In March I was appointed to a new role as Head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland. As an Ulster Bank “lifer” I want to play my part in restoring the organisation to its rightful place as a leading financial institution supporting Northern Ireland ‘s long tradition of entrepreneurship.

THE STRONG AND SILENT TYPE

One of the most high profile events in Northern Ireland is the Balmoral Show where the Ulster Bank has been proud sponsor for many years. This year was very special as the show moved to the site of the old Maze prison. It’s a really fantastic site and the weather was fairly kind. The buzz and the sunshine on such a historic site represents a new Northern Ireland facing the future with confidence. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Arlene Foster and Owen Brennan in my first high profile public engagement. It was great to be there with our farming customers who despite a hard start to the year, remain confident about the future. I must confess to being much more nervous sharing the stage with Hector the bull, who weighed over a ton! The strong, silent and broody type.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS NI

This week has been a total contrast. Early in the week I was in Amsterdam presenting to staff and came back to help open the Ulster Bank Sponsored WIBNI conference. In fact I opened it alongside David Thomas who heads our Corporate Bank. David and I have worked together on many external events to encourage female entrepreneurship across the island and to promote a more diverse Ulster Bank. Aligning strong internal values, social aims and good business are key themes as we build our business to be sustainable for the future. It was a really fantastic conference opened by Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and with a great line up of speakers. It’s an organisation that Ulster Bank is proud to be associated with.

IN THE MEDIA

This week I did my first radio interview in my new role for BBC Ulster which was followed by an interview for the Belfast Telegraph. Topics covered were support for small businesses, last year’s technology issues, support for farmers and our sponsorship of The Balmoral Show and WIBNI. I want Ulster Bank to be out there talking about the key issues and being part of the solution. We have a key role in society and we must do that job well.

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A group of shortlisted startups entered The Irish Times at the start of a six week experiment to work with leading advertising creatives, including Eoghan Nolan of Brand Artillery and Pearse McCaughey of Cawley/Nea, to develop and refine their pitches.

After a three day period of creative workshops the initial shortlist of 20 startups started an accelerated version of the NDRC LaunchPad, ranked Ireland’s number one incubator by the Kauffman Foundation. The startups have one week to prepare for the pitch to an industry panel that will decide which final ten startups of the shortlisted twenty will proceed to the next stage of the process.

Irish Times FUSION: week 1 from Johnny Ryan on Vimeo.

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Energy regulator, Ofgem, is making progress with its intention to protect businesses from being mis-sold energy deals. According to their research, between 14% – 17% of businesses who use brokers are unsatisfied with the service they receive. With these figures in mind, Ofgem believes there’s a serious systemic problem in the energy market that’s affecting economic development.

The Energy Industry and Mis-selling

‘Unprofessional’ and ‘Aggressive’
When trying to secure a sale, energy suppliers and brokers have been accused of cold calling, aggressive sales tactics, unprofessional behaviour, and impersonating other companies. Citizens Advice said that 42% of complaints received from small businesses are concerned, making this a huge issue for the most vulnerable parties in the economy.

Small Businesses Are Suffering
At a time when national fiscal health still remains low, the behaviour of the energy industry is a knife in the gut of struggling companies, who are often excluded from competitive prices, due to being promised the best deals, but receiving worse than their previous energy contracts. Overhead costs make up a large proportion of a business’ outgoings, and the greater these prices are, the lower the bottom line becomes.

Ofgem is asking the government for greater powers to hold ‘rogue’ energy brokers accountable for their mis-sold services. It’s also looking to toughen up the rules and will include a set code of practice for brokers.  In addition it will rein in the malpractice of suppliers, and give companies greater confidence, when signing contracts.

Many small businesses don’t have the resources or experience to cope with mis-sold energy contracts, and in some extreme cases, it can make the difference between financial stability and losing everything.

Rollover Contracts
Rollover contracts automatically extend your business with a supplier if you forget to cancel the current deal in advance. Companies then end up on inflated ‘out of contract’ rates that are often much higher than their previous tariffs. Ofgem believe this practice is wrong and hopes to prevent rollover contracts from taking businesses off guard.

The Advantages of Taking Action
Creating a wholesale energy market that’s safer for all businesses will help companies mitigate risks and make more informed strategic decisions. With an intelligent and thorough approach to energy management, overhead costs can be significantly reduced and businesses can start taking steps towards lowering their carbon footprint.

There are many energy procurement and management services are offered by reputable companies that offer fantastic deals and deliver cost-cutting solutions, but these too are jeopardised by the malpractices of ‘rogue’ traders.   Reputable companies can be found by looking for energy brokers who work leading trade associations, such as Chamber of Commerce.  It is also worth using a recommendation or asking for the names of current customers and getting a reference.

By supporting energy specialists with high quality energy services, we’re helping the economy get back on its feet and protecting the jobs of countless employees.

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In the years since 2008, global economic difficulties have plagued small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and made the task of successfully establishing a business more of a challenge than in the preceding boom years. Retailers have been affected by a drop in consumer confidence caused by high inflation and a lack of disposable income, while issues in the Eurozone have had a knock-on effect for the international marketplace as a whole. As a result, many small businesses have been forced to search for new ways to save money and squirrel funds away to be used in an emergency situation.

While the worst of the global recession may be over, it remains prudent for small business owners to analyse their outgoings to determine if and how financial corners could be cut. However, it is important not to compromise the quality received by customers or clients – after all, reputation is everything in the business world.

Tips for Saving Money in an Economic Downturn

Seeking Rent Concessions
When negotiating with landlords, it is useful to remember that they require a tenant as much as a business requires premises. Without an occupier they become responsible for the business rates usually taken care of in company accounts, as well as the numerous utility bills, maintenance fees and miscellaneous charges which come with a property. As a high number of SMEs were forced to liquidate in the UK between 2011 and 2012, the empty property tax rocketed to £1.1 billion – a 19 per cent increase from the 2009-2010 financial year.

Therefore, a little give and take on rent concessions is certainly worth pushing for. Huge cuts to rents are unlikely, but even a small saving per annum can be channelled into the business capital and will allow for a little extra support during a slow trading month.

Staff Training
Ensuring a high level of competency in employees is invaluable when looking to attract new clients, so maintaining a training programme is essential in allowing new team members to keep up to speed. Furthermore, regular training sessions with existing employees will allow them to remain up-to-date in business practises pertaining to the industry. Yet rather than allocating staff training days off site, keeping literature such as economics textbooks or IT guides in the office and encouraging regular perusals will save significant funds – especially if these are purchased second hand.  Meanwhile, encouraging more senior members of staff to spend time with their junior equivalents will boost camaraderie and allow for a more approachable method of training thanks to the pre-existing relationship and in-house setting.

Making the Most of Going Digital
Due to the ever-growing reach of the internet, international business dealings have become more common in the modern era. Taking advantage of this tool is quick, effective and often completely free. Joining a forum or chat feed pertaining to a business’ focus will directly appeal to potential customers and as such is more likely to yield results than random access advertising on television or in a national newspaper. Including the company URL on an online signature is always recommended as this gives contacts the ability to directly access information regarding the business, whilst also removing the need to constantly mention a company name – appearing as an authority figure on a matter is appreciated, but overtly using it for personal gain is not.

Be Credit-Wise
When business is going well and contracts are piling up, it can be easy to forget about financial concerns and begin to make purchases on credit. Yet this can have severe repercussions down the line, as a change in fortune can leave a company with a large amount of debt it is incapable of paying off. Paying by cash or check when possible will alleviate the risk of owing in future, whilst simultaneously allowing for a closer monitoring of business accounts.

If a large purchase is required and the only option is paying on credit, shop around for a low-interest option which is flexible with repayments. Many manufacturers or suppliers will offer trusted businesses a subsidised purchase agreement known as a captive finance scheme in order to save them from a high interest bank loan.

Keeping Clients in Mind
Most importantly, the customer must always feel satisfied with their experience. As well as word of mouth being an established and useful free advertising tool, repeat custom is always to be desired, especially if the client is influential or their company is a subsidiary of a larger group. Reminding satisfied customers to post a positive review on the company website or social networking page will also allow for widespread accreditation of achievements, thus making a small more likely to achieve security in future.

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Aidan Gough, Strategy and Policy Director at InterTradeIreland

A stabilisation in employment, converging economies, cost-cutting and a problem with debtors are the main issues to emerge from the latest InterTradeIreland quarterly Business Monitor released today.

Employment has stabilised
The Q1 2013 Business Monitor reveals a stabilisation in the employment levels across the island. In the last three months 85 per cent of businesses have maintained current staffing levels and only 11 per cent report reducing their workforce.

The number of companies reporting that they have reduced numbers of staff has remained fairly static over the last four quarters and this trend may indicate that the level of unemployment may have peaked. This would seem to be supported by the announcements last week of more than 1,000 new jobs for Northern Ireland. These kinds of announcements can help with the confidence of firms to hire new people and we could then start to see the figures for unemployment reverse.

Converging economies
It has also become increasingly clear that the gap in business performance between Northern Ireland and Ireland is closing. They have been converging over the last few quarters and are now in a very similar place with regards to employment and sales growth.

Business challenges
Cost and cash flow are the two key issues identified by the businesses surveyed for the Q1 2013 InterTradeIreland Business Monitor. Similar to the previous quarter, rising energy costs (40 per cent), rising cost of other overheads (37 per cent) and cash flow (30 per cent) are continuing to impact heavily on business. Almost half of businesses (46 per cent) are focused on a 50/50 combination of cost-cutting and sales growth and nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of businesses have actively taken measures to reduce costs in the last three months.

Cost-cutting can hinder growth
It is very understandable that in this environment, businesses are putting an effort into reducing costs. It is important though that cost increases that are largely outside the control of business, don’t undermine the overall focus on growth as this could significantly hinder economic recovery as well as the performance of individual firms.

An interesting finding was that businesses in Ireland were more than two times as likely to have negotiated better rates with regards to telecoms, energy and insurance, than those in Northern Ireland.

Too many businesses not being paid on time
This quarter’s report also highlights a significant issue with debtors and reveals that more than half (53 per cent) of the businesses surveyed indicated that they have debtors of over 90 days and more than one third (36 per cent) stated that over a quarter of sales are not paid on time.

This goes some way to explaining why cash flow is consistently ranked as a significant challenge for business. This issue is one that can restrict growth and I would urge all businesses to ensure that they have processes in place to address this problem. This is especially relevant in Northern Ireland as over 61 per cent of local businesses do not undertake any practice to manage debtors, compared to 51 per cent in Ireland and so I would urge local SMEs to be less reticent and more assertive when it comes to securing payment or indeed negotiating costs with suppliers.

A copy of the Executive Summary of the latest survey can be viewed at http://www.intertradeireland.com/researchandpublications/publications/name,10778,en.html

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I am a fan

I am a huge fan of Chris Anderson. Both “The long tail” and “Free” are great reads and

Truly thought provoking. Both, but particularly “Free” is a book we use regularly with clients. The question asked is “what happens if your service will become available for free (which it will)?

Talk about throwing a fox into a chicken den.

Digital disruption

A few weeks ago we used “Digital disruption” as a way to explain to a client the speed of innovation. We are now talking overnight, Big Bang disruption, by Coder dojo trained entrepreneurs using free tools, utilising global platforms, using shared IP, open source and community principles as a key features to compete with the big boys (and winning). In “digital disruptions” there are a few references to the “making community” and how that will be the next wave of disruptions. “Making” as the new black.

Makers

And presto, a few weeks later there is Chris Anderson with “Makers, the new industrial revolution”. Another cracking book about how the same principals that transformed the ICT world is going to transform the manufacturing world.

Must read

A book that should be read by any policy maker in the area of entrepreneurship, SME policy and economic development. Will be sending Richard Bruton a copy.

Digitised DIY

Digitised DIY, where the need for economy of scale no longer applies, bottom up, highly networked, open source, with access to all the production tools you need with a single click of a mouse. Where the long tail of things creates millions of opportunities for small local businesses. The one-size fits all approach of the large manufactures no longer need to apply. You can make small batches at compettive prices. Scale is no longer an issue.

Jump on the bandwagon

From an entrepreneurial perspective, the maker movement is where ICT was in 1985. You can already predict where this is going, apply the lessons and get on the bandwagon. But it also behest on the education system to jump on the same train and teach making. We need a 3D printer in every school.

3D printing

Which brings us to printers. Remember the dot-matrix printer? That is where 3D printing is now. Now you have a small printer on your desk, printing HD colour pictures. That is where 3D printing is going. In materials, biology and DNA. For 99 Euro per printer.

Killing giants

Open source hardware, with no patent protection, shared by a community of passionate, people. For the large manufacturers it is going to be very hard to beat that. Open source innovation is cheaper, faster, better researched and already has a head start in market research, marketing and support. With social capital and your eco system the new marketing tools. With word of mouth automatically build in. With a lot of emphasis on branding and trademarking.

Loosing the talent war

And because it is driven by passion, it will attract the best talent from all over the world, working together. Try to beat that as a company. The long tail of talent and the need for a drastic relook on the way your organise your business. Which brings us to books such as “Loose” or “The connected company”.

No barriers to entry

So as a company you are now loosing on economy of scale, IP, marketing, talent and passion. Maybe finance as the last barrier to entry? Alas that is why they invented crowd funding. Which even reinforces all the above. The market research, the selling, the word of mouth, the social media, the story telling, the community, the speed to market, the channel, the distribution and the beginning of what Brian Solis calls the dynamic customer journey and constant feedback loop (from “What is the future of business” #WTF).

Spot on

Chris Anderson has been spot on with his earlier books and I think he is spot on with “Makers”. From a policy perspective, from an educational perspective and from a personal perspective. This movement can transform economies, people and allow you to finally follow your passion.

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Business Impact Map shows Irish Companies Contribute Over €21 million to Charities and Community Groups in 2012

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The focus of many businesses over the last 5 years has necessarily been on short term survival, namely the ‘urgent’. If your business has come through the worst recession in living memory congratulate yourself, but  ask whether it is now time to step back and take a look at your positioning for future success, namely the ‘important’.

Prioritise the important over ‘the urgent’

Signs that you need to set time aside to explore the ‘important’:

• your business is losing market share
• your product offering is undifferentiated from the competition
• there are new sources of competition
• you are dependent on one or a small number of customers
• you are competing more and more on price
• you are constantly in crisis mode
• it has been more than 3 years since you examined your business model

The trouble with an extended period of firefighting is that you can miss changes in underlying market conditions or fail to appreciate their full significance for the long term future of your business. Focusing exclusively on the urgent can become a habit but ultimately it is a luxury you cannot afford.

It is understandable why we give priority to the urgent, as by definition it demands attention, the consequences of inaction seem to be significant (not always the case), and the action required seems obvious (but may not be the correct action for long term success).

By contrast deciding on your future strategic direction or improvements to your operational model, takes time and discipline to work through and courage and foresight to implement.

You cannot ultimately avoid asking fundamental questions about the future of your business simply because the answers are not obvious and if you need to transition to a new business model the earlier you face up to the challenges the smoother the transition will be.

If you see the need for a strategic or operational review consider engaging external support. Independent facilitation by a Business Coach can provide the perspective and the framework you need to explore options for the strategic direction of  your business.

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Over the years I have come across so many businesses, small and medium size, where there is no sales and marketing plan at all…..no really – none at all. From the outside they appear successful. Other customers and business people that know them think; ” They have it sorted”, “How do they do that”.

This surprised me too! Then I get a phone call to come and talk to them as they needed “Marketing” help. Over a lovely cup of coffee the real truth is unveiled. “We have no real structure to our yearly Sales & Marketing activities” and “we would like to have a solid clear list of what we want to achieve this year – from a Marketing standpoint – every year just seems to slip away from us”. So all in all there is no plan…..I remarked to one such business – “You know everyone assumes you are running at 100% of your potential and you really do not need more success but expansion”. We all laughed……then it sunk in what I just said. They really did need structure because, if the great momentum and goodwill that they had thrived on ran out – they would be high and dry.

What is a Sales and Marketing Plan?

I believe the real issue is a lack of understanding of what a sales and marketing plan is and how you use it. This can be as complicated or as simple as your business can handle. Using the Sales figures for the past business year and the projections for the coming year a plan should dove tail with these projections. Meaning – what Sales & Marketing actions do we have to take to achieve these sales figures.

This document is the “HOW” all these Sales will be achieved and “HOW” growth will be achieved.

What do you need to do in your business to match the results of last year?

What new contacts/markets/partnerships you need to forge in order to grow your business?

What are the costs involved? Research and record them all.

Break activity and action points down to monthly tasks and it becomes a very user friendly document.

Once a month re-read the plan, if you have your actions recorded over a calendar year (as your business may be seasonal etc.,) look back over the past month – can you tick-off the action points scheduled for last month? – look these may be as simple as “update the Christmas Packages in our website”, “Agree 2014 pricing for forthcoming bookings/orders”, “Pre-booking adverts for next month” etc.,. But by going back each month you will see progress and be on top of what actions are coming up this month. You feel in control.

I have worked within the Sales & Marketing field for almost 19 years now and to have a Plan by your side gives you confidence. Keep referring to it; update it, add to it, tweak it but stick to it. Having this Action Plan – which is part of your sales and marketing plan gives you direction. By using it regularly you will not feel the year is slipping away and you will not lose control. You are in control of your  business!

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Social media has completely changed the game play for businesses. With the large population social media pools in, it’s not impossible to find the demographic you seek. Large social networks, like Instagram, make connecting more accessible and simple. So business owners grab the opportunity to connect to their market. They use social media to update consumers, introduce new products and campaign their brand. There are many things the web can do for businesses once you get creative.

Instagram for Business

Instagram is a popular photo sharing website where people can share interesting photos and keep updated with a certain user. A company can take advantage of this by showing followers the different features of the company. Here are effective and widely accepted strategies you can do on Instagram to advertise your business.

Show the process
Show the production process. For businesses that are inclined to manufacturing, the production process is an important aspect of the company. Customers like to know and see for themselves how their products are made. You can also show how your company works efficiently and meticulously. Showing your performance oriented side is a sure way to keep customers loyal to your products.

Behind the scenes
Take behind-the-scenes pictures. Having your customers take a peek behind the curtain is a great way to interest your customers. A lot of people like to see what goes on in everyday operations in a business.

Your office
Show the office and your workforce. By sharing company pictures like workspaces and employees, you project a brand that says team-oriented. Pictures of employees show that the company is a tight network.

Company profiles
Feature special events and company parties. People love to see the fun side of your company. Plus, in most special events, new products are introduced and new changes are announced. This can be a platform to make your customers aware and it also advertises your new products.

Announcements
Share announcements through pictures. People are more attracted to images that create a visual impact. To make sure that you get the most effective announcement, present them with a picture. So people don’t feel bored with a text spam.

Your product
Show your product in use. If your customers are new to your products, it’s practical to showcase their features and uses. Your customers would automatically get it, and this also becomes a more attractive way to really put your product out there.

Hash Tags and keywords
Use hash tags and keywords. Hash tags and keywords are used to make search engines recommend you once a keyword is typed in.

Pool visitors to your web page.

Using Instagram to advertise your business is easy, practical and effective once done right. Posting pictures would help your brand to be recognized and get people excited about new products. Instagram and many social networking websites hold many possibilities for businesses and will surely hold more power in advertising as the years come.

Liza John is an IT professional from Selftesttraining. Have you really looked for this selftesttraining.com Assistance? Move ahead to take the benefit of Isqi Certifications and pass your exam easily.

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