Mike Schorah

Encouraging to Google must be that  British consumers rate it  as their third favourite innovation of the last decade, after broadband and online shopping.  However, Facebook, pop-up ads and Twitter are hated almost as much as Reality TV - because they both waste time and cause irritation. The irony, of course, is that people still watch Reality TV, and talk about it on Facebook and Twitter while they do so, out of fear of being left out of the conversations with their peer group. That's nowhere near a solid base on which to build a business for the future: the recent sky-high valuations for social media companies like Facebook and Twitter look increasingly like a bubble inflating and, I'm not investing in something so much at risk of bursting. Expect the social media companies to change to head off the risk. They employ smart people who will be aware of the risks. It's unrealistic to imagine that what we currently see with use of Facebook, Twitter and similar now w...

In the last 24 hours I've had two people comment on my use of blogs and social media and more. In response, here are my quick thoughts, bashed out while on public transport through the beautiful Cotswold countryside (don't blog and drive!). To me, it's simple: I position in the marketplace as helping others make strategic use of IT; so I feel obliged to show the way by using the tech to my own advantage also. How else can I achieve credibility? How else can I gain practical experience of what works best? I know it's working by the consistent upward trend in readership graphs. Instant feedback. Even more fundamentally, as I wrote last week, marketing is about understanding the customer's problem ... Then one needs to innovate a solution that can be delivered at a profit. When it comes down to the wire, I blog, tweet, YouTube and use LinkedIn and other tools because collectively I can combine them to solve my own problems. I'm using technology to cut costs, ...

... If we're connected! I just submitted a Help request to LinkedIn because I'm puzzled as to why they would even allow this situation: can someone help me understand the benefits to this feature? Today I noticed a small link to 'View/Edit Contact Info' at the bottom of the 'Contact Information' box on the LinkedIn Profile of one of my contacts. I clicked to see what would happen, only to discover that I can Add or Edit lots of their information. (Can't change the Primary email address, but can hack around with other email addresses, phone numbers, IM, Address, Website, Birthday, Other Info and Contact Notes). Puzzled, I searched the LinkedIn Help files and came across this  "How-to" answer on the feature  which shows you how to do what I did, for your contacts, but doesn't indicate why you should be able to. I can see that this begins to position LinkedIn against the likes of Salesforce.com as a very powerful contact management database...

Thanks to the magic of Twitter , I learn lots from different sources (though I wonder if doing so is actually a distraction from actually getting stuff done? That's another debate on another day...) Today I came across a great quote in The Economist blog based on an article in Inc: "Saras Sarasvathy concluded that master entrepreneurs rely on what she calls effectual reasoning . Brilliant improvisers, the entrepreneurs don't start out with concrete goals. Instead, they constantly assess how to use their personal strengths and whatever resources they have at hand to develop goals on the fly, while creatively reacting to contingencies. By contrast, corporate executives—those in the study group were also enormously successful in their chosen field—use causal reasoning. They set a goal and diligently seek the best ways to achieve it. Early indications suggest the rookie company founders are spread all across the effectual-to-causal scale. But those who grew up around family ...

I enjoyed the round-up from this year's Mobile World Congress produced by the BBC Click programme . You might want to zoom in on the chart to see the detail, but the 'new news' was that Google's Android , on phones and tablets, has overtaken Nokia's Symbian as the most widely used mobile operating system, and both are about double the iPhone. They also pointed out that: There are now more than 5 billion mobile phone connections world wide, with mobiles outnumbering PCs by 3:1 The amount of data we consumed in 2010 (2.8 exabytes ) essentially tripled from that of 2009 (1.1 exabytes). With the addition of Near Field Communications to mobile devices (think London's Oyster card ) expect to see electronic payments for small value purchases in Starbucks and similar to start appearing on mobile phone bills. Expect to see the convergence of loyalty cards with the geo-location capabilities of phones to tempt us back in to stores as we pass by. Expect to see fu...

Over the years I've read and re-read Peter Drucker's old classic, The Effective Executive . In it he emphasises the need to do the right things (be effective) rather than simply to do things right (be efficient). Of course, he advocates a combination of both. Back in 1967 Drucker's research uncovered executives who were constantly interrupted and found it difficult to be effective without carving out blocks of time. The problem today is much worse as the channels for communication have exploded and the speed of electronic repartee means that a conversation can move on so rapidly. But it doesn't help us concentrate on being effective: as if to prove the point, my iPhone has just beeped with yet another couple of incoming emails for me to process ... and it's hard to get back into the swing of writing this blog post. What's your solution? I freely confess that I fear missing out on some vital, breaking information revealed through Twitter ; or that I'm missi...

Mainstream media has been reporting battles in various jurisdictions (e.g. India, Saudi Arabia) to force RIM, makers of the BlackBerry, to provide a 'back door' for law enforcement to be able to read the content of messages. Today, the US Congress will hear law enforcement reps appeal for expanded interception and monitoring capabilities. As the New York Times reported last year, "Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry , social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages." Although this comes in the same week that Secretary Clinton delivered a major speech on Internet freedom, I'm setting the privacy and human rights arguments on one side. Pr...

I loved the simple insight from one reader of an article by Clay Christensen of Harvard Business School on Milkshake Marketing : "Does it work, and who cares?" Christensen's insight is that customers don't buy a product, they buy (or "hire") a solution to a problem. In developing a new product or service we should always focus on what real world problem we're aiming to solve. It's what my training mentors at IBM used to call "solution selling" and it ties in nicely with my personal, pragmatic attitude: I don't care as much about technology and systems and processes as about solving a real-world problem. So, what's the problem we're trying to solve? Does the product or service actually solve the problem? Does it do so more cost effectively than some other way? Is the problem we're solving sufficiently painful that customers will pay to solve it in the way we suggest? Will sales and distribution people care enough to get the s...

I dug out some depressing numbers from the CRM world: only 30% of companies with a CRM implementation feel that they've had a positive return on their investment. Mostly, the issues are not technical ones (it's not that hard to get the software installed and some superficial training completed). But there are some similarities with many IT projects: Lack of agreed goals and business case "Fail to plan, plan to fail" is the old saw that is daily proved true. I've seen clients invest in new hardware and software for the wrong reasons. (Last year, one IT department wanted to buy new software to secure training for the existing team in an attempt to secure their jobs and enhance their CVs...) Resist the temptation to launch into a new technology implementation without knowing realistically what you expect to get out of it. Difficulties with customization and integration with existing systems "No man is an island..." proves even more true of IT systems. V...

There's certainly no shortage of products and services in the world. But there's absolutely a dire shortage of customers. Despite the deep and painful recessions that have hit most world economies since 2007, many business leaders continue to demand annual growth rates of 3% or 5% or more. That can't be sustained unless the overall economy is growing. The inevitable result is over capacity, squeezed margins and lower prices. And many companies failing. The best way to thrive in these conditions is by a return to what marketing should be: an approach that begins by listening to what potential customers need, then figuring out how to provide it at a profit. But that's not enough to differentiate from others. If you don't want to be forced to compete solely on price then focus on quality , service and value . I'm advocating an approach where customers feel that they're placed at the top of your priority list. When that happens, satisfaction rises, word sprea...

Old hat in Japan where they've become massively popular. Now, though, they're beginning to find many uses outside tracking of parts through a manufacturing supply chain or providing a link on a billboard ad... They're designed to be read by a phone camera and a bit of software to decode the contents. QR Codes are now appearing on business cards and can ease and speed interaction: Use one, like I have, to provide a hyperlink to a VCard with further contact details Give people easy access to a Website URL, or a Telephone Number, or Email Address Give the details and location of an event with, say, a Google Maps Location Give your Android visitors simple access to your Wifi Login Provide purchasers with a Paypal Buy Now Link Or, of course, link to Social Media or iTunes or YouTube Video ... In the real world, QR codes are appearing on business cards, T-shirts, mugs, and other promotional materials. And I've seen examples of QR Code temporary tattoos to give access to an e...

I'm niggled by Peter Drucker's assertion that everything apart from marketing and innovation is simply a cost; that only marketing and innovation produce value in business operations. So I've been thinking some more and today am niggled by Philip Kotler's assertion that "Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value." True! It's the exact opposite of the typical attitude of "Here's my product; now, who'll buy it?" Instead, it's about understanding what the customers in the market need; what is their pain and their problem? Then driving innovation to come up with a solution that the business can deliver at a profit. It's not just about finding people to buy the 'ice cream' you make; it's about first understanding that the market wants to buy 'ice cream.' Then figuring out how to make it and distribute it cost-effectively; and with sufficient differentiation to hold the value of your 'ice cream...

Peter Drucker claimed, “…Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two – and only two – functions; marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs.” ( More ) There's a shocking but simple truth in this. I've helped to evaluate many businesses over seven dimensions. The first of the seven is Marketing; and the last is R&D. Marketing is all about finding a customer: it doesn't matter how great your 'ice cream' is until you can find someone who likes it and is willing and able to buy it. Sales is the process of meeting their desire or need (for 'ice cream') in a timely fashion, helping that prospect to spend their money with you rather than someone else. Innovation or R&D is about developing a better 'ice cream,' and differentiating yours from the others available.

I couldn't write it better myself, so here's a link to a post by The Economist warning that traditional published news media could lose control to Apple in the way that music publishers did after the introduction of iTunes. With the US launch of The Daily Apple takes 30% of the 99c weekly subscriptions. At a weekly cost of production of $500k The Daily will need a little over 721k subscribers to break even, after Apple's cut. Can they do that? Probably very easily at a price of just 99c in a market exceeding 250m potential readers. And with gross revenue at that break-even point exceeding $200k per week this will be a good business for Apple!

Last week I attended a one-day workshop run by Neil Darwell of Omega . What an incredibly good use of my time! It's sadly very rare to attend a course and come away with even one memorable action point. After this day I had a page full of easy and novel ideas. More importantly, I also found myself motivated to do them... Of course, my experience was only with the staff at Omega Consultancy; but if the rest of the operation is run on the same lines then they're worth adding to your shortlist of suppliers.

The fourth strategic element of using IT for competitive edge is that of locking out competitors. I'm uncomfortable giving away the crown jewels in a blog post, but recall the story - years before the Internet - of a medical supplies company giving access to their price list online via a dumb terminal and a modem. Customers in hospitals found it easier to look up the price on the computer terminal than to place a phone call to a sales rep. And because there was only space on their desk for one terminal at a time it was hard for competitor companies to break into that relationship. We've helped clients translate this scenario to the Internet age where everyone has a 'dumb terminal' (the browser) but with access to many corporations via their web site. The principle still works, it just takes the application of experience and creativity to make the difference. Find out more

The third element of our approach to securing competitive advantage comes from providing such great facilities for the customer or client that they don't want to place business anywhere else. I started out in the business world with seven years at IBM where I learned the mantra, and the key to the company's original greatness, that the customer is king . (And in IBM, by extension, the salesman as the customer's advocate within the company.) Perhaps one of the best examples known to many of us is that of Amazon: they've made it so easy to do business with them that it's hard for another company to differentiate and carve out a substantial business niche. To get more of our analysis of the keys to Amazon's success please contact us .

This is the second step in our four-point approach to securing competitive advantage . Slightly limited in the detail here by those ever-present non-disclosure, non-compete agreements... However, we've helped clients to discover additional revenue streams; and diversify product lines; and approach new markets, whether segmented by geography, industry vertical or some other differentiator. One of the key successes has been to combine the 'hunting' style of sales (find one, kill one, skin and eat it) with the 'farming' style (prepare the ground, plant, harvest, plant again). The first approach often brings with it higher per-unit revenue; but the second approach brings consistent, cyclical revenue. A combination of the two gives a great, solid base to plan with (we've experienced 97% customer retention rates and a 700% return on investment), supplemented by higher cash receipts on occasions. Find out more

Using technology combined with changed business processes is the first of several combined strategies to increase an organization's strategic competitive edge . For example, I recall one company that simply gave customers the ability to look up prices online: that reduced costs and wait time in their call centre and the customers felt good that they didn't have to talk to a salesperson simply to find out a price! It's such a simple first step that it's surprising that some companies still don't take it. However, it's far from the finishing point. There is a whole mix of additional strategies that you can take in this arena, all resulting in a lower cost of operations. Find out more