Virgin’s Richard Branson Business Advice

As we all know, Richard Branson is highly successful. He operates according to the following credo:

1. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front of the cameras

He also teaches these principles to participants in Virgin’s Pioneers program. Participant Jamal Edwards took good notice.

Edwards founded SB.TV, an online music and lifestyle channel, with just himself and his camera. He posted videos of rap performances for his online followers and soon developed a cult following for his passionate, innovative and authentic early videos of musical events.

Once he had established a brand and a following, Edwards and his team extended SB.TV’s reach into more areas, including music and lifestyle, merchandise, clothing and even a record label. Traditional brands like Puma and Nando’s contacted Edwards for deals and endorsements. Edwards keeps up the momentum by being visible, promoting both SB.TV and himself.

Lessons to be learned from Branson:

1. Have the right idea

2. Execute it properly

3. Don’t be worried about the launch date of your start-up

4. Keep an eye on changes in your business environment

5. Be aware that basic (business) rules always remain the same

6. Don’t get nostalgic about how things used to be

7. Take advantage of new opportunities

8. Face new challenges to your advantage

Dutch Department Stores Hema, Bijenkorf and V&D Are Facing Stiff Competition

The big Dutch department stores are under pressure. Hema, De Bijenkorf and V&D are facing stiff competition from the Bol.com/Albert Heijn cooperation. Ahold (the holding company of Albert Heijn) bought online retailer Bol.com for 350 million Euro.

The purchase was a smart move. Bol.com had a turnover of 355 million Euro in 2011. It offers a range of products, such as books, electronics and toys. Bol.com is considered to be one of the most visited retail website in the Netherlands and boasted of having 3.4 million active customers. It recorded sales of more than 17 million items during 2011.

As it looks now, only 2 retail stores will be around in another 20 years, only 2 will survive. Hema looks to be the leader of the pack since has a strong online presence. It is currently the fifth largest internet shop in the Netherlands. V&D is trying to catch up, while De Bijenkorf concentrates on enticing customers to make substantial purchases in their shops. 

The department stores can survive by position themselves cleverly. Ahold has introduce a three-prong approach:

1. In store
2. Online
3. Collection points

Furthermore, they must integrate both online and shop floor. This is easier said than done, as this is also quite expensive. A good example of such a successful integration is the English brand Burberry.

The biggest challenge that the department stores are facing is managing costs. They also need to listen to their customers, and leverage collected data. 

It will be interesting to see how it will all pan out in the coming years.

Promoted Posts on Facebook

Facebook allows you to promote your posts. To choose the best option for your business page, it’s important to understand how it works.

1. Understanding EdgeRank

EdgeRank was a term that Facebook used in the past. Nowadays, the company does not have a product or system called EdgeRank.

The Facebook news feed algorithm takes many factors into account when determining what to show.

These factors include:

1. How often do two people interact

2. How many people have liked a post

3. How many people commented on a post

4. How many people shared a certain story

5. What type of content is being shown

According to Facebook, posts are often seen by as little as 16% of fans. 

2. How your post can be seen by more people

It is smart to plan, create, and post Facebook posts that lots of people will like, comment on, and share. This will save you the trouble of buying Promoted Posts.

3. Using Promoted Posts

Promoted Posts allows business page administrators to reach more people (and potential customers) on Facebook. Many small and local businesses use Promoted Posts since it is easier to create quality content. It saves them the trouble of dealing with the complexities of a Facebook ad campaign.

Once a page administrator clicks on the Promote button underneath a post, a drop-down menu will show an estimation of reach based on monetary increments of $5. 

4. Measuring posts that get the most traction

Facebook offers a tool to learn which of your posts resonate most with your target audience – it’s called Page Insights. It allows you to find out if posts that include a photo or a question are more effective. Once you promote a post, you can click on the Promote button again to see how many actions, such as page post likes, page likes, or link shares were a result of the promotion.

5. Best practices for choosing posts to promote

Page administrators can also use Insights to check which posts are getting the most engagement. This enables them to optimize posts.

Some ideas of optimizing posts include using photos, videos of new products, special offers, special events (such as specials or upcoming in-store promotions), news, and surveys (targeted questions to get feedback).

Success!

From Fruit to Brand – the Cuties Story

It all started with Berne Evans, a former stockbroker. He had already experience with growing tomatoes, kiwis and oranges in California.

When the frost period in 1990 destroyed the orange harvest in California, he found out that supermarkets at the East Coast were desperately looking for mandarin oranges. He saw a huge business opportunity and asked his son to find mandarins that could withstand climate changes.

The identified the Citrus Reticulata Blanco as the perfect candidate. Small, seedless and easy to peel, the mandarin was the perfect candidate. Father and son Evans wanted to build a strong brand. They struck a deal with the Resnick family that built its fortune with Pom fruit juices.

According to the agreement, the Resnicks would take care of marketing and the Evans family would concentrate on production and distribution. Both would be the owners of the brand “Cuties”.
Cuties conquered the US since they were so child-friendly. Children just love Cuties, to the delight of their parents. The demand is not any more for mandarins (or tangerines), but for Cuties. The brand name has evolved to a sort name, similar to aspirin and hoover.

Recent sales accumulated to 75 million carton boxes, which is three times as much as 7 years ago! Strong marketing played for sure a major part, including five different short spots. One of them is 'Know why Cuties are small? Because kids have small hands.'  Another one: 'Know why Cuties are seedless? Because kids hate seeds.'

Cuties are currently dominating the US market, despite some ankle biters.

The technical bee issue seems also to be solved. To avoid bees bringing pollen from mandarins with seeds, a new variety was developed by a Californian University that does the trick. 

But is it not all wonderful. Evans balks at the marketing expenses and the Resnicks are annoyed that Evans started to launch a new brand 'Baby Cuties'.

No matter, Cuties wrote marketing history!

All About Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a great method to compare business processes or results with similar data from similar organizations or companies in the same industry.

Data that are compared normally include quality, time and costs. It is important to compare these data with those of companies of the same size that have a similar customer base. Benchmarking also helps to get insight into how to be better, faster and more cost-effective.

Benchmarking is part of strategic management. Various aspects are being evaluated and compared to those of peer organizations. This enables better insight into how to improve. Although benchmarking can be a one-time effort, is more and more used on an ungoing basis.

There are several kinds of benchmarking, including:

• Process benchmarking, which is focusing on organizational processes in order to identify the advantages and strong points of other organizations. Activities are analyzed with the focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

• IR Benchmarking, which entails that investors compare financial results and look at opportunities and alternatives.

• Product benchmarking, which focuses on possible development of new products and services or upgrading existing ones by looking at competing offerings.

• Strategic benchmarking, which looks at the strategic management of other organizations.

There are various ways to benchmark. As a company, you can decide to conduct the benchmarking in-house. In many cases, it might be worth while to approach am agency with experience in benchmarking similar companies in your industry.

(Image: Olympics 1896)

How Ally Stevenson’s Clean Heels Became a Summer 2012 Marketing Success

It’s often a simple solution to an annoying problem that becomes a commercial success. Women wearing high heels know the sinking feeling you get when walking or standing on wet grass. Stilettos are easily ruined and having them repaired is expensive.

Ally Stevenson was also fed up that her shoes were ruined at rainy outdoor events. She came up with a simple and elegant solution: Heel Stoppers. The wearer only needs to slip the stoppers onto the end of the stiletto. 

Clean Heels was founded in 2009 and got a marketing boost from bad weather. Dubbed “the wettest drought on record”, the year 2012 started with months of hotter than normal temperatures, followed by lots of rain. Protecting high-heeled shoes at outdoor events (weddings, races, etc.) became important. Nobody wanted their shoes sinking in mud or wet grass during the event. Clean Heels was able to double its 2011 sales. 

The Fareham, Hampshire-based company was able to generate some nice PR. Heel Stoppers were featured in a number of high-profile magazines, including Vogue. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt was wearing stilettos with Heel Stoppers in the movie The Lost Valentine. Heel Stoppers also appeared on ITV show Day Break and the UK soap opera Hollyoaks.

Clean Heels is for sure a company worth watching!

Better Place Should Be in a Better Place – Will The Company Succeed?

Better Place provides electric cars with switchable batteries, and has been trying to make its mark for the last four years. Such a car is expensive and Better Place's electricity subscription plans reflect only a 20% discount to gasoline prices for similar mileage.

Local fleet operators worry that the Renault (RNO:EN)-made vehicles that Better Place provides will quickly lose their value and buyers will see the required electricity purchases as too expensive. Rental agencies are balking because of uncertainty regarding the cars' resale value. Vehicles with switchable batteries might lose as much as 70% of their original value in four years instead of the typical 40% loss by gasoline-powered vehicles over the same period.

Better Place has service stations that a driver can pull into, and a fully automated machine shuttle will remove the heavy battery pack and install a fully charged new one. It also has recharging spots—a plug and meter—at the stations and elsewhere for a slow recharge. Drivers must subscribe to this service.

Better Place said that it raised $200 million to fund the infrastructure for a rollout in Western Europe. The round reflects a company valuation of $2.25 billion and brings the total amount raised from venture investors to $750 million.

However, critics say that electric-car owners should be able to fuel their cars from their own home rather than Better Place's grid. They also do not like the huge icons on their cars.

No matter what, Better Place is for sure a company worth being watched closely!