Finding the right balance between promises and delivery

by: Thomas

August 10th, 2010

promises versus delivery

Sadly the closest picture I could find to represent Pinocchio!

Have you ever had a problem with your phone line or broadband and gone on to discover that the (major) service providers are about the worst you will ever deal with?

Annoying isn’t it.

If they spent just a small percentage of their marketing budgets on providing a more supportive infrastructure, they’d be a pleasure to deal with.

But they don’t. They choose promises (marketing) over delivery.

These firms compete in an industry where the standard is to unrealistically develop our expectations in order to acquire our business and they are all as bad as each other.

In reality we have no choice but to accept a poor level of service (coupled with glossy promises) from telecoms companies, but I bet your customers have a choice.

You have to very carefully offset your desire to win business, with your desire to exceed your customers expectations.

We could all lie our pants off to win business (and sadly some people do), but at some point you are going to have to deliver.

In reality though, most (small business) over-promising happens not because business owners are devious thieves, but because we want to impress potential customers. We imagine the perfect delivery scenario and start to build an expectation that can only be met one time in ten.

As soon as you over promise, it doesn’t matter how good a job you do, you have lost your opportunity to impress your customers when it matters.

The first exchange with a customer may get a signature, but the last exchange will determine your reputation.

A few signatures will help pay the bills, but your reputation will make you rich.

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Meet the Customers: The UK Foodhall Ltd

by: Hannah

June 18th, 2010

Karen's website shows off all those awards!

The HSBC Start-Up Star Awards are coming soon, with lots of small businesses and entrepreneurs vying for the top spot.

At the same time, we’ve introduced a new segment – Meet the Customers, where we profile companies and business owners, passing their valuable advice and experience on to you.

But a funny thing happened when we contacted Karen McQuade of the UK Foodhall Ltd.

It turns out that Karen is the HSBC Start-Up Star of 2009!

As well as the UK Foodhall Ltd collecting awards as a supplier, a start-up and a local business, Karen has also won an award for her achievements as a businesswoman.

We thought that she’d be the perfect customer to speak to about her experiences running a company – and now we can also find out what tips she could pass on to us about the HSBC Start-Up Star Awards (and how to win it!).

The UK Foodhall Ltd help connect Local Authorities with British farmers, so that kids get fresh, locally sourced food in their schools. You can contact them on 0845 301 1182 to get more information.

What does your company do?

Our strapline is ‘Great British Food for Great British Kids’ we support British farmers and British manufacturers by providing an assured product range for use in school dinners.

What inspired you to start this business?

I wanted to provide a route to market for the British farmers, and provide Local Authorities with what they wanted, locally procured food.

What made you nominate The UK Foodhall for the Start-Up Star Award?

I am so proud of what we have done and how we have changed our market that I wanted to tell the world! So I nominated us for the HSBC Start-up Star award so that we might gain publicly, we would gain experience in being involved in such a prestigious award, and I hoped we may get to the Semi Finals, so that it would motivate our stakeholders.

What has the experience done for your company?

Winning the HSBC Start-up Star award was wonderful. It was such a brilliant surprise on the night, and has done wonders for our motivation, our brand, our stakeholders and our turnover.

What characteristics do you have that have helped to make your business a success?

Myself and my Business Partner, Robert Clark, are both passionate about our market and making a difference in it. We want to provide clean, healthy, locally produced food to children.

How are you funding your business?

We are funding the company through sales. We do not owe any money to anyone.

What are you most keen to learn that will help you grow your business further?

I am keen to learn more about marketing and PR, we know food, and catering, but perhaps struggle for creative ideas.

Are there any brands, companies or personalities that you most admire or aspire to?

I love the marketing of the brand ‘Innocent’ I love that you can hear their very distinctive voice in every word.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing your company?

The biggest challenge is to manage our growth effectively, not to grow too big and not to take on too much.

What is your main goal for your company?

To never let down our customers.

Do you have any advice for people thinking of starting their own business?

Get a good accountant and recruit mentors, everyday’s a schoolday, and people to hold your hand are priceless.

Could you tell us about the other awards that you’ve won?

2008 LACA Outstanding Supplier of the Year

2009 Powys Small Business of the Year

2009 NatWest Everywoman Award

And of course 2009 HSBC Start-up Star!

Where there any stand-out areas that you feel helped you win the awards (any of them!)?

Our turnover is very high for a new company with just 3 staff (6 million pounds) and our business model is very unique, one goes hand in hand with the other. I think this combined with our enthusiasm made us the winners.

Do you have any advice for companies thinking of nominating themselves for awards?

I would advise anyone who is thinking of nominating themselves to just put pen to paper and do it! We have been on an incredible journey as the HSBC Start-up Star, and I know that it’s been a big factor in our growth this year. The judging panel are such a scary prospect, but once you get over your nerves and face them, being interviewed by them makes for a fantastic experience. It’s a chance in a lifetime to have the opportunity to meet such influential businesspeople, and the whole experience is both challenging and fun, but if you win, hold on tight, its one heck of a ride!

Is being a business owner how you expected it to be, or have you had any surprises along the way?

I was not surprised at the hard work, as everyone warned me about that, but I was surprised at what an amazing and exciting journey it would be.

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What is PR?

by: Rebecca

May 10th, 2010

Simply defined PR is your reputation. It is how others perceive and talk about what you do and what you say. Your reputation is not only how the public perceives you but also how your staff views you.  Having a well known, good, reputation will not only ensure you continue to attract lots of business, you will also attract and retain the best employees who then create and strengthen your reputation and the cycle continues….

A great reputation is not gained through expensive sales and marketing strategies. True, these will bring customers to your door but if you do not meet their expectations you will quickly loose their business as well as that powerful, word of mouth recommendation we all strive for. 

As society we tend to focus on the negative and your mistakes are disproportionally more costly. Harsh but true, your reputation will be discussed more frequently if it is negative rather than positive.

PR is not advertising, you do not pay the media to talk about your company. Getting the media to talk about your company in a positive way is far more difficult (and the real art of good PR) than a juicy piece of negative press the journalists know we all love.  

Having first hand experience of the recent travel chaos I was astounded at the wasted PR opportunities by the majority of companies directly involved. Astonishingly this is at a time when certain businesses desperately need to increase their creditability amongst their customers and staff.

I know the problems have cost billions but did anyone account for the cost of the terrible PR.  How can these companies be so short sighted especially when they spend millions on sales and marketing? 

How do you ensure that you create a positive reputation?

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Avoid negative marketing

by: Thomas

April 27th, 2010

negative marketingA particular bug bear of mine is negative marketing.

Negative marketing is about building a case for your product or service by belittling the competition. A little bit like playground bullying, it’s using the concept of belittling someone else to make yourself seem more impressive. And like playground bullying, there is usually something a bit unhappy and empty behind it, and it smacks of inadequacy.

I certainly wouldn’t say I’ve never engaged in negative marketing myself, but over the past 12 months or so, I’ve tried very hard not to provide a negative comment on my competition in any of the businesses I am involved in. Where I do have to pass comment, I try really hard to provide a balanced and respectful view.

Sometimes your competition will charge a bit more to deliver a better service. Sometimes they’ll compromise on end product so they can keep the price down. Either way, it’s very easy to pick fault in a competitor if you don’t understand their business model. Ultimately most business owners are hard working, honest people trying to deliver a fair service for a fair price and develop a positive reputation. I take the view that if I (and all of the competition) are busy criticising each other, we are collectively building a negative reputation for our respective industry as a whole.

I am invovled in web design, company formation, immigration and online marketing. In each of these companies I hear lots of criticism and get the chance to deliver it too. I can honestly say that during the last year my more positive approach to sales has made me focus more on the benefits and strengths of my own business. As a result, I’ve found that I now concentrate solely on explaining the benefits of my own businesses and making each encounter with a potential customer a positive one.

I don’t beleive that complimenting (or being neutral) about any of my competitors has cost me a single sale, and my customers appear to be happier than ever.

With the general election pending, never has the macrocosm of negative marketing been so prevalent. To my mind, the campaign strategies of the big 3 seem to be built on “That party is rubbish” as opposed to “My party is good”. The reputation of politics and politicians would appear to be at an all time low, and when I ask people who they are going to vote for, they only seem to know who they aren’t going to vote for.

I’m not turning this into a political rant, I’m just highlighting that I, and my customers, prefer to operate in industries and with companies that concentrate on outperforming each other, not beating one another down.

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Finding a gap in the market

by: Thomas

February 24th, 2010

finding a gap in the marketThere are lots of self titled business guru’s that want to tell you the path to success is to offer a new (or radically different) product or service.

“Create a new market, and be the first”

Well, that’s exciting listening for all those people that happen to have a new (or radically different) product or service, but what about all those potential, new or existing business owners that don’t? What if you are a really good bricklayer that’s had enough of working for somebody else? Does that mean you shouldn’t go it alone?

Of course not!  Whether you are setting up an accountancy, sandwich shop or builders, there is almost always a gap in the market for another good one. You probably won’t become the largest company in your sector without doing something substantially different or new, but hey, there is enough money in most sectors for a small slice of the pie to be filling enough.

If you go into your venture with a commitment to deliver a great service at a fair price, then you are likely to be a good business.  How many people are delighted to find a good accountant that saves them more money than they cost, or a sandwich shop that always makes tasty sandwiches and serves them with a smile, or a builder they can trust, who does a good job and doesn’t leave a mess?

Everybody is. And when people find such a business; they stick with them and recommend them.

If you don’t have a substantially different product or service, then you can certainly differentiate yourself with reputation. Saturated, established markets can be difficult to break into, but if you deliver a great service then eventually you will, and with customer satisfaction, once you are established you are there to stay.

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