What’s on your Christmas list š. Nailing your new business strategy so you are confident in achieving your 2024 targets šis probably very high.
So in the spirit of Christmas and to broaden my network I would like to offer 1hr free of charge consultancy to agency founders, CEO’s or senior new business folk. A chance to validate your thoughts and pick my brains. I have 6šFREE š1hr new business strategy sessions up for grabs.
I can’t promise mince pies but you will leave with an actionable plan to kick start your new business strategy and get you on the right track to deliver your 2024 targets.
š I’m excited for these sessions so please message me to book in your free 1hr session š¤¶
The Daily Disruptor Network is a free community of tech founders, startups and small businesses, which helps people to get advice and solve problems faster. Our network connects and supports people running technology companies, giving them access to genuinely useful content, events, advisors and more. The network has been running for a few years now, but has some exciting things in the pipeline upcoming for members. Membership is free and offers you instant access to the network’s Slack group, as well as the email newsletter which shares heaps of useful insights and industry knowledge. You can find out more about the community here.
This webinar is the first webinar the network has run for its members and is the first in a long line of new benefits being launched. Join the network today to stay in the know with what’s coming next.
About the webinar
The new year comes with new opportunities to generate the growth and traction your business needs to succeed. Whether you are a brand new startup or a scale-up that is further along its growth journey, using the end of the year to reset, recalibrate and gain insights from your peers allows you to set the foundation for a fantastic 2024.
Join us for this free 1-hour power session on improving the likelihood of 2024 being your best year yet. Weāll be covering how to:
Achieve the sales velocity you need to hit your financial targets
Identify your ideal customers and understand what will make them buy from you
Set the goals and objectives that will get you closer to your dream
Create a culture of progress to take your business towards your goals
Book your place to join the webinar
Yiuwin Tsang has been working in sales and business developmentĀ for more than 15 years. With a broad range of clients from bigĀ 4 consulting firms to independent abstractĀ artists, he has seen how having the right value positioning, new business systems and robust sales processes can have a transformational effect on the commercial performanceĀ of an organisation.
Founder and CEO of Disruptive Thinking, a B2B marketing and business development consultancy, Yiuwin will be sharing his vast expertise and knowledge throughout the programme and help you supercharge your revenue potential.
If you have any questions or a project you’d like to discuss, please contact; [email protected].
Short-form social media video content is short, snappy, informative, or humorous videos that are posted on social media by brands and businesses to gain the attention of their target audience. The ideal sweet spot is somewhere between 30 – 60 seconds.
So why is it important to utilise this type of video content as a business on social media?
It’s a proven way to reach new audiences by incorporating it into a multi-media social media strategy. Plus, it’s a cheaper way to reach new audiences if you are currently operating on a limited budget and can’t yet afford to outsource to an agency or hire a marketing team. Whilst it may not promise the same reach and consistent results as running correctly optimised ads, these ads rely on a solid foundation of organic social media content to be successful- and this content will benefit from short-form video content!
But as great as that all sounds, what if you are a time-short business owner, or just have limited experience when it comes to social media content creation?
We’ve compiled our top 3 favourite video and reel / TikTok editing apps to help you create post-worthy content whilst saving time. They are all affordable and easy to use, with plenty of features and video templates to use.
Pros:
Cons:
Pros:
Cons:
Pros:
Cons:
If you are just starting out and need an app for some basic video editing, it probably won’t make a difference which one you use. They are all fairly cheap, and CapCut is completely free. Once you become more confident and decide to replicate specific social media trends or look for specific video editing features, transitions, or filters, it’s likely you will find one of the above suits your business better.
Thankfully, they all at least offer a free version or free trial to test out the app before investing in a monthly subscription.
Trusty Social is a social media marketing and management agency. We work with busy businesses to improve their online presence through social media, while positively impacting the world and donating 3% of our profits to social justice initiatives each year. Find out more by visitingĀ hereĀ and get in touch with usĀ here!
[This article originally appeared on LinkedIn here].Ā
9 years ago this week I accepted a role to join Dan FallonĀ and team at a small independent PPC Agency in Bath called SearchStar. The best career decision Iāve made (so far!).
4 and Ā½ years later we signed the paperwork to sell the Agency to a much larger corporate.
At the time of writing, that was 4 and Ā½ years ago (quick maths).
Recently, noticing this symmetry and feeling a little nostalgic, Iāve been telling stories about our time there to anyone whoāll listen.Ā Especially the things I think made SearchStar a success*.Ā I thought Iād write them all down (so I don’t forget) and share them (just in case theyāre of use to someone else).
To keep the symmetry, there are 9 lessons learned.
See if you can spot the theme that connects them all.
Itās important to stress here, these are the thingsĀ IĀ think made SearchStar a success. Others may think differently, however, still being good friends with the old leadership team, Iāve shared this with them and they all broadly agree.
Itās also important to stress that the Agency was already doing well and had an excellent reputation when I joined. This is my take on what we put in place to build on those foundations.
I think these lessons largely apply to anyone running a small to mid-sized service or consultancy organisation.
SearchStar team, do you agree? Agency owners, does this resonate? Clients, is this what you’d expect in your Agency?
1) Build a senior team to challenge you:Ā Founders canāt do it on their own. You need to be confident investing in capable senior people who will challenge your thinking. Dan very smartly put together a Leadership team comprised of talented people likeĀ Donna Moore,Ā stephanie iles,Ā Edward Arnall-CullifordĀ andĀ Emma Chun, who I was very lucky to work alongside. We not only had different skills, but we had different characters, views and experience. Luckily we all got on well too. Ultimately Dan had the final say but he allowed the team to challenge his thinking; I was a part of many discussions which resulted in more balanced decisions as a collective.
2) Promote from within: If youāre growing a business you need great people in that business to do a great job. Once youāve found that talent you need to hold onto it. Weād occasionally recruit externally (the rate of growth demanded it) but, whenever we could, weād find ways to promote people internally. Hesitate at this and the talent will leave. Do it quickly and the talent will repay the investment. Loyal stars likeĀ Laura Pinney,Ā Jo Phillips,Ā Hannah Miller,Ā Jack Sladek,Ā Vicky CridlandĀ andĀ Ian BattenĀ are testament to that.
3) Share responsibility: Once youāve got talented, capable people working for you, leave them to get on with their jobs. Donāt micromanage them. Donāt force them to follow rigorous processes. Donāt treat them like robots. But do provide them with an idea of how you think āgreat workā is achieved and let them find their own way of delivering to the same standard. That way, every single member of the team can find a way of adding value, in a way that works for them.
4) Share the reward: If youāre sharing the responsibility, you should share the reward. Not just by paying a salary, but by rewarding the success of being a profitable, growing business. Dan made the more senior people in the business shareholders, a few others had share āoptionsā and everyone shared the profit (either through dividends or a 6-monthly performance related bonus). The impact of this on-going collective reward was a huge factor in us achieving our goals.
5) Have a clear business development system: We had great Sales & Marketing people (Iām looking at you Donna, Staph andĀ Nick Livermore) and they put some great tactics in place (anyone old prospects remember Steph randomly dropping in to see them to deliver mince pies?!). But more importantly we had a great pipeline strategy. I wonāt detail it here (ask me in person) but it was essentially:
Content > Target Prospects > Quality Events > Free Health Check > New client
6) Offer high quality āsupplementaryā services: You need to be clear on your core service offering – in our case it was performance media – and you shouldnāt dilute this (personally Iām not a fan of āfull service agenciesā). However, that doesnāt mean you canāt offer supplementary services that
For us those services were Conversion Optimisation, Analytics and Programmatic Display delivered by incredible specialists likeĀ Jarrah Hemmant,Ā Jamie Willmott,Ā Jon BoonĀ andĀ Rob Langan.
7) Demonstrate value to clients: Donāt get sucked into charging for time, or outputs, or dashboards, or, worse still, performance related fees. Instead, focus on understanding what challenges your client has and demonstrate that youāre finding solutions and providing insights. Clientsā businesses will be more successful if youāre providing them with this sort of value. And if itās impactful enough, they wonāt care how long it took you or how well it was presented in the report.Ā (This is even more critical now, as Automation and AI increase the need for the āpersonā to add meaningful value).
8) Keep communication balanced: Itās important to be open with whatās happening in the business and whatās steering decisions. But that doesnāt mean you have to share everything. Weād shareĀ everythingĀ amongst the Senior Leadership Team, shareĀ mostĀ things with the Managers and Team Heads and regularly give business status updates to the entire team provided there was somethingĀ interesting or relevantĀ to share. Iām not sure itās possible to get this exactly right, but Iām pretty confident that sharing everything with everyone is unnecessary and hiding important things breaks trust.
9) Don’t dictate the Culture and Values: If you asked 10 employees what the SearchStar culture was, I think youād get 10 slightly different answers. If you asked them what the SearchStar values were I think theyād probably struggle to give an answer at all! However, I think the vast majority of people who worked at SearchStar would say that it was a fun place to work where people supported each other and built genuine friendships (in fact, 4 different SearchStar couples are now married!).
Ultimately I think we fostered an environment where people truly cared.
The sense of shared responsibility and reward meant we let people be grown-ups, so the culture developed organically. The annual Christmas trip abroad was the closest thing to tangibly represent our ācultureā (memorable times in Berlin, Reykjavik and Dublin!).
We were pretty relaxed about the leaving it to develop naturally then, but I think itās probably much more important now ā with a significant share of people working remotely ā for the leadership team to steer the culture and be very clear on values, in order to achieve collective goals.
That sums up what I think were the key ingredients.
Did you spot the theme?
There isnāt a specific decision or strategy that was responsible for our growth, but I think thereās a clear link between the things Iāve outlined above:
The People.
There are lots of other things I could mention and Iāve probably forgotten some others, but these are the elements that I feel played the most significant part in our success. We had some support from amazing clients and suppliers too, but Iāve focused on the internal aspects for which we had most control.
Itās testament to what a great bunch of people we had at SearchStar that alumni include the likes of:
Iām delighted and proud to watch them flourish knowing that the successful time we had together provided them with a brilliant launchpad to what theyāre doing now.
If I havenāt mentioned you in this post, sorry. Itās not because I donāt think you played your part, itās just that I canāt mention everyone! Ā
*What do I mean by āsuccessā? SearchStar was founded in 2005 in Bath (UK) by Dan Fallon as a pure play PPC Agency. It grew to become a 60 person Digital Agency specialising in Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, Conversion Optimisation and Analytics. Through the 5 year period mentioned above: Revenue grew 25-35% YoY, we smashed through the much sought after āĀ£1mnā profit mark, the team grew from 18 to 60, we won & retained multiple DRUM awards, worked for organisations like Danone, Mars, National Trust and Intrepid Travel and sold for a healthy valuation that many would be envious of. In my opinion, this qualifies as āsuccessā.Ā š
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, has won a competitive pitch to work with I heart Wines on their 2024 TV ad campaign.
The wine with a big heart has chosen the production company that connects brands to people to reach and resonate with their loyal customers and new converts alike.
The campaign will align with a brand refresh that comes 13 years after launch.
āThe win is a fantastic opportunity to work with an exciting brand thatās bubbling with personality, sass, confidence and authenticity.ā
āWhen we were invited to pitch we knew we had to go for it. Weāre incredibly proud that the pitch was led by our 26-year-old in-house creative and director Abbie Howes. She completely embodied the brief and their audience.ā
āOur concepts hit all the right notes and weāre delighted to have been chosen to work directly with Freixenet Copestickā.
Emma Fogerty, Senior Brand Manager at Freixenet Copestick said āwe are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have chosen JonesMilbank to be our creative partner in producing our new TV ad. We’re excited to embark on this journey together to bring our ideas to life and see the creative vision take shape.ā
***
JonesMillbank are a full-service video production company.
They work in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, telling authentic stories for a range of clients such as Delivery Hero, IDLES, SOHO Coffee Co and University of Bristol.
jonesmillbank.com | 01173706372 |Ā [email protected]
Bristol Creative Industries is supporting jfdi with the 7th annualĀ jfdi/Opinium New Business Barometer.Ā This report is an absolute necessity for anyone who has a focus on building their agencyās new business as it will arm you with valuable insights and industry-wide stats to benchmark your performance.
If you’re an agency owner, managing director or part of your agency’s senior management team, please take a few minutes to complete the survey and you’ll receive a copy of the unique report as soon as it’s available in the new year.
In return, as well as the free report, youāll:
jfdi will run a dedicated online roundtable for the BCI community if we get 30 responses from the region, so we encourage you to complete the survey and help make this happen.
jfdi help agencies grow by winning new business. The team are privileged to have worked with over 1000 agencies ā both large and small and across marketing disciplines. The one thing they all have in common is their ambition to grow. For these bold and ambitious agencies, jfdi offer a mix of strategy, creativity and action that works in the real world not just in workshops and away-days.
Leading filmmakers, producers and writers will join production companies, commissioners, and politicians will gather at the second Bristol and Bath Screen Summit on Wednesday 8 November. The UWE Bristol event at Arnolfini will celebrate the rise of the regional voice but will also explore what is required over the next five years to drive growth and to continue to develop talent in the city region.
Hosted by TV presenter and writer Sarah Beeny, the Bristol and Bath Screen Summit will build on last yearās inaugural event, with updates on the work towards a Regional Production Fund and the first regional new writersā programme led by Channel 4.
Actor and BBC Radio Bristolās new breakfast show presenter āMr Bristolā Joe Sims and ITV West Countryās Seb Choudhury will lead a series of expert panels as they unpick the building blocks for talent development, including what makes a hit returning series and what everyone needs to know about embracing creative technologies – from deepfake to artificial intelligence: the pleasure and the pain.
Award-winning producers and directors from the regionās production community, including Five Mile Films, BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Productions, Strong Film and TV, Twenty Twenty Television, Sid Wild and Bristol AF, will be among the panellists.
The afternoonās final session will bring Nancy Medina (Bristol Old Vicās artistic director and joint CEO) together with Sir Peter Bazalgette (co-chair of the Creative Industries Council, chair of the Royal College of Artās Council, and former chair of ITV plc) to discuss theĀ UK Creative Sector Vision.
The creation of the Screen Summit is a key recommendation fromĀ researchĀ by academics at UWE BristolāsĀ Digital Cultures Research CentreĀ (DCRC).
Figures released by the Bristol Film Office show that film and TV production was worth anĀ estimated Ā£20.1m to Bristolās economy in the 2022-23 financial year. This demonstrates that production levels have been maintained over the last 12 months. However, there continue to be opportunities to enhance the strength and visibility of the area as a regional screen powerhouse.
Lynn Barlow, UWE Bristolās assistant vice-chancellor creative and cultural undustries engagement, said:
āWith shows such as ITVās Ruby Speaking and BBC 1ās Rain Dogs shining the light on Bristol, plus a highly anticipated third series of the Outlaws in the cutting room ā no doubt bringing more BAFTAs, Emmy nominations and RTS awards to the region ā itās not surprising that UNESCO is using Bristol City of Film as a case study of a thriving, creative, and innovative city.
āBut in the year since the last Summit our freelance community has seen work dry up with productions postponed or cancelled and, although there are positive signs for an upturn in business, it will be a while before it is buoyant again.
āThe Screen Summit will bring together key players in the industry to continue the discussion on how to boost the region as a sustainable production location, build on its strengths and overcome the challenges in its way.ā
The Bristol and Bath Screen Summit takes place on 8 November at Arnolfini, Bristol, from 14:00. Networking and refreshments will follow.
Tickets cost Ā£25 for an individual and Ā£35 for a company and areĀ available online.
40 free tickets for freelancers, with at least one yearās industry experience, are available on a first come first served basis. To qualify, freelancers are asked to include a link to a professional profile on Talent Manager or LinkedIn when booking a ticket. This offer is open until 18:00 on Sunday 22 October.
So, youāve fist punched the air, danced around the kitchen (in virtual times) and called the CEO. Youāve just received an RFP from a prospect client who needs your full suite of services, in a sector you know inside out! Youāve nailed it, but in truth the way you respond NOW is what really counts!
As the guardian of the relationship, you have probably been speaking with the prospect for months, maybe years, so you know more about that person, their challenges and business needs than anyone else. Therefore, you need to step up and lead the pitch team. That doesnāt mean you deliver the presentation or lead the project, your role may differ, but you make it happen!
Iāve been in this position many times, itās a responsibility so I hope these tips, will help you and the team get the pitch over the line.
1. Set out a project plan from the off, including timelines and dates for key deliverables such as; agreeing the team, collating questions, the clientās responses, schedule internal meetings, proposal structure, developing content and uploading final document. If itās a procurement portal it can be a nightmare. Highlight gaps in your capabilities early so solutions can be put in place.
2. Set up a shared file, template and communicate the process. The worst thing possible is to lose or duplicate content, itās happened!
3. Gather the right team and make sure they are prioritising the response. If you need specialists, bring them in from the off. Agree R&R and when content will be available. Timing is key for content. For example, agreeing the process and team is required before you can create the pricing matrix.
4. Continually review the RFP, agreed & play back to the team the key client deliverables. Think about how to structure the response to answer their questions and make it easy to follow.
5. Identify early on what your USPās will be and where you can really add value. It may be specific ātoolsā, data/insights or a process that you adopt. Showcase your IP.
6. Show a granular understanding of consumer trends and how you can help them harness trends and innovate to connect better with their consumers.
7. Remote pitching makes it even more tricky to maintain the attention of the audience and demonstrate your business culture. Try to reduce words and introduce other forms of comms such as videoās, infographics and animation that is relevant, short and reflective of your culture.
8. Be clear about your commitment to the prospect client and how your input will truly benefit their business in 1yr, 2yrs and 3-yearsā time.
9. Invest time and money to make the document on brand, accurate, engaging, consistent, formatted beautifully so the content SHINES.
10. Make sure you are part of the final document sign off and attend the presentation. You have built trust with the prospect and you must make sure that all your knowledge is reflected in your response.
GOOD LUCK!
This is in no way an exhaustive list, every pitch you do you learn something new. Iād love to know what you would add to the list?
As an agency Iām sure you are continually asking yourself where is the next piece of work coming from and how are you going to attract new clients? But often the day-to-day pressure of delivering great work gets in the way.
If youāre holding back on launching a new business strategy donāt š
This is the time to fully invest in powering up your new business machine. There are customers out there, buying habits may have changed but with Zero market presence how are they going to find you?
Start with crystal clear thinking; who is your ideal client? How can you best add value for them?
With a tough market you will need to be more creative, relevant and consistent in your approach.
Adopt an agile approach, continually reviewing and refine your proposition, approach and tactics. Listen to the feedback you are getting and really use these insights to develop that robust new business pipeline!
New business is not the responsibility of one person itās a team effort so get everyone involved and accountable.
A few things to think about:
š Build deeper, stronger relationships with Current & Lapsed Clients:
Love them, keep close to them and support them. Understand their objectives whether it be personal or business. Make them look great and shine.
Always ask clients for a referral this is a source that can just keep giving.
Continually extend your network within your client. Get under their skin, there will always be new opportunities in other departments & regions.
Try new things, use insights to develop new services or tools. You may be sitting on a gold mine.
š„ Be Bold with New opportunities:
Do your homework to truly understand their pain points. Ask direct questions that demonstrate that you really understand their business.
Be prepared to go that extra mile to prove your value. Things may take longer but stick with it.
Donāt be lazy and rely on virtual meetings. Invite them into your offices and involve your best talent. People buy people.
Donāt hide your success under a bushel – Be BOLD and proud and talk about your talent, best work, awards and values.
š¤ Re-establish your Networking:
Always make time to speak with your network, you never know what the next conversation will unearth.
Add value to your network by offering them something say ā¦ speaker, judging, podcast.
When reconnecting always ask for something, whether it be time in the diary or a referral. People like to help.
We learnt from the pandemic that those agencies that proactively engage with new and current clients reap the benefits.
Start today and fuel up your new business engine. Stick with it and it will deliver new clients, new work and give you a better nightās sleep š“
Noughts & Ones, the Bristol agency dedicated to empowering planet-conscious e-commerce brands on Shopify, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Matthew Pill as the new Operations Director. This strategic move comes as the agency continues to expand its operations and services in response to the growing demand for sustainable e-commerce solutions.
Matthew Pill, who has been an integral part of the Noughts & Ones team as Senior Developer, will now take on an even more pivotal role in the agency. As Operations Director, Matthew will leverage his extensive technical expertise and industry insight to oversee the day-to-day operations, ensuring the seamless delivery of projects and retainers while maintaining a strong focus on sustainability and purpose.
Noughts & Ones has established itself as a trailblazer in the e-commerce landscape, partnering with forward-thinking brands that prioritise environmental and social responsibility. The appointment of Matthew Pill as Operations Director reinforces the agency’s commitment to excellence and sustainability.
“Matthew’s dedication to our mission and his exceptional technical skills make him the perfect fit for this role,” said Tom Locke, Founder / Sales Director of Noughts & Ones. “As we continue to work with purpose-led brands, Matthew will play a pivotal role in driving our agency’s growth, ensuring that we meet and exceed the expectations of our clients while adhering to our values.”
In his new role, Matthew will be responsible for optimising project delivery, strengthen team collaboration, and enhance the efficiency of the agency. He will also work closely with clients to ensure that their sustainability and purpose-driven goals are at the forefront of every project.
Matthew Pill commented on his new role, saying, “I am thrilled to be taking on a new role as Operations Director and I couldn’t be more excited about continuing to work with this fantastic team! I’m incredibly proud of the accomplishments we’ve already achieved at Noughts & Ones and I cannot wait for the new opportunities that lie ahead as we look to continue to contribute to a more sustainable future.”
Under Matthew and Tom’s leadership, Noughts & Ones is poised for further growth and innovation in the e-commerce industry, reaffirming its commitment to driving positive change and helping purpose-led brands thrive.
For more information about Noughts & Ones and their sustainable e-commerce solutions, please visit www.noughtsandones.com.
Noughts & Ones is a leading e-commerce agency based in Bristol, UK, specialising in creating purpose-driven and planet-conscious online shopping experiences. With a mission to empower brands that prioritise sustainability and social responsibility, Noughts & Ones delivers innovative e-commerce solutions that drive growth while making a positive impact on the planet.
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