As an individual I’ve never been a slave to fashion, followed the latest trend in music or entered the race to acquire the latest ‘must have’ new toy. Such desires have never flicked any switches with me. The need to be seen driving a new plate car on the first day of a registration or the longing to flaunt the latest phone or match my clobber to some reality star stirs no emotion in me. My mind’s just not wired that way (‘scuse the pun!).

Dedicated Follower of Fashion — er No!

The desire to be seen driving a new plate car on its first day of a registration presents no attraction and the need to flaunt the latest phone or match my clobber to some reality star, stirs no emotion in me. My mind’s just not wired that way (‘scuse the pun!). You get the idea no doubt!

When the iPhone first came out in the UK, people fell over themselves to get hold of one. The recent launch of the iPad was again no exception with many folk queuing several hours just to say they’ve ‘got one’. It’s this mentality of ‘new adoption’ that drives many folk to bust a gut just to get the latest computer operating operating system, subscribe to the latest music download site or upgrade to the latest games consul.

It’s all beyond me I tell you!

I’ve never been one of theses folk I must admit. Partially because I can’t see why I should pander to the whims and spells of marketing companies, but essentially because I’m a bit of a renegade at heart.

Don’t get me wrong here, I use technology to an advanced level in my business and will anally learn the ins and and outs of any new piece of kit to the nth degree once I have it in my possession.

Yes that’s right, I’m one of those bods who reads the instructional manual cover-to-cover before I plug it in and explores the boundaries of every possible menu option as I start to use it. Should a new technological trend, piece of gadgetry or software hit the streets, then I generally hang fire to see what people say about it and then make a buying decision based upon logic i.e.

• does it add value to my life or business,
• does it work (iPhone 4 users take note),
• is there a better alternative and
• does it have a point? (iPad owners take note)

This latter aspect seems to apply to many gadgets these days with many taking up shelf, pocket or floor space for no other reason than to satisfy the ego of their owners!

If after all that, then I may venture into buying into it. However, being the free thinker that I am, there’s some items I won’t use purely because they are so popular (some people crave to be part of a crowd, I’m the opposite) irrespective of whether they tick all the boxes or not (which they generally don’t anyway).

For example I wouldn’t have an iPhone if you gave me one. At present I’m on the dark-side with a Blackberry and when its contract runs out later this year I think I’ll take a look at a Nokia thing which seems to do everything the Blackberry does only better (unlike the iPhone).

Similarly, I avoid Microsoft products where I can as I not only want to play my part in breaking Microsoft’s world domination, but quite often than not, there are better alternatives knocking around. The Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers being a case in point compared Microsoft’s omnipotent Internet Explorer.

Having said that; I am a PC user and that’s because I see a computer as a tool and not as many non-PC i.e. Mac, users seem to do, namely; elevate their computing machines to iconic levels that deem worthy of worship.

Nuts!

So long as it does what it’s supposed to do, doesn’t cost the earth to buy, I can fix it myself (or if I can’t can easily do find a man who can) then I’m happy.

Getting British Business Online

The scheme is based upon the existing Google Sites™ product from Google and comes with a free .co.uk domain name supplied by BT. The entire offering is packaged up under the GBBO brand which is designed to appeal to small companies and organisations that might not otherwise have their own business website, don’t have the budget for a professional web designer or the knowledge needed to commission one.

As is the case with Google Sites; the system is web based and uses a wizard style interface to progress the User through creating a Google Account (if they don’t have one already), registering a domain name, verifying their identity via a text to their mobile phone, choosing a template from a library and then creating their pages using a WYSIWYG content and page manager.

The whole process is designed to appeal to the non-techie small business owner that allows them to get online with their own business website in 20 minutes if the blurb is anything to be believed. If you’ve no idea what the GBBO system is take a look at their website and a past post on this blog that was written back in April when iNet became an approved delivery partner for the scheme.

Are GBBO Websites Pants for Your Business?

Pants!

Having worked with a number of small business since April on this scheme either on a one-to-one basis or in a workshop environment; I can confidently say that as a web build system aimed at the non-techie, it poses more barriers and frustrations for the small business owner that holds a low level of computer literacy than it presents opportunities. For this reason and for those that I list below, I would say that GBBO websites are ‘pants’ if you’re planning to use the finished product to portray a credible image for your business on the web and as such the system is best avoided.

Here’s some reasons why…

1. The available template designs are limited and are very amateurish in their design. Whilst they may be customised with unique colour schemes using specific hexadecimal colour references or by choosing a colour from a swatch in the editor for many elements (page background, font links, text etc), the knowledge needed to do this is beyond most Users in the scheme’s target market. Whilst ‘design’ may not be of concern to many, it’s generally accepted that the design of one’s website goes a long way to creating a credible opinion of one’s business to potential customers. Therefore, ‘amateur website’ equals ‘amateur business’ in many people’s eyes. Something to be aware of.
2. The ability to upload a company logo to appear in the masthead templates is available in order to give the site some degree of corporate identity, however this image file needs to be manually resized to 93 pixels high before uploading to the site otherwise it distorts the template. Given that many Users will not possess image editing software and if they do, may not be familiar with its use or as I’ve experienced aren’t able to relate to ‘pixel’ sizing; this poses many problems in itself and can be very trying for the unwary. During my sessions I recommended that Users download and use Picasa to edit their images. This in itself, complicated the site build process as I then had to offer a tutorial on it’s use. Not a big deal really, but more information for the User to absorb. Why Google didn’t simply build in an image auto-resize module for this action into the editing interface is anyone’s guess?
3. Search engine optimisation is practically zero. This product is produced by Google. ‘The’ search engine of choice for many. Yet the ability to customise the title tag and page description for each page on one’s site, a staple requirement for SEO, is not given. Whilst I appreciate that most Users in the product’s target market may not value this option, I was surprised by the number of people who brought it up in conversation as I worked with them on their GBBO websites. Just shows you how SEO aware many people are. Adding in the feature surely, should be there?
4. Your domain name is locked in for 60 days. If you do choose to use the given .co.uk domain that GBBO gives you, just be aware that it is locked into the system for 60 days before you can transfer it away to another provider. If this isn’t important to you, fine! But if it is, for example if you choose to junk your GBBO website midway through production to use another product or service, then consider getting your domain through another provider and then transferring it in to your GBBO site (see the next point below before you do though).
5. If you already own a co.uk domain that you want to use for your GBBO website, then you must first register another one via the GBBO site build wizard and then transfer your existing one in once your site is complete. In effect this means that your website will have two domains mapped to it. Nothing wrong with that and simple in principal. However for the non-techie a potential nightmare, as the domain to be transferred in is essentially ‘pointed’ to your website by the editing of its CNAME records. CNAME records on a domain are not an easy concept to understand for the non-techie and if incorrectly edited, could result in one’s website disappearing off the web altogether. Best left to someone who know’s their way around domain DNS I would say!
6. No email addresses. This is a biggie in my book! There’s nothing more amateurish if you’re in the world of business than having a @hotmail.co.uk or @googlemail.com type of email address when doing business. So you would think, given that this product is aimed at the small business community; GBBO would offer the ability to have email address that matches the domain of your website e.g. sales@mygbbowebsite.co.uk for a website that has the address www.mygbbowebsite.co.uk Am I right? Yet the ability to have POP3 or even IMAP addresses just isn’t given. The only way around this I could figure was to forget the GBBO route to a website altogether and sign the User up for the Standard Edition of Google Apps™. This way the client gets up to 50 POP3/IMAP domain based email addresses, a website built using the Google Sites product (which as I’ve stated above is essentially what GBBO websites are) and can enjoy Google Docs™ and Google Calendar™ into the bargain, both of which are cool products in their own right.

So there you have it! Initially enthusiastic about the concept of free websites for UK businesses under this GBBO scheme, I’m sorry to say that the promise of this scheme doesn’t live up to its publicity and falls below expectations of many a small business owner that I have worked with over the last few months.

On a Positive Note

Ultimately though, I suppose one has to look on the two main positives;

• It’s free, although there are other more superior free or low cost website creation tools out there.
• It’s quick. One can literally be online with a website in 20 minutes or so assuming one doesn’t worry too much about customising it or writing content.

Your Opinions

Do you have a GBBO website? Does it work for you? Perhaps you signed-up for your GBBO website and abandoned the process midway through. Are you a web designer, what do you think of GBBO websites? Either way tell us your thoughts about GBBO websites in a comment below.

In the meantime though, these self same business owners could be neglecting other and more effective, methods of business promotion.

Are you one of them?

Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m a big advocate of any business development technique that opens up new and ideally, low cost; marketing channels for any small business owner and for that I am a fan of social media in many of its various guises.

Neglecting Your Marketing Mix Leads to Ruin

Ticking all the Boxes

Social media ticks many boxes in this respect and does have its place in the modern marketing mix particularly as the learning curve to adapt the necessary techniques to get started is relatively short. Consequently, in some form or other, it’s here to stay.

However, the issue being observed and experienced by many business owners looking to capitalise upon the benefits of social media is that it’s generally not a thought out affair and whilst a pleasant way to spend ones time, many business types are finding that as a method of promotion, it doesn’t really deliver where it should.

Consequently, despite being the new kid on the block that is showered in hype, social media just isn’t paying its way for many and diverts their attention away from other strategies.

Any social media coach and marketer worth their salt will tell you to formulate a plan or strategy for your social media activities. What this plan is, varies from guru to guru, which in itself contributes to the issue for many: but added to this, ask any small business owner if they have any sales or marketing plan and you’ll probably get an answer in the negative.

Therefore it’s fair to say that having one for a social media strategy is going to be even less likely.

So whilst chatting away on Twitter, updating that Facebook Fan Page and trawling through people’s connections on LinkedIn is all fine and dandy, fun and strangely addictive in a voyeuristic, realty TV sort of way, ultimately you have to ask yourself;

Is this working? What results am I getting or do I want to get? Could I use alternative, more productive methods to achieve the same result?

Recently I began working with a business owner who had adapted Twitter as her social media channel of choice for the purposes promoting her largely internet based business. She’d been on a few courses (not mine I might add), downloaded Tweetdeck and was spending many a happy hour chatting with her followers but was seeing little return.

She came to me for advice with the cry;

Where am I going wrong?

In my initial fact-find meeting with this lady, I discovered that not only had she been neglecting her traditional marketing methods in favour of Twitter and her Facebook Fan Page, which whilst being less ‘sexy’ than social media, did work. But I also discovered that her target client just didn’t exist in any large numbers on the social media scene. It seems this client had been swallowed up by the social media bubble and was hooked as well as being ill advised as to it’s potential for her business.

Back to Basics

So it was time to go cold turkey and get back to the basics of marketing with this particular client.

Out of my sessions with this client, I;

• Implemented an effective and regular email marketing campaign which capitilised on her underused (and somewhat large) customer database.
• Put forward a strategy to redesign her website to make it more useable and to improve conversions.
• Scaled down her ineffective social media techniques.
• And are currently planning some editorial and advertising in some specialist national magazines.

It’s still early days, but after the first e-shot to her customer database she received an increase in orders of 20% compared to the previous month and her website visitors went up by 45%. A result in anyone’s book.

Stand Back

Ultimately if you’re using social media for business purposes, whether it’s lead generation, brand awareness or strengthening offline relationships don’t throw all your eggs into one basket at the expense of other marketing activities.

Stand back and measure what’s working. Junk what isn’t and develop what is.

Here endeth the lesson.

What’s your experience of social media as a business marketing and development tool? Is it working for you? Tell us how and why in a comment below.

This has been down to a broken and dislocated right arm (my typing arm), which is now on the mend. So I’m back. Have you missed me?

So what’s been happening?

England World Cup Supporters

Well the UK’s new coalition government is starting to make it’s mark having now had it’s first emergency budget which basically equates to rising costs, wage cuts and decreased public services for most. In amongst this is a planned VAT increase to 20% come next January which essentially means everything will go up. Not unexpected to be honest. As a new government they’re either taking a brave step towards getting the deficit down or we’re going to plunge back into recession.

Either way we’re all stufffed in my book. So will the last one to leave our shores, please tun the lights out!

England are out of the World Cup having been thrashed by the Germans which led to a cloud descending over an otherwise scorching England (note that I say ‘England’ here and not Britain or the UK, as I know my Scottish and Welsh friends were very much in the ABE (Anyone But England) camp and were unfazed by England’s departure). I must admit I’m no football fan, but even I felt the sense of disappointment sweep across the country at the final whistle.

To me I find it amazing that the England team, given that we not only invented the game in the first place, pays its players and managers huge amounts of cash to deliver when they clearly can’t; and that as a country we still haven’t come close to winning this global competition of our national game since the year of my birth. Still what do I know?

Bye Bye Yorkshire Forward

In and amongst the bits and pieces of bad news that have been floating around during June, I note that the government plans to axe the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) which manifests itself as Yorkshire Forward in our region. A debate is now underway as to what can replace it. Whilst RDAs like Yorkshire Forward do provide a useful supportive and funding channel for some business and public projects, the government’s decision to axe them doesn’t surprise me.

In my experience and from what I’ve observed over the years Yorkshire Forward seems to be highly bureaucratic and has a tendency to plough loads of cash into projects that clearly won’t work or don’t give a return for their investment when it comes to dishing out public money by the millions. That said, I do admit that YF has invested in some good projects and continues to fund some vital agencies including the all important Yorkshire Tourist Board which is vital to our region for many jobs and small businesses (including a few of my clients). So it’ll be interesting to see what replaces it.

Business Link to be Axed

Business Link, the national business support agency, which is partially supported by the RDAs has a poor reputation for delivering value amongst small business owners and even following a re-organisation some 18 months or so ago, still adds a variable quality of support. Again and I speak as a Business Link mentor myself, it’s a very bureaucratic (and therefore wasteful) organisation which throws money at many a project which hasn’t a hope in hell of taking off. Still, so long as the right boxes get ticked!

It would seem that Mark Prisk, the business and enterprise minister agrees with me and announced yesterday that Business Link was to be axed with it’s services being replaced by a government led online service and the private sector. So it’s going to be interesting times ahead for many people and in particular some of my associates who are currently riding the ‘gravy train’ of business link contracts.

Watch this space for updates and some heart felt commentary.

Truly, given the time of day I attend these things; a real case of  ‘the early bird catching the worm’ wouldn’t you say?

The Early Bird Catches the Worm

Variable Factors

The success I’ve enjoyed through these groups can be variable and depends upon a number of key factors such as;

• How I hone my business networking skills so that they include an elevator speech that is specific about asking what type business I’m looking for and who from. In other-words: better networking skills = improved return on the time I spend networking.
• The format of the networking group. Some are very strict in their format to such an extent that you’d think you’re part of some cult, through to ones that are nothing more than a busy social activity over breakfast. Both format extremes I find to be non-productive for me. My current breakfast business networking group of choice is proNet in West Yorkshire, which offers a relaxed format that is midway between the overlay evangelical approach and the time-wasting ‘let’s have a chat’ approach.
• The mix of people within each group. Irrespective of the group’s format, one thing has become clear to me over time with any networking group, is that the quality of people that are members of the group is pivotal to its success as a business networking platform. If there’s a good mix of real business owners, which excludes MLM scheme holders and franchisees — this latter type is probably a controversial one for many people, but hey oh! Then the probability of some decent business flowing, improves considerably in a group where the mix is right .

Breakfast Business Networking in Action

Getting Out of Bed

If you run your own business and particularly a young business that is hungry for new clients, then surely you must be open minded to every possible avenue when it comes to new business generation.

You would think so right?

However I’m constantly surprised by the number of small business owners that I come across on a regular basis who refuse point blank to dip their toe into the world of breakfast networking groups (or even business networking meetings in general) giving the objections of:

1. I don’t do early mornings.
2. Breakfast networking groups don’t work for my industry/sector.
3. I’m too busy.

So whilst I’m conscious that some people do have genuine reasons why they can’t make an early morning networking meeting (childcare being the primary one), surely being too lazy to get of bed to try these meetings out, can’t be one of them if you’re serious about growing your business.

What’s Your Favourite?

Do you participate in breakfast networking groups? If so tell us which ones and why they work for you or alternatively if you’ve given them a go and found them to be unproductive. Tell us why in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Roger V Moody Photography