Disqus - Latest Comments for jonathanalder

Re: #21days done! Now what?

jonathanalder — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:48:41 -0000

Hi Robert. I think 1st-21st is a great strategy for taking the idea forward. As you say, people have enough time to review their activity and plan the next challenge. And you can't lose track of your progress... You just need to look at a calendar!

For me #21days was a great exercise. My goal was keeping me desk clear - a simple enough task, surely. But despite several attempts in the past I have failed. Not this time though. With 'virtual' accountability to my fellow #21day-ers, I kept it clear.

But it's about more than a clear desk. The discipline of keeping my desk clear has spilled across to other work-related behaviour, which I know is making me more efficient, and helping me make better use of my time (a REALLY important issue for me).

So the next challenge? I think it will be making time to read something work-related for 15 minutes every day. But ask me again on 1st August. I look forward to catching up with everyone then!

Re: Do you fancy taking part in the #21days challenge?

jonathanalder — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:43:26 -0000

Hi Robert - Great idea! I've been thinking this through all week, and for me it's going to be keeping my desk clear. Remove the clutter and the day to day debris I accumulate! Looking forward to embarking on this journey with everybody!

Re: Local Charities Doing Good – With Social Media

jonathanalder — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:37:02 -0000

Hi Scott

Really nice post, and some great insight into Devon Air Ambulance and their great work.

I thought another really interesting insight into charities engaging with social media was the Endeavour slot at Like Minds from Amy Kilburn of Hospiscare (@AmyHospiscare). (Hospiscare are one of our clients, so I am biased, but nonetheless...). The case study of a patient who had kept a blog through his battle with cancer was really moving, and very eloquently communicated. Their response to this is a great example of how Hospiscare are always looking for opportunities to utilise the energy and enthusiasm of their volunteers - and is this instance a patient - to communicate the fantastic work they do for people with terminal illness and their families. The challenge they face is the very personal and emotional nature of what they do - which is what makes their enthusiasm to overcome these challenges and break new ground in social media so exciting.

Anyone who want to know more about Hospiscare should visit www.hospiscare.co.uk

Re: Why I think #likeminds 2010 truly delivered

jonathanalder — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:01:22 -0000

Hi Robert

Good post - and it's very true; the avatar badge certainly made it easy for me to recognise you face to face, after meeting you online! And there were lots of good examples of how to engage with people, which is really valuable for me when we're talking to our clients about how they use social media.

Re: The Good, The Bad, And The Boring

jonathanalder — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:35:37 -0000

Hi Scott

Another interesting post! I think it really depends on what sector you're in. If you're in a niche sector, polarisation is what you need. You have to push boundaries, because you have to get noticed. Sometimes you might fail, but that's the only way to learn. Not every Apple product has been a success, but when they get it right they change the world (or at the very least the sector/market they were targeting - personal computing, MP3 players, mobile phones...).

But if you're target market is the mainstream - say a supermarket - you don't want polarisation. You want as many people as possible to buy from you. You may differentiate yourself on price (are you Waitrose or Aldi?), but that's different. A different kind of positioning.

I think you can make polarisation a sustainable strategy, but you have to recognise that as your strategy, and build a business model, and team, that can support that strategy. It maybe harder work, but maybe the rewards are bigger - both financially and in terms of personal satisfaction.

One thing I think it is important to differentiate between is polarisation and innovation. Innovation is essential to become a leader in your sector, but is not as extreme as polarisation. Many supermarkets have introduced innovation to their sector (out-of-town-shopping, home delivery etc.), but they haven't polarised their audience.

It's a really interesting topic - and an important one for ambitious businesses to consider. I questioned the value of sitting in the 'middle' in a blog post back in September: http://workandplayblog.blog.... Is 2010 the time to be taking the middle ground? I don't think so. Is it time to innovate? Yes. Is it time to polarise? Maybe - I think it depends who you are.

Re: Do Companies Have Control Over Their Brands?

jonathanalder — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:55:50 -0000

Hi Jacob - It's an interesting post, but I'd have to say I disagree. A company can't control their brand. A brand exists in the mind of the audience - a brand is the views, attitudes and opinions that an individual has about a company or product. You can't control that. The relationship example that waqueau gave is great.

This quote, from Jeff Bezos of Amazon, sums it up:
"Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room".
You can't 'control' what they think - only 'influence'.

Apple and Virgin America are examples of successful brands. Their success is down to their skill at 'influencing' their audience. In the UK Virgin also run a rail service. It doesn't have a great reputation. I'm pretty sure that the current audience perception of that brand isn't what they planned. They can't control that perception. They can only influence it, in the hope that they can eventually align it with their desired position.

A recent example of a flawed brand in the US could be the Whole Foods Market saga. If you're not familiar with the story you can find a summary here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/.... But the key to the story is that a few misplaced words by the owner of Whole Foods Market, John Mackey, completely undermined the Whole Foods Market brand, and the customer perception of their brand. Were Whole Foods Market in control of their brand? No.

The great advantage that social media brings to companies is the opportunity to monitor their brands - to listen to what their audience are saying (good and bad), and engage with them. It's an opportunity to build a stronger relationship. But that's 'influence', not 'control'.

Re: Influencers And Translators

jonathanalder — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:43:50 -0000

Hi Scott

Good article and nice interview with John. You're absolutely right about the value of 'influencers'. We realised fairly early on as a business that we couldn't talk to enough people (with enough credibility), but there were people out there who could do that for us. When we measured where the largest percentage of our new business was coming from it was via those influencers. But that's offline - so now we need to transfer that same strategy online. I'll be sure to share the results!

Jonathan

P.S. The Panatone is good at Carluccios, isn't it!

Re: Switching Off

jonathanalder — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:46:04 -0000

Hi Scott

I just wanted to give you a pointer to presentation that Tim Ferris gave at the Do Lectures last year. I didn't know anything about him until I came across him on the Do site. Fascinating stuff, take a look: http://www.dolectures.co.uk...

But I then read the rest of your blog and thought it would be rude to leave without adding a contribution! I really struggle to switch off. Like you, I really enjoy what I do, so I like doing it. Given different economic circumstances I think I'd find it easier to take some time out, but for the time being it's just about keeping your head down and working towards your objective.

But having a little boy - William - who will be 2 in less than 2 weeks does give me a very good outlet for switching off! 6.30pm is bathtime, so work stops then (it usually starts again about 3 hours later). And it makes a big difference to weekends too. I'll do some work in the evenings at weekends, but during the day Charlie (my wife) and I spend our time with William as a family.

Exercise (running) is a good outlet - but that's too easy for me to skip. I've just got back into running after a couple of months off. During the week along the canal, at weekends on Haldon. A great change of scene and good time to focus my mind else where.

Now, I'm 15 minutes past the time I was going to 'switch-off' tonight, so I better go. Good night.

Re: Why Starbucks Is An Experience

jonathanalder — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:14:53 -0000

Thanks for the link, Scott. Really interesting read and great to see what it looks like!

Re: Why Starbucks Is An Experience

jonathanalder — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:49:54 -0000

Came across the Superbrands Survey 2009/10 at the weekend - a list of the top 500 'superbrands' in the UK, voted for by a panel of 'experts' and consumers. The assessment criteria are quality; reliability; and difference from competitors. Starbucks charted at 67 - the highest place for any company in the Restaurant & Coffee Shop category.

So whatever the quality of their experience, it seems to be more attractive to consumers than the competition. You can see the full list at http://tinyurl.com/5tkz4u

Re: Why Starbucks Is An Experience

jonathanalder — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:36:35 -0000

The whole discussion around values and their role is really interesting. As you said Scott, every successful, global business works to a set of values, and an interesting explanation of the necessity and value (?) of values can be found in 'A book about Innocent' by the guys at Innocent Drinks.

Their description of values:
"...they provide a simple set of guidelines and rules to play by; a few non-negotiable principles that govern your behaviour.'
They then go on to list their values - Natural; Entrepreneurial; Generous; Commercial; Responsible - and explain how they apply each of them to their business, and how they came up with them.

When you put this in the context of their relationship with Coca-Cola (http://tinyurl.com/d8h74x) it helps you to understand why they're important and when they're needed - if you want to (try and) maintain the integrity of your brand.

The book is a great read for anyone running a business.

Re: Why Starbucks Is An Experience

jonathanalder — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:23:55 -0000

Hi Scott

I think Starbucks undoubtedly delivers an experience - whether you like or not is another matter. But I don't think it's alone in doing that - all of its competitors do too, in slightly different ways - but as you say, Starbucks created the model.

What's interesting with Starbucks is that with their 'stealth' rebrand, rolling out to its first store in Seattle this week - is that they are completely reinventing the 'experience' for their customers. They are stepping away from the familiar Starbucks experience and trying to create the feel of an independent, 'local', 'authentic' coffee house - a completely new approach (for their brand), aimed at delivering a completely different experience.

But it is still a manufactured experience, with every single element closely monitored and nothing left to chance. It's a facsimile of an independent, 'local', 'authentic' coffee house.

You still get an 'experience' if you go to a genuine independent, local, authentic coffee house - which ever country you are in - but it probably hasn't been 'created', and there certainly won't be a User Manual for staff to refer too. But the 'problem' with that - from a business perspective - is that you can't recreate that. It's unique. You can't duplicate that in thousands of cities, in hundreds of countries.

In response to therioman, I think you're off target on people going to Starbucks 'because it's there'. That isn't how they've grown to be a global giant, or how any other company - no matter what they're selling - grows form local to national to international. You will get some people who go to Starbucks because it's convenient, but you can't build a multinational business on convenience customers. You build it on loyalty, and loyalty is built on a brand, and a brand is built on values.

Regardless on whether you like their values, or their products, you can't deny that Starbucks has been phenomenally successful. True, it's suffered during the global recession, but they're not alone there. And the reason they have been successful is that were able to use their brand to deliver a consistent experience to their customers. And their customers enjoyed that experience.