SoMaFusion :: travelogue

Handshake
Uploaded by Sergio Prado on 30 Sep 09, 3.06PM GMT.

Here is a good example of why it’s a good idea to refer clients to people who can help them when you can’t do it.

Went to a corner shop today and I asked for something. The guy behind the counter looked at me, slowly turned around, checked if the product was there, looked back at me and with the bored look of the early morning said “I don’t have any”. Mind you, this guy owns the place. I’m not planning on going back. There is another corner shop just two doors now and I plan on starting to use that one. I would be prepared to stick to the first guy if he had said the most simple thing in the world. “I’m sorry I don’t have any right now, I will be getting a delivery tomorrow but in the meantime there is another shop two doors down where you might find what you are looking for”. There, how hard would that be.

Admitting the limits of what we can do and what we want to do is a SoMaFusion fundamental principle. If there is something that cannot be done or that we are not interested in we will always strive to recommend other people and/ or companies to the client. We do this for a number of reasons.

Asking us to do something is an act of trust
Even if it’s only an enquiry the prospective client is showing a level of trust by approaching us. It would be very poor form indeed if we did not at least strive to repay that trust by being honest and by introducing someone that might be able to do something that we may not be able to do at the moment.

It’s an opportunity to understand their needs and to better explain what we do
Some prospective clients have a vague idea of their needs and a vague idea of what we do. Sitting down together and looking at their needs we might discover that they should look into other communications priorities first before they come onto digital communications. By discussing their needs we can explain the field, explain what we do and give them a better idea of what we think their priorities should be.

Saying we cannot take on a project is a positive thing
Nobody can do everything. We know what we are good at, we know what we like doing, we know exactly where we can help a client. What is the point of pretending? If there are others out there that can do something better then we are definitely recommending them. How many times do you think a client gets to hear that a company is not in a position to do something? Not a lot. And they don’t trust people who claim they can do everything. Clients know from experience that it’s impossible.

Referring to someone else shows that we know our field
We don’t see anyone as a competitor (even though it’s a good word for the title). I come from a policy background which has taught me that businesses turn around a market a lot quicker if they cooperate and understand each other. Especially when it comes to an emerging market and in these difficult financial times as well. By referring to someone else we show the client that we understand our field – hence we know what we are talking about – and that we have good relationships with people out there.

Referring to someone else makes the customer happy AND improves the industry
Think about it. If we all admitted what we can and can’t do and referred to others whenever we couldn’t take on a job we would be able to a) make the client happier and b) make the market better. In the long run we would be building relationships and connections across the industry which would promote trust and would make it easier for a small consortium to be set up easily if a big account turns up. Why should we send it to the big guys? If we all know our specialisations and have been courteous to each other in the past what’s to stop us from getting the big accounts? Not to mention that referring to each other means that we slowly but surely identify the bright stars – in other words we are making the industry better with each referral (provided you are not introducing your best mate but someone who can actually do a good job)

Naturally there is always the money question

Fine, but is it making us any money?
It sure is making us not only money but also gives us a lot in social capital. When you say you can’t take on an account and you refer to someone else you are not losing money. You are deferring it to a later date when the client thinking back to your honesty and help and having understood what you do will come back to you. You are deferring it to a later date when the client will introduce you to other clients. You are deferring it to a date when the people you have introduced will do the same for you.

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It’s a good idea if you are a new company (or even if you are more established) to have very clear goals in mind when making the effort (and spending the time and money) to go to an industry event like a conference or exhibition. And I mean a different industry than your own. We were at the World Travel Market this week so that’s what partly prompted this post – as well as Manolis’ fascination at the absence of some companies that we ‘d expect to have seen there.

Planning ahead and having some ‘deliverables’ (what a horrible term) – or rather knowing why you are there – helps against wondering aimlessly for days and not doing any real work. Let me be clear. I don’t mean signing contracts. I mean realising that some things that you will gain even though intangible will have a lasting effect.

Be visible for existing clients
Let’s be clear. Your clients need the reassurance that they are not a one-off for you. They feel better if they know that you are interested in their sector and not in your own little ivory tower. If you specialise in a sector this is especially important. How can they trust that you understand their needs if you don’t learn about their industry? Being in some of their key events shows willingness to engage, learn and be part of that industry.

Be visible for prospective clients
Digital communications is a relatively new field. Especially if your core audience is small and medium sized businesses (like it is for SoMaFusion) you have to recognise their time constraints. In the current difficult climate they probably don’t have the time to seek you out outside their industry. Being there means that you are involved and you can talk about the issues of the day as they are shaped by the event you are going to. You don’t have to book any contracts (nobody does in these things anymore, people need more time and planning). You just have to be there. Trust me, they’ll remember you.

Check out the competition
Who is out there? Who is present? Who makes the investment of time and effort? These are the people you need to learn from, these are the companies that are working with the same mind frame. Knowing who they are and what they are saying provides insight into how your industry engages with the industry in question. Learn. Make friends. You never know when you’ll get a big contract and you’ll need help from companies and people who have the same principles as you.

Check your rhetoric
Are you sure that you explain who you are and what you do properly for the audience? If the only people that ‘get’ what you do are other digital communications people and you only get a blank stare outside your industry then clearly something is wrong. You need to go back and adjust your arguments and examples. Going to an industry event offers you ample opportunity to do that by engaging with people who are outside your own comfort zone.

Learn learn learn
It doesn’t matter if for example the big travel planning systems are too big for your clients (or too small). It doesn’t matter if the trade exhibitors are only slightly connected or completely unconnected with what you currently do. Ask them questions, ask for case studies and literature (opt for digital copies otherwise you’ll need a suitcase to carry things around), engage, discuss, see what their problems are. They are offering services in the same industry, you never know what lessons you can take.
Try to also learn from prospective clients. How do they exhibit, who are they talking to, what are their problems. If you are observant enough you ‘ll know the big issues of the day very soon and you’ll be able to plan and help in the future.

Be inspired
This is what most companies forget. Seek inspiration in everything – displays, people, events, colours. Take pictures and videos, make observations, use them when you plan your next campaign or when you brainstorm. In other words get out of the office, get outside the confines of your own industry and challenge yourself to see things from the perspective of another industry. You never know what great ideas will hit you.

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Company Lunch !!!
Uploaded by convexstyle on 15 Feb 09, 10.42PM GMT.

I couldn’t agree more with David Meerman Scott’s post today (‘Who the hell are these people?’ on Web Ink now) – highly recommended reading for anyone that deals with a company’s online presence.

David has a relatively simple question:

Who are these young, happy, pretty, multi-cultural people with great teeth and even better hair who hang out with notebook computers in sleek and modern conference rooms on B2B company Web sites all over the world?
(via)

What David is saying is that it’s high time we chose to display photographs of real people on our websites rather than stock photography

I couldn’t agree more. We had that discussion the other day about a company we like and I was insisting that their website is not taking advantage of their greatest assets. Their location and their people. Instead of proudly displaying that they are in a lovely town, contributing to its development and giving back to the community somehow they manage to hide it . At the same time they employ lovely and talented people and I know the accounts they get are also pretty exciting accounts ayet I never see their faces. Why not?

What is it that makes us try to appear to be something different than we are, subscribing to some sort of prevailing ‘one true way’ logic that dictates how the photographs should look like.

I say ditch all that and find what works best for you – not for everybody else. It’s the only way to be happy with the result and to make a difference.

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The nature of communication is something we discuss often at SoMaFusion.

Yesterday we spent the evening debating an old favourite of mine – content over form and the ways in which content and its presentation can cause an emotional impact. We ended up – to put it in simple terms – debating how people communicate better.

Manolis – I have to say – has a practical mind which he sets loose when it comes to discussions like these and he goes all theoretical on me. I on the other hand have a tendency to be convinced by examples and I need them in order to be able to visualise the argument. Being a words person I was insisting about the importance of the written word and how it can excite and help communicate. I don’t think we were in total agreement but Manolis was trying to find me a good example.

This morning he sent me this video (our first on YouTube by the way) and by way of an explanation the words below.

Berlin 2009. The ITB Berlin Travel Show – one of the biggest tourism exhibitions. The video is amateurish, accidental. The music is from my home. The people are from everybody’s home. Africa. How is it possible for a few notes to simply excite people’s body and soul. To mentally elevate them. What is the inner strength of this music that manages to stir us up. The Dionysian rhythms, the dances of the ‘possessed’.

Amazon, Palestine, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Black Sea, Epirus and Crete and a handful of dancers with lyra and laouto. Astounding.

We talk about communications. What do you think they are doing?