Management Blog

Most Aussies businesses haven't planned for the worst: study

A recent Telstra-funded study has found 52 per cent of Australian businesses haven't considered the development of a disaster plan, The Age reports.

No business owner or manager wants to spend their time thinking about an impending disaster, but the article makes a good case for taking time out to plan ahead for worst-case scenarios.

And with a multitude of natural disasters from fires to floods hitting the country SME owners are reminded they often have more to lose from the unexpected than larger, multi-site organisations.

Hitachi Data Systems chief technologist Simon Elisha says the first step towards creating a disaster plan is to look at ways to ensure the longevity of the company; from this point it’s suggested businesses focus on a highly organised approach to backing-up data.

A smart tip that can help your business avoid a post-disaster nightmare is to test information that has been backed-up to ensure the system is working and that information can be fully restored.

Trend watch: Random acts of kindness

The Hyatt hotel chain in the US has launched a new benefit for members of its Gold Passport loyalty program - the provision of random acts of kindness, Springwise reports.

The idea is to spoil hotel guests with pleasant surprises during their stay with gestures such as paying for bar tabs, complementary messages or breakfast treats.

Turkish credit card company Wings has also launched a plan to add a little kindness to its offering. It has partnered with restaurants in Istanbul to foot the bill for random diners who use their Wings card.   

Springwise says the giveaway movement is indicative of a corporate generosity trend that's emerging to win back the patronage of disillusioned consumers.

The trend also reflects the 'freeconomics' paradigm, but is random generosity here to stay or just a recession gimmick?

Buyer behaviour and social networking

A recent study of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has attempted to understand the connection between online friends and buyer behaviour.

According to the Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge, the study found social media users can influence each others' buyer behaviour within some groups.

In encouraging news for marketers, those users who were identified as being 'moderately connected' with friends via social networks exhibited 'keep up with the Joneses' buyer behaviour.

However, the study suggested 'highly connected' users tend to stop purchasing a product when they notice their friends buying the same brand.

According to the article, the findings reflect fashion cycles where opinion leaders and early adopters tend to abandon trends when the masses come on board.

In summary, here are the key statistics from the study:

• 48 per cent of social media users are not 'well connected' and are unaffected by social pressure with regard to purchasing behaviour
• 40 per cent of users are 'moderately connected'; their actions are said to have a positive impact on friend's purchases
• 12 per cent of users are 'well connected'; members of this group seek to differentiate themselves from their friend's buying patterns

Web video is in demand

Research out of the UK indicates there has been a massive jump in video website traffic, the BBC reports.

The Hitwise survey claims video websites have experienced a 40.7 per cent increase in visitations with YouTube, the BBC and Google Video named the most popular.

Hitwise says increases in broadband speeds and new applications that make it easier to upload and watch online video have contributed to the surge in demand.

A video website that's growing in popularity with professionals looking to improve their presentation and storytelling skills is TED.

Here's an uplifting 3.5-minute TED video that stresses the power of the words 'thank-you'.

The best SMEs to start now

Could starting a business during the global financial crisis be one of the smartest things you ever do?

While the move might seem counterintuitive, news.com.au suggests a number of small to medium sized business categories are set to flourish as the GFC continues.

Hot SME categories on the list include:

Confectionary - as our economic woes grow so does our passion for small luxuries like chocolate and sweets

Adult retailing - sales of sex toys have grown significantly in the US as consumers spend less time out and more at home

Fresh produce - it's claimed when people stop going to restaurants they start cooking at home with quality fruit and veg

Training and online learning - set to grow as retrenched workers seek out new skills

Home improvement - rather than buying a new home, more people will choose to renovate their current homes

The complete list is available here.

Retailers return to lay-by

It may seem like a seriously out-dated notion but lay-by is set to make a comeback as a result of the global economic crisis, the Financial Times reports.

Known as layaway in the US, the arrangement in which an item is set aside and paid off in instalments has recently been ignored by retailers thanks to the rise of easy credit.

But as the credit crunch continues to bite, major US retailers like Sears department stores and Kmart claim their lay-by services have proved a hit with customers.

US clothing retailer Buckle says it outperformed the rest of the retail sector in November and December last year after promoting its lay-by service in online advertising.

Feedback makes the (online) world go around

Does 2009 call for new rules of customer engagement?

Futurelab blogger Matt Rhodes believes it does. He argues the point in a recent post by describing five ways that brands can harness customer loyalty using the power of social media.

1. Seek out customer opinions - don't wait for your customers to contact you, ask for their complaints and compliments first

2. Streamline your feedback process - make it easy for customers to complain directly to you to stop them from going elsewhere

3. Always respond - don't make the mistake of not responding to feedback, this oversight can make customers feel unwanted

4. Respond publicly - deal with feedback in a public forum to show all customers that you're interested in them

5. Engagement isn't a campaign - your conversation with customers should be on-going rather than campaign based 

Five ways to name a new business

Choosing a business name is never an easy process: in fact, the decision has the potential to make or break an enterprise, a recent news.com.au article argues.

With a view to guiding new businesses through the often tricky name game process the following tips are offered:

1. No limits – go with a generic name that won't pigeonhole your enterprise if you change direction in the future

2. Show your passion – consider names that reflect your interests (these might have nothing to do with your product or service)

3. Consider key qualities – highlight the benefits of your business via its name, e.g. exclusivity, location, affordability

4. The big easy – choose names that are easy to spell and say (especially important in our Google fixated world)

5. Different strokes – research competitors' names to ensure your name isn't too similar

Businesses keen to adopt open source

New research on workplace software use suggests 85 per cent of companies now use open source software products, Smart Company reports.

In addition, technology researchers Gartner claims the other 15 per cent of respondents said they were planning to use open source programs by the end of next year.

Gartner says the impetus behind the use of open source programs is cost as well as the ability to avoid being tied to a particular software vendor.

While open source software may be free, companies are warned that using these programs still warrants investment in product research, intellectual property issues and supportability risks.

Gladwell returns with Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell – the man behind the uber successful Blink and The Tipping Point books – is back with an investigation into what makes the world's best and brightest people tick.

Gladwell's publisher says Outliers: The story of success looks at the characteristics of extremely successful people by examining their cultural, family, generational and idiosyncratic experiences.

In its preview, the 800-CEO-READ blog claims the book offers a series of at case studies on software barons, sports stars, Asian maths champs and arguably the world's great pop band, the Beatles.

Outliers is released this week.