Treading water often seems to be the most common activity within the SME; trying to solve day to day problems rather than focusing on developing the business.

Cloud computing and SaaS

We are privileged to operate in the age of cloud computing, where computer applications are made available to us remotely as a service (typically via a web browser).

The upshot of this means that we aren’t required to download and install software “locally” at our place of work. Instead, we can leave the responsibility of buying, supporting, backing-up and upgrading hardware and software to a third party. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as software as a service or SaaS.

Software as a service enables small businesses to focus on the core challenges around growing a business rather than stumbling from one operational headache to the next. Of course, SaaS isn’t a magical solution that will solve all operational issues, but any way of offloading responsibility at minimal cost has to be advantageous.

The essential cloud tools for small businesses

I’ve put together 10 popular cloud applications used by SME’s. This list is by no means exhaustive, as there are a rapidly growing number of applications in the marketplace. Equally, they all have slightly different features that will suit organisations differently. But sit back and enjoy.

But what about the people who are already part of their community? Who use their broadband, gas, electric or Digital TV services?  How do these offers and claims make them feel?

When I realised that I would be better off financially terminating my current Broadband and TV package and re-purchasing again from the same company, it made me really question these corporate strategies.

Pareto’s 80-20 Rule

Many people may well be aware of the famous Pareto’s 80-20 rule. Applied to the marketing element, this equates to 80% of sales coming through 20% of the customer base. But, in my experience, it is often the 20% that get forgotten about; yet are the most powerful allies of all.  Studies have shown that companies that reduce customer defection by 5%, could boost profits from between 25-85%.

Clearly, in these critical times, gaining new business is critical for survival. But so is gaining positive word of mouth, with the public voice that is now possible through Social Media channels.

Alongside this  - the actual costs make economic sense.  Figures from Bain & Company show that acquisition campaigns can cost up to 7 times as much as retention activity – given the low loyalty that resonates with new customers.

Five thoughts for better customer retention:

1. Don’t operate customer teams in silos

Have your retention and acquisition teams working side by side, to ensure that all customer experiences are positive and offer something new.  Share the same objectives, challenges and performance measures. This also applies to all customer touch points,  including the customer sales teams.  Ensure they have the data and experience to deal with both types of customers – existing and potential – to deliver the right level of service and satisfaction levels.

2. Use insights from the customers you already have

Customer insight will improve whatever service it is you are offering. This will, in turn, help to improve the acquisition costs and offering.

3. Reward loyalty

Reward loyalty - not at the expense of acquisition, but at least on the same level.

4. Balance acquisition and retention rewards

Ensure the value offering for current customers remains at least on a par with the acquisition promise, so customers feel happy to be part of the community.

5. Encourage positive word of mouth by keeping customers happy

A small but critical point that will can help to drive acquisition costs down as communities have the most powerful voice of all in this new world.

When you visit Google Images you will see a camera icon to the right of the search bar.

You can either upload your image or paste the path to an image online and Google will find appropriate results in addition to similar images.

This is a welcome addition to Similar Images announced by Googe back in 2009.

Google has released this handy little video which explains it all.

As an experiment I uploaded a picture of me. Whilst it adequately found other instances of my photo, it also listed similar photos at the bottom of the SERP. What really made my day is that according to Google I look like George Clooney. Woohoo!

Wired Magazine

I read the Wired Second Annual Survey on the UK’s Digital Power Brokers last weekend, with much interest. The list is published annually, and to my mind is a far more interesting read than Tatler’s 100 most eligible men and women in the UK, although admittedly, there may be a small amount of cross-over in each list.

The study is designed to highlight those who have the most influence in the Digital World, from innovators to investors. In the Number One position, is Joanna Shields, who is the VP for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Facebook, and a fairly obvious choice in the current climate with over 30 million users in the UK currently. Interestingly, the list last year was topped by Google!

The Top 10

The top 10 is pretty much made up of the corporate players you would expect to see, including Apple, Google and a surprise entry for Julian Assange from Wiklileaks – small comfort to him right now I expect. However, interestingly, as the list plays out, much of the players are made up from smaller sized companies, which truly have digital innovation at their core.

I have a personal interest in Numbers 21 and 27 – Robin Klein and Errol Damelin respectively. These entrepreneurs are the Chairman and Chief Executive of Wonga.com  – an online short-term loan company which has data at its very core.  It’s data-led approach has really transformed personal finance, and created a contemporary alternative to the traditional banking system.

From another slightly different, but also personal perspective, I was very happy to see Natalie Massenet included at number 20. This lady changed the face of fashion e-tail by founding Net-a-porter.com,which now has 3 million users logging in every month, and spawned The Outnet – a fashion website specialising in end of line clothing. I have spent many happy hours browsing the pages of this site, and sadly too few purchasing, but it remains one of the most talked about fashion e-tail sites in the country.

One can often become slightly cynical and jaded when working in the digital arena. You are constantly seeking the ‘newest’ developments in technology, and become accustomed to expecting nothing but the best in systems and ideas. The same can be true of digital media. During my time at a large media agency, we were always looking for ‘The Next Best Thing’ that would change our clients brand perceptions, often just by being new and shiny.

It’s not just about size…

But looking through this list of shakers and movers, it is so comforting to see that people are showing the courage of their convictions and creating sustainable businesses based on the digital experience that truly benefits everyone.  The founder of Glasses Direct, for example (in at Number 52 on the list), who is now looking to replicate his success with Hearing Direct. Or David Babbs who is the Executive Director of 38 Degrees – an online activism group which played a key role in the governments reversal of its plans to see off the The Forestry Commission after securing 500,000 signatures for its online petition.

The list is awash with smart investors, who spend their time, and money, helping companies to embrace and critically, monetise the digital landscape. Many, many companies have seen their tech seeds grow through hard work and a true belief in the power of the digital channels to change businesses. It is obvious that there has never been a better time for digital talent in the UK.

Last week, I read rather bemused that a 75 year old woman in Georgia, who had never heard of the Internet, managed to sever the Internet connections in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia by cutting fibre optic cables when digging for scrap metal.

The effect of this caused the majority of Internet users in Armenia to lose Internet access for nearly 12 hours while also affecting ISPs in Georgia.

Whilst outages are not uncommon, this event highlighted how a simple mistake can cause a large amount of disruption for both individuals and businesses who are increasingly reliant on Internet connectivity.

Only 1% of companies can function adequately without the Internet

Last week we tweeted the results of a survey carried out by Avanti Communications in October last year giving us a snapshot of just how reliant we are on our connected world.

The survey of companies worldwide revealed that only 1% could function adequately without the Internet. Over a quarter (27%) of companies surveyed said they could not function at all if the Internet crashed, and one in five said a week without being online would be “the death of their company”.

Whilst this doesn’t surprise me in the least, the 1% figure was particularly shocking as it highlighted how we have blindly become more and more reliant on connectivity without considering the impact of non-connectivity. We have all been carried by a huge evolutionary tide of online change often without any means to counteract this effect.

Cyber-terrorism and cyber-theft: a real and growing threat

Given our ubiquitous reliance on Internet availability, there is little wonder why cyber-terrorism is considered an increasingly effective method of attaining financial gain or political voice.

There is a growing sentiment that future wars are increasingly likely to take place away from the battlefield in favour of online, and in fact the recent Stuxnet worm illustrated this point precisely.

Last week, the Sony Playstation Network suffered a large data theft which forced Sony to close the network during the busy Easter weekend which will no doubt have a huge revenue impact but also the potential to damage Sony’s image.

Cloud Computing good or bad?

Our ever growing reliance on Cloud applications and infrastructure has also revealed vulnerability to outages.

There are many positives around the use and deployment of Cloud applications and Cloud computing, especially for small businesses that want to improve productivity through SaaS applications and don’t want to hassles of infrastructure, backups, licensing in addition to implementation and access headaches.

However, In April this year, Amazon’s Elastic Cloud (Amazon EC2) crashed, taking services including Reddit, Foursquare and Quora with it, revealing the vulnerability of over-reliance on the Cloud. The brands that suffered alongside Amazon, have thousands of regular daily users and were at the mercy of a single outage that had serious repercussions as we live and breathe in the Cloud.

Design goals of the ARPANET

Our increasing reliance on connectivity sits somewhat paradoxically with the orignal development of the ARPANET, the original packet switching network that later evolved into the Internet as we know it.

Common ARPANET lore states that the computer network was designed to survive a nuclear attack, when in fact the main reason for its design was that switching nodes and network links were unreliable, and the splitting of data into packets allowed the rerouting of data when necessary.

So, ironically whilst the design aim of the earliest rendition of the Internet was to improve the reliability of sharing data across multiple computers, what has evolved in 2011 is arguably a more vulnerable network than existed in the late 1960′s.

The brand in question is Sky. I have been a Sky customer for quite a few years now, and I can honestly say I am a loyal advocate and would have very strong reservations about moving my business to any other broadcast provider.

I am old enough to remember the BSB and Sky fiasco, in the early days. Back then, it didn’t really matter much, from a personal or professional media perspective, because the four main commercial channels were so incredibly dominant.
As is widely reported, the broadcasting landscape has changed beyond recognition. From the early 1990’s through to 2011, the ‘anytime, anywhere’ culture has developed to a point where Content is most definitely King.

When I moved house about five years ago, one of the key requisites, aside from the usual subsidence and location issues, was the ability to be able to receive Sky. Having lived with Freeview and ITV Digital in its former years, I was adamant I could at last get everything I needed. I was at a loss when Prison Break switched from commercial TV to Sky, and I was determined that I would be able to see ‘Lost’ through to the end; though, actually, I still don’t have a clue what went on, even now.

There are three aspects I particularly love about the Sky brand:

Programming

This probably isn’t the best day to evangelise about the Sky programming, as the 90 minutes on Sky Sports 2 recently was not the best entertainment for an avid Arsenal fan. However, Sport aside, I believe the Sky strategy to be brilliant. Unlike other broadcasters, Sky realised their key strength came not necessarily in programme origination, but in programme acquisition. They became a very powerful transmission platform – delivering content that customers genuinely wanted.

Having big budgets obviously helped, but the acquisition team have continued to make their entertainment channels destination viewing. And in the world of multi-channel homes, this is no mean feat. Sky Atlantic is a touch of genius. Genuinely brilliant programming, often timed to coincide with the big US launches so UK consumers don’t feel as though they need to download illegally in order to keep up and avoid ‘spoiler’ tactics.

Their promotional trailers and ads have always been true to the brand. Big budget, entertaining and powerful. A perfect illustration of the Sky brand in an ad format.

Customer care

Early on in my Sky relationship, my Sky box died. Thankfully I was up to date with the latest Mad Men and Damages episodes, but the thought of being without my Sky Plus for more than a few days was not a prospect I was willing to endure. After calling the 24 hour helpline, a very nice man came out, at the allotted time, and delivered a new box free of charge. Despite my warranty expiring two months previously. My bill is available online at any time, without the need for complex security processes, and I can speak to a real human being if the need arises.

Products you actually want

Over the years, I have personally sat in a number of focus groups, that all started with the same question: “How do we market this product to our audience?”. Sky have clearly sat down with focus groups, and started by asking ‘which products would our audience like, that would enhance their experience of, and relationship with, us as a brand’. And it shows.

Sky Never Miss is a perfect example of how something very simple, can be very effective. You sign up to the website and just highlight the programmes you don’t want to miss, regardless of where they are in the transmission cycle. You will then be sent an email to your specified email address, informing you when the programme will next be on, at least 5 working days in advance of the programme airing. The email arrives with no sales speak, and no promotional offers – just what I’d expect from a triggered email.

Sky recently re-launched their advertising under the banner of ‘Believe in Better’. In my humble opinion, this mantra is coming through from strategy to the consumer, and for many brands today, this is a rarity.

Most notable online trends reported in this month’s market highlights are as follows:

• The top 5 websites (Google, Bing, Facebook, Yahoo! and BBC) remain unchanged; their reach is 95.55% of the UK online market!
• Google Search is still the stickiest search brand with an average reach of 81.5% followed by Google Image Search (28%); Yahoo! Search and Bing share approx 18% of reach
• Ebay remains number 1 for ecommerce reach; it reaches 45.9% (18.5m) of the active UK audience
• The highest % increase in reach comes from the Co-Operative (+58%) in the top ecommerce sites of the month
• The Co-Operative and Nectar replace Gumtree and John Lewis in the top ecommerce sites this month

View the full Online Market Highlights – March 2010

Most notable online trends reported are as follows:

• The top 15 sites remain virtually unchanged
• 35-49 audience shows the largest increase month on month
• The top 5 sites reach 95% of the total online universe with Bing/MSN/Windows Live in second place after Facebook
• Member communities represent the most time spent online by consumers
• Google Search is the ‘stickiest’ online brand
• World of Warcraft is the number one application, in terms of average time spent on applications online
• Ebay remains number one in the e-commerce category

View the full Online Market Highlights – February 2010

As of June 2010, News International will be charging £1 to access The Times and Sunday Times Online for a day’s subscription; or £2 for a week’s subscription.

News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, also hinted that its other titles, the Sun and the News of the World, would follow with a paywall model.

This is a landmark moment as both The Times and The Sunday Times are set to become the first UK national newspapers to charge for access to all of their online content. The Financial Times is currently charging for a large bulk of its online content.

As ad revenues fall, this is seen by many as a necessary business move, but of course it is commonly regarded as a high risk strategy as many competitor online newspapers will not be following suit.

Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, said:

“We expect to attract a growing base of loyal customers that are committed and engaged with our titles.  We are building on the excellence of our newspapers and offering digital access to our journalism at a price that everyone can afford.”

The Time Online currently attains 1.22 million readers per day. If we were to assume that only 5% of these readers convert to the paywall model, it would yield £1.83m if they each buy a £1 daily subscription. At a 10% conversion rate, it would net £3.66m per month for both papers. Whereas if the weekly subscription was selected,  revenues would be reduced.

Emarketeers are thrilled to announce the launch of a brand new partnership with The Guardian. Designed to add even more value to our current training programmes, the Guardian Media Academy is providing focused short courses which help individuals and businesses to realize their true potential.

Held at the newly built and highly impressive Guardian headquarters in Kings Cross, the day long training sessions will focus on improving key digital skills such as Search Engine Optimisation, Digital Copywriting and Social Media.

The Media Academy is endorsed and recommended by Steve Busfield, the head of Media & Technology at Guardian news and media, who is passionate about the need for businesses and professionals to keep evolving in line with the ever changing online landscape.

Visit, Guardian Media Academy to see the full course portfolio and dates.