30 Reasons To Reply Quickly - S4 E3

Business Jazz

Paul O'Mahony & Roger Overall [P&R] - podcasting from Cork, Ireland talk about how to be genuinely attractive in business today. Recorded in @RepublicofWork. The podcast recording was live streamed on Periscope. This week P&R discuss: (1) A serious approach to branding. What is your brand? It's what others expect from your business. "This is what you are in the mind of others..." P&R emphasise the importance & value of doing research to find out what your business is in the minds of others - research may surprise you. (2) What if a business can't afford to do research about its brand? (3) Roger tells a story about his plans to travel from Cork to Vancouver - via Aer Lingus & Air Canada. Paul is shocked by Air Canada. Roger emailed both Aer Lingus & Air Canada to find out about his luggage. He expected a poor, slow response from Aer Lingus. He expected a top class response from Air Canada. Brand Canada is strong, much stronger than Brand Aer Lingus - in Roger's expectations. The shocking thing is that Air Canada sent an email : "We will respond to you within 30 working days." You hear Paul cracking-up. Paul says it's like someone calling a fire brigade and getting a reply - "thanks for your call, we'll be with you within 30 working days." P&R decide : "Let's send this podcast to CEO of Air Canada". Paul says next time he books to fly Air Canada he expects a reply "we expect to be able to collect you within 30 days of your booking date." Horrific story - almost unbelieveable. (In case you're wondering, Aer Lingus sent a reply that left Roger in some doubt - but at least it was an honest answer that sounded as if they couldn't provide an absolute guarantee that nothing would go wrong.) _________________________ Part Two: Paul & Roger (P&R) chat about (1) An understanding of what a brand is. Many miss the point that "I don't have control over my brand. (2) A book: "Markets are conversations" is the No 1 thesis in "The ClueTrain Manifesto" (1999). ______________________ P&R summarise key points from their conversation: - You need to have a huge interest in the expectations people already have. - Strong Brands discourage some people from being interested in their products & services (saves people from wasting their time). An Undertaker doesn't want to be confused with Pizza parlour. - It's good to "Be Ignorant" about what other people think Don't base your understanding & decisions on (1) an unrepresentative sample - (2) what you fear people are saying Your company values: Remember : You can control the extent to which you behave in line with your values. Your values can't be changed without changing the Board, the hiring policy, the people. You may gradually need to ditch some of your clients - in order to move to working with your "ideal clients". Many companies have "values" - value statements. But statements are not what matter most - behaviour is what people base their expectations on. Paul tells story about a company he once worked for whose No 1 value was Fun ___________________ P&R summarise the Key Points from this week's episode. (Bitcoins get a brief mention) EIR brand is an elephant or a tanker - slow to change. It's in a market that's high tech - fast - nimble. P&R say there's a "phenomenal mismatch" between Eir's brand and the market in which they aim to succeed. "If your No 1 value is X - why do you do Y? "If that's your No 1 value - why are you doing that? The ClueTrain Manifesto : "Markets are conversations" is highly recommended Paul & Roger would like you to contact them via BusinessJazz.net Important Note: Big thanks to Jane Boyd in Vancouver for contacting us about our "About Us" Page: she pointed out that it's out of date. Sometimes you really do screw up - even when your heart is in the right space. Please tell someone about Business Jazz Podcast. ____________________