Fizzgoggling at Davos 2013 -10 key changes in consumer behaviour from Accenture

(N.B.for serious material from Davos 2013 scroll down to the Accenture report findings 10 changes in consumer behaviour)

World Economic Forum Live "Fizzgoggling"

Follow the 2013 annual meeting in Davos  from this bloggings

Fellow meerkats , the eagle-eyed amongst you will have not seen my name amongst the 2,630 meerkats to the Davos shindig leakinged on  Quartz website but I  intrepid  Alekandr will be there with 'Ambassador of Good things' Rosanna Figuera from Walfels and Dinges.

There will be no nonsensicalling Webb Robert with Wigginsy Bradley sideburns  spouting his "fizzgoglling " nonesense

I  have with me my trusty Russian-Davosian dictionary to translate strange phrases like" Resilient Dynamism" and other jargonings .

50  meerkat heads of state, 1,500  meerkat business leaders, meerkat professors, neerkat charities  Non-Governmental Organisation NGOs  attendings World Economic Forum 2013

I not expecting any decisions from this  Davos 2013 but I will be keeping my beady eye out for where the political and economic pitfalls are to be found and avoided.

We meerkats will know where the major players standing and where major alliances the making.



Photo of my famous speech two years ago

Sergie will be going to more interestings techo lectures

Accenture Report Interesting and relevant

 

Energising Global Growth

Understanding the changing consumer

83% of executives see growth opportunities in changing consumer behaviours

80% of executives say they are not taking full advantage of changing consumer behaviours

US$2.4 trillion growth opportunity from understanding consumer behaviour change

47% of executives say technology or consumer preferences are vital growth enablers

82% of executives are confident they can grow profitably in the next three years

74% of executives say their understanding of consumer behaviours is less-than-complete

The  ACCENTURE report draws on research from four sources:

a global consumer behaviour survey (10,000 on line consumers),

 a global executive survey (600 business executives),

 industry-growth leader analysis of the world's top 3,000 listed companies by market capitalisation

and macroeconomic analysis with Oxford Economics

The 10 dimensions of Consumer Behaviour

 

Consumer Network

·         Connected consumers are always on. For example, a large majority of those we surveyed check e-mail before going to bed at night.

·         Co-productive consumers are now a factor in the means of production. For example, they more frequently provide direct feedback to companies and help design products.

·         Social consumers interact with companies, institutions and each another through the Internet. For example, more than half report they increasingly use social media to interact with family members.

Independent

·         Individual consumers spend to express their particular personality and uniqueness: they want tailored offerings that will bring out who they really are.

·         Resourceful consumers work hard and spend thriftily to get ahead. They turn to new online platforms to buy used products, sell directly to other consumers, or participate in online auctions.

·         Disconnected consumers like to distance themselves from the constant presence of the digital world and are willing to spend to do so. One in five reported that they turn off their phones for extended periods and they want products and services that help them leave the stresses of the world behind, ranging from scented candles to cruise vacations.

·         Experiential consumers want more than the digital world can offer. They seek the enjoyment of new and different experiences, from travelling to new places to attending live events.

Co-operative

·         Minimalist consumers purchase second-hand or reuse products. For example, they may prefer car-sharing services to outright possession, and tend to value access over ownership.

·         Conscientious consumers more frequently buy local, more often make what they need, and consider the environmental impact when deciding what to purchase. Also, they give away what they no longer need.

·         Communal consumers devote extensive time and money to causes with social impact—and they appreciate businesses that do the same.

Related links

You can download an infographic from the ACCENTURE site

http://www.accenture.com/us-en/landing-pages/energizing-global-growth/Pages/home.aspx#Summar

 

Davos blog site

http://forumblog.org/2013/01/10-ways-consumers-are-changing/



Selling Silence Mr Selfridge Headspace and mindfulness

With the reintroduction of a 'quiet room' in Selfridges now in the lower ground floor in Oxford Street, this January, perhaps we should honour 'Mile-a-minute Harry" as a early pioneer of the Mindfulness Industry.

In the Selfridges of 2013  you can chill out from the bombardment of messages in a quiet pod there - a sort of hemispherical acoustic absorbent dome where there is a short audio tape from Headspace.

Some interesting facts are in the presentation  given by specialist Andy Puddicome and Headspace Headspace.

Do you have a smart phone ?

 Apparently research has shown that 80% of smart phone owners keep their phone on all the time - including all night.

Most check their phone for messages, emails etc before going to sleep and first thing in the morning.

Additionally 40% will use their smart phone to check work messages etc 'out of hours' and even on holiday.

Our relationship with technology has taken on certain qualities of an addiction.

Many feel quite overwhelmed. There is good reason for this . We have to process 3-4 times the amount of information that the previous generation had to.

Scientists have identified in children that way our brains are developing. The researchers can identify a measurable change in the neural pathways of the current generation.

More on this can be found on this link Selling of Silence

and "Help I'm addicted to facebook and twitter" by Benjamin Cohen

 Here is a  contemporary poem  published around the same time of  early years  of Selfridges - it's an appeal for mindfulness.
 
"Leisure" by William Henry Davies  1871 - 1940 Poet, writer, tramp.
from Songs of Joys and Others 1911

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

 

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.










No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

 

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.



Related links:

No Noise at Selfridges

Headspace  http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

Benjamin Cohen's excellent article in London Evening Standard  "Help I'm addicted to facebook and twitter"

Not Youtube but Our Tube - selling a 150 year old Brand

 Celebrating a 150 year old brand.

My You tube clips:

Click here to watch Steam returning to the London Underground Railway


Click here to see Steam drivenTube Train arriving at Olympia


Related Links

Christies Auction Posters with a purpose London Underground

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/christies-auction-posters-with-purpose.html

Posters with a Purpose viewing at South Kensington

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/posters-with-purpose-london-underground.html

9 research polls and the future of Selling in 2013

The prediction business has been in full flow at the beginning of the year.

 The stalemate of the Republicans and Democrats pulled the US and us all(!) back from the Fiscal Cliff – for the moment.

Will we have a triple dip recession?  Will the Euro zone falter ? Will UK lose its AAA rating?

The expert analysts seem split on almost everything  from which  Supermarket won the Christmas race to the end of the world.

Some are seeking green shoots of recovery , other prefer to relish the gloomy straws  of a triple dip.

I guess we members of the unwashed must ignore a lot of what we hear day to day and half of what we see. Much will depend on our psychological make up. Optimistic or Pessimistic.
 
There seem to be an amazing number of videos around from the stand up comedians. They each have to offer their USP to differentiate from each other. Some are cheerful and optimistic others prefer the sceptical  or even morose approach.
 
I guess those of us in selling have to elect to be optimistic but also realistic.

Maybe we can look at the forecasts from the pundits  as the comedian Russel Howard does in his Good News show in an upbeat way.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00phwkz
 
Here is a round up of the first fortnight's worth of Trade and Selling related data. make of the data what you will. Here are 9 reports that caught my eye.
 

1. Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Index published January 2013  as reported by London Evening Standard 2^nd  January 2013

Score of over 50 signals growth December 2012 UK hit 51.4

Manufacturers enjoyed their fastest expansion for 15 months.

The revival was driven by rising UK orders more than offsetting another fall in export orders.

An eighth month run of job shedding among manufacturers also looks like coming to a halt

Chief Executive of CIPS David Noble

“While December’s figures do not reverse the disappointing performance over the year as a whole, manufacturers will hope that the solid upturn in production volumes is the first sign of a more stable footing going into 2013”

2.  UK job seekers faced more opportunities in the final three months of 2012 than at any other point since 2009 when Reed started their index. Reed report than 81% of sectors had better shape than a year before.

November 140

December 134  but Dec 2012 was 121

“2012 has been a consistent recovery for the jobs market” MD Mark Rhodes said “We have seen growth across the board in the majority of sectors and regions and employers are becoming increasingly less cautious about their approach to taking on new personnel”

Northern Ireland and the North East posted the highest growth among the regions , all of which enjoyed some improvement with already strong London also seeing  opportunities up 10% over the year.

3. The Lloyds TSB business confidence index climbed to 19% looking forward to 2013 up from 12.5%

Sales and orders likely to be on the rise

Prospects for the first half of 2013 look more positive with expectations for total sales and orders in the next six months – two of the key barometers of business confidence - both improving. Over a third of businesses (36 %) said that they expect orders to increase during the first half of the year, compared to one in ten (12 %) that think orders will fall. This results in a 24 % overall net balance expecting orders to increase.

Two fifths of businesses (43 %) stated that they think sales will increase in the next six months, while a fifth (19 %) expect a decline, leading to a 24 % overall net balance expecting sales to increase.

The confidence levels for both sales and orders were last surpassed in the July 2010 survey.

 

 4. According to a poll from the Institute of Directors (IOD) the number of Directors who thought 2013 would be better than 2012 surged ahead of those with a pessimistic outlook by 31%

This result reverses the balance of minus 31% in the same poll last year.

Despite this optimism, they remain worried about the possibility of the recession turning into a triple dip with 65% thinking there was a moderate risk or high risk of a renewed slump.

 

5.  The UK will probably have negative growth in Q4 2012 and there must be a chance of a weak Q1 2013 as well, although data from the ICAEW Grant Thornton Business Confidence Monitor and FSB Small Business Index have been encouraging enough to suppose there are cautious grounds for optimism going into 2013. So CEBR gives a 50-50 chance on a triple dip.

 

6. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s  (CIPS)  services activity index sank to 48.9 for December. The index was depressed by a fall in new business with clients reluctant to commit to spending amid economic uncertainty. Chief executive of CIPS David Noble said “ The underlying trend is one of continuing uncertainty. Businesses are holding back on investment, leading to falls in employment and increased spare capacity”

Rob Harbron economist at CEBR  “ As the service sector makes up nearly three quarters of the UK economy, a contraction in the sector is bad news for economic growth”

7.  Manufacturing is responsible for half of UK exports and its productivity regularly outpaces economic growth so it’s worth taking note of EEF.

The manufacturers organisation for the UK EEF reckon manufacturers will produce  just 0.7 % in 2013 down from earlier forecasts of 1.5 % growth.

However on the more positive side 30%   of firms said they expected overall conditions to improve versus 23% who expected the economic climate to worsen.

EEF boss Terry Scuoler believes factory firms could boost exports and add more value despite global difficulties. “ The past year has been a challenging one for manufacturers , but as they look to 2013 there is still potential  for growth in their business. The increase in investment in recent years will bear fruit as companies see opportunities  from new product development and the commercialisation of new technology.”

But firms were still worried about a slowdown in the world economy with around two thirds of companies citing that as the biggest risk to growth  risk to growth up from just 1 in ten last year (2012).

8.  The 2012 Deloitte fourth quarter survey took place between 25th November and 11th December. 112 CFOs participated, including the CFOs of 36 FTSE 100 and 38 FTSE 250 companies. The rest were CFOs of other UK listed companies, large private companies and UK subsidiaries of major companies listed overseas. The combined market value of the 84 UK listed companies surveyed is £672 billion, or approximately 35% of the UK quoted equity market.

Conducted over the fourth quarter of 2012 93% of finance chiefs surveyed said there was a 40% chance the UK would suffer a return to economic contraction in the coming years.

But the survey’s results were not entirely negative . Those expecting a return to recession in the next two years was lower than in the last two quarters and overall economic confidence moved marginally into positive territory.

9.  CEBR and FSA Ups and dons of FSA approved jobs

Ups                                                          Change on 2008 peak

Insurance Brokers                                   up to 10, 846 ( peaked in Feb 2005 at 11,970)

Fund managers (investment advice)     up to 7.7%  to 45,911

Financial technical support                    up to 22% to 912

Research and outsourced services         up to 41% to 2,539

Downs                                                     Change on 2008 peak

All approved persons                              Down 10.6% to 151,835

Lending                                                   Down 17.2 % to 36,380

Finance and Brokers                               Down 54% to 1,454

Traders                                                    Down 13% to 21052

Debt Management                                                 Down 19% to 153

Investment distributors                          Down 12.1 % to 27,661

Insurance firms                                       Down 26.8% to 4,809

Insurance support services                     Down 7% to 1,048

Life firms and mutual                             Down 14% to 1530

The drop in regulated jobs continues . The FSA’s approved  persons list down 10.6 % on Fevruary 2008.The banking centre led the decline with 17.2 % fall taking the number of staff down to 36,380. The large-scale savings at UBS  11,000 and Bank of America losing 16,000. Big banks have high cost bases, there is little activity in bond, equity and derivative markets so they are cutting back according to Robert Harbron of Centre for Economics and Business research who estimates 100,000 city jobs have been lost since the financial crisis.  But a few areas have seen growth with the number in investment advice roles up 7.7%.

 

 

 

 

'Selling Ice to the Eskimos' in Canary Wharf ?

My Report on London Ice Sculpting festival 2013 on my wordpress blog site

Click here


Youtube clip YouTube clip No 1 of ice sculpting in action at canary Wharf 2013

Youtube clip No 2 London Ice sculpting festival 2013

 

Buying Teams' views on Powerpoint and Conference presentations from Salespeople

Over the last 14 years that the Buyers views of salespeople study has been tracking the presentation media preferences of Buying teams , 4 out of five respondents prefer PowerPoint as presentation media.



click here for Buyers Views of Salespeople Selling in a VUCA world

The Buyers' Views Of Salespeople 2012 is in preparation and shortly to be published. Some advanced information has been released on Buying teams' preferences with reference to PowerPoint, Demonstrations and conferencing.

Much as people talk of  'death by PowerPoint' presentations, this is more to do with how the programme is used rather than a rejection of PowerPoint as a medium in itself.


79 % of Buying teams prefer to receive supplier presentations through this software.

Demonstrations still hold around the 42% preference level with flip chart slumping to  2.8% from 20% acceptance ten years ago.

One of the areas for significant growth has been video/web conferencing as a form of presentation media where 1 in 5 buyer teams accept a sales presentation via web conferencing. 

Respondents are allowed to  select one or more presentation medium options. So often PowerPoint will play a part as the visual aid for a web conference presentation.

  How  suppliers use rather than whether they use such Web conferencing technology  to present their offering is becoming a significant differentiator.

If a buying team have a poor experience with your on line presentation , they
will most likely have a negative perception of your product and solution that the organisation is presenting.



Here is a checklist adapted from the  Microsoft’s GoTo guidelines. Commonsense stuff but I find it really helpful.

Before the 'virtual' sales meeting

If you intend to share your  PC desktop with your  audience, it is a good idea to turn off any instant-messaging applications, notification software or other programs that may 'pop up' or distract your audience from your presentation. Does anyone know how to switch of those annoying Norton Intenet security messages by the way? ! Please advise in the comments box below I would appreciate your help.

• Switch off any streaming media apps that may take up bandwidth and resource-intensive applications that may be exhausting your PC’s processor ability. As I use a small netbook which has limited memory this helpful advice.

Should you wish to record your seesion

• Pre-Set your desktop display to a neutral background and adjust display settings to a mid-range resolution (e.g., 1024 x 768) to improve the display for attendees with lesser settings. This will also be the optimal setting should you wish to record the presentation apparently.

• Tidy up your pc’s desktop before a meeting. Remove wallpaper and icons that may distract your client audience.

• Pre-load any documents you wish to share ready to be accessed in just a couple of clicks. Clients dislike being held in limbo while additional documents are being uploaded.

• Hold a dry run rehearsal with a team colleague to anticipate any questions and to acquaint yourself with the set up of your online sales presentation.

Running your Presentation via conferencing - some tips

•  As the host of the meeting log on a  good 10  minutes early to greet your client attendees as they arrive and start your meeting on time. It also helps to have a welcome presentation up and running during this time. Your presence in these opening minutes can help establish the tone and direction of the meeting.

•  Create a welcome message  (in Go TO under the Meetings category of Preferences) to greet your client attendees as they click onto the meeting. It is their first impression experience of your preentation.

• Provide a Overview agenda at the start of the meeting, with estimated timing, and  keep to it.

• Verbal Agenda -Explain to your client attendees what the purpose/goal of the meeting is, what to expect and when and how they can ask questions and participate in the meeting.

• Email information on how to use  the equipment or service and how to get assistance if needed

•  To monitor and respond to the chat log when someone is presenting enrol a colleague or co-worker to do it.
.
•  You can encourage participation by using open questions such as “Who What When Where How...?"

• End your meeting clearly with a call for action if suitable. Ensure all your attendees know that the meeting is formally over and stay on the line to address any last questions.

Hold a de-brief meeting with your colleagues off-line to ensure follow up actions have been captured.


Best practise in Conference Call management

• Phone in to the meeting from a location where there is little background noise.

• Switch off system prompts and sounds for when attendees join or leave a meeting.

 It is worth reading the Voice Conferencing section of the help files to familiarise yourself with the conference call features. ( The old adage "When all else fails READ THE INSTRUCTIONS "still applies!)

• Best to avoid using mobiles and cordless phones because of static and use the phone handset or a headset instead of speakerphones because of background noise, echoing room effect and sentence chopping off.

• Switch off your call waiting . The beep of a new call on another line is broadcast to everyone in an audio conference.

• Don't put your phone on hold during an audio conference, otherwise

 Greensleeves, Fur Elise or Vivaldi Four season will play into your conference call, and make it impossible for your client attendees to continue the meeting.

• Introduce yourself when you begin speaking and ask other attendees to also identify themselves before speaking. Not everyone in the meeting may recognise everyone else’s voice

Related Links

Sales presentation on web

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.com/2011/05/sales-presentation-on-web-using-pro.html

Conferencing Systems

Intercall

http://www.intercall.com/

 

 

BT

 http://www.btconferencing.co.uk/products-and-services/web-conferencing/

 

Cisco Webex

 http://www.webex.co.uk/

 

GoTo meeting

http://www.gotomeeting.co.uk/fec/

6 words and phrases to avoid when selling in 2013

I guess it must be useful for all sales people to know what might bother , irritate, annoy , get  on buyers' or [prospects   nerves;  well it might be those little words or phrases which are superfluous to clear expression yet which  nonetheless  we use in casual conversation.

At the end of each year Marist Poll conducts a telephone survey on over 1000 adults in USA to find out the words that annoy them most in casual conversation.

Respondents seem to be quite exercised by all this since only 5% are unsure. Most surveyed have definite opinions on this. It might surprise you what are the top half dozen hates.

The distinction between casual conversation and formal conversations in business  continues to crossover  on-line and off- line channels of communication.

More sales conversations are conducted over phones these days, and our face to face work includes informal environments such as networking events , conferences , seminars so it might be worth making a note on what might irritate prospects and buyers in our small talk.

2011

1. Whatever           38%                       
2. Like                        20%                       
3. You know            19%                       
4. Just saying          11%                       
5. Seriously             7%

2012

1. Whatever                         32% 
2. Like                                    21%
3. You Know                         17%
4.  Just saying                      10%
5. Twitterverse                    9%
6.  Gotcha                              5%

Further Links

Marist Polls

http://maristpoll.marist.edu/1227-whatever-still-viewed-as-most-annoying-word-or-phrase-just-sayin/