Danny Brown

podcaster - author - creator

Insights

15 Reasons Your Business Sucks

Or maybe just 15 ways your business could be optimized to appeal more to the folks you’re missing but would like not to miss.

  1. You don’t revisit your business plan regularly to re-align your current needs.
  2. You have one way and one way only to contact you.
  3. You advertise once a week with no surprises.
  4. You silo your teams.
  5. You don’t see the people, just the numbers behind the people.
  6. You haven’t updated your website since 2004.
  7. You offer just one payment option.
  8. You cut corners on investment.
  9. You don’t measure results properly.
  10. Your reinvestment budget pays for your weekend cottage.
  11. Yours is the only voice in the company.
  12. You think automated phone trees are the best thing since sliced bread.
  13. You don’t consider social media.
  14. You ignore the smaller fish for the blue whales.
  15. You’re recognizing the compartments of this list you’re currently reading.

Any to add?

System Failure

Companies have systems that they need to adhere to.

Without systems, the natives will run amok and sense and sensibility will come crashing down.

Without systems, nothing will be done because we’ll all be headless chickens and the wolves will be circling the coop.

And yet…

Systems saw Wall Street come crashing down. Systems saw auto manufacturers on the brink of destruction. Systems saw oil companies put profits over people.

Systems don’t always work.?

Four Seasons Hotels and the Art of Social Media

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Social MediaA lot’s been written about the Roger Smith Hotel in New York, and how it’s “doing social media right.”

But that’s just one hotel in one city, and as much as they’re doing a great job, it’s the adoption of social media by the “big boys” of any industry that really show how well social media uptake there is.

Enter Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group.

What’s cool about their entry into social media is not that they’ve done so, but how they’re doing it.

Four Seasons, Four Outposts

While a lot of companies dabble with a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page when it comes to their social media outlets, Four Seasons takes that and adds it to the power of many.

If you check their Social Media At A Glance page, you’ll see that not only does Four Seasons have a presence on Twitter and Facebook, but also YouTube and mobile/web applications. Yet, again, it doesn’t stop there, as you’ll see if you click on each social outlet.

  • Four Seasons on Twitter. Instead of just having a corporate Twitter account (which they do, and use it as an information hub), Four Seasons has individual Twitter accounts for each resort. Fun and friendly, they’re a mix of updates, offers and conversations with guests and offer a great outlet for customers old and new.
  • Four Seasons on Facebook. Just like Twitter, there are a host of individual Facebook pages, as opposed to the singular corporate one. And they’re also much more than your usual Facebook page, with polls, booking forms, special offers and much more.
  • Four Seasons on YouTube. A collection of short snippets about what summer means, the Four Seasons YouTube channel is currently pretty minimal for content, but they’ve got some great ideas about what makes for short and enticing.
  • Four Seasons Apps and Widgets. This is where the group gets pretty funky. Since Four Seasons caters to travelers, what smarter way to reach them than with an iPhone app? Sure, it leaves out other smartphone users, but the demographic for Four Seasons fits perfectly with the iPhone crowd, so they’ve obviously done their homework. They also have a Facebook app and an embeddable widget for your website or blog.

So, all in all, a pretty comprehensive social media presence. And that’s just for now – imagine where they could take it.

Social and Mobile Media Opportunities

While it’s great to see a large company like Four Seasons adopt social media and adopt it so well, they’ve got a great opportunity to really stand out from the pack in their industry.

They already have the iPhone app, but why not transfer that success to Android or BlackBerry? Both of these platforms have great app stores and a healthy slice of the demographic that Four Seasons attracts.

Taking that up a notch, they could also introduce a loyalty card that could be tied into both their Facebook app and their mobile app(s). Pre-book your stay either via Facebook or your iPhone, and you immediately get points added to your loyalty card to use at the resort. Or check-in via GoWalla or Foursquare and become the Mayor of a certain area to receive extra spa treats or facility use while at the resort in question.

I’d also like to see the YouTube channel being used more. Have guests make their own holiday videos to upload and share, to give a personal view of the Four Seasons approach. And use it as an educational channel as well – what shots you need for what countries, local characters, cultural differences to respect, etc.

These are just some ideas that Four Seasons (or any hotel or resort group) could add to enhance any social media experience from both their point of view and that of their guests. Some might be better suited than others to different companies, but it’d be great to see the buttons being pushed on how social media (and mobile) is being used.

In the meantime, hats off to Four Seasons for their current social media approach. Nice to see larger companies get on board so well.

How about you – any hotel or leisure groups stand out for you? And how would you like to see them using social media?

photo credit: four seasons

A Quick Question on How This Blog Looks

Hey there guys. So I have a favour to ask, if that’s okay?

I’ve been toying with the idea recently of redesigning the old blog. Don’t get me wrong – I like the way it looks now and how it feels.

Yet I’m often antsy, always wanting to change something here or fiddle with something there. To that end, I had been looking at changing the design to one that has more defined typography, and visually-led.

Since you guys are here as often as I am, I like to take your thoughts into consideration too. After all, this is pretty much your home as much as it is mine. So, with that being said, I’d like to know what you think. Should I change or stay the same?

Over to you.


It’s a Communications Business – Why Aren’t You Communicating?

Port-42I received a message from a friend today.

She told me that the company she works for were removing Instant Messaging (IM) access for all employees as of June 1st, ?due to employee abuse (they currently use IM as their internal communications platform).

What made it funny was that she used MSN Messenger to tell me ? you have to admire the irony.

Yet it then got me thinking. The company she works for is one of Canada?s largest business communication solution providers. They have approximately 6,000 employees and revenue of over $2 billion.

They service some of the most forward-thinking companies in North America today by providing some truly leading edge communication tools. So why so poor at internal communication?

I can see why they?d remove an external instant messaging service. Productivity could be impacted as well as there being security issues. But to not have any kind of internal messaging system apart from email? This doesn?t seem like effective business practice, particularly for one whose core business is in the business communications field.

It?s not as if there aren?t a host of options available.?Yammer is an excellent Twitter-like option that?s ideal for business use. There’s also?Jabber , which I used during my time at FedEx and again this was a great way of instant communication. These are just two ? there are many others offering even more solutions, like?Socialtext for example.

Email is a great tool, but in today?s business place it?s fast being superseded by instant messaging services. Faster response time, multiple users, less compatibility issues with networks ? these are just some of the key benefits of using IM.

For anyone not using some kind of IM service for their business, perhaps it’s about time you start, and look at the benefits. And for my friend?s company?

Perhaps you should communicate with each other as well as you do with your customers.

Creative Commons License photo credit:?Victor Bezrukov