA pot grow, but you need to start
■ We have an income portfolio designed to generate an income for clients, particularly useful for ISAs
■ They are therefore your flexible and tax-efficient friend
individuals & businesses, through a ‘peer to peer’ process.
■ Any gains or income within an ISA are free from tax, irrespective of your tax status
Innovativetime.Finance
2. Access your money, tax-free
■ We all need an income, whether to pay for our mortgage and living expenses, or holidays
■ Wouldn’t it be nice if you could support other sources of taxable income, with some tax-free income
Save your money from future tax changes
■ Good things come to those who wait
Investing involves risk and you may get back less than you invested. If you think ISAs are just about Cash ISAs, think again.
So, they’re your friend to shelter money from tax, whilst retaining some flexibility. There are limitations, primarily how much you can contribute, which for UK residents aged 16 and over, is £20,000 per tax year. For children under the age of 16, there is a Junior ISA, which offers the same tax benefits as a regular ISA.
■ Using a Stocks & Shares JISA could provide the platform to provide your children a pot of tax-free money when they reach adulthood
■ Cash ISA
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To put it mildly most companies sales forecasting just isn’t delivering, a staggering 90% of the deals do not close as forecasted even when the close probability is 75% or over. Even more astonishing is that 54% of forecasted deals are lost to competitors or to a no decision.
Mike Palman The Sales Academy
Michael Palman, a global Master Sales Coach and author. Mike helps people and businesses do more, do it better and get the results that they want. Mike has had a successful career in sales for over 25 years and now helps other salespeople get the sales edge. Mike lives in both the UK and South Africa.
But it’s not the same for every organisation; many have used these challenging times to not only clear out dead wood but to build team strength. They are also starting to instil more team discipline. Today we can see sales directors & MDs reasserting themselves in their demands for activity, pipeline reporting and adherence to their sales processes. During better times, experienced and even junior sales executives often balked at providing visibility
0208 mike@thesalesacademy.com1596159thesalesacademy.com 12 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin SALES
This is a trend that both senior management and sales management are aware of. And with the visibility now at executive level, sales is creating a demand for more accountability. Interviews with MDs and sales directors indicate that companies can no longer stand idly by hoping the sales team delivers as indicated. Visibility and accuracy need to be improved. And if sales cannot do this we found that the finance directors would!
Sales pipeline forecasting –is there a better way?
Here is another shared dilemma where we see projected sales are actually a trailing indicator by the time you know if a deal will actually be won or lost the game is over! To this end sales directors and MDs are turning to leading indicators in the sales process (e.g. ability for prospect to own product or service, timescale – is it on track, sales team ability to gain access to power, etc). Every single metric available is playing an increasing role here as senior management grapple with the challenge of improving forecasting of sales more accurately so they can reap competitive and operational advantage and avoid problems associated with not knowing the true position of the pipeline and just relying on ‘gut feel’.
To support all of this we are now seeing a noticeable up turn in the number of companies adopting formal methodologies. Whether they create these themselves or license a commercial offering they are committed to making sure that all their sales staff, start to sell the same way, and that they apply rigor to what
“We are not dealing in the halcyon days. We are now going to have to do things differently. At the end of each week, you’re either doing the things we require or your not. If you are not then you should go somewhere else, because we are going to insist on this and more importantly than insisting on it, we don’t want you here if you are not a team player. That’s all there is to it. After that, we are going to measure the hell out of this stuff because the fact of life is that we have every right to inspect everything that you are doing and that you are not doing”
into their activities. ‘It’s not my style’, ‘I really don’t have time for it’, ‘I don’t believe anyone can tell me what’s going to happen’ were more easily accepted when sales executives were exceeding targets. But those times for most are now gone. Time and again we found that sales directors & MDs have stiffened their resolve. One sales director even said:
Would you like fries with that?
I am frequently asked to help sales teams and business owners learn how to do it effectively, and there is one question they all ask me is “what do we say?”. There are many sales techniques that can be used to achieve the upsell and cross-sell and some of these can be complicated. My advice is to keep it simple and here’s where I’d like to talk to you about my love for McDonalds! I love, love, love a Big Mac! Every time I go into order I’m asked, “would you like fries with that?”, and, do you know what, I do!!! This simple question is asked every time someone orders a burger and has generated billions of dollars in revenue for the company.
they do. In comparing the performance of companies who adopted a formal process versus those that don’t, on virtually every metric used to judge success, the processed focussed teams outperformed their less structured competition. In regards to some aspects of selling the differences were absolutely mind boggling.
COLUMNIST – SALES The Sales Ace 01604 thesalesace.co.ukjulie@thesalesace.co.uk532004
Upselling and cross-selling are great for business! It’s a great way to get ahead of your competition, create value with your customers and increase revenue. It’s not about “pushing” your products or services, it’s about helping your customer to resolve their needs, wants, issues or problems.
I recently worked with a janitorial supplies company who, following training with me, decided to ask every customer who placed an order “how are you for bin liners and toilet rolls?” This simple question, focussing on the most commonly ordered products, increased their revenue dramatically. Feedback from their customers was to thank them for the reminder as they could have run out! The trick with this approach, is to use it every time and not to be pushy. Some customers won’t order, but some will.
Once you have implemented and customised what works for you maybe you can then start enjoying life as you will be able to understand what you work on and what may be worth leaving alone. Now take a look at your pipeline and hold your head up it’s so predictable when you know how.
Get in touch with Julie to find out how she can help your business.
What we do understand today is that you simply cannot rely on ‘gut feel’ or any type of ‘feel good factor’, you have to enforce a practical measurable no nonsense sales process. As a good start you could take a look at your sales funnel and measure key information, however the reporting process seen with many CRM packages will only give you a very basic picture and in certain cases the wrong picture. You should look for a system that is customisable that has multiple ‘touch points’ within each ‘sales indicator’. For example it’s no good speaking with a prospect if they do not have an available budget. You usually have to speak to the budget holder and also understand what conditions must exist before they can release the budget. Given this example is it any wonder that many companies don’t find this out until it is too late? Lastly, it must be easy for sales to complete and sales management to digest so that they can all focus on the areas that still need attention.
Julie Futcher
Therapy teaches us about human experience
■ Behaviours/actions – avoiding seeking help, comfort eating.
People make emotionbased decisions
We should really be saying that we “think” a decision is the right one every time we are asked our opinion.
The CBT cycle teaches us that all parts of our experience are connected and are important to what makes us human. Something that often gets lost in a world of Google Analytics and big data is that your target audience are human beings that go through this full range of experience. It doesn’t matter if you are a B2B or B2C business, losing sight of what makes people tick will harm your ability to convert.
Most of us do it, even though what we are saying is technically wrong. We can’t “feel” that a decision is the right one, because a decision is a chosen course of action and not an emotion (like happiness or concern).
■ Physiological responses/ bodily sensations –headaches, back pain.
14 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin SALES
Do you feel like reading this article?
■ Emotions/feelings –anxiousness, embarrassment.
So why do we end up saying that we “feel” a decision is the right one so often? Well, I have a theory.
Most of us make decisions that are largely based in emotion. Practically speaking, we couldn’t make a fully logical decision about every choice, because it would take us hours to run through all the pros and cons just to make everyday choices. So we rely on our emotion or “gut feeling”, and end up saying that we “feel” like taking a decision would be a good one.
“Logical” choices are also influenced by emotion
You may be wondering something along the lines of; “What about the
One of the most common things people who have had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) learn is the connection between different parts of experience.Wearetaught that our experience can be broken down into the following elements. (I will give little examples of each based on imposter syndrome as this is something many of us can relate to).
Emotions and cognitions often get confused
A dive into the muddy waters of emotional motivation and its link to conversion.
■ Cognitions/thoughts – “I don’t deserve/I can’t do this job”.
When a decision needs to be made and you are asked for your opinion, how often have you said you “feel” like a decision is the right one?
Let’s say you are selling a revolutionary anti-wrinkle pill. The pill contains [insert pseudo-scientific term here] – this is its feature. The benefit is that this ingredient will make you look younger without you having to invest in a time-consuming skincare routine, that ultimately doesn’t work.
Don’t ignore emotional benefits when selling
than the alternative, they would probably sell a lot. After all, it would be appealing to a large population. But by emphasising the emotional motivation behind the decision to buy, they would likely sell a lot MORE.
Charlotte WhelanCredo
The BusinessIssueBulletin22| 15 SALES
We use emotion even in circumstances where we could swear we do not. We will sometimes think that we made a purely rational choice, and even pride ourselves on being able to do so. But to actually put emotion aside completely is not only impossible for most, but also likely to result in a bad decision.
All too often we see a focus on product or service features rather than the benefits of those features.
There are other factors involved in decision making (and it all gets rather complicated). But a welldocumented study of damage to the orbitofrontal cortex (a part of your brain heavily involved in linking emotion and reward), showed that damage to this region of the brain significantly decreases the ability to make effective choices.
The emotional benefit of feeling happier exists in the minds of potential customers without it being emphasised by the company. It is their (likely subconscious) motivation
The emotional benefit is the confidence it gives you in social situations. This confidence means you engage more with others and your brain releases more oxytocin and endorphins, (chemicals that make you feel happier).
But believing that it will make you happier (and because it requires very little effort to take a pill compared to working on your self-worth), you end up feeling it is worth “giving it a go”, even if you are sceptical.
Charlotte is Head Of Operations at a specialist CRO agency. She has a post-graduate diploma in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, as well as experience in user research and user psychology. Her aims are to improve the user experience, making websites smoother and more enjoyable. and help businesses achieve higher a conversion rate by understanding and connecting with their target audience. Alongside her colleagues at the CRO agency, she provides recommendations for website improvements based on a combined quantitative data-driven and charlotte@credoagency.co.ukhumanisticapproach.credoagency.co.uk
decisions that go beyond whether you want a white chocolate cookie or not?” (By the way – if you were to ask me, the answer would be yes to the cookie, the answer would always be yes).
Emphasise emotion
The end benefit of our pill (feeling happier) could be achieved by working on self-worth. No one actually needs the pill to feel happier; in fact, you could take the pill and not feel any happier for it.
Even when benefits are given, sometimes these lack the important link to how the benefit is going to make the buyer feel.
This means that when a person with a typical brain is trying really hard to rely on logic to make complex and important decisions, they will also be using emotion. And this is a good thing, because the decision made is likely to be better for it.
If our imaginary company only focused on the fact that the pill works and is less time consuming
emotional motivator, you are more likely to convince them to buy than if you lay out a very compelling, but emotionless argument.
Motivation and emotion fascinates me, and I hope that this short introduction to how they connect
Emotion is also important in B2B conversions
to buy and will therefore result in sales. By focusing on this motivation in marketing and on the website, it makes this motivation stronger, increasing the number of people who buy.
to the worlds of marketing and conversion has spurred your desire to learnDatamore.and sophisticatedincreasinglytrackingsoftware is helpful when trying to understand your target audience. But it will never be able to tell you how to connect withForthem.that, you need to be human –(unless of course machines become truly sentient one day)!
But remember what we talked about above? People need to engage emotion to make effective decisions. If you tap into their
Is Your Business Ready? We live in changing times New business practices Ever changing technologies New and changing markets Is your business ready to face these and other challenges? At QRB we offer a range of training and coaching services for you and your teams to adapt and adopt to your changing environment We help your people plan, monitor and adapt changes to your business to help you achieve better, smarter and more structured ways of working PRINCE2PRINCE2 Agile AgilePM Change Management ITIL4 Service Management Put your teams through a real working simulation so they can practice their new skills in safe environments and embed their new knowledge and learning. All our consultants are experienced practitioners in their field. Bringing real life examples to embellish the core material and facilitate the learning of the group. Contact us today for your free consultation 01327 630355 enquiries@qrbmc.com www.qrbmc.com16 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin SALES
You may think that in B2B conversions emotion takes a back seat. The transaction seems less personal, and therefore the target audience is likely to be much more logical. Focusing on emotional benefits in your sales copy therefore may not be a high priority.
Remember there is a human behind every statistic
To see how important emotion is to B2B conversions you just have to think about networking. We spend time interacting with others in a similar role to ours in order to make human connections. These human connections often lead to opportunities that a web page simply never could, (including conversions/sales).
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Avoid the one button byebye – five reasons why your content succeeds or fails
Do you occasionally clean up your inbox or social media? Most of us do. You know how it is, you get five minutes between meetings or while having a coffee, and you idly flick through your inbox and social media and unsubscribe or stop following. One click of a button and the marketing that someone spent so much time over is gone forever. The reason you are hitting unsubscribe of course, is that the content you received was of no value to you. It didn’t engage or interest you.
18 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin MARKETING
We all like to think we know who our customers are, but how often do you actually compare that to the content you are sending? In the rush to get new leads and opportunities, it’s easy to forget to target effectively. Untargeted marketing really doesn’t work, and if it does, it’s usually a fluke. It’s a bit like picking up a handful of gravel, throwing it into a crowd in the hope that you will hit someone you want to talk to, and then also hoping that they won’t be annoyed about getting a face full of stones.
Make your site both SEO and human friendly It is essential that we make our websites as search-engine-friendly as possible. However in the first instance, irrespective of whether we are then moving to a more organic social media campaign or a PPC strategy, it has to be human-friendly too!
Christina Robinson
If you don’t invest time in the basics of getting your site ready for search, then you are, in my opinion, building a humongous brick wall that will scupper your chances of success.
When you compare the approach of a digital marketing agency rooted in organic social media marketing strategies with the approach of an agency focused on SEO, you will see some clear differences in their suggestions for what will get your business on page one of Google. But there will also be a few similarities.
Read more on this topic.
COLUMNIST – MARKETING
Do your keyword research
A good example of this is when you accept a connection request on LinkedIn, and whoosh, back comes the standard ‘Hi, buy my stuff message’ that has no relevance to you. Even in a relatively closeknit network group, you will find a range of ages, business types, locations, interests, and every other kind of demographic. Blanket broadcasting is not a good idea. One of the processes we always work through with a new client is to define their own ideal client. I suggest you do the same and then only send content that targets their interests and needs.
There are several, and in my opinion, very basic, tasks all businesses should ensure they have completed to help them on their way from a digital perspective, whatever approach they chose to move forward with. I’m not going to bore you with a list, but I am going to cover a couple of things that come up again and again and again in my work.
Five reasons your content could succeed or fail
Complete the basics
When you are running a small business, all your marketing counts. There is a cost to the time and effort that you are spending, and for SMEs, that is a valuable commodity. So, whether you are focused on your email and blogs, working on your social content or even less common areas like SMS messages or WhatsApp, you want to be sure your content is right for your target customer. If your content is off the mark or not going to the right people, at best, it’s a waste of time for everyone and, at worst, you likely to be thought of as a spammer. So, when you check the metrics, and you see a post or email that has either not generated any results or is getting high unsubscribes, chances are that the content was the issue.
There are multiple reasons why your content could be badly received or do the opposite and sing like a canary. The truth is that there is no 100% guaranteed answer to getting it right because we human beings are strange and complex things. That said, there are some regular superstars and terrible offenders when it comes to content. Here are five things to think about that could affect the success of your marketing.
01604 green-umbrella.bizchristina.robinson@green-umbrella.biz726758 Green Umbrella Marketing
1. Did you define and target your ideal market?
Get up close and personal with your H1s and H2s We are living in a world where time is of the essence. Visitors to your site will scan your content, taking in the title and any subheadings first and then possibly the odd paragraph. If, by then, you have managed to fully capture the attention of that visitor – maybe your article will be read in its entirety. And even better, with Google’s new ‘Helpful Content’ update you’ll be playing right into the hands (or legs) of those Google Spiders without even trying!
When SEO and social media meet
Sign up for Google Ads and use the free Keyword planner tool to get an idea of the juiciest terms you can use in your headings and subheadings.
Green Umbrella Marketing
This is a regular problem. Some quick hacks are:
■ Good old Google is a gold mine. What news is trending around your particular businesses?
3. Is it the right content for y our audience?
Once you know who you are talking to and where to talk to them, it’s all about giving them what they want.
■ E-books and white papers are great for audiences that like detail or are in specialist areas.
■ Podcasts and audio versions of your blogs are good for commuters and busy businesspeople who often listen in the background.
■ Look at Quora. It’s a rabbit hole, so beware of how much time you spend on there, but because it’s a Q & A-based site, you will find a lot about your area.
■ Do you have a reason to live stream? Episodic content is really good for some of the algorithms on social media, and Facebook loves returning followers.
■ Type a general area subject into amazon and see what books come up. The chapters and contents can be a good prompt for ideas for content.
4. But where do the ideas come from?
5. Remember to optimise!
2. Do you know where your audience hangs out?
Christina works with business owners and marketing directors to educate them on how best to maximise their online marketing activities to enhance their business, increase brand awareness and ultimately increase sales. Alternatively, she offers online coaching, 121 or group training to help you as a business owner or B2B professional discover how to generate more business using tried and tested christina.robinson@green-umbrella.biz01604strategies.726758green-umbrella.biz
20 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin MARKETING
Your content is not about you… even when it is. What I mean here is that the content is for your customers. You are talking to them, so look for where they are likely to be so they can hear you. You may love TikTok, but if your target customer is 55+, then there is not much point in spending time on it. If you are a local business that sells to a small geographical area, then LinkedIn may not be a good idea, but Facebook almost certainly is. Your own personal feelings about Facebook don’t really enter the equation. Similarly, just because you are all in the same network group doesn’t mean everyone will be interested in what you sell. When in doubt, why not ask? Find out more about your existing customers, run a poll on LinkedIn, and check out the published demographics on social platforms. Even casual conversations will give you clues as to where and when to reach out.
■ Further to the last point… so is video.
■ Images are always the right thing. From something just put there to attract the eye through to infographics that get important facts across
Blogs, videos, social content, in fact, all marketing, will work better if it is optimised. It’s worth taking some time to familiarise yourself with what that means for each kind of content. Blog copy should contain H2 titles, a call to action and be written in a way that appeals to the reader. YouTube content is all about having the right description and other information. Every social media platform has its own preferences. If you take the time to study what optimisations work, it will pay you back in engagement. I appreciate this is a time issue for some people, though. If it is, you may want to consider outsourcing some of your Whencontent.itcomes right down to it, the formula for successful content seems fairly simple on the surface. Put the right content where the right people can see. In practice, that means really knowing who your customers are, where they hang out and what they want to see, read, and hear. Optimised, well-constructed content that is useful will always work well.
■ Re-purpose any PDFs you can from presentations and training. If they were relevant the first time you used them, they would also make good downloads and content.
Christina Robinson
What do you want the award to achieve?
business and what it has achieved.
Is the award credible?
WhatAwards!are they good for?
Being able to describe your company as ‘award-winning’ is a great way to grab people’s attention, boost your reputation and attract new business.
Althoughachievements.therearesome fantastic
Is the award relevant?
Issue 22 | 21 The Business Bulletin MARKETING
An internet search for ‘business awards’ will bring up so many results, it can be difficult to know where to start. The first thing to consider is whether the award in question is an authentic recognition of your staff or business’s
It’sauthentic.alsoworth taking a look at who the judges are. Are they professionals you respect and would like to gain the respect of? If so, you’ve probably found the right fit.
When this kind of general awareness circulates about an award ceremony, it inevitably becomes devalued and seen as meaningless. For this reason, awards which are entered anonymously and do not require candidates to buy an expensive ticket for an awards ceremony are by their nature credible and therefore worth having as proof of excelling in a certain area of your business.
Being nominated for and ultimately winning an award is always an ego boost but when choosing which categories to enter, it’s important to think about how an eventual win could best be leveraged to benefit your business. Sit down as a team and think about your standout achievements over the past 12 months and which ones will benefit your customers most. It could be a
award schemes out there, business communities are well aware of a minority of awards where the winners are those who buy a table at the event or where a win depends on getting the most votes, which in reality can come from friends, family and others with no real understanding of the
That said, not all awards are made equal. So, before you invest the time and effort necessary to put your company up for an award, there are some important points to consider.
In industries varying from hairdressing to estate agency, there are wellestablished and prestigious industry awards that can launch careers and skyrocket business profiles. It can be more difficult to decide which more general business awards it’s worth your while entering, so it’s important to do your homework. Have a look
at the other businesses who have entered and won in recent years and check the entry criteria is transparent and
Whether that means telling your business networking group in person, composing a post on LinkedIn (linking to your blog) or posting on your other social media channels, use your online presence to shout about your achievement.
And whatever you do, remember to read the small print! Don’t waste your time by mistakenly applying for an award you’re not eligible for
Don’t delay in blogging about this fantastic news and adding it to the ‘About Us’ section of your website, so that everyone who finds you online finds out the good news.
With that in mind, a carefully targeted approach is key. Once you’ve established the categories that best fit your company’s needs, it’s a case of whittling down your entries to ones you have the best chance of being shortlisted for. A sharply focussed and well-executed approach to entering an awards ceremony is far more likely to get you the winning results you want than a more general, hedging your bets type approach.
Update your website
Your physical award should take pride of place in your reception, meeting room, or wherever it’s likely to attract the most attention from customers and visitors to your premises.
Maximising your award
Is the application a good use of your time?
new innovation, a high-achieving young team member or excellence in customer service. Whatever it is, the more your customers and potential customers care about it, the more likely it is to result in an improved ROI for your company.
Don’t wait until you win! As soon as you’re nominated for an award, it’s worth sharing that well-deserved endorsement of the great work you do with your online and in-person network. And if you’re shortlisted, make sure you share that too, to demonstrate this valuable endorsement of your professional prowess. When the award is actually in your hands it’s time to really shout about it so that everyone knows how great you are – officially!
or entering in more categories than are allowed.
Even awards with a simple application process and a low entry fee involve time and investment on your part. Before you commit to applying for an award, it’s important to check what the application process involves as well as how much it costs. These days, many organisations who run awards take into account the busy lives of the professionals they need to attract and streamline the process as much as possible. However, a 250-word entry can be trickier to write than a 1000 word one – whatever the process, your entry is representing your company, so it needs to be professional, slick, tailored to its audience and typo-free!
Display it
Publicise it
Winning a coveted award is a fantastic PR opportunity both for general local news and in your industry’s publications. Don’t miss this chance for your company to get fantastic free publicity as it shines in the best possible light.
Leverage it
Jessica Shailes The Ideal Marketing Company
Get social
Jess is MD of The Ideal Marketing Company, a full-service marketing agency. She has specialised in digital marketing for over 10 years and in that time has watched it evolve from an experimental marketing option to an essential tool for the majority of businesses. Jess’s interest in strategy and passion for delving into the numbers means she is driven to help businesses achieve their objectives with a bespoke approach using the best jess@idealmarketingcompany.comresourcesmarketingavailable.01858445543idealmarketingcompany.co.uk
No matter what the format of the awards, make sure you get some great pictures you can use to your advantage in the aftermath.
22 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin MARKETING
Been hoping to land a public speaking, magazine article or podcast guest opportunity? Adding ‘award-winning’ to your professional bio should help open doors to some exciting new opportunities.
With , administrators can set which authentication methods will be offered to users based on the sensitivity of the application. For example, administrators may decide that SMS authentication is suitable for low assurance applications, but not for those that require a medium or high level of identity assurance. Also, with RSA SecurID Access, users have the flexibility to choose from the allowed authenticators at runtime, which makes a convenient experience for users.
Securing your business
C4 Secure
See where you could be exposed and what to do to get protected, if you’ve migrated to, or are considering migrating to Office 365, contact to learn about:
If your employees rely on usernames and passwords alone, you’re at risk for a VPN security breach. Are you sure your users are who they say they are? Can simple authentication and vigorious security co-exist? Found out in the RSA eBook:
● ● ●
is a powerful, feature-rich platform that delivers substantial productivity gains and cost savings. However, organisations rushing to adopt Office 365 risk creating holes in their wider security architecture.
Usernames and passwords are not enough. Thousands of employees require on-demand, 24/7 access to your VPN. Revoking that access is not an option and neither is making the authentication process for complex. A recent Data Breach Investigations Report found that
increase. However, those new business ideas are still there in your head, aren’t they? They don’t go away. And if you’re one of those
How are you going to get your business through tough times?
24 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin OPERATIONS
The economic climate is certainly hitting morale on many levels. This is impacting everyone from recent graduates to established professionals. And it’s dampening entrepreneurial spirit too. A recent study by FreeAgent – a cloud accounting software provider – found that 70% of workers would be loath to start a business at the moment.
budding entrepreneurs thinking to wait for the right time, now can be the right time if you approach things in the correct way.
Now, it’s true that both Covid and Brexit have impacted staff availability, and the current rate of inflation is seeing the cost of business loans
Tapping into expertise so you can focus on your business idea
2. Research your market – look at your competitors and talk to your potential customers to understand their needs properly. If you have the time, test your ideas and get feedback early on so you can hit the ground running with your first product offering.
Most entrepreneurs are busy people and there are only twenty-four hours in a day. To get a business going, you need to cover many angles, the problem is… many of those will not play to your natural strengths as a businessperson. What takes a seasoned professional an hour will take you a day, just to get up to speed, let alone make the decisions and complete the task. Thus, though budget is always tight at the beginning, it’s worth investing a proportion of it to working with experts to get things going.
iterative development cycle delivery is based on an Agile approach.
Russell Parker
The term ‘flat white’ came into my life with the assumption that I already knew what it was. The coffee shop marketing announced its arrival like it was long anticipated and finally here. There was no explanation of what it was, I never heard anyone ask what it was, so I didn’t feel it necessary to reveal my ignorance in public for something I was never going to drink.
Find out more about the next Agile workshop at the Red Bull Formula 1 factory. Enter voucher code BuscommF1 for 20% discount.
I can work out it’s a type of coffee drink and it has milk in it, but flat? What does that mean? Is it served on a dinner plate? Or maybe just tipped on the floor!
Let’s start with a confession. I don’t know what a ‘flat white’ coffee is.
A good example would be an accountant. A good accountant will know the pitfalls to look out for and the accelerator buttons to push. They’ll also be able to guide you on the best set up for your business taxwise and get you on the right footing from the start. Another example is a marketing guru, who can save you from wasting money on pointless campaigns. Then there are HR professionals, funding specialists, tech advisers… the list goes on. You’ll know where your weaknesses lie and where you need help. So, with that said, how do you get going?
Just as long as it’s not served on the floor.
Linear delivery is also known as waterfall, who knew?
wasn’t until I started training that someone mentioned it and I had to look it up. I’d been used to delivering projects in two ways, either in repeated development cycles or in one linear direction.Repeated
1. Set your business structure up correctly from the start – e.g. sole trader or limited company – and understand how to operate tax efficiently. It can be expensive and fiddly to fix these things afterwards, so it pays to get good advice at the beginning.
There’s a lot to get your head around, but with good advice from knowledgeable experts you’ll put your business on the right footing if you consider the following points.
Waterfall projects came into my world the same way.It
COLUMNIST – OPERATIONS
As a black coffee drinker, I’m never going to drink one. If we end up in a coffee shop together, I might buy you one but you’re drinking it so I don’t really need to know what it is.
So why am I telling you about my coffee ignorance?
01327 www.qrbmc.comenquiries@qrbmc.com630355 QRB Management Consultants
Starting off with the right foot forward
Both are valid, Agile is more useful if your final deliverable is less certain at the beginning. Linear is used when there is more certainty about what’s required at the start.
3. Do a business plan – nothing focuses the thinking better than establishing your goals, doing a cashflow forecast, and planning your growth. But bear in mind that it’s not set in stone. If you need to adjust, update it. Your business plan is not a fixed document, it should evolve as your business develops. projects,Waterfall myth or reality?
4. Work on your brand – strong branding builds loyalty and engagement and provides a platform for future growth. Think it through carefully from the start and build from there.
your options and pick their brains on the right funding approach for your business idea.
10. Get your mindset ready – you’re going to need enthusiasm, determination,stamina,andfocus. Ask yourself, are you ready for the long hours? Are you resilient enough to overcome failures and keep going? Mind you, if you’ve read this far… you’ve probably got the necessary determination in abundance!
And if that’s the case, good luck. Now is a great time to give it a go.
8. Plan your IT requirements – obviously this includes hardware and software. However, data storage is important and keeping your data secure is critical if you don’t want to fall foul of regulations.
Roger Eddowes Essendon Accounts & Tax
5. Register your domain – get your domain name address set up from the start. Even if you don’t have a website, you’ll be using email. Plus, it helps you to bottom out your business name; if the domain you want is taken, you might need to be a bit creative with your thinking. You don’t want to get dragged into legal action because you’re trampling on a trademark or existing business.
The Business Bulletin 26 | Issue 22 OPERATIONS
6. Plan for premises – if it’s appropriate. Many businesses start in a garage or a spare room, but at some point, you’ll want to expand. Don’t forget, even near the beginning you’ll be holding meetings and you may not want potential customers traipsing through your house. So start getting a feel for the commercial
Do a business plan –nothing focuses the thinking better than establishing your goals, doing a cashflow forecast, and planning your growth
Roger trained at Edward Thomas Peirson & Sons in Market Harborough before working at Hartwell & Co, followed by Chancery, as a partner. He started Essendon Accounts & Tax with Helen Beaumont in 2014. Roger loves ‘getting his hands dirty’, working with emerging, small-to-medium and family businesses to ensure they receive the best possible accountancy advice. Using an extensive network of business contacts to leverage the best guidance and practical solutions, he has been called a Business Godparent due to his caring, roger.eddowes@essendonaccounts.co.uk07595approach.hands-on021376essendonaccounts.co.uk
9. Assess your funding needs – cashflow is king, so speak to your accountant about
property market straight away so you know what you’re letting yourself in for.
7. Consider strategic partnerships – as a business owner you don’t need to do everything. Strategic partnerships can provide mutual support, customer leads, and motivation when times are tough. And besides… going it alone can be daunting and isolating. Plus don’t forget, business networking has fuelled many successful entrepreneurs. So start investigating what networking groups are out there that would suit your business, and begin the process of making contact.
A breach is any event or action, whether that be accidental or deliberate, which presents a threat to the security, integrity, confidentiality of availability of data. This includes:
■ Loss or theft of a physical record
■ Loss or theft of computer equipment
■ Unauthorised access
Gayle Parker Datasense Consulting
How to deal with a data breach
■ Loss or theft of a physical record
■ Equipment failure
– whether that’s through consultancy or practical, hands-on training. When it comes to protecting your data, you’re in safe hands. Gayle has helped lots of organisations successfully prepare and implement programmes for GDPR.
Firstly what constitutes a data breach?
■ Loss or theft of computer equipment
That is why it is a good idea to have either a Data Protection Officer, or at least someone within the organization nominated as the data lead who is the go-to person in the event of a breach. Having the right policies in place means that managers and staff know the process to follow if such an event should occur and regular staff training can help mitigate against the most common forms of data breaches.
Gayle’s passion is helping organisations protect themselves, their customers and their data from the everevolving threats of the digital world
07767 gayle.parker@datasense.ltd331866datasense.ltd Issue 22 | 27 The Business Bulletin OPERATIONS
■ Unauthorised access
■ Equipment failure
■ The categories of data subject
They then need to determine, in liaison with the relevant staff how best to resolve and remedy the data breach.Because
■ a description of the measures taken (or proposed to be taken) to address the data breach including, where relevant, measures taken to mitigate any possible adverse effects.
What information you need to collect
Theeffect?datalead will then need to assess whether the breach is still occurring, if this is the case, appropriate steps need to be taken immediately to minimize the effects of the breach and to stop it. They then need to liaise with the relevant staff to establish the severity of the breach.Containment of the breach is the next step and where possible take steps to recover or restrict the availability of the data, either by revoking access or temporarily making the data unavailable.
of the time sensitive nature of reporting any breaches to the ICO you must carry out the initial investigation within 24 hours, during the investigation you will need to review what actually happened, what organisation measures where
What information you will need
The Business Bulletin 28 | Issue 22 OPERATIONS
■ the benefits to data subjects’ of being notified (e.g. giving them the opportunity to mitigate the risks posed by the data breach);
You will then need to think about the likely impact on the individuals of the data being compromised, this will also affect who you notify. It is also important to look at the consequences for the organisation. These could be reputational, financial and potentially criminal.
■ The date and time it was discovered
how) to notify individuals in the event of a personal data breach, you need to consider the following:
■ whether there is a legal or contractual requirement to notify;
When considering whether (and how) to notify the ICO of a data breach, the ICO have a checker that will tell you whether you need to report organisations/report-a-breach/https://ico.org.uk/for-
■ How many data subjects does it
The police may have been contacted if the data breach resulted from a criminalWhenact.considering whether (and
■ the category or categories and the approximate number of personal data records involved;
■ Did it involved sensitive data?
If a data breach is discovered or suspected then you need to act quickly to ascertain:
■ further assistance that the Company should provide to the affected data subjects, where appropriate;
Once the data breach has been contained, and all necessary parties notified, the data lead should conduct a complete review of the causes of the data breach, the effectiveness of the measures taken in response, and whether any systems, policies, or procedures can be changed to prevent data breaches from occurring in the future.
■ how to make it easy for affected data subjects to contact the Company to find out more about the data breach;
■ The date and time of the breach
Who to notify
■ the category or categories and the approximate number of data subject whose personal data is affected by the data breach;
■ the name and contact details of the companies data lead from which the ICO can obtain further information about the data breach;
in place and this will include policies and the people whose job it was to look after the data, assessing what technical measures where in place.
■ What type of personal data was involved
They will then need to determine whether anything further can be done to recover the data and to limit the damage caused by the data.
■ the likelihood that data subjects’ rights and freedoms as set out in the GDPR will be adversely affected;
■ a description of the likely consequences of the data breach; and
Join FSB and unlock a range of services for your business *FSB Business Essentials Membership starts from £147 per annum with a £30 registration fee in the first year. This rate is applicable to businesses with no employees. Rates increase depending on your number of employees. Please see the website for full details of subscription rate bands. Registered Office: National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Limited, Sir Frank Whittle Way, Blackpool Business Park, Blackpool, FY4 2FE. Registered in England No. 1263540. To find out more or join today, call 0808 2020 888 or visit fsb.org.uk/join At FSB our mission is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. We are the UK’s largest grassroots campaigning group promoting and protecting the interests of the self-employed and smaller business owners. How can FSB help your business? Right from the outset, FSB members have access to a range of services, including: • 24/7 legal, tax and employment advice line • Debt recovery service • Range of local and virtual events - open to all • An extensive online legal hub with over 1,300 documents and templates • Easy access to funding • Specialist hubs including our start up hub fsb.org.uk/start
Stephen Church is the owner of Copywriter Pro – he is an SEO copywriter, which means he gets businesses more and better clients by writing words for their websites, which are clear, concise, and compelling. As well as websites, he can turn his hand to sales letters, emails, newsletter campaigns, press releases, case studies, white papers, tender documents,…anything where words are involved. More recently he has launched the “Fire That Copywriter” online course.
SpotlightStephenonChurch
The Business Bulletin 30 | Issue 22 ON…SPOTLLIGHT
curve for me. But sadly, the great successes we had online weren't sufficient to save the business. So, in early 2012 it packed up. It was very distressing. But I thought this was a chance to do something I'd always hankered after doing and that was to work with words. So I set up a Copywriter Pro in 2013 and it's been a fantastic journey. I've loved almost every minute of it. Probably because I'm extremely fortunate. I've had a very cushy, middle-class upbringing with everything on a plate, including the family business. I've always admired people who haven't had the privileged start to life that I've had, and I've admired how so many of them have got on by themselves, set up in business by themselves and made a success of it by themselves. Copywriter Pro has given me the opportunity to do the same kind of thing and I feel very fortunate that it has been a success. I'm busier than I ever thought was possible.
How did you end up being a copywriter? What's your business journey?
– Maya Angelou
“People may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
A lot of people begin when they answer that question, they say: “My why is that I want to help people dot, dot, dot.” I think I might be
ahead of the game in some ways. We had a website as early as 1996, which is pretty early - I think it was probably clockwork driven! It was so interesting. I got interested in the internet, and I got interested in the power of the internet and writing words. In 2005, we set up our very first e-commerce site. Proper online shopping, and we called it the UK Gift Company. That was something I set up myself and again, words and copywriting became more and more important, and also knowledge of search engine optimization, and Google AdWords. This was all a fascinating learning
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S48slMVnZTA The BusinessIssueBulletin22| 31 ON…SPOTLLIGHT
Well, that's a dangerous question to ask because I tend to bang on and on! I've got about sixty years to tell you about. I loved English at school and did quite well at it. My first job was an English language teacher working overseas. I worked in exotic locations such as Spain, Iran, and Afghanistan. I was there 50 years ago. I always loved English. I love the way it works. I love the way words move people, how words affect how people think and how they act. Then I took a brief break from words and language - about a 30 year break actually, where I joined the family retail business in Northampton. That had been going for nearly 150 years. And in many ways, it was great fun. We sold china, crystal, cookware and collectibles. We had six shops at one point and it was successful for a good number of years. Then, for all kinds of reasons, the business just declined. It was a 15 year long, slow, painful decline where the High Street became less and less of a destination to go for the category we were in. It became less and less popular for all kinds of reasons, the business very slowly and painfully dried up. This bit does link to copywriting. We were
What gets you out of bed in the morning? What's your what's your motivator?
This to me is my copywriting mantra. My job as a copywriter is to make the reader feel that they want to click here or make a phone call there or send an email inquiry there. It's all about using words to make people feel. And I believe it's very difficult to do this, unless you're very well read. I'm sure there have been all kinds of people who disagree with this and they're welcome to and they
having done a journalism course, only to find out there are not many jobs any more. So they think, “Oh, I’ll become a copywriter.” It's something that's very difficult to do without lots a lot of training. I think the best copywriters are probably fairly elderly. Or if they're not, then they've spent a lifetime reading. I'm convinced of the fact that the best way to write well, is to read well, and to read plenty. I spent a lifetime of doing exactly that. I think that gives me a massive breadth of experience and a great feel for the language and a lot of it has to do with this field. You've heard me quote this lots of times the late great poet, activist, actress, Maya Angelou very famously said, “People may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
I think the biggest challenge for copywriters is convincing the world that there's a need for copywriters. I think this probably applies to copywriting more than any other profession or trade you can think of. So many people think they can do it. They've got good reason to think so because everybody, and by everybody, I mean 100% of the able minded, native English speaking world, did English at school. A lot of people were very good at it. A lot of people enjoyed English. A lot of people had a lot of affection for their English teacher. And they've gone on to get good qualifications: GCSEs, A-Levels, degrees and beyond. Because they were good at it, and because they liked it, they think that they can write good copy. I've yet to come across an English GCSE or A-level coursework, that has effective business copywriting as part of that course. There's a world of difference between studying literature, studying language, and writing words, that work for business writing words that will change people's minds. This is the problem that copywriters have.
What makes you different from your competitors? Why do you stand out? This is one of many bits where I feel quite uncomfortable because it's important not to come across as arrogant. A lot of people, and I hear about all the time, talk about going into copywriting. I've actually helped one or two of them. A lot of them are newspaper journalists who are out of work. A lot of people I've spoken to are very young - they come straight out of college or university, may be
may be right. There will of course be exceptions. You cannot get a feel for language, you cannot learn to use language without exposing yourself to it in as many ways as possible. That means to have lots of reading, not just business books, but fiction and biographies.
disingenuous, if I were to use that as a reason. Helping people is nice and, if it works, is nice for them too. It makes me feel good. That's a nice, healthy by-product. When I get up in the morning, I do rub my hands with glee and say, “Oh yes - another day of copywriting. What's it going to be today?” My why is certainly to be useful to businesses and individuals. My why is to give me something to do because I'm way too young to even consider retirement. My why is to be productive and enjoy life; making use of a skill that I believe I have. I am determined to enjoy life and I do enjoy it. I love so many aspects of copywriting, I wish I'd done it for 50 years and not just nine.
Why would I need a copywriter? I can write English.
They think that if they need a bit of writing doing, whether it's a sales letter or a LinkedIn profile or a web page, they think: “Well, I did well in school, I can do this perfectly well myself.” With copywriting versus plumbing, it's not so straightforward to see the end job. I could hopefully write wonderful web copy that is really engaging but it'll take time to make an impact. It's not overnight for
I always loved English. I love the way it works. I love the way words move people, how words affect how people think and how they act. The Business Bulletin 32 | Issue 22 ON…SPOTLLIGHT
the other is “I'm not good enough”. That dreaded Imposter Syndrome which I’ve suffered from for years and years; certainly since I set up as a copywriter. You know: “how can anybody take me on as a copywriter when I was a shopkeeper for 30 years?” I've never done a marketing qualification. I've got no qualifications whatsoever. I'm entirely self-taught. Why should anybody take me on? But they do take me on. They take me on because of word of mouth. I do lots of networking. I've got a website, which is effective. I'm very active on LinkedIn. People do take me on and they seem to like what I do, I'm lucky enough to have over 50 gold star reviews on Google My Business and over 50 positive recommendations on LinkedIn.
You have to have a work life balance. When you start to outsource you make sure that you give yourself time to focus on what you're best at in your business and to focus on proper everyday life as well. And the best way to outsource is to go networking!
What would you say has been your biggest business challenge?
Don't leave it too long to outsource. We all know that starting up a business is incredibly hard work.
I suppose my biggest challenge was the one we have lost sleep over from very beginning and have periodically since and it's a challenge that I should think almost everybody who steps into the big bad world of freelancing. It's a challenge that almost everybody has to overcome. And that is: how am I going to get customers? And
the effect of that to be seen. If you're diligent, you know your way around Google Analytics, you can find out whether the degree of engagement has improved as a result of that. But the results of the work for copywriting are often difficult to assess. It can be purely subjective. So the biggest challenge for copywriters is convincing the whole world out there that they have a role to play.
You have to burn the midnight oil. If you don't have any capital, you often have to do everything yourself. The problem you have is that as success builds you can make the mistake of thinking I'm becoming successful because I'm working all these hours.
Given your experience as a small business owner, what would that top tip be?
The BusinessIssueBulletin22| 33 ON…SPOTLLIGHT
Five ways to improve your cyber security
Your business right now, metaphorically speaking, leaves every window and door open in the office – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What’s wrong with this? Anyone that wants to come into your office, steal a computer and run off, could easily do so. In fact, they wouldn’t even need to run away, they could just walk away – it’s that easy. This is how cyber criminals view your business. You’re an easy business to steal sensitive and personal data from.
protect you is like putting a single rope in between each door and window thinking you’ll stop people coming in. It’s just not enough.
34 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin RESOURCES
BharatC4PanchalSecure
After 30 years working in IT, Bharat decided to focus on helping businesses by offering the RSA SecurID® Suite. This uses identity insights, threat intelligence and business context to provide secure access to all their users, across all applications. He delivers peace of mind to end-users and to management. With Bharat’s help firms don’t worry about contravening strict rules on data access and GDPR regulations or about loss of data due to malicious attacks or sales@c4secure.co.ukforgetfulness.plain01604439303c4secure.co.uk
This is the reality of the situation you’re in at the moment and whilst it’s not what you want to hear, it is something you do need to hear.
Every business has been at this point. It takes real awareness to understand you need to improve.
Most business owners think they don’t need cyber security because “we’ll never get hacked” or “breaches only happen to corporations making billions”. However, the CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it’s not a matter of if you’ll be breached, it’s a case of when. When you’ve got insufficient cyber security in place, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a huge company or not, you’re at risk. With around 39% of businesses in the
Most business owners hear ‘cyber’ and say things like “It’s too technical for me” or “I just don’t understand the terminology”. This easy-to-understand guide is going to transform your business, by giving you the knowledge to make your business safer.
We’re sure you’ve been told that your business is completely safe because you’ve got a firewall in place or that you’ve got an antivirus solution and whilst these tools aren’t going to negatively harm your business, thinking these tools will
What is cyber security and why is it important?
■ Your business will come to a standstill during and after a breach
Create a cyber security culture in the workplace
However, with so many CRM systems available on the market today, each with its unique features and functionalities, it can be difficult to know where to start. This is why it is crucial to understand the basics of CRM systems, as well as their uses and benefits. This will help you identify the most appropriate software for your organisation, ensuring optimum functionality and a more significant return on your investment.
Adopting a culture of cyber security means your staff care about cyber security and they are aware of its importance. Moreover, they know what to NOT do. Human error to this day, still remains the biggest threat to organisations. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got all the cyber security tools in the world, if your first line of defence is uneducated, you’re at risk. Adopt a cyber security culture in your organisation:
United Kingdom being breached between April 2021 and April 2022, it’s very possible that you’ll be part of the future statistics. You and your team use technology every single day and rely on it to ensure your business can function. The amount of information, personal and sensitive data that you’re risking by not utilising cyber security means your entire business is at risk.
Without cyber security:
■ You’ll be unproductive and inefficient
The importance of managementrelationshipcustomersound
Ashish Kumar
COLUMNIST – RESOURCES Web Alliance 0800 677 web-alliance.co.ukashish@web-alliance.co.uk1786
Are you ready to learn about CRM systems and how they can be tailored specifically to your business? If so, let us connect and take this conversation forward.
Building excellent customer relationships are vital to the long-term success of any business. It helps consumers feel more connected to the brand/ company, leading to better client retention and repeatMoreover,purchases.because customers are the lifeblood of any business, many companies invest a significant amount of money in tools and software that are intended to make their sales and customer support teams more efficient and productive. While certain technologies have proven to be more effective, one piece of software remains as reliable as ever: customer relationship management (CRM) software.
■ Your clients will leave you if you’re breached your clients are right to expect their data to be in safe hands and the businesses who look to avoid cyber security will ultimately have less business in the future.
■ Implement a hybrid backup which consists of an onsite backup device and offsite
There are a number of applications on your devices which can get exhausted after a certain period of time and businesses remain unaware of it. These applications and services act as loopholes for your system security. You need to delete that particular application and the user credentials associated with it to prevent hackers from taking any sensitive data.
Remove applicationsunusedand update existing applications
■ Firewalls and Internet Gateways Cyber Essentials certification requires that you configure and use a firewall to protect all your devices, particularly those that connect to public or other suspicious and unreliable WiFi networks.
SOC and SIEM are high level, 24/7 cyber security tools which could benefit your business greatly.
Also, make sure your software is being automatically updated as developers are constantly finding solutions to security gaps in their applications.
■ Use two-factor-authentication to make it harder for attackers to breach your infrastructure and systems.
■ If you have the storage facility, opt for a daily backup. However, if this is unrealistic, you can opt for a weekly or monthly backup instead.
Cyber Essentials reduces the risk by using five technical controls:
Back up your data
■ Implement a strong password policy by making sure every single employee uses at least 12 characters and includes numbers, symbols and capital letters.
Cyber Essentials is great for building the foundation of your cyber security but once certified, you will need ongoing threat management solutions to maximise your risk reduction.
A SOC (Security Operations Centre) is a dedicated team of cyber security analysts who proactively monitor your network and respond to incidents. SOC’s were once a tool only accessible by the biggest organisations but now with virtual SOCs, you don’t need full time staff or even an entire facility, making it a possibility for smaller organisations.
It’s highly likely that you will be breached in the future, so you need to back up your data to ensure you’re retaining the data you currently hold. Our recommendations for your organisation:
The Government created the Cyber Essentials certification for small and medium businesses to reduce the risk of breach by 80% and for businesses to show their clients that they take data protection seriously. So how does it reduce the risk by 80%?
■ Secure Configuration Cyber Essentials certification requires your organisation to only use software, accounts and apps that are frequently used. The key here is that they need to be a necessity to your organisation.
The Business Bulletin 36 | Issue 22 RESOURCES
■ Access Control Cyber Essentials certification requires that you control access to your data through user accounts. Also, administration privileges are only given to those that need and furthermore, the use of the data with those accounts is controlled.
Threat detection and protection
■ When calculating the amount of storage required for a backup, it’s important that you include operating systems and applications in your total figure.
■ Train and educate your staff by making your training sessions as interactive as possible, creating games such as “spot the fake email” can make your staff more aware of the threats being posed. If you make this monthly agenda, you can track their progress and reward your employees for keeping your company cyber safe.
cloud storage as backup. With this, you benefit from being able to recover quickly via the onsite device and you are safe in the knowledge that not only is your data securely held offsite but that in the event of a disaster (e.g. fire) your data can be recovered easily.
■ Patch Management Cyber Essentials certification requires that you keep your devices, software and apps up-to-date.
■ Limit access of data, systems and software to only those who are meant to use them in their role.
Cyber Essentials
■ Malware Protection Cyber Essentials certification requires that you do at least one of following to defend against malware: Whitelisting, sandboxing or installing antimalware software
The key aims of a SOC are:
The Business Bulletin RESOURCES
the cyber security measures of an organisation whilst mitigating current risks at the same time. Every SOC needs the SIEM’s intelligence to know what it is protecting your systems against. The SIEM makes the SOC aware of the threat and the SOC tackles this threat.
■ Protecting data held on systems and networks
■ Understanding user behaviour to improve future AtechnologiesSIEM(Security
Organisations use SIEMs to:
■ Detect cyber security incidents by collecting logs from all data sources across your network and triggering alerts from suspicious activity
members of your team. The SIEM analyses activity from many different resources across your infrastructure as well as collecting security data from network devices and servers.
■ Allow cyber security specialists and analysts to handle suspicious activity
Information and Event Management), is a tool that indicates suspicious activity by setting rules and alerting your team when the rules are broken. They can also be used to discover compromised
■ Detecting and responding to threats
■ Regulate compliance
■ Enhancing cyber resilience
Together, SOCs and SIEMS are incredibly powerful as they improve
■ Identifying and responding to criminal behaviours
What is an entity? Simply put it is the ‘thing’ you are recording in your data. An example of an entity might be a customer, an invoice, or appointment. Make a list of all the things you’re maintaining in your spreadsheets: customers, orders, purchases, suppliers, etc. You should also detail the key “attributes” of each entity. An attribute is something that describes a particular aspect of an entity. A customer may have attributes such as company name, contact person, address, email address, phone number.
Say goodbye to your spreadsheets
Make sure your spreadsheets are backed up and continue to be backed up during the transition. Okay, let’s start:
You’ll have to do some premigration analysis so moving your data is as smooth as possible, and you get all the benefits of your investment.Thisshould go without saying –but I’m going to saying it anyway!
Whilst in a spreadsheet, your data is optimised for well… spreadsheets. Spreadsheets make data easily viewable and amendable, without requiring any deep technical knowledge or code.
Attributes may be shared between entities. For example, a customer number might be shared with your order entity and the order number might be shared with your customer entity. You use this to track orders by customer, or customer by orders.
2. Look for duplication
The Business Bulletin 38 | Issue 22 RESOURCES
Databases aren’t concerned with making your data easily viewable or editable: the work of a database is to maintain and store data efficiently and accurately. Therefore, database design requires technical knowhow, and you’ll need to work with a database developer to get it right.
Now look closely at your data. Are you duplicating information either in the same worksheet or in other worksheets? One clue here is if you routinely find yourself changing information in multiple locations to keep your information consistent and synchronised.Ifthisistrue, there may be opportunities in tackling what is called data redundancy. Redundant data is problematic because it
1. Think about your “entities”
You want to migrate your business data from Excel or Google Sheets into a brand, spanking new database. You’re unsure how to do it, so what do you need to do?
introduces ambiguity to your data. Say you record a customer phone number in two locations and accidentally forget to update it in both locations. Next time you look it up, perhaps months later, you have two phone numbers – which one is correct? In databases it is generally better to have one representation or “source of truth”.
Consider the data in your spreadsheet some more. Can you spot room for simplification? Are you maintaining data you’ll never use? Do you really need all those columns – or do you find that most of them are in fact blank or ignored?
3. Check your rules
Now look at how you maintain your spreadsheet data. What rules are you applying to your data? Say you want to ensure that every customer has a unique email address. In a large spreadsheet, by default you can easily duplicate email addresses and be none the wiser, until you look for duplicates. With databases though, you can immediately raise an error if an existing customer already uses the same email. The duplicate simply won’t be saved.
Just as you might do for a website, consider where you’re going to host your database. You can use your own database server, a hosting service, or theDependingcloud. upon your budget, volume of data, data growth rate, and usage pattern there are pros and cons to all these options.
If you have an archive of spreadsheets (perhaps you create fresh ones every year) you may want to have a look through them too.
Issue 22 | 39 The Business Bulletin RESOURCES
‘Refresh’ to get updated data, this is likely to be the case.
7. Think about the past
5. Check external links
Secondly, are you manually maintaining values in columns which could be automated? At this stage you may be unclear exactly what could be done but making a note will help your developer.
10. Backup strategy
Daishik Chauhan is a full-stack contract software developer, software and IT consultant, and Microsoft Azure solutions architect. Through his company, Crucis Consulting Limited, Daishik specialises in technical and business analysis, delivery planning and coordination, and Microsoft database and software info@crucisconsulting.co.uk07949consultancy.243306crucisconsulting.co.uk
Some spreadsheets are linked to other databases and even online services. If you have a spreadsheet where you must occasionally click
Daishik Chauhan Crucis Consulting
I also want to mention SQLite. Open-source (and free), it is only suitable for very small database applications and should only be used for non-critical, low concurrency use cases where just one or two users will be connecting at a time.
9. Where to host?
If you are technically inclined, (or just vaguely interested!) you may also want to take the opportunity to consider a suitable database platform from the myriad available. MySQL is a popular open-source database and for small businesses is certainly not something to be overlooked, because it is free to use. However, it lacks some of the powerful integrations to Azure (Microsoft’s cloud platform), Microsoft 365 and Office 365. This is not generally a significant issue for most users, however.
Even databases need to be backed up. Talk to your developer about this! That’s it! Follow this process step-bystep, fully engage with your developer, discuss your ideas and concerns in as much detail as you can, and there’s no reason why your data migration should not be a total success.
A key advantage of a database is that you can finally consolidate all your information into a single repository of your business data. A developer will be able to migrate not just your current working data, but also historical data into your new database. This historical data then becomes as easy to view and work with as your current data.
You should tell your developer about this, and if you can, provide details of where this data comes from. It will need to be integrated into your database solution.
8. Pick your technology
You may have other such rules in your spreadsheet, so it’s good time to note these, and consider new or enhanced rules.
6. Reports and charts
If your spreadsheet contains reports or charts, you should discuss how you will get these reports and visualisations after migration. This is also a good time to consider updates or enhancements, and how you want them presented. (There may yet be a role for spreadsheets working with your new database!)
4. Simplify
A strategic plan is invaluable for an organisation’s success, whether it is a commercial entity or a charity. It sets the course for the organisation to reach its Unfortunately,goals. only one in three plans work. Having taken part in quite a few of those in my days in the corporate world I did some research to find out why. This is what I have found:
When, eons ago, I graduated from university, a friend offered me to join him on a yacht to sail around the Mediterranean. We were still free of any obligations, had enough money, and planned to do the odd job if we ran out at any time. It was the best time of my life. Eventually we ran out of money (the odd-job plan didn’t work as we had hoped) and we went back home to real life.
❙ They are irrelevantenough,can’tdoorganisationsexpensiveprohibitivelysomanysimplydon’tthem,andthosewhodorepeatthemfrequentlysotheybecomeatsomepoint.
❙ The managementorganisation’steam is involved only as a source of information, not in actually setting up the plan so they are less than committed to it.
■ Methodology – strategic plans are usually created by outside consultants. This has two drawbacks:
■ Top-down – strategos is Greek is a general of the army, and it implies that the top brass knows best, and the rest of the organisation just need to comply. These days employees at all levels want to be involved. Otherwise, they are simply not engaged.
Why don’t strategic plans work anymore (and what does)?
There is a lesson here. Running an organisation without a strategic plan is a bit like my yacht adventure – it may be great fun, but you will not get anywhere specific, and you might run out of money at some point.
40 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin STRATEGY
This model was embellished to T-GROW by Myles Downey in his book Effective Coaching
1. WHY –you’d be surprised how many organisations never sit down to formalise their dream goal – how will the organisation look one day, when it will be all you ever wanted it to be. Running an organisation without a defined dream goal is a bit like my post-grad yacht adventure – it may be fun but will not get you anywhere.
Topic: this helps clarify the overall scope and scale of the situation relating to the goal that is being set. It can set a context for the goal and help in being clear on the outcomes.
Whilst this process may appear linear in nature, it is a reiterative process – you are continually looking at the goal and whether it’s still relevant or needs adapting given the progress made in trying to reach it. Circumstances may change and therefore some realignment maybe needed.
Options: what choices are available. All options need to be explored, maybe brainstormed, to allow a choice to be made as to the next step in achieving the goal.
■ Engaging – by leading your team in setting up the plan you will guarantee their engagement throughout its implementation.
❙ An organisation without a clear set of values will find it hard to keep its team engaged and motivated. They will do what they must but without fire in their bellies, and the results will be accordingly.
Either way it is a simple model that is easy to follow to get you where you want to get to; be that in your personal or business life.
Will: What will you do? What is the way forward to achieve the goal? What actions will you take to achieve the outcome you are looking for?
Reality: what is the current situation. Where is the person in relationship to the goal they want to achieve? What are the issues, challenges that need to be overcome or what are the opportunities that will present themselves in reaching this goal?
COLUMNIST – STRATEGY
■ Agile – a strategic plan is not the gospel. Review and revise it if and when needed.
■ Internal – do it yourself (with the help of a facilitator, if needed) with your team to ensure maximum commitment and harvest the best insight and knowledge they possess.
Hereunder are the stages of a strategic planning process that I have found to be most effective:
❙ An organisation with a clear set of values will make better decisions faster. For an inspirational story to demonstrate this read the Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol poisoning story.
For a strategic plan to work it needs to be:
2. WHO – often referred to as organisational culture (another big word), I prefer to focus on the values that are critical to you and your team. It may sound a bit new-agey to some, but values are important for two reasons:
07949 buscomm.co.ukpaul@buscomm.co.uk703137
Are you familiar with the GROW model coaching?for
Paul Green
■ Implementation – strategic plans usually don’t include an implementation schedule, accountabilities, deadlines, or follow-up. Without these, as any project manager will know, success is unlikely.
■ Medium-term –there is little point in creating a five or ten-year plan any more so, while having your eyes on the dream goal, identify the boosters for the next three years and create a plan for the next twelve months.
The Business Community
There are a number of different methodologies used by coaches, the most common one is the GROW model. This was initially introduced in Sir John Whitmore’s book: Coaching for Performance
Goal: what is it specifically you want to achieve? This needs to be clearly defined so that progress can be monitored and so you know when the goal is reached.
The Business Bulletin 42 | Issue 22 STRATEGY
6. Implementation – all this hard work you will have done by now will be worthless if not implemented. To do this each leader needs to keep weekly meetings to review last week’s tasks and plan the next week’s. Once a quarter (at least) the whole team needs to get together to review the entire plan and make course correction, if needed.
Find out more about strategy and strategic planning AmosStratagilityBeer
■ KPI’s
■ Weekly tasks
■ Quarterly targets
❙ SWOT analysis – a wellknown methodology to identify the organisations strengths, aboutandenvironmentandinternalInopportunities,weaknesses,andthreats.otherwords,itscurrentstate(strengthsweaknesses)and(opportunitiesthreats).FindoutmoreSWOTanalysis
Each booster must have:
4. WHAT – once you know where you are, where you want to eventually get, and what’s important to you on the way, it is time to find out the things you can and need to do in order to get one step closer to your dream goal. I call these things boosters. Note that I used the term “one step closer”, and for a good reason. As I wrote before, you can’t normally plan to get all the way to your dream goal. It is usually too far into the future and too many things will change while you are on
❙ Stakeholders needs analysis – a less known but at least as equally effective tool. The aim is to identify the most important needs of the most leastorganisationstakeholdersimportantinthethatarethemet.
3. WHERE – when we set out on our yacht trip, private commercial GPS was taking it first steps in the yachting world. It didn’t even exist in cars at the time. Nowadays when you start the Satnav in your car the first thing it will do, after asking you where you want to go (the WHY in our context) is to pinpoint where you are now. There are a few ways to do this, but I recommend:
❙ Impactful – will make a real change
Amos Beer had been an executive for 35 years in small. medium, and large organisations, both local and global, and has held all the C-Suite positions, up to CEO. Since 2009 Amos has been supporting SME’s, first as a mentor and then as the creator and facilitator of Stratagility®, a contemporary alternative to strategic planning. It has already helped scores of organisations to break boundaries and reach new info@stratagility.co.uk+447870386530heights.stratagility.co.uk
■ An accountable leader who will make sure it happens
5. HOW – possibly the most critical element of a strategic plan, and one that most are missing. In this stage you will create a detailed execution schedule for each of the boosters for the next twelve months, split into quarters. For the same reasons that you only plan boosters for the next three years, the implementation plan is only for one year as things will change along the way. There is no point in making a detailed plan for a longer period of time.
your way, so focus on boosters that are achievable in the next twelve to thirty-six months. Make sure to select those that are:
❙ Essential – without them very little will happen ❙ Fast-burners – their impact will be felt within a short period of time
The main hinderance to strategic plans’ success is that in every organisation the urgent trumps the important. It takes a lot of discipline and practice to make sure that strategic tasks and targets are kept in a high enough place on your todo Thislists.contemporary alternative to outsourced strategic planning has already proved itself in countless organisations. There is no reason why it shouldn’t work for you.
■
withoutManagementvision
■ to
The pitfalls are:
Lack of commitmentmanagement
fatigueInitiative
But addressing the attitude and behaviour of an organisation – in addition to the operating system and management infrastructure – could boost production by at least 20%, and improve stock, lead times, quality and capacity. The organisations with skilled and experienced people of any age and training programmes with business models will be the winners.
A lack of management commitment to change and a failure to hold a compelling vision of the future with their employees are holding back global mature manufacturers when they attempt to make a move towards `lean manufacturing`.
■
■ Employees’ lack of understanding
Failure
■ Lack of clarity over the future state of the organisation
■
Lack of share division and objectives
■ Middle management not engaged
■ Stagnation after pilot
All too often failure to make a lean transformation stems from a superficial, piecemeal approach. Lean manufacturing requires a holistic approach transforming not just the technical production system but also the organisations management systems and a comprehensive approach to change which addresses mindsets and behaviours as well as formal processes and structures.
■ Failure in deployment
■ Failure to build on a change which has been achieved
Most common faults are a lack
lead by example
■ Constant fire fighting
■ The understanding of Managing the `management of change`
There are at least 12 major pitfalls which companies must avoid benefiting from making the journey to lean production.
– lustre approach to change by a dividend or uncommitted senior management and unwillingness to properly consult and communicate with the workforce. This is
Issue 22 | 43 The Business Bulletin STRATEGY
This most often happens where senior management is `out of touch` with all the employees. Top management must get close to the reality of the `people` to understand the issues the frontline staff are living with, and then take the lead to resolve them as part of the `change process`.
Lean manufacturing is now almost universally regarded as a panacea for European print manufacturers (also, all UK manufacturing) to improve productivity but, UK owned manufacturing companies are typically less productive than their UK-based, US-owned competitors.
A McKinsey & Company study showed that an average US manufacturing companies deliver a 22% annual return on capital. While UK companies return only 7.6%!
A typical scenario might be of an UK company undertaking a lean programme. But, sooner or later, after considerable diversion of company resources, they admit defeat and settle for a few small improvements here and they’re rather than a lasting and marked performance improvement. This type of company will not Havingsurvive.seen the `writing on the wall` for their business before being spurred into a lean transformation attempt, such businesses frequently join the list of statistical failures. A lack of a `shared` vision headed the list of failures. Alignment around `shared` objectives must begin with the `top` team and cascade through the organisation. It must also be
Another is the failure to deploy lean manufacturing to the wider business. Never stop looking to improve.
seen to go hand-in-hand with visible commitment by `all` directors/senior management so those staff see their `leaders` are serious about change and play a full part themselves. Middle management are very good at spotting lack of commitment and respond in kind by supplying just the amount of effort they judge expedient until the latest initiative withers and dies. People know what they are expected to say and duly say it. But, it is meaningless if they are just going through the motions. Again, this type of company will not survive.
What is the future for your company globally?
Failing to lead by example resulted in middle managers and production staff failing to `get onside`.
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why some European companies claim to have tried and failed to implement lean production systems. Communication, communication of the requirement and a `buyin` programme by `all` people is necessary for change to be successful.
At the same time, management need to be aware of initiative fatigue, the `been there, done that, did not work` attitude. Change targets must be precise and stretching, but realistic and some early successes will galvanise the rest of the effort.
McKinsey & Company experience reveals that middle management and front-line staff are adept at spotting half-hearted support for production process improvements and adopt a `just-enough` attitude to tide them over until the effort is abandoned. Also, senior management were complacent to act due to lack of knowledge of `management of change` process.
The tendency to fire fight constantly must be stifled and while some managers thrive on fire fighting and build a successful career on it, this only deals with symptoms and not with `long-term solutions`.
colin@cavendish-mr.org.ukuniversityspeaker/visitingprofessor.07831588310colinthompson.org.uk
Conclusion – lean manufacturing requires a holistic approach transforming not just the technical production system but also the company’s management system and a `comprehensive` approach to change which addresses mindsets and behaviours as well as formal processes and structures. The `right` trained and skilled and experienced `People` manage companies and these will be the winners in the future.
Dr Colin ThompsonCavendish
Just telling employees what to do is not enough. They must be involved at all levels in solving issues in the change process. All staff expect to see their line managers directing change, so these middle managers must be engaged from the outset. Even when a successful pilot implementation is over, there are still several more pitfalls to trap the unwary. One is stagnation following a successful pilot as the focus shifts away.
Colin is a former successful Managing Director of a wide range of companies, former Group Chairman of the Academy for Chief Executives, as well as many other prestigious roles. He is also an author/writer for IPEX, Graphic Display World, News USA, Graphic Start, many others globally. His focus is on helping companies raise their `bottom-line` and `increase cash flow`.Plus, helping individuals to be successful in business and life in general. Author of several publications, research reports, guides, business and educational models; as well as over 4000 articles/reports and 35 books published on business and educational subjects worldwide. He is also an international
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Duncan Price Mind Affinity
Stress can be a really useful thing. One of the best examples of this for me is tidying the house. If I have all day to do it, it will likely take me all day. If I get a call from someone who’s dropping in to visit in an hour, it feels like I can achieve almost as much in that one hour as would have taken the whole day. We NEED stressors in our life to get us up and taking action. It’s a form of stress that gets most of us out off bed in the morning but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Positive stress is also known as eustress (think euphoria) and it’s been recognised as a beneficial thing for a long time.
Stress is a completely normal, healthy physiological reaction to a (real or perceived) threat. Sometimes we react beyond what would be considered appropriate to the situation and this is where it can become a problem.
It has also been tough for a long time that stress can have a negative impact on our physical and mental health and wellbeing. Which it can BUT it doesn’t have to.
You can’t manage stress
How to manage stress
Acute stress is the term for a short-term experience of high stress levels. This could be the result of a dramatic life situation such as a bereavement, a burglary or moving house. It lasts for a relatively short time and can be rather intense.
causes us to feel stressed is known as a stressor. Stressors can be anything that lead us to feel a sense of pressure. Deadlines, physical threats, worrying about the future, financial pressures, all manor of things can lead to a stress response.
If we think differently about stress we can completely remove the need for managing it at all and no longer rely on tools and techniques in the long term.
response also happens when the stressor is completely imaginary. Our subconscious doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagination, so this can occur in situations where we have no real benefit from it.
If stress is a natural response to a stressor then there are two ways to manage stress.
What is stress
Chronic stress is stress that lasts for a long period of time, is constant or keeps recurring. This could be from a high-stress job, being a carer for someone with ongoing needs, or from unmanaged trauma among otherAnythingthings.that
The mind is an amazing thing and as humans we can be really creative in finding new ways to use it to hold ourselves back. Through Mind Affinity, Duncan helps people to empower themselves by accepting and understanding their own mind better and using that very same power to achieve more and feel better. Duncan has spent over fifteen years working with people to turn their challenges into the very thing that moves them forward without the need to fight constantly against themselves to get there. Specialising in confidence, anxiety and sleep, Duncan isn’t here to help you, he’s here to empower you to help 07840yourself.829758
This response is a good thing. It’s exactly what we need to manage the situation. The problem is, this
The stress response
You’ve probably heard of the ‘Flight or Fight’ response. When we encounter a stressor our body prepares us to respond by releasing so called ‘stresshormones’ such as adrenalin, cortisol and norepinephrine. These prepare the body to spring in to action to keep us safe from the threat (or perceived threat).
‘Good stress’
duncan@mindaffinity.co.ukmindaffinity.co.uk 46 | Issue 22 The Business Bulletin DEVELOPMENTPERSONAL
breathe…And
■ Practice making both the in and the out breath slow and smooth
There is actually no need to manage stress but there are many benefits to be gained from managing our response to it. Too many different stressors, too much impact from the stressors and habits built up over time can all make it harder to follow the new way of thinking about stress below. To make it easier, I’ll share with you some tools you can use to adjust
■ Deepen the breath by breathing from your belly, which should rise as you breathe in and then deflate as your breathe out
One is to remove all stressors. If there is nothing to encourage stress then you can avoid the stress response completely. This is, of course not really possible. In fact by trying to remove all things that cause stress you are likely to end up more stressed. There are so many things that you can’t control in life. Accepting those things for what they are allows you to refocus on what IS in your control. Attempting to control what you can’t change will ultimately cause you a great deal more stress as you create additional and unnecessary pressure for yourself.
Short-term stress shifts
So, it’s not about managing stress. It’s out managing ourselves and our responses to the stress.
The other way would be to not have any response to stressors. It is a natural human response that is ‘hard-wired’ into us. It’s there for a reason and it keeps us safe. It’s not possible to completely switch off our stress response and neither would we want it to be. Deciding to try and stop that response would also cause more stress. I see this happen a lot with clients struggling with anxiety. Trying to surprise and ignore a natural response causes a much greater reaction which is harder to manage and even more stressful.
However – we CAN choose how we react to that response. We can change how we think about it. In doing so, we can change the results and the outcome of those stressors.
Judith Hanson
One of the most simple and effective ways that we can deactivate the fight flight response that I talked about last time is by breathing. Yes, I know that if you’re reading this you are obviously breathing and have been doing it all your life BUT generally you leave control of HOW you are breathing to your autonomic nervous system. If you are worried or stressed then you are in an alerted state. Your breathing will be high and fast to get as much oxygen into your lungs so that your cardio vascular system can get it to your muscles to keep them fuelled for action.
So…if we deepen and slow the breathing then we can reverse our body’s physical threat response and tell our mind to stand down because there is no physical threat. There are lots of different breathing techniques if you search online, all designed to bring you back to a calmer state, where you can deal with what is going on more effectively. Balanced breathing is my chosen technique because it is simple (so easy to remember!) and effective
■ Lengthen the breath by counting to 6 on the in and the out breath. If you can’t initially reach 6 then do 4 or 5 and just make the out breath the same length.
COLUMNIST – PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Therapies for the mind judithhanson.co.ukjudith@judithhanson.co.uk07881620586
Breathe
When you come home from work, imagine you are hanging up your stress from work on a hook outside the door. Bonus points if you make a physical movement to support this (the body and brain connection will help). The act of physically and mentally ‘hanging up’ the stress of the day will leave you ready to enter ‘Home mode’ and leave ‘work mode’ behind you.
Put it down
This works in other situations too and it’s up to you to make it your own. It’s really all about creating separation so that the stressors of one area of your life don’t spill over and impact the other areas of your life. It really is a choice and you can do it that simply.
Stress encourages us to hold more tension in our bodies and in our minds. Breathing (slowly, calmly and deeply) encourages us to realise the tension. The hormones produced when we stop and breathe deeply negate some of the effects of the stress hormones. A Few deep breaths can change everything – it also gives us time to remember the new way of thinking that I keep referring to.
your response to the stressors around you and make it easier for you to embrace the final part of this blog.
If I asked you to hold something heavy with your arm out stretched you probably could but it wouldn’t take long for your arm to start to ache. If I got someone weaker than you to do the same but they were allowed to rest any time they wanted, shake their arm out and pick the weight back up. Who could hold it longest?
Hang it up
JB Commercial FinanceJamesBlacklawsTelephone: 0116 3440 322 Mobile: 07722 432 128 Call JB Commercial Finance See our video for a free initial consultation Does your business need cashflow finance? Are you looking to buy a commercial property and require funding? Has your bank turned your business down for finance? Dont know where to turn for business funding?
Carrying weight is fine in short bursts but when we stop and rest we are able to keep going for longer than if we just push through. It’s the same with stress. Taking regular moments to rest will make it easier for us to keep reacting positively and will give us time to remember the new way of thinking about stress.
Issue 22 | 49 The Business Bulletin DEVELOPMENTPERSONAL
It’s a good time to check that you have the necessary power to bring those changes about.
to do what you want. Adam Grant (one of my favourite organisational psychologists) in his book Originals groups these together into two categories which he calls Power andLet’sStatus.tease out how these two different but related concepts
Do you have the power to make changes?
Models for assessing power within organisations has a long pedigree.
So you won the business, that plum contract with a company that promises to be a long term relationship. A good meaty problem they haven’t been able to resolve themselves and you just know that when you get stuck in you’ll expose even more issues. However you can feel a tingle of nerves as you’re going to need people at all levels within the organisation to support the changes that will need to be made.
In the late 1950’s Trench and Raven identified 6 ways in which you can leverage power to get other people
might affect your ability to make the changes you are proposing as an outsider to their business.
Power in the sense that Grant uses it is about having the authority to control the actions of others. It incorporates three related concepts It covers the what and how they will
As an outsider to the organisation from your first engagement with the people in the organisation onwards
■ People will also follow those who can demonstrate they know what they are talking about and have a demonstrable track record. Those who have the right expertise that gives people confidence to accept their recommendations and instructions.
Firstly it gives you the legitimacy to access information and request cooperation from others within the organisation and may give you permission to represent the organisation externally. Legitimacy also gives you the power to say No. No to activities that are beyond your contract but also no to illegal, unethical or just downright wrong.
It also gives you the extent to which you can use formal rewards and incentives to get that cooperation. These may be financial or other formal recognition for extra effort. Equally the use of coercive power by applying sanctions for noncooperation may be appropriate. Many of these will remain within the power of the relevant manager of the individuals involved and care should be taken not to fall into the trap of promising (or threatening) individuals by offering or implying consequences you cannot deliver and may damaging your relationships with others and affect your status within the organisation (see below)
manner that they can understand is crucial to being trusted. However, returning to the formal power where I started this blog, you may have
In conclusion, now you’ve got that lovely new contract, deal with that frisson of fear by checking if your rating of the power and status criteria is appropriate for what you’ll need to deliver the changes. Any gaps? Plan now how you’re going to cover them.
delegate the necessary authority for you to deliver the work they have contracted you to deliver.
Ideally the boundaries of your power in these terms should be set out in your contract. However these may need to be re-set as the work progresses. In particular when moving from an investigative to an implementation stage of your work. Take care to keep the lines of communication and accountability clear especially when difficult decisions need to be made.
Three yourcontributeattributestoraisingstatus
■ Lastly people will follow those who are in the know, those who have access to information they seek. The expression knowledge is power has informationCommunicatingrelevancy.therighttotherightpeople in a
access to confidential information and can quickly lose status if you are indiscrete or feedback information told in confidence.
Jacky Sherman The Consultants’ Consultant
07970 638 jackysherman@jackysherman.com857jackysherman.com The Business Bulletin DEVELOPMENTPERSONAL 50 | Issue 22
it is crucial to heighten your status. Status, according to Grant, is about being respected and admired by others involved so they engage and cooperate with you of their own choice. I like to think of it as what people say about you when you’re not there.
In 2003 Jacky left as the CEO of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and set up her own coaching company. Realising she knew little about marketing she found the support and help she needed from two main sources. First she undertook formal training with Asentiv, and the other source was the willingness of other business owners she met networking, to share their knowledge and contacts with someone who was not a natural networker. Now semi-retired she pays forward that generosity by mentoring others who have come out of employment as experts in their field but find that running a business at times is uncomfortable territory. She finds a way of helping the most unnatural entrepreneur build a business in a way that is natural to them.
■ People with high emotional intelligence can relate appropriately to people at all levels within the organisation. They demonstrate empathy, control and react to the situation in an appropriate manner consistencydemonstratingandgenuineness.
The Psychology of TimelessMoney.lessonson wealth, greed and happiness.
Definitely worth the read especially for those who find the world of money a little daunting.
My main takeaways from the books are as follows;
■ Things will go wrong – factor in a little room for error in your expectations.
■ Start young – the longer you have the more likely you are to be successful – success rarely happens overnight.
■ Manage your money so you can sleep at night – do what works for you, we all have different levels of comfort with risk and reward.
For example, most people over 55 can remember the interest hikes of the late 1970’s and 1980’s when interest rates topped 17%, so we are more likely to be cautious when borrowing, building in protection from inflationary hikes. However, on a positive we did see good rewards for any savings we had.
Housel discusses the difference between being rich and being wealthy and defines wealthy as “what you don’t see” It is the things that have not been bought, it is knowing you could have bought something but deciding not to. He also goes on to talk about how hard some people find it to stay wealthy!
Throughout the book Housel gives many examples which are mostly American, which is a little annoying for us Brits but doesn’t take away from the validity of his points.
By Morgan Housel
REVIEWBOOK Issue 22 | 51 The Business Bulletin
Mhairi specialises in coaching teams to help them achieve more and improve their wellbeing. Her focus is on building trust within the team and a combination of coaching, mentoring and facilitation and she can tailor the program to the needs of your business. She enjoys working with newly formed teams, established team or teams who just feel they should be achieving more. Mhairi is also a coach with a strong SME background, a focus on the detail, a high level of emotional intelligence and a strong desire to develop talent and grow high performing teams. 07970 mhairi.richardson@tomrom.co.uk002129tomrom.co.uk
Ever wondered why some people seem to just know what to do with money and make more of it while others who follow similar paths do not? Ever wondered why people who had it all manage to throw it all away and end up with nothing?
Our response and attitudes to money will very much reflect our background, the values of our parents and the early experiences we have with money.
■ Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems – with money it is always best to keep a more even approach.
Mhairi Richardson Tomrom Team Coaching
Get the book: lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681co.uk/Psychology-Money-Timeless-https://www.amazon.
However, today’s 20–30-year-old house buyers have only ever known very low interest rates but equally poor savings rates. But for them the challenge is getting on the property ladder at all with the need for large deposits and a feeling that they will never be able to buy their own home.
Well according to Morgan Housel it is all down to the psychological or emotional response we have to money and finance and very little to do with technical skill or ability.
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