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FACT: One in five Irish Enterprises fail according to the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association. In many instances they fail due to a lack of understanding of their customers and market place.

Post-recession shoppers are a completely different breed when compared to what has gone before. They’ve been profoundly impacted by a feeling of deprivation the recession caused and the way in which they’ve coped with it. Now they are more demanding than ever and their expectations are increasingly high. We all know shoppers are fickle and the days of being completely loyal to one brand or company are gone. Shoppers have been conditioned to search out the best price and value during these recessionary times yet they can be swayed at the point of purchase to make very different decisions. Other factors like emotions also come into play, hence the contradiction in terms, when you hear that more than one in two customers claim to be cutting down on treats but sales of premium products such as ice cream and chocolates are on the rise. How can that be?

Business consultancy Deloitte released an interesting research report just this week in New York where they talked about a ‘paradigm shift’ in consumer purchasing habits in the US. It found that a whopping 84% of households were examining their spending in every category to try and save money while 79% believed they were ‘smarter’ shoppers than they were two years ago. But it also found that 75% believed that the financial crisis had caused them to realise ‘which brands I really care about and which ones are less important to me’ and that there were only two or three brands which they ‘could not live without’.

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Insights & Tips on Company & Product Naming

Naming a business is a lot like laying the cornerstone of a new building. Once it’s in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it’s off, even in the slightest, the misalignment becomes amplified.

The tougher it gets out there, the more important it is to put your marketing money where it will do the most good. Coming up with the right name for a company or a product can make a huge difference in building a brand and even in determining it’s future success. Too often companies jump straight into designing a logo and then spend the rest of the marketing budget trying to explain to people what they actually do and what their difference is.

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Demanding inclusion in the boys’ club is a long and arduous path. Nowadays, smart women are building their own instead……

Get your sunglasses, grab your beach towel and imagine the following scene of children playing in the sand:

Seven boys, ages five to eight, are engineering an intricate series of dams and rivers by the water’s edge. They even build a small hot tub and are enjoying their time in this mini spa when along come the girls – first one, then two. As the third attempts to find a seat in the tub, two boys protest. “No girls allowed.” The girls argue but eventually move along. Minutes later the mothers arrive and demand equal rights for the girls. The boys protest, but the mothers stand guard as the girls are begrudgingly allowed in the tub.

Clearly everyone is having less fun. As soon as the guards leave, the chanting begins anew, “No girls allowed.” The scene repeats several times. Eventually, the mothers become distracted and the girls grow tired of trying. Then one lone girl starts to dig a short distance from the boys. She is far enough to maintain respect for the rule of separation but close enough for the engineers and construction workers to see her. Other girls join in. They build elaborate scenes creatively using beach flora, fauna and debris to make bridges, houses, trees and people.

A curious boy inches his digging project closer to the girls’ scene. Within minutes he connects his trench to their landscape. Other boys take note and edge closer. They build connecting roads as well. Soon the groups’ combined engineering and creative talents result in a complex and ingenious landscape filled with people, cars, pets, trenches, dams and a bigger coed hot tub!

This thought provoking story of boys and girls at play on a summer’s day is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Anne Perschel which features in the Huffington Post. Anne is the founder and president of Boston based Germane Consulting and is a highly respected leadership and organizational psychologist.

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Soccer’s governing body FIFA recently saw red, but mostly orange – during the Holland Vs Denmark game at the Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Thirty-six blondes, wearing orange mini skirts gate crashed the game at Soccer City in Johannesburg causing a major brouhaha. The offense wasn’t so much a fashion faux pas but a carefully orchestrated ambush marketing attack by Dutch brewer Bavaria, against its bigger rival Budweiser. The spectacle created a frenzy as photographs and video footage went viral as the story was picked up on social media networks and newspapers around the world.

The reaction of FIFA was swift and ruthless. The authorities immediately evicted the women from the stadium and two were arrested on charges of organising “unlawful commercial activities”. Under pressure from FIFA, South Africa passed laws in the run-up to the World Cup that made ambush marketing a criminal offence. The women face charges of contravening the Merchandise Marks Act (unauthorised use of trade mark at a protected event), and some sections of the Special Measures Regulations Act (entry into designated area while in possession of prohibited commercial object).

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A recent survey from IBM’s Institute for Business Value shows that business leaders value one leadership competency above all others.

After conducting 1500 in depth face-to-face interviews with CEOs and public service leaders around the world – “creativity” was identified as the single most important leadership competency for the successful business of the future.

The report suggests that creative leaders should “embrace ambiguity,” “take risks that disrupt legacy business models,” and “leapfrog beyond tried-and-true management styles.” Coming through the worst economic downturn in their professional lifetimes, when managerial control and process ruled the day, this indicates a remarkable shift in mindset. It’s a sea change from a rational ‘scientific’ management approach built around efficiency and control to a creative ‘intuitive’ approach – based upon agility, adaptability and emotional intelligence.

With the acceleration of the pace of change – global trends are reshaping the business landscape and are forcing companies to either adapt or die. At ThinkTank, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how companies can become more creatively evolved.

Think differently

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For a business to be viable, it has to do something as well as its competitors; to win in a competitive market, it has to do something better than its competitors.

Recent research by global marketing firm, Young & Rubicam highlights the fact that 80% of new businesses and brands fail. Lack of differentiation is cited as the major reason for business failure.

In order to ensure that your product is preferred over those of your competitors, you must consider the complete brand experience and how that experience will contribute to consumer perception. Your brand isn’t what you think it is – it’s what your customer think it is. Your brand isn’t your logo, web site design or tag line – it’s a research informed strategic premise that is designed to deliver competitive advantage and grow market share.

As a bit of a brand refresher and value add to customers, ThinkTank decided to take a peek into what really goes on inside the mind of your customer.

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No committee, no budget and no rules; The grassroots movement that’s determined to transform the way people look at Cork city.

A new movement has begun to “transform” Cork city into a better place for its residents and visitors. It’s a movement without a leader. Already, two cafés, two marketing companies, publicans, journalists, start-up businesses and unemployed people have pledged their support. It’s called Transform Cork and it’s open to everyone keen to improve the city. There’s no committee, no budget and nothing but the power of the internet at its service. It’s using Twitter, Facebook, blogs and now the Cork News. It seems to have sprung out of nowhere, committed to changing Cork from the bottom-up – rather than the top-down.

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Let’s say you’re at a networking event and someone steps in the elevator with you, notices your nametag, and asks, “So what do you guys do?” Quick–what’s your answer? You’ve got just 30 seconds before the doors open so you’d better think fast.

In many ways an Elevator Pitch is shorthand for what your brand stands for. It’s your one-shot opportunity to be different and present yourself in a compelling and memorable way. For most business owners, getting to the crux of what you really do is the hardest, yet potentially most rewarding, one-minute conversation you could ever have.

So what is an Elevator Pitch?

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Many SME’s recognise the importance of mapping out a future strategic direction for their business and acknowledge the need to become more structured in their approach, however, very often, business owners just don’t know how to start or where to begin. Without a clearly mapped out destination point for a business, its form becomes too malleable, shaped by the vagaries of an eternally changing environment, leaving the business a hostage to fortune. A business owner could learn a few lessons from Sarah Connor, the heroine of the Terminator franchise. A warrior, who challenges accepted wisdom, carves out a new path and in so doing rewrites the future. ThinkTank channels this wisdom as we highlight;

1. What is Strategic Planning Exactly?
2. How can businesses benefit from Strategic Planning?
3. How should a business prepare for the Strategic Planning Process?
4. Once the Planning team is selected, how does Strategic Planning work?

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