Last week, five venues across London played host to a five-day conference entitled: ‘Marketing for Startup Britain’. Startup Britain is a private initiative supported by the government – although not financially. This event was staged with a lot of help from the Marketing Agencies Association and its members.

I first heard about the conference via Twitter and decided I had to go to at

least one day. I’ve been in business for seven years, but I’m currently preparing to launch a new brand and I could see some great potential networking opportunities. Also, I’m a firm believer in the idea that however experienced we are, we can always learn.

I finally made it on Friday, to the session called ‘All you need to know about marketing a startup’, which pulled together a lot of the topics from earlier in the week. It was a fantastic day, both from the networking and the learning perspective – of which, more in future posts!

Almost every presentation was streamed live on the web and recorded – so I’m now working my way through the ones I missed.

I started this morning with ‘The Power of Talkonomics’ by Bambos Neophytou, Head of Planning at the marketing agency, Exposure. ‘Talkonomics’ is a trademarked term, coined by the agency, to describe the influence of word of mouth on people’s purchasing decisions.

I watched the video very early in the morning and had to resist the temptation to applaud and cheer – in case I woke the neighbours! For years, I’ve been explaining the power of speech to clients. Recommendation by one customer to another is invaluable for any business –and when all that potential is harnessed on a grander scale – in a word, WOW!

Word of mouth en mass, as I call it, used to be the preserve of the big brands, with huge marketing budgets, who could afford luxuries like radio promotions. Whilst adverts shout at us to ‘BUY!’, the promotion talks to us about a product, via someone the brand hopes we trust – the presenter. Research shows that we’re more than twice as likely to buy something when we hear about it from someone we trust. Promotions also give us the chance to get involved, to experience the product firsthand (the quickest way to create an advocate) and entertains us along the way.

As I said, all this used to be the preserve of the larger brands – but digital media has put the tools into the hands of anyone with something to talk about. The trick for anyone looking to capitalise on these opportunities is to work out what exactly their potential customers talk about when they discuss their brand. Bambos pointed out that it often isn’t what we would traditionally think of as brand drivers – the fact, for instance, that driving a particular car tells the world we’re successful. Marketing people are always telling us to ‘focus on the benefits’. It may be true that we buy for the benefits – but more often than not, we talk about the features – and not always the obvious features.

I’ve recently finished an audio-visual series on customer service for a client – and, for better or worse, customer service, it seems, is one of the best conversation starters there is. (Just look back at my posts under the heading ‘The OOPS! Awards’ if you want proof of that!).

Entertainment also gets people chatting – which is why I’m about to start work on a series of comedy sketches, for a businesswoman with a cracking sense of humour – and a serious commercial message. Some clients are a bit nervous about making entertaining downloads or putting together live presentations with too much fun in them. Obviously, the audience is key here – if you’re talking to a group of people who see levity as a lack of professionalism and you need them to see you as the ultimate pro, you probably shouldn’t try to make them laugh; but generally, I’ve seen time and time again that education might bring you appreciation, information will make sure you’re remembered – and entertainment is guaranteed to get you talked about in very positive terms.

http://www.inttradefinsolns.co.uk

Tomorrow, “Foreign Exchange Options?”.  Today, a Case Study.

No names, etc., but here’s an overview of an issue that I was recently asked for help.  A relatively new business, started up by a young woman who was born and brought up

in China, but had been in the UK for the past 12 years or so, was looking to expand and reduce overheads by importing directly from China as opposed to using a UK distributor.  Her main issues were that she would have the direct relationship with the manufacturer, how best to structure the deal from a cashflow point of view and foreign exchange

issues. 

The first was perhaps less of an issue, given her ethnicity.  Nevertheless, the need to undertake fact finding trips and to keep in regular contact is essential.  On the other 2 points, I explained the different options available [partly referring to the 'Risk Ladder' - which I talked about last month] and illustrated to her the effect on cashflow.  Typically, many Far East suppliers need funds ‘up front’ to allow them to manufacture.  Correct contract structuring at this point in the process can often avoid any physical cash prepayment, which is important. 

Buying in US Dollars and selling in Sterling meant that she had to keep an eye on her expected profit margin from the whole deal, so we discussed how she could do this whilst retaining

some flexibility to allow for delays in shipment, etc.  All in all, over the course of a couple of weeks [not intensive], she was able to decide how best to structure

this particular opportunity to the benefit of both her business and that of the seller.

If this sounds like something your business, or someone you know could benefit from, let me know.

Tomorrow, Ray begins a glossary of terms which are apt to confound and confuse importers and exporters!

The Risk Ladder is one way to demonstrate some of the ways in which overseas trade can be financed.  It focuses on the relative advantages and disadvantages, mainly from a cashflow point of view and clearly shows that, usually, what’s best  for one party will be the least favoured for the other.  Such is the way with most trade.  There is always the over-riding aspect of how you get on with your counter party, plus the fact that, in many instances, one party will hold the upper hand in terms of negotiating.  For example, if you have to buy your stock from 1 supplier only, you have a much more limited bargaining hand.  Nevertheless, the Risk Ladder is still a useful tool insofar as it explains the effect of various types of payment/settlement.

From this, you can assess the impact on your cashflow.  This, in turn, helps with finance planning and, if necessary, gives you longer advance notice of any pinch points in your cashflow.

OK, so what is it?  It takes the most common forms of payment options and their appeal [or otherwise] to both an importer and exporter.  Looking at an importer first, your preference is to pay as late as possible – ideally well after you have received the goods and sold them.  However, for the exporter, he wants money up front.  The following payment methods are in

descending order of preference for an importer and ascending order of importance for an exporter.

• Open Account.  Pay after receipt of goods
• Acceptance Collections.  Payment made by the acceptance of a future dated bill of exchange with all accompanying transport and commercial documents being processed through a bank.  The longer the acceptance term, the more beneficial for the importer, as he has longer to pay.
• Payment collections.  As above, except that there is no period of grace to pay. The buyer [importer] can only obtain the documents once he has paid for the underlying goods.   
• Unconfirmed Letter of Credit.  More costly to set up; the importer usually has to put some collateral aside for his bank to agree to issue.
• Confirmed Letter of Credit.  Even more expensive, but the seller [exporter] has the added benefit that a local bank [in his Country]  has added their name to the payment.

[Note that with Letters of Credit, it is the documents and not the goods that determine whether or not payment is forthcoming].

      Advance Payment.  Exporter is paid before he parts with goods.

With all of these, ITFS can help with more explanation, indication of likely costs and all other aspects of their respective uses and benefits.