{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} Well, we're a whole week into the New Year - how are you doing? The chances are much of the business world has still to return to full operation. After all, most schools only went back the other day and some still have not returned. It means that many people are still on holiday, with most returning on Monday. So, in reality the new business year has yet to start properly. Combined with the bad weather before Christmas, it will have been more than a month since British business is really fully functional. Is it any wonder we're in an economic hole...? Our brains are the problem - they are wired to only enable us to be do things under two conditions: firstly, if it simply has to be done because it is vital, or secondly it needs to be done to make us feel good about ourselves. Work is rarely vital and only occasionally emotionally stimulating enough. So, perhaps your New Year resolution should be to make what you do much more emotionally engaging - make it matter to YOU. That way you'll do more of it, even if you are snowed in and the kids are on their hols.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What is likely to happen online in 2011 for businesses? At several events I went to around Christmas there were a number of people all asking the same thing: what will 2011 be like for business? Well. naturally enough, there were plenty of doom and gloom merchants around. And, no doubt with the profits warnings from companies like Clinton Cards and Mothercare, who you would have thought should have done well over the past few weeks, there is more fuel to the negative fire. But online, 2011 looks good - if you get your act together. For instance, John Lewis just reported record sales online. Yet they said this on the same day that retail giant Next announced pretty poor online activity in the run up to Christmas. Why did one retailer do well and another badly? The answer relates to service - John Lewis has free delivery, Next charges for delivery. Nowadays, people do not expect to pay for delivery. You will win in 2011 if your delivery charges are zero. People are buying more and more online, but the winners are those which offer the best service. If you can improve your service levels in the coming year, you will do well online. However, you might also need to take into account the growing trend for social shopping. If you thought 2010 was the year of social media - think again; you ain't seen nothin' yet. Social shopping applications for B2C and B2B will thrive this year. If you are not using social networks and advertising to highly targeted groups using social media, you will lose out in 2011. But this means your customer data will be spread across various systems. That implies you are going to have to bite that bullet - cloud computing and software as service is where it will all happen in 2011. No longer can you perform well in business if you are not using "the cloud" to some extent. In the past few weeks Spam has taken a nosedive. The biggest distributor of spam has gone from sending out 48% of the world's unwanted email to a mere 0.1%. Analysts say that the last time a major reduction happened it was just before a massive spike in some of the worst spam attacks ever. You can be pretty sure therefore that the spammers are re-grouping and planning something even worse. If you have not got your anti-spam system working well now, you could face severe difficulties in the coming year. Finally, a couple of surveys show that big business is getting really concerned about the whole "green" issue. They face heavy fines for overloading their carbon footprint and so will be looking towards greener suppliers. Is your online technology "green"? Do you use a "green" webhosting company, for instance? And do you highlight your environmental credentials? This year could be the year to finally become green. Remember, you can always ask your question and get it answered in this newsletter by going to: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/questions
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: I like cricket after all...! So, we won the Ashes and the series...brilliant...! Sorry if you are Australian - well, OK, I'm not that sorry..! However, if you had asked me a year ago if I liked cricket I'd have yawned, then said something about how boring it all is. I remember cricket at school. It was ploddingly tedious at best. The cricket master was more interested in singing opera, anyway; I don't think he enjoyed the game, so it's no surprise he didn't inspire me. But in the past few weeks I have been LISTENING to cricket. That's right - I've been following The Ashes on the radio. Whenever I have watched it on TV, all that standing around and lack of activity just reminded me of those boring Wednesday afternoons at school. But on BBC Radio Five Live cricket is so exciting. It sounds brilliant. Why? Partly because the presenters are so enthusiastic they almost infect you across the airwaves. But also partly it is due to the fact that there are no pictures - I have to imagine what they are talking about. When you use your own brain to create picture you are more engaged than when you rely on some TV producer. And when people use their own imagery which is supported by an enthusiastic communicator, you get solid engagement. So I'm going to start using more word pictures in my talks, replacing the images I might use on slides. That way the audience will create the pictures in their own heads and hopefully, like me with cricket, they'll be much more engaged. So, perhaps you too could use more word pictures - how many do you have on your website for instance? How much do you allow your customers to imagine things? It's worth a try.
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Ready for Anything It is the time of year when people try to become more organised, to start the New Year with good intentions of better administration. But, frequently the enthusiasm wanes after a few weeks because of a lack of any guiding principles. This book provides you with exactly what you need to get organised and stay organised. It has 52 (one a week) methods by which you can be much more productive. The book covers using lists effectively, proper goal setting and has productivity ideas for you on every page. Written by David Allen, of "Getting Things Done" fame, this is a brilliant book to help you set yourself on course for a more productive 2011. To find out more about this book visit: http://uklik.me/ready4anything
SPECIAL NOTE: Discover LinkedIn secrets On 18th February 2011 I shall be running a workshop session on the secrets of LinkedIn during a one-day Social Media Conference. It is being held in Bracknell, Berkshire and is organised by Variety Events. To find out more about the day and book a ticket go to: http://uklik.me/socmedconf - see you there...! Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web: grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
