Before we go any further let’s be clear on this: I deplore, abhor, and am utterly disgusted by the revelations of the last few days over the NOTW hacking scandal.  It is breathtaking to believe just how low people will go, and I suspect we are now facing months of ongoing revelations that will have repercussions all around the media and the political world.

Who knew what, who did what, who’s noses are clean, and who’s are very, very dirty. All these questions will be worked over time and time again and hopefuly the guilty will be brought to account.

But let’s look at the instant lessons for a brand: Just days ago the NOTW was a strong brand in UK media, a little tarnished from recent revelations but still viable (and apparently extremely profitable).

Now it is worthless.  No one wants to be associated with it.  Those who are associated are running away as fast as possible. minutes ago it was announced that after this weekend the paper will be killed off.  As I write this there are suggestions that there will be no advertising this weekend and any revenues will be donated to charity. These things still to be confirmed.

Suppose you were the owner of the paper today, what would you have done? and how would your answer differ if it was your only business, not one of a larger stable of strong titles?

Sometimes a brand’s reputation is irretrievably damaged and the only answer is to kill it as quickly as possible. Move on, put the damage far behind you as quickly as possible,  accept the judgement of your audience, you’re not wanted anymore.

But where do you go next?

There is a healthy skepticism (cynicism?) about the media, it’s influence and it’s agendas. So if News International try to replace the NOTW with another title (such as the ‘Sunday Sun’) too quickly will that also be rejected? Will the anger created around one brand transfer itself and damage it’s replacement? Just how transferable are brand sentiments? We shall now see.

Never, ever lose sight of the fact that you can only hope to influence the public perception of your brand, your audience (clients, customers) will decide what that brand represents. And if catastrophe strikes, then just like the victims of a tsunami, you will have no viable defence.

Good riddance, News Of The World. I for one won’t mourn your passing. Hopefully this day will see the start of a move toward more responsible journalism and a death to the excesses of the past.

Listen To “If You Can Tell A Story …”

We’ve talked before about the power of story telling to get your message across.

Watch this little girl tell a well known story with passion, drama and a little humour.

Could story telling make a difference to your life and your work? Well at the time I posted this to the blog over 4,100,000 people had already viewed this video.

Doesn’t that fact alone tell you something?

Stories tell and stories sell.

Now sit back for 7 minutes and enjoy.

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

OK, so you've done your research and you really think there's a gap in the marketplace.

But does that mean there's a marketplace in the gap?

Think about it. Seriously.

Listen To “When The Cat’s Away …”

Living in Edinburgh can be a glamorous business.

Why only last night my wife and I took a stroll along the waterfront here in Newhaven …

 … round to the recycling bins situated next to the empty fish boxes of the local Wholesale Fishmongers!

Don't try to tell me we don't know how to live!

Anyway, after the main entertainment of the evening was concluded and the bags had been emptied I suggested we had a bite to eat.

And there we were stood right outside the Newhaven Quay, Brewers Fayre. Not necessarily my first choice for eating in Edinburgh, maybe not even in my first 100 places to eat, but it was 10 yards away and it was a completely spur of the moment decision.

And as we only live a few hundred yards away a good experience here could result in a lot of future 'spur of the moment' decisions.

Let's do the maths:

Say we spend £40 per visit (entirely feasible) and we visit twice a week (very likely for something so convenient).

We plan to live in this neighbouhood for the next 2-3 years. So that's 40 x 2 x 40+ weeks x say 2.5 years.

It's an £8,000 visit.

I bet you've already guessed where we're going with this, haven't you? But just come along with me for the ride.

We went in and found a table. Not difficult as there were plenty of free tables, and this is Edinburgh at Festival time.

That should have been a warning to me.

Having decided on our order I stood at the Bar waiting for service.

And stood.

And stood.

And stood.

Only one person serving and he was involved with several groups buying drinks at the far end of the bar.

Another lady came to order and stood nearby.

The Barman noticed us, dashed quickly down the Bar, apologised that we'd had to wait and said "I'll just get someone to come and take your order".

He opened the door to the kitchen, put his head around the door and asked if someone could come out and attend to the customers wanting to order food.

From the bowels of the kitchen, from the mouth of someone completely unseen by us, came a reflex reply:

"F*** OFF!"

There was a little banter between the Barman and the unseen, foul mouthed, employee. The door closed and the Barman went back to serving his drinks.

But we Brits are a resilient lot. I still stood waiting for another 90 seconds, fuming inside at this appalling display.

Still no one came to serve us.

So we walked out.

And we won't be returning anytime soon.

We didn't bother asking to speak to the Manager. That's not what we Brits do, is it? I don't even know where he/she was.

As my wife always says "We voted with our feet".

So that's £8,000 that won't be going into the Brewers Fayre coffers over the next couple of years.

And no one at HO will ever understand why the Newhaven Quay isn't busier.

How many of your potential customers "vote with their feet?"

And you never know why?

Because when the Cat's (Manager's/Owner's) away, or just has their back turned,  the staff are silently killing your business.

I sincerely hope it doesn't happen to you.

But can you be sure?

How?

And isn't it funny … it was a big company again.

Don't you just hate it when someone else steals your thoughts and then puts them down on paper better than you could?

It happened to me again today.

A nice little blog post was forming in my brain regarding Apple, Marketing and building a community of Raving Fans when I discovered that Troy had written something exceedingly relevant last week.

I've told you before on this blog of the great respect I have for Troy White's advice.

So I'm going to suggest you click the link and read his article right now.

"How To Create A Cult" Another Great Article From Troy White 

Meanwhile I'll get myself a quick Coffee and start on Thursday's post.

See you tomorrow.

Listen To “When Only A Human …”

Technology, schmecknology. Sometimes only a human will do.

Let me explain.

I've moved house last week and in the process I've spent a lot of cash on Amazon acquiring various bits and pieces for the new residence.

Or 'Boy's Toys' as my wife calls them.

Now, I'm a big fan of Amazon and never had a problem with any purchase.

So I needed a new Cordless Drill (my wife thinks the word 'needed' in that sentence is open to debate) and there's a great offer on Amazon UK for a DeWalt Drill Kit at a saving of nearly £200. With 5 star reviews.

What man could resist?

Not this one.

It arrived on Saturday but there were parts missing. No problem with what was delivered, but there should have been additional components.

Have you tried phoning Amazon?  There is a number, but it's well buried within the website. Clearly they'd much rather you didn't.

So before I found the number I'd posted off an email and printed a returns label.

And then I had to order (and pay for) a replacement. Apparently because I'd deleted an address from my file the day before they couldn't automatically replace the goods. I had to pay out for a second time.

All together now: "The computer says No"

So the replacement arrived this morning.

WITH THE SAME PARTS MISSING!

Clearly a coding or picking error here. Something not right in the land named Amazon Database.

But this time I knew the phone number, and knew they would call me back immediately.

I've just spent 20 minutes on the phone to a very helpful man in the Phillipines who couldn't have been nicer.

He apologised, made a note of the repeated problem and fed it back to the product team whilst I was on the phone.

Then he offered me several alternative remedies to the situation.

Which included advancing me a refund on the duplicated purchase on trust that I return one set of the goods, allowing me to order the additional, missing parts from the website, and then intercepting my order and zeroing the cost whilst I was still on the phone to him.

So all looks as though it will end well tomorrow morning, when the courier (who I'm now on first name terms with after 4 consecutive morning visits) delivers the last part of the order.

What's the message here?

When things go wrong make it easy to contact a human being who has authority to solve the problem there and then. Sometimes only a human will do.

Don't hide away. Put an employee (or maybe you?) out there on the front line and get it sorted … fast.

Sure, we are much better at this now than in the 70's and 80's when I was cutting my business teeth.

But there's still a way to go.

And how come it's the big corporations who continue to be the worst at this?

However on this occasion my faith in Amazon is restored.

Now, does anyone need any holes drilling?

I was going to talk today about the power of Story and challenge you to give me the 'story' of your business.

But now I've decided not to.

Why not?

Because a friend of mine has already written something just as good … and I think we should let him explain it to you. I agree with every word he wrote.

So I'll pass you over to Troy.  Enjoy his article.

And I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Read Troy White's post here on how to turn Stories into Profits

OK, that means I have 30 minutes spare today.

Mmm, time for a Coffee I think.

 … quit your current business and get into one where people don't argue over the price.

Then you can charge a proper price for the value you offer, know it will be paid and live the life you deserve.

'Are there really such businesses?' I hear you ask.

Yes.

Become a Dentist.

Or an Undertaker.

Think about it.  No one challenges their prices.

Most small businesses struggle with prices.  They rarely charge enough and grapple with themselves when I suggest a price increase would be a good move.

'If I increase my prices I might lose my current clients', they say.  Odds are that you won't (IF you're doing a good job or giving a great service) but OK I feel your fear.

Incidentally … why is it usually the businesses who have too much work already who don't want to increase prices?  Do they think so little of their own skills and services that they think it was price alone that brought the business?  What's so bad about doing less work for the same income or the same work for more income?

Why not 'grandfather' your prices to existing clients and increase them for new clients. Tell your current clients that their prices are protected for the next 2 years.  That will be a real win for you.  Your clients feel you've just done them a real service by holding their fees down.  What a nice person you must be!

Or offer a 'preferred client saving' against your new prices.  I used to have a client (in another marketplace) with whom I had a strong bond and vowed they would never pay as much as others.  But how to do that without screwing up my charging structure (which at the time was rising regularly as I became in more demand)?

Simple.  I increased my prices to everyone … and then added a 'Preferred Client Saving' (i.e. Discount) line to their Invoices alone.  Publicly my published fees held firm. Privately they knew they got a better, exclusive deal.

Just think about it this way …