4sight Blog

4sight Blog is in semi-retirement!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 10:10:00 +0000

Nothing has been posted on this blog for some time however 4sight does tweet regularly.
Follow us at @4sightTips to keep in touch.

Face to Face is Best

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:55:00 +0000

I have just been working on developing a new case study for one of my clients. Despite my best endeavours a face to face meeting with the customer failed to happen and I was left with the only option of a phone call to gather the information for the case study.
The contact was very helpful and was happy to respond to all the questions I had planned and I happily put the phone down at the end of the call. It was only when I came to write up the case study that I realised that, despite the copious notes I had taken there was something missing in the depth and quality of information I had gathered. In fact writing the case study would be quite a challenge.
What I believe was missing was the the important information that we gather, without perhaps realising it, from facial expressions, posture etc. and the ability to respond to this with further probing questions where necessary. Some of this can be detected over the phone in terms of tone of voice but it is much harder.
Clearly it is not always possible to arrange face to face meetings and emails and phone calls are the norm today. We therefore have to develop our skills in using these means of communication. However, when you really need to get to the bottom of a situation there is no substitute for a face to face meeting.

No Nasty Surprises!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:43:00 +0000

I recently changed supplier for an important service and was initially extremely happy with the information provided, the price and the service offered by my new supplier. Just as the changeover was about to happen I discovered that one important piece of information had not been passed on and that in fact, the transition was more complicated than I had anticipated. This has left me with negative feelings about my new supplier, not a good way to begin a relationship.

Clearly my new supplier wanted to impress me with the benefits of switching to their service but, by not informing me of potential downsides at the right time they now have left themselves with an uphill battle in building a positive relationship. If I had known all the information up-front I would still have switched and would be feeling much more positive about my decision.

There is nothing to be gained and a lot to lose by not giving your customers all the information they need to take an informed decision. It is never worth trying to pull the wool over your potential customers’ eyes - when they do find out, and they will, the repercussions will always be negative for your business.

Exporting from a position of strength

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:51:00 +0000

In over 15 years of consulting I have come across many businesses which have decided that they need to grow faster and that clearly the best opportunity is to ‘go international’.

Perhaps the most extreme example was an in-house IT department which had developed a ‘product’ which they felt had potential in other organisations. Their requirement of me was a plan to take the business international. I soon discovered that no one outside the organisation was using the ‘product’ and that it had been developed specifically as an internal tool for the business, which itself had a number of unique characteristics.

The challenge therefore, without dampening the enthusiasm of the team, was to explain that there were a number of key steps to address before even considering whether there was an international opportunity.

Whilst this is the extreme, many management teams can be seduced and distracted by the attractions of overseas opportunities - the huge market, travel, etc and are blind to the downsides which exist. Often they can be encouraged by the travel grants available for overseas trade missions from organisations keen to promote their region.

Of course for some businesses moving into overseas markets is exactly the right strategy and for others it may be essential. In my experience however, for many businesses there is a much stronger case for building a more robust platform in the home market before launching into new export markets.

Businesses need to consider a number of questions which should help point them in the right direction including:

What is limiting the growth of the business? Is it the size of the opportunity in the home market?
What share do they have of the home market?
What is the reputation of the business in the home market? Are there good customer references, testimonials?
Are there further opportunities within existing customer accounts?
Are there other factors limiting growth in the home market? - e.g. economy, legislation
Who are the competitors - are they multi-national businesses
Are customers international businesses - and if so do they require support on an international basis?
Is timing of market entry important? - being there before competitors can establish a position.

Most may then decide that there is still more to be done in the home market.

For those that decide to address overseas markets this is just the starting point. Work must then begin in order to determine, which countries, products, distribution channels, partners etc.

The market does not change annually - why should your business?

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:34:00 +0000

For many people in business New Year is a time for reviewing progress and setting new objectives. My business year end is March so the time for setting new targets is still three months away. But do we need to be driven by diary dates or time periods? There is never a wrong time for reviewing what we are doing, considering new opportunities, changing our plans and setting new targets.
Of course we need to give time for any plans to have an impact but this is something we can take on board in the review process.
The time for a re-think can be driven by a number of factors - how well the business is performing, competitor activity, changes in the customer base, internal changes in your business, new technology... to name just a few.
The market does not change on an annual basis and there is no reason why your business should.

Balancing Personal Experience with Data

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:17:00 +0000

Some fascinating insights from a survey recently published by Accenture.

'When making decisions about what customers want, many organizations are just as likely to rely on personal experience as analysis of data and facts.

Even amongst organizations actively using analytics in marketing, sales and service, most are not applying it broadly across the full spectrum of marketing and customer activities such as pricing, product/service delivery, and product development.'

Of course personal experience is important and how that experience is applied can be the difference between the successful and unsuccessful business. However, there is also the need to balance personal experience with data and to explore carefully any significant discrepancies between the two before taking that final decision.

Customer surveys are therefore an important tool in ensuring that both data and personal experience are available to support the decision-making process.

Where are the best opportunities?

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:48:00 +0000

Where are the best opportunities for your business- under your nose?
Whilst techniques such as telemarketing, emailers, cold calling can be effective for some businesses. For many, including my own, the best opportunities are much nearer to home.
It is very easy to forget about customers who have bought from you in the past and yet they have the perfect profile - So look through your database of customers, identify those which have you not spoken to in the last few months, give them a call. You never know what opportunities you may uncover.

Saying no to new business!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:22:00 +0000

With the UK economy showing no real signs of recovery, for many businesses it is a question of grabbing any new business opportunity in sight, just to keep one's head above water. However this can be a very dangerous strategy and one that can potentially lead to unhappy customers and the downfall of the business.

In my early years in business (fifteen years ago) I made the mistake of taking on a project where there was clearly a mismatch between mine and the client's expectations of what we could deliver. I was so keen for the business that I still took the project on, despite some misgivings. The project took far longer than anticipated and required significant additional resource, the cost of which I had to bear. However the client was never fully satisfied with the deliverable and we both walked away from the deal feeling hard done by.

This was however a salutary lesson for me and after a few more years experience in business I began to get a better feel for any potential new project and in particular of the people relationships, client expectations and our business's ability to meet these and add value.

If you have concerns about any of these factors then it is vital that you explore them in more detail and only proceed with the project if you have satisfied your mind against each. Often it may just be 'gut feel' that there is something not quite right - my recommendation would be - go with your gut!

Time for Rethink

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:15:00 +0000

I had the opportunity this week to meet up for a chat with someone in a similar line of business to mine. He is just building his business and it was refreshing to hear his plans and to learn more about his business model which was very different from that of 4sight.

These kinds of meetings always set me thinking and I now have developed my own new ideas for 4sight, stimulated by his different approach.

It can often take a meeting such as this to shake up your own thinking and take you down new,exciting paths.

It would have been easy to avoid this meeting but I would have been the one missing out.

It is vital to keep an open mind - new business ideas can come from the most unexpected areas.

Tailoring the Message

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:30:00 +0000

The arrival of Google+ on the scene has created yet another 'opportunity' for businesses using on-line networking as part of their business marketing strategy.

Maintaining a presence on the various channels whether it be Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Twitter or some of the smaller more focused networks is becoming a significant overhead for businesses. It is likely that some will fall by the wayside over time and others will become more relevant to businesses, but what should the strategy be until this happens.

In my view companies cannot afford to miss out on the opportunities presented by these channels however it is important that each is used in the most appropriate way with messages being tailored to the medium. It is becoming increasingly frustrating to come across the same material presented as a blog, tweet, status update across different media. My reaction is to ignore or even block these messages.

Your time will be well spent in tailoring your message to the audience you are addressing. Your comments, blogs tweets etc will be better received and your on-line reputation will grow and along with it your business.

Maintaining your Business in Difficult Times

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:54:00 +0000

Whilst the UK economy may have avoided a 'double-dip' according to the economists, trading is still very difficult for companies providing a range of services from marketing to training and HR. Sadly, some good companies I know are not able to survive the unwillingness of prospects to commit and have decided to call it a day. Others continue to look for new opportunities but at the same time are relying on their core customer base for survival.

If things are difficult for your core customers, who are they most likely to want to work with to get through this period? Suppliers that they know and trust. This may mean that you need to more flexible and creative in your pricing structures but by working together we can all find a way through and all be around to benefit from the good times, around the corner.

Customer Surveys for new business

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:07:00 +0000

B2Group’s business to business tracking study SME Voice has published interesting results at http://bit.ly/gjdXCc .

Web advertising, on-line networking, business networking events and outbound email are the promotional tools most likely to be used in the future by the SME respondents. Customer Surveys do not appear in the list (except possibly under the heading ‘none of the above’) yet we believe that they can play an important role in helping to develop new revenue from existing customers.

For example, asking the question ‘what other products would you like to buy from us?’ is a great way of identifying which new products or services you could be offering.

Balancing Continuity and Innovation in Annual Surveys

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:17:00 +0000

Have just completed the drafting of the 4th Annual Customer Survey for a client. Whilst we have kept much of the survey content consistent year to year to allow for comparisons we have also moved the survey forward in different areas.

This year we have decided to ask more questions about the business environment in which the respondents are operating so that my client can understand better the pressures on customers and respond accordingly.

Getting the balance right between continuity and innovation in the survey is also important for maintaining the interest of respondents, to which must be added the need to ensure that the survey does not become long and tedious to complete.

New Email Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:39:00 +0000

Just finalising the copy for a new emailer campaign to promote 4sight surveys.

A good friend has come up with a great summary of what a customer survey can do for a business:

Assess: why customers buy from them
Reveal: how they can better meet and exceed customer expectations
Maximise: the value of their relationships

We will build on this for our next campaign!

Welcome to 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:03:00 +0000

Many businesses are unsure what 2011 will bring. Has an upturn started already? How fast will the economy recover? What are the chances of a double-dip?

Whilst of course we have to take account of the economic environment in our planning, to what extent should it really be impacting what we do on a daily basis:

Whatever the situation, all businesses still need to focus marketing on the fundamentals:

Ensure they understand and meet the needs of customers
Have on-going plans for finding new customer opportunities
Have in place programmes to maintain regular contact with customers
Know who their competitors are and how they compare
Be vigilant in monitoring changes in the market
Retain the flexibility to respond to change and seize new opportunities

The economic environment may impact exactly how you do this but ignore any of them at your peril.

Bad Email Practise!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:52:00 +0000

It is recommended practise that when contacting people by email for the first time you provide an 'opt in' to future emailers rather than an 'opt out'. Whilst not all companies follow the practise almost all do at least provide a simple 'opt out' or unsubscribe option.

One publishing house seems to have taken a different route - it appears to create a new emailing list for every emailer it sends. Each emailer it sends me has the facility to unsubscribe but I still receive another emailer from them most weeks - and then have to unsubscribe from this list.

Whilst the publishers may think they are being very clever, in my view this is extremely poor practise and does nothing for the image of the business or to encourage me to read their emailers. Indeed I now normally delete them or mark them as spam without reading and don't bother to click on the unsubscribe as it appears to have no effect.

Do you have any other examples of poor emailing practise?

Where have all the IT companies gone?

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:22:00 +0000

A phone call from a prospective new client last week led to a discussion on where have all the mid-sized, generalist IT companies gone to.

When I entered this business 20 years ago names such as ISTEL, Systems Designers, Scicon, Logica and Hoskyns were all significant players in the UK market. Now they have all disappeared, with the exception of Logica which has grown substantially through acquisition, as they have been acquired and become absorrbed within major corporations.

I then began to consider the implications of this for customers - where do they go to if they don't want to to deal with the likes of IBM, EDS, CapGemini or Accenture? There are clearly vertical market and application specialists but few generalists of a significant size appear to exist.

Do you have a view on how the market has changed and who are the rising stars - if so I would be delighted to hear from you

Looking Differently at your Business

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:27:00 +0000

Have you considered looking at businesses which touch on your areas of expertise, not as competitors, but as collaborators?

You may find - like 4sight - that even where there is overlap, as long as their 'centre of gravity' is different from your's, you can potentially work together to your mutual benefit.

Sometimes we just need to take a fresh look at our business, not just at our competitors, but also at our customers and at ourselves - you never know what opportunities you will uncover!

A Service to Others

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:50:00 +0000

Over the last few years we have undertaken many on-line surveys for a range of customers. This has made us realise that we could offer this as a service to other companies who perhaps only need to run 2 or 3 surveys a year for their clients.

For these companies we can offer our expertise in the development, implementation and analysis of surveys as well as the investment we have made in the technology to deliver the surveys to respondents.

Already have interest for several marketing , advertising and PR companies and hopefully this will lead to new business opportunities for us all. If you know anyone who might be interested in this new service then please put them in touch!

Profiting from Quieter Times

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:14:00 +0000

With many contacts and clients away on holiday in August it can become a quiet month for activity. I decided to use the opportunity to catch up with associates that I had not been in touch with for several months.

It has been good to re-engage and the chance to bounce ideas off each other has already helped me to crystallise a potential new business opportunity which had been at the back of my mind for some time. I shall be pursuing this actively in the coming weeks.

Keeping in touch is never a waste of time and you just never know what will be the outcome of your next conversation.

Take a good look before you write off the opportunity!

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:26:00 +0000

Just completed a client project looking at the training market in the UK. Clearly like much of the UK economy this market has been hit by recession but, by looking at the needs and drivers of different industry segments it is still possible to identify real areas of business opportunity.

This must be case for many sectors - those companies that are prepared to properly assess and understand the opportunity and then tailor their solution to meet customer needs are able to develop profitable businesses in markets which others have written off.

It is very easy to write off a whole industry sector based on a single piece of information yet you may not need to dig very deep below the surface to find real nuggets of opportunity.

Taking Action

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:53:00 +0000

An interesting report has just been published in the US by the Business Marketing Association. The 2010 Customer Engagement Survey conducted by SPSS found that 69% of organisations use customer surveys as a source of customer information. However B2B organisations are better able to capture customer information than they are to analyse it for actionable insights! http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2010/3697/b2b-customer-engagement-high-priority-low-marks

We at 4sight have often come across customers with large quantities of customer information but without the time to do anything with it.

Another reason why when we undertake a customer survey for a client we always provide analysis of the results including actionable recommendations.

Take a Fresh Look at your Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:18:00 +0000

Having recently returned from a break in wonderful North Devon we have taken the opportunity to review the business with refreshed eyes.

This can be hard when you are totally immersed in the day to day and the tendency is to continue doing the same things and thus continue to get the same outcomes.

In fact one of the benefits many of our customers mention is that 4sight takes a new perspective on their business and helps them to see it in a new light. Often we unearth things that they have been doing for reasons which whilst relevant several years ago, are no longer - the world has moved on! In particular there are many new opportunities such as Blogging and Twitter, yet many companies have not even thought about how they can contribute to their marketing activity.

Try to take the opportunity to remove yourself from the day to day and look at your business with refreshed eyes - if this is not possible then consider asking someone else to do this for you!

Getting the Benefits of Hindsight

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:14:00 +0000

Several 4sight clients have now undertaken on-line Customer Surveys for the third year running and are reaping benefits from the analysis of 3 years information on customer needs and perceptions.

It can often be hard to justify your first survey particularly if you are also planning other major marketing spend e.g a re-branding. However, how will you be able to measure the success of your new marketing activities in changing perceptions etc. if you do not know what the starting point was?

Implement your first survey now and not only will it give you valuable information to drive your activities today but also in years to come you will have data on which to review the effectiveness of your marketing on an on-going basis.

Key Words

noreply@blogger.com (sjohn.savage@gmail.com) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:31:00 +0000

Finding out how people search for the products and services you supply on the web is an important element of Search Engine Optimisation.

At 4sight we have started to introduce a question on web searching into our customer surveys and this has already given our customers new insights into the key words and phrases they should include when optimising their sites.

There is an excellent article on Key Words by Gareth Edwards an e-marketing specialist at the National B2B Centre http://www.nb2bc.co.uk/articles/marketing_online/?id=163 .

Try out some of the techniques mentioned here and I am sure you will see an impact on the performance of your website.