Here is an astonishing fact:

MessageLabs Intelligence released numbers this week that place email spam levels at a staggering 90.4% of all email traffic in June, which makes you really appreciate your spam filter. And the profit margin becomes even more enticing for spammers when they don’t need to use humans to do their dirty work (80% of all spam sent today comes from botnets)

Please read Meghan’s full account of Spam is on the rise

I don’t know whether I should be concerned about this or not, but maybe some people have changed their links from their pages so that I haven’t got as much juice as I used to.  Then again, I am not overly concerned about pagerank for this blog, as I am not particularly targeting anything except for all you lovely readers to stumble across my blog and like what I write.

On the plus side and completely irrelevant to you, I have just been to Turkey on holiday and it was amazing.  I sat on a beach for a week and drank white russians.

Here’s some text taken from The Telegraph’s technology guru Shane Richmond:

Apple’s new iPhone, the 3GS, launches in just 10 days but anyone who already has an iPhone faces a hefty charge if they want to upgrade, according to O2’s official Twitter feed.

Last year O2 allowed customers with the first-generation iPhone to break their contracts and upgrade to the iPhone 3G on the day of release. However, to get the new iPhone 3GS, announced by Apple at its WWDC conference in San Francisco yesterday, existing customers will have to buy themselves out of their existing contracts.

Someone who bought their iPhone 3G on the day of release will have at least six months left on their contract. On O2’s middle tariff, £35 a month, that means paying more than £200 to end the contract and a further £274.23 to buy the new 3GS on the same tariff.

iPhone customers are venting their anger in the traditional way of the modern geek - on Twitter. There isn’t a Facebook group yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if one is created before the end of the day.

These people are angry because they are the iPhone’s most loyal customers. Last year, when O2 wanted to make up for the disappointing performance of the first-generation iPhone, it let them upgrade free and they queued around the block to do so. This year, after they’ve helped to make the iPhone a success, O2 is going to take them for every penny. At least that’s how they see it.

Read the full story at the Telegraph

I currently use a Blackberry and had considered changing to an iPhone as I currently have an iPod Touch.  However, now with this new pricing there is no way I am going to change.

I was always a Sony Walkman fan when I was younger and was always found to be listening to some sort of 80s tines when I was boy.  That could have been Huey Lewis & The News or John Cougar Mellencamp.  I am pretty sure that instilled into me that I need some sort of music equipment.  I was also the last person I knew to get a mobile phone, as I didn’t like people knowing where I was constantly.  Eventually, my Dad bought me one when I was the grand old age of 25 - yes, only 6 years ago.  Now of course, that has changed, as I can’t be without my email, text and phone calls.

However, I still feel that I like having my music box and my phone separate.  I must be weird this way.  But I don’t care.  I want to be able to listen to tunes in peace without my iPhone buzzing all the time when I get a call or text.  In fact, I want tapes to come back too.

Nowadays, people listen to a song they like.  It used to be that you bought an album and would listen to the whole thing over and over therefore discovering favourite tracks that others may not like so much.  Today it is all about buying a single track that you like.  I am pretty sure that on my iPhone the only single track I have is Rhinoceros by Smashing Pumpkins.  The only reason for that is that I am not really a fan, but I had that song on a mix tape years ago, so wanted it again.  I still like to try and learn an album.  Most artists try to tell a story throughout an album and that is what interests me.

Perhaps I got a bit off point there, but I know that there are people out there who buy the latest iPhone or iPod and don’t even have a clue about music.  Never bought an album in their life.  But like that song by Kasabian, because someone said they’re cool.

So anyway, if anyone can convince me why to get an iPhone then let me know. 

I love the functionality of my Blackberry.  It is afterall, a phone.  And it phones, texts and emails for me.  It also takes (crap) photo’s and lets me check where I am on Google Maps.  I think that is all I need a phone to be.  And that keeps my tunes separate.

Therefore, I have decided - I am going up to Glasgow this weekend!  Myself and a mate will be jumping on the train on Thursday night, then whizzing  up to Glasgow, Pendolino style.

And further to this, I am also going to Turkey for a week in under 14 days time!

It was all about the top bankers getting paid astronomical wages.  The reason for them being paid astronomical wages - well, they were self governing.  In each of these banks there were non-execs appointed to the board as the guys who would use  their time to look into the wages of the top guys.  However, this is where the problem was.  The non-execs and the Chairman of whichever bank it was all knew each other, and it would be likely that if one non-exec were to curb the wage rise, then the same would happen to him at his place of employment.

And, some of these guys had around 4 or 5 no-exec positions.  Basically this accounted to around 2 days work a month and an annual salary of anything between £70k and £150k! 

Further to this, they all had huge pension pots, again agreed by each other for each other.  Now they can all walk away from the banking crisis with their tail between their legs, but a huge wad of cash stuffed into their wallets or purses.

Now all this got me thinking.  Does this go on in my industry?

Lots of people know each other well.  Meetings everywhere.  eCommerce Directors have mates at agencies.  Start-up agency’s that the MD used to work at the client.  Marketing managers that have worked at 6 different companies but have only ever used 1 agency.  Hmmm…sounds similar doesn’t it.

I have come across this on numerous ocassions - for example, a few months back I had a marketing manager say to me “I am going to pitch, but I don’t know you, so you won’t be involved.  I have worked with two of the chosen agencies and a friend recommended the other.”  Obviously, I won’t be divulging who said it, but I was quite shocked by that.  Especially as we were perfectly placed with experience of that particular sector and I could rhyme of 101 successes that relate.  I also looked up the lucky agencies and noted that they were nowhere near as suited for the job.  Actually, only the one that came recommended from the friend had the inhouse capabilities to do what they were looking for.

However, am I just being cynical and in a bad mood as we didn’t get in to pitch for something I knew about?

I don’t think so.  In my time in digital marketing it has become apparent that this can certainly be the way of it.  People take care of other people.  That’s good human nature actually, and I admire it.  “An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness” by Elbert Hubbard. 

It may not be the best for your company though.  What you have to do if you are holding a pitch, is look at which agencies will give the best fit for your brief.  Not the other way around. For example, I have a mate who is a draftsman.  I would not approach him and ask him to design my dream house (sorry Dougie).  I am sure he could do it and maybe even do it well, but he is not an architect.

Do we dictate each others wages?  Yes we do, by the quality of work we produce which is constantly pushing the barrier.  I don’t think that jobs-for-the-boys affects us so much.  There only seems to be a small band of them doing it.  Although, check out the bankers - there was only a small band of them doing and it brought their whole system down.  Now I am paying for it in more ways than I thought.

So how does the business development department go about their job, I hear you ask.  Well, business development has a lot of factors combined into one big mixing bowl to make us effective.  And we never stop working, as any company which stops business development is going to be in trouble down the line – it is an ongoing and non-stop process.  So I have compiled a list of all things that we do in business development to make Equator tick.

Research:

I spend a lot of time researching different avenues – this tends to take up most of my time on week nights and weekends.  This is to ensure I have valuable knowledge in many different areas.   Firstly, the marketplace – who’s doing what, when did they last review, who has just moved company, which agencies are providing good (or poor) service.  I also have to research the work that we do within our agency.  I have to know exactly what we have done recently and how we have performed, using what methods.  This ensures that I am able to talk passionately about why our agency performs so well in every discipline that we participate.  And trust me, we do.

Marketing:

Business development involves a lot of marketing our agency to the people and companies that we are targeting.  This could be anything from getting our own website correct to making sure the letterhead is correct on our handwritten correspondence.  Generally, we would involve all departments in this process as we have a large pool of designers and marketeers who provide valuable input. 

Strategy:

Our strategy talks involve everything from sectors to target, internal availability of our employees, likelihood of win success and loss.   It is vital to have a defined strategy in place or we would find ourselves chasing leads that are primed to lead to nothing, therefore wasting our resources.  Every minute of every hour is an opportunity so no time should ever be wasted.  One factor that I have always said is that not only are we trying to get the customer to trust us and choose us, but I am trying to choose a suitable partner to work with.  The more I can cut this down in size, then the better as I won’t waste time chasing the wrong people.   Referral selling is a channel I particularly like, but depending on your organisations set-up, it can be difficult to implement.

CRM:

Invest in a good customer relationship manager.  Try Act! by Sage or Salesforce.  This is an essential part to managing your contacts so that you know what stage in the sales cycle you are at with them.  If you don’t have this in place, then try an excel sheet, but this will be very hard to keep on top of.  A little investment here will go as long way to ensuring you will never lose track of your prospects.

Contacting People:

Use every method possible for this but the main business development tool is still old faithful, the telephone.  Never be too scared to pick it up and get chatting or you’ll never get anywhere.   Of course, there is also email, brochures, exhibitions, letters, social media and blogging.  However, during 9 – 5 all you need is your phone.  And the goal is to meet these people in person, or to get a brief sent onto you.

Networking:

I use as many channels as possible to shout out Equator’s message.  From Linkedin to Twitter, every channel is essential to make your reach that little bit further.  When you are on hold on the phone, type a url you like into Twitter to try to belong to a community.  Or why not check out the history of your prospect on Linkedin.   Read blogs that are relevant to your work and sign up for their email subscriptions.  People will soon begin to notice your name and realise you are in business development.  Get out to exhibitions and awards ceremonies.   They can be incredibly boring, but you will meet people, and even if these people are your competitors, you need to communicate your thoughts on the industry.

Pipeline:

Building a pipeline is part of your ongoing job.  My CRM comes into its forté here, as I can track all contact made and see who needs revisited, who is reviewing soon, who asked me to call them in a month so that we can chat in more detail, where their offices are in case I have to send a letter, etc.   You get the picture.   The business development pipeline is crucial and should be maintained at all times – even if you are having a good month, if you don’t work on the pipeline then the next month will probably be crap.  Trust me, I have learned from these mistakes in the past.

Meetings:

Learn about the prospect before you go.  And if you are going to talk about a specific topic then do a bit of research too.  Say, for instance, you are going to meet someone to talk about their SEO requirements, then do some research on where they rank for relevant keywords.  This will put you in a strong position as soon as you arrive as you are armed with figures.  Oh, and dress nicely too.

Proposals:

Proposal writing should not just be left to the business development department, as parts of a proposal should be researched and written by the expert in that field.  Say for instance I was writing a proposal for web design and development then I wouldn’t dare to talk about either of those subjects.  The reason being is that we have a creative director, and we also have a development director.  These guys know what they are talking about so I need to go to them for their expertise.  Pulling all this information together into a final proposal is the next step.  The proposal has to be concise, plain talking and provide a transparent approach to costings.

Pitches:

The key to pitches is all about preparation.  We gather together the correct team for each individual pitch and fully brief everyone.  Then we have to all work on the pitch itself – who has what job, when to pipe up with your input, when to keep quiet, how to present yourself.  Try not to bore the attendees – if the presentation bores you at any point then get it out!   You need to tell your story, sell your agency – and it has to be done with enthusiasm and excitement, whilst proving that you can do a fantastic job for your potential client.  Business development pulls all the elements together to conquer the world!

Sales:

Closing that deal.  What can I say?  That’s when all of the above comes together and our team has performed amazingly.  If all these factors have been included in the process then business development are almost there.  Now it comes down to the clients thoughts: are we creating a relationship?  Did we pitch to the decision maker?  Did we do our research on our competitors to out-rank them?  Are the costs right for the client?  Have we fulfilled the brief and given the client reason to sign the contract?  By the time the pitch has been done you should know the answer to all these questions which should put you in a stronger position.

Reviews:

After each pitch, we review what went well and what didn’t go well so that we can learn how to perform better.  Whether winning or losing we ask the tough questions afterwards.  Each and every process above should be reviewed periodically to see where you are doing well and not doing so well.  This is essential for business development to be focussed.

I hope you learned something from this.  Please feel free to add any comments on things I have missed, as I am always very keen to learn what you all have to say about different business development processes and techniques.

Hotel chain Ramada Jarvis have re-launched their website following a full review and redesign by Equator.

Equator were challenged to create a portal for leisure guests and business people alike – a one stop shop for accommodation, events, destination and attractions information. Working hand in hand Ramada Jarvis and Equator agreed the vision for the site and set about the design process in a collaborative manner. Extensive web usability testing was utilised to ensure the user journey is as seamless, logical and friendly as possible. The launch of the site is only the beginning. The plan is to constantly evolve the site using feedback from analytics and users to ensure ease of use and maximum conversion.

The full service digital agency is also running an integrated campaign via SEO, PPC and affiliate channels to drive traffic to the site and increase revenue for the 42 strong, UK hotel chain.

John McLeish, Equator’s Managing Director, is delighted to have had the opportunity to redesign the Ramada Jarvis website. “We have been working for Ramada Jarvis on their affiliate SEO & PPC programmes for a number of years now and it was a great opportunity for us to take our learnings from this and apply them to the website in order to increase conversion.

Equator has many years of experience with the leisure industry, and we believe that our knowledge of what makes customers follow through the booking process will mean that the new Ramada Jarvis site will be a great success.”

David Witham, Director of Marketing & Partnerships, Ramada Jarvis: “We are delighted with the results of our new website functionality and design by Equator. Not only does our new site offer the user more content and imagery on our hotels, it also presents unparalleled access to live information about latest regional events and attractions around our properties which is fed by What’s on When. In today’s climate, when looking for value, our site now allows the user instant access to room availability at our Best Rate Guarantee which can’t be beaten anywhere on the web. The improved user experience allows easy trip planning and booking a Ramada Jarvis hotel which are in ideal locations to explore the great outdoors and the exciting attractions which Britain has to offer, at affordable prices.”

I would suggest now to M & M Direct that they have to work on their SEO as their price was an excellent £29.35 plus £3.90 for P&P.  Considering that in my local sportswear shop, these trainers were on sale for £54.99, I couldn’t believe my luck.  And they arrived in 3 working days.

However, I only got lucky finding them at this price - due to my Scottish tenacity and eye for a bargain.  I think I had been searching online for around 4 or 5 days until I discovered them at this price.  And the Stan Smiths are available in white/green or white/black which is nice.

Furthermore, the checkout process for M & M Direct was relatively painless in comparison to the Next complaints I suffered.   I was even allowed to enter a delivery and billing address.

So anyway - if you fancy buying a lovely pair of Adidas Originals Stan Smith then use M & M Direct.   I did and now Graeme Davidson is a happy man

BiP Solutions is a leading provider of public sector contract information, with over 500 UK government organisations using their internet solutions to create and manage their contract information.

Equator have been tasked with building the natural search engine rankings for www.tendermatch.co.uk, BiP’s essential tracker tool for those looking to win contracts with public sector organisations, both in the UK and worldwide.  Equator’s brief is to devise a strategy that encourages visitors to sign up for BiP’s tracker tool.

John McLeish, Equator’s Managing Director, is thrilled to have won the business; “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Equator to work with such a pioneering company as BiP Solutions.  With over £175 billion pounds expected to be spent by the UK’s public sector this year, having a tool such as tendermatch available to companies is invaluable. Even more so in this difficult economic climate, as it allows them to keep their finger on the pulse when it comes to new business opportunities.”

Ewan McKay, BiP Solutions Tracker Brand Manager said, “BiP are absolutely delighted to be working with Equator.  We were impressed by the pitch that the team made and in the short space of time that we have been working with Equator we have seen a quantifiable improvement in Tracker’s SEO performance. We look forward to further positive results and a long and successful partnership”.