Category: TB Marketing

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Niche Content Marketing: The three Cs

So, you’ve read the previous blog posts on paid and earned method for improving your search ranking, plus how to boost web visitors and maximise your use of social media. Now it’s time for the action plan, right?

Step one: Consistency

The first thing you should do when setting out to get noticed online is ensure your company information is consistent. This will enable Google to quickly identify all of the information as relating to one company rather than several, and therefore make it much more likely for you to rank higher on Google. There are tools available to show you how consistent your details are across the web. We use one called Moz Local.

Step two: Common questions

As mentioned in a previous post, we usually start by asking the most customer-facing employees what the common questions are regarding your products, services and company. If you get the opportunity, you could even ask your existing customers what their initial queries were. Answering these questions in a clear and concise format will provide you with your web content, and if you answer questions that your competitor’s websites don’t – you’re on your way to ranking high for those search queries.

Step three: Communicate

Once you have your basic web pages optimised to answer your customers’ questions, it doesn’t stop there. Google favours regularly updated websites – it reinforces the knowledge that the business is still up and running, and things are happening that are worth reporting on the internet. So share company news, industry opinions and unique insights on your websites frequently – then post them in your social media communities to communicate your message on all platforms.

Need a hand?

Whether your audience is local, regional, national or global – we believe every kind of business can benefit from content marketing. Check out our recent work with companies of all sizes if you need convincing. Or are you curious how content marketing could help your organisation reach its marketing goals? Contact us at hello@tbmarketing.co.uk for an informal chat about how our methods could help your business.

 

Read other blog posts in the Niche Content Marketing Series…

First Things First

Receive web visitors swimmingly

Social Media

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Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing

Niche Content Marketing: Social media

In our experience, many professionals in niche industries just don’t have a strong opinion of social media, and few see the value it can add. The prevailing opinion is that Social Media is becoming less broadcast and more narrowcast, with customer service channels and individual engagement coming to the fore. This may well prove to be correct over time, but for niche markets, there are still many benefits to be considered…

  • Everyone’s heard of it

These days, most people have heard of social media. For some, it is part of daily life, but even for those that have decided to stay away, it regularly gets mentioned in newspapers, on TV and anywhere else on the internet. It’s hard to not have some knowledge on tweets, likes and pokes. If a potential customer has seen your website, but wants to read how you operate day to day, it is possible your business name will appear in Twitter’s search bar.

  • A higher Google ranking – for free

Social media is essentially a free marketing tool. You might be using up all your marketing budget trying to optimise your website so potential customers find it easier on search engines, without realising that active social media channels can also boost your organic search ranking.

  • If your competitors are signed up…

Just like brochures and websites – if your competitors are doing it, you might want to jump on the bandwagon too. Not that a Facebook profile instantly changes the mind of your potential customers, but if they spot a post on something they can relate to, your chances might slip.

  • Content is king

If you are telling people you never formed an opinion on a business based on something you read online or in a newspaper, you are probably lying. We believe good content is one of the best ways to boost your reputation and make future potential customers remember your business name. Even if none of your followers are currently in the market for your product or service, something you share on Twitter could stick in their minds and help them form a decision further down the line.

  • Your website becomes more accessible

Even if none of the above points have swayed you, remember that whether it is defined as social media or not, they are very popular websites. Regularly posting with good imagery, insightful videos, offers and relevant links could see your website traffic increase, boosting your chance at winning new customers.

  • Teens of today are tomorrow’s managers

Some of you might be mature enough to remember the days before email existed (calm down, I said some). Even though it has only been a handful of decades since the first email was sent, we now live in a world where life without it is unimaginable. Think of social media in exactly the same way – it is just a new form of communication, and eventually it is going to become the norm.

 

Read our next blog post to find out how to begin your content marketing action plan…

…Or read our previous blog post to find out how you can receive web visitors swimmingly!

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Niche Content Marketing: Receive web visitors swimmingly

We’ll start with an interesting example from a book called Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi. A company that sells and installs fibreglass pools runs a blog that answers questions about all kinds of pools – not just fibreglass ones.

They brand it ‘The most educational swimming pool blog in the country’, and while they, of course, focus a significant amount of time on blog posts about fibreglass pools, the extra content brings in an audience that would otherwise overlook their business. Broadening their website content to include slightly beyond what they sell, and beyond their geographical scope, has brought them success according to the book.

The way to better content

Content doesn’t come from nowhere – it starts with gathering information. Lots of it. We usually start with sales people, or at least the person who answers the phone and the email enquiries. What are the common questions they get from potential customers? What information is sent out by email? How much of this could be backed up on the website to draw traffic and answer basic questions?

We know that you want these people to contact you, but if they have to call you to get simple questions answered, they’re less likely to pick up the phone. In the digital age we’re in, people (not just customers) are looking for as much information as possible on the internet before they make contact with someone.

An uplifting example

Take forklifts for example, and think about all the questions someone might have when they’re looking to hire or buy a forklift truck:

  • What size forklift do I need?
  • Do I need any training to use one?
  • What if I need one just for an hour or so?
  • When should I be using forklifts and when should I be using access equipment?
  • What mistakes can be made by opting for the cheapest model?
  • What additional costs are there?
  • What do I need to know about fuel type, maintenance, and training?

The list could go on, and the answers to these many questions are where we get your website content from. With enough of this content, we can be publishing the ‘forklift bible’ – getting you on the path to becoming the leader in your niche.

You might now be asking ‘when we have this content, how do we get people to read it?’ Well, that’s the easy part. Once your website is full of engaging and informative content, you will always have something to say on the increasingly popular social media channels…

 

Read our next blog post to find out why it’s probably a good idea to create social media channels for your business…

…Or read the previous blog post to learn about the paid-for and earned methods of boosting your search ranking!

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Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing

Niche Content Marketing: First Things First

If you think you’re in a boring industry, think again. There is no such thing as a boring industry. Some niche industries are only thought to be boring because the average person knows very little about them. This gives you a chance to educate your audience, and if you are enthusiastic enough about your work, people will listen – or read!

A fish out of water

It can be tricky to have your voice heard in a niche industry, especially on the world wide web. But with more and more business professionals taking to the internet to look for their next product or service provider, it’s time for small fish to move away from the big pond and into the land of opportunity – without feeling like a fish out of water.

The Google goal

Many clients come to us with a bold aim – for their website to be at or near the top of Google. Some believe that the mere fact they are in the same industry as someone else that is highly ranked on Google entitles them to be as high or higher. As you might have guessed, things just aren’t as simple as shelling out some dough to Google so they rank you higher. There are at least 200 factors that come into the equation of Google search rankings, and it’s in their best interest not to share these factors…

There are two methods for ranking high on Google – we’ll call them paid for and earned.

The paid-for method

At the end of the day, Google is a business, and much more likely to encourage people to sign up to its pay-per-click service Google Adwords, rather than give away details on how to achieve a higher search ranking for a lot less money.

While Google Adwords can get your website at the ranking high on Google fairly quickly, the cost implications are a major pitfall of this method – we’re talking serious dollar to keep it up long-term in industries with many competitors.

This method also means that your website listing comes with an unwanted guest – the word ‘Ad’ in big green letters next to your website address. We see this as another disadvantage, as anyone who knows what an ad is knows that your company has paid for its prime position on the search engine, rather than earned it. Some people even avoid clicking these links for this reason.

The earned method

In most cases, ‘searching the internet’ in fact means searching Google’s index of it. That means the way people search and the terms they use are naturally incredibly important. And Google looks at the content of a company’s website – not the content of the business, who it employs, what it’s bank balance is or its product range, history, inside leg measurements etc. when determining where to rank it. Google also loves relevant content – we know that for a fact (mainly because they tell us!). If your website answers the questions that your customers are asking Google, you will rank higher than those who don’t.

And yet many still believe this to be a time-consuming task that offers little return on investment, but as with many marketing tactics, it’s the planned, less-flash, more systematic approach that typically wins the day.

 

Read our next blog post to find out more on niche content marketing, and how to receive web visitors swimmingly!

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Baumann UK Latest News TB Marketing

Congrats FLTA Awards Winners!

The TB Marketing team got fancy last weekend, and got out the glad rags for a formal black tie awards gala for the FLTA awards, to honour the fork lift industry’s best in Environment, Ergonomics, Safety, Innovation and Safe Site.

Invited by media partner for the event, Handling & Storage Solutions magazine, we were joined by Baumann’s Klaus Pirpamer (managing director), Fabio Bernieri (sales director) and Jason Reynolds (UK managing director) alongside a mix of other people from the industry.

The ceremony was a circus-themed black tie gala dinner hosted by ringmaster Gyles Brandreth. Although only 50% of TB Marketing had heard of him, the ex-conservative MP now BBC radio 4 presenter entertained an audience of 400 industry professionals, and even got involved with some of the circus acts.

Baumann, Innovation Award winners for the 2016 FLTA Awards, were finalists in the Innovation category again this year, but this time for their brand new compact electric sideloader, the ELX50. Although we all had our fingers crossed that the new judgement panel would hand a second Archie award over to Jason and Klaus, the award was deservedly taken home by LPG supplier Flogas for their semi-translucent LPG bottles.

Congratulations go to all the winners and finalists who are listed below along with the category and sponsor for each award.

After the awards were presented, an auction and a game of ‘Heads or Tails’ raised a huge £6650 for Transaid, a charity that transforms lives across the world, by providing safe, sustainable transport. Thank you to everyone who helped to raise the donations. Thank you also to H&SS for inviting the TB Marketing team and our partners along for a great night.

Award CategoryWinnerSponsor
Apprentice of the YearRobin Klein

Klein Handling Systems

Crown Lift Trucks
Services to the Fork Lift Truck IndustryMike BartonMentor FLT Training Ltd
Supplier of the YearIBCSYale Europe Materials Handling
Safe SiteUnileverDoosan Industrial Vehicle UK Ltd
EnvironmentToyota Material HandlingB&B Attachments Ltd
ErgonomicsYale ForkliftsECOBAT
SafetyMentor TrainingTrelleborg Wheel Systems
InnovationFlogasInvestec
Lifetime AchievementDavid RowellToyota Materials Handling
Dealer Member of the YearAcclaim HandlingCombilift

 

 

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A voice on every platform?

Five people texting. Social media concept

The pros and cons of materials handling providers using social media

Are you asking yourself if social media is worth the time and effort for your materials handling business?

In our experience, many professionals in the materials handling industry just don’t have a strong opinion of social media, and few see the value it can add to a business to business approach. Here are five reasons to make you think twice next time Facebook catches you snooping and asks you to sign up.

Pros

  1. Everyone’s heard of it

These days, most people have heard of social media. For some, it is part of daily life, but even for those that have decided to stay away, it regularly gets mentioned in newspapers, on TV and anywhere else on the internet. It’s hard to not have some knowledge on tweets, likes and pokes. If a potential customer has seen your website, but wants to read how you operate day to day, it is possible your business name will appear in Twitter’s search bar.

  1. It’s free

What most people don’t realise is that social media is essentially a free marketing tool. You might be using up all your marketing budget trying to optimise your website so potential customers find it easier on search engines, without realising that active social media channels can also boost your organic search ranking.

  1. If your competitors are signed up…

Just like brochures and websites – if your competitors are doing it, you might want to jump on the bandwagon too. Not that a Facebook profile instantly changes the mind of your potential customers, but if they spot a post on something they can relate to, your chances might slip.

  1. Content is king

If you are telling people you never formed an opinion on a business based on something you read online or in a newspaper, you are probably lying. Good content is one of the best ways to boost your reputation and make future potential customers remember your business name. Even if none of your followers are currently in the market for your product or service, something you share on Twitter could stick in their minds and help them form a decision further down the line.

  1. Your website becomes more accessible

Even if none of the above points have swayed you, remember that whether it is defined as social media or not, they are very popular websites. Regularly posting with good imagery, insightful videos, offers and relevant links could see your website traffic increase, boosting your chance at winning new customers.

  1. Teens of today are tomorrow’s managers

Some of you might be mature enough to remember the days before email existed (calm down, I said some). Even though it has only been a handful of decades since the first email was sent, we now live in a world where life without it is unimaginable. Think of social media in exactly the same way – it is just a new form of communication, and eventually it is going to become the norm.

Cons

Now, after reading the pros, you might not think it possible that there are downsides to this wondrous creation.  As it turns out, there are just as many cons as there are pros to having using social media account for your materials handling business.

  1. Is it worth the effort?

There’s no denying that social media platforms have a common goal with any other website: to be popular. Channels like Facebook use algorithms to guess what information people would like to see based on information about the user. It’s a technique to keep people coming back, because they are likely to be delivered content they agree with. So, what does that mean for businesses trying to reach out to new customers? It could mean your messages are only being seen by people who are already aware of your product or service offering, or even already working with you.

  1. Content is king, but also a royal pain

Once you have a social media account set up, the challenge is figuring out what to post. Ensuring your communications are on message and relevant to your potential customers is a gruelling task, which is why many channels are abandoned a short time after being set up. This opens your business up to the risk of potential customers finding your profile gathering dust, and making decisions based on the lack of social media activity.

  1. Do people trust social media content or consider it spam?

Even when you do have a good idea of the message you want to get across and a regular stream of content is ticking along, do people consider it to be annoying advertising spam? There’s a fine line between healthy regular posting and the outright spamming of your followers’ news feeds, so if you are completely new to social media it might be tricky to find the right balance.

  1. Maybe your audience isn’t on social media…

Truth be told, social media isn’t for every business. As a fairly new form of media, a large proportion of its users are teens or young adults that aren’t likely to be decision makers for potential customers! As with every new form of media, as time goes by it is likely to become more popular as people come to accept it as the norm, but if your audience isn’t there yet, maybe you shouldn’t be.

  1. Does it distract from more worthwhile activity?

Especially for MHE providers, it can be difficult to measure return on investment in social media. Did those ten tweets contribute to the trucks you sold last month? Who knows. Depending on who has ownership of the profiles, a lot of time, money or both can be spent on the various social media channels. If it’s unlikely to make a positive difference to your business’s reputation or sales, maybe spend that time and/or money on something more worthwhile.

  1. Celebs, pets, trolls, Donald Trump.

Need we say any more?

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Baumann UK Beno Latest News Public Relations

PaxLift Prepares For Take Off

PaxLift, a new PRM transporter from Italian manufacturer, Baumann, has been granted a new European patent status ahead of its launch in early 2017.

The machine is the first purpose-built GSE machine of its type and has overcome the disadvantages of traditional modified ‘Ambulift’ vehicles.

Raising passengers smoothly and without a pantograph, stabilizers, mast or chains, the PaxLift utilises three lifting columns to provide a smooth, safe lift, with fully hydraulic suspension for maximum comfort during driving.

The solution avoids the inherent problems associated with adapted PRM vehicles, such as chain maintenance, slow loading times and uncomfortable, often manually intensive, experiences for passengers. There’s also complete free movement with the cabin raised.

“We saw a need for a high quality passenger cabin with lifting capacity from ground level up to 8,000mm,” says managing director, Klaus Pirpamer, “something which does not require steps nor an additional lifting platform, offers easy access and great manoeuvrability to reach the airplane door, and is in keeping with the Baumann ethos of quality and reliability.”

Baumann has almost 50 years of experience in development, design and production of industrial vehicles. Its award-winning industrial sideloaders are recognised around the world as brand leaders, offering exemplary performance.

The in-house design team first developed and produced a machine for PRM over a decade ago. In recent years the company has won awards and recognition for its innovation in the sideloader market, where turning circles, lift heights and travelling distances are also key product facets.

Technical director, Riccardo Bove, masterminded the company’s latest award, the 2016 FLTA Award for Innovation Excellence, and helped develop the new thinking behind the PaxLift. Says Riccardo: “Our previous experience in aircraft ground support and our work with industrial equipment gave us the insights to design the next generation ‘Ambulift’. One that gives precise control and maximum comfort within a small footprint – just 2550mm wide, and 3,100mm high when travelling.”

Since 1969, Baumann has remained privately owned and based at their specialised manufacturing facility in Cavaion, on the shores of Lake Garda.

A family company to this day, Baumann now sells its 3 to 50 tonnes sideloaders worldwide through 106 dealers in 76 countries, offering professional technical support, training and parts supply to customers and distributors.

“The evolution of PaxLift was a natural consequence of our earlier work in this field,” adds Klaus. “We began collaborating on ground support equipment when we worked with Lufthansa Leos and Catcon to produce the first sideloader-based trucks. Whilst this type of equipment is still on the market, our experience with raising and transporting materials led us to look at new and better ways of providing safer, smoother and more practical ways to transport PRM and VIP passengers.”

With a proud and distinguished history, combining generations of engineering expertise, modern craftmanship and a spirit of innovation, Baumann believes their equipment has to present a high standard of quality.

“Our starting point for the PaxLift was comfort, convenience and reliability,” says Klaus. “Having exhibited at ground support equipment and airport passenger transport events on both sides of the Atlantic, the dedicated design and high lifting capacities (up to 2,000kg) has created surprisingly high interest. With a tighter turning circle, clearer view and smaller footprint, we believe we have the safest option available. Integrated suspension makes the operation fast and smooth, whilst the hydraulically powered steering axle ensures continuous reliability and performance.”
Our philosophy of high service levels, world class industrial vehicles and reliable innovation neatly fits the needs of the airline and GSE industries. We understand that safety and the punctual departure of the aircraft is paramount.

Standard trucks are fitted with a Stage 4 Final Diesel engine, electric trucks are manufactured upon request. Orders for 2017 demonstration units are now available, with the first deliveries expected in Spring.

For further information visit www.paxlift.com.

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Elf To Shelf

Team Beno is delighted to have played a small part in the creation of the 2016 Swisslog Christmas video. John Lewis better watch out…

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Invicta Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing Video

Scrubbing up well

When Invicta Forks & Attachments asked team TB marketing to shoot a video displaying a Telehandler Scrubber attachment on a Wednesday in early November, the last thing we expected was snow.

What was even more ironic, is that the week before, we had filmed a Hydraulic Gritter attachment in action for Invicta, in dazzling sunshine!

The day began in a bitterly cold industrial yard in Sturton, Leeds, and within ten minutes of arriving on site, we had already started to lose the feeling in our fingers and toes. With the telehandler late due to the weather, we couldn’t say no to a hot drink and a bacon buttie.

But the telehandler soon arrived and we got to work filming the impressive piece of kit.

The scrubber was quickly attached to the telehandler and was demonstrating its potential in the yard soon after. The attachment is intended to be used to clear dust and mud from the floor of yards and warehouses, but the wet floor on the day of filming made it tricky to show the impact. At this point we made use of the cover shelter on site, ideal for both floor scrubbing and shelter from the snow!

When the snow subsided, we got some more shots from a balcony with a good view of the yard (see image of Terry and Kate laughing as the snow started again) and called it a day.

Here’s the finished product.

NB – it was colder than it looks!

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Beno Latest News TB Marketing

The 23 things we learnt at IMHX2016

20,000 visitors (really?!), 400 exhibitors and a lot of hard work… you would think we’d have learnt a lot of important things at IMHX this week.

1. Wherever you are at the NEC, it’s 1,000 yards to the nearest toilet.

2. Getting people to attend exhibitions is hard. The organisers did a great job at promoting the event, but…

Continue reading “The 23 things we learnt at IMHX2016”
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Carrylift Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing

Six factors to consider when shopping for forklifts

How much is a forklift? 

As sarcastic but savvy salespeople might put it – how long is a piece of string? Most businesses look for a ballpark figure when pricing up the addition of forklifts to their fleet, and if that’s what you’re looking for, the approximate cost is around £75 per week. However, if you want to know what points to consider before committing to hiring or purchasing forklifts, we have listed them here for you.

  1. Shapes, sizes and power types

There are lots of different varieties of forklifts, and generally, the higher the truck capacity the more it will cost. Another factor to consider is the power type of the truck. Diesel and LPG trucks are similar in price, but when it comes to the more popular option – electric – you’re looking at spending around £5,500 more.

  1. Premium, mid-market and value ranges

As with most specialist equipment, forklift trucks come in premium, mid-market and value ranges. We would usually expect a premium brand to be around 5% more, and a value brand 10% less than a mid-market model.

  1. Hire or buy?

Purchasing trucks outright is fairly rare in the UK, mainly due to the responsibility of tax and depreciation of assets that the buying of equipment brings. Hire contracts are favoured because they can be structured in lots of ways to influence the weekly cost.

  1. Parts and service

The cost of parts and service can differ depending on where you are based. While £45 per hour might get you a service in some parts of the country, in other areas where there is less competition you might find the hourly rate edging closer to £100.

  1. Total cost of ownership

You might pay more upfront for an electric powered truck, but they are favoured due to their lower total cost of ownership, and are especially popular with corporate customers that want to be seen to be reducing emissions.

  1. Usage and Residual Value

A truck that is used every day in an environment that might damage or corrode the machine will have a lower resale value, but a low use truck in a clean environment will be valued higher at the end of a contract.

Ultimately, it’s just as important to consider the support options offered as it is to think about the cost on day one.

If you’re looking for more information, read the full blog post on how much a forklift costs.

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Beno Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing

Tweet This!

Some businesses seem a little confused about how best to use social media to promote their brand, particularly Twitter. The corporate world versus mere humans should be a mis-match, but so confused do some people get that at times it seems like grandpa versus the cool kids. Aside from its brevity, we try not to treat Twitter any differently from other PR tactics. These tactics should basically reflect the marketing objectives, which in turn reflect the overall aims and objectives of the business and be informed by a clear and measurable strategy.

Most corporate Twitter users adopt a fairly ad hoc approach to disseminating information. Some use it to enter into a dialogue, which usually helps grow the sphere of influence through re-tweets and larger number of followers.

From a PR standpoint, we prefer to have overall messages agreed, by which we mean the tone and purpose rather than, necessarily, the exact wording, which are clear and concise and readily understood.

Determining what these messages should be is usually a three stage process (hat tip / apologies here to PR guru Anne Gregory):
– Review: Look at existing perceptions. Are they correct? What needs to be changed?
– Consider: Can perceptions be shifted? What facts can we use to back up our view?
– Persuade: Identify the elements of persuasion, using those facts to demonstrate our point

You may find considering what brand advertising would look like helpful as this helps you to boil down your message to its essence.
It may also help to think about topics from the point of view of the other PR and marketing tactics available (research, conferences, news releases, sponsorship, direct mail etc.) i.e. what messages would we deliver via these tactics and how? Or it may help to consider common subject matter. Most organisations’ news falls into four very broad categories

– People – appointments, personal achievements, promotions, profiles etc
– Plans – announcements, targets, acquisitions, growth etc
– Performance – achievements, awards, case studies (e.g. the monkey wins)
– Products – services, innovations, what most people equate to ‘good pr’

Get a list of topics together under those headings and you’ll not go far wrong. There are also lots of good examples of corporate social media guidelines on the web which may also help. Some are fairly simple (i.e. Use your common sense. Beware of privacy issues. Play nice, and be honest.) others are more stringent. Adidas also helpfully point out at the end of their guidelines: “And finally. With all the blogging and interacting, don’t forget your daily job…”

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Beno Latest News Public Relations TB Marketing

The best way to predict the future is…

Like many great quotes that sum up a powerful idea, the line about the ‘best way to predict the future is to invent it’ has a number of claimants for it’s own invention.

It may have been Abe Lincoln, although the evidence is thin. It certainly wasn’t Alan Kay that first came up with it, but when the former chief scientist at Atari spoke of the research carried out at the famous Xerox PARC in 1982, (the Palo Alto centre credited with inventing laser printing, graphical user interfaces and the mouse, amongst other items) he used the phrase to describe the ethos of that organisation. It’s mission: to design a truly personal computer. Atari themselves used the phrase for an ad a year later, but it was management guru Peter Drucker that really took the message to the masses, being attributed with inventing the idea by many media sources.

But it is to none of these luminaries that we should perhaps turn for the origins of this inspiring message. In 1963, Hungarian-British electrical engineer and physicist, Dennis Gabor wrote in his book ‘Inventing The Future’: ‘the future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented.’ A review in the New Scientist reprinted an edited version, and the phrase took hold.

Gabor truly did invent his own future, having fled from Nazi Germany in 1933 he established himself as a British citizen. Working at the British Thomson-Houston company, he broke new ground in the study of electron inputs and outputs, which eventually led him to the invention of holography – an achievement for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize.

But that wasn’t the end of Gabor’s amazing endeavours. As a Professor at Imperial College London, he gave PhD students tough tasks to complete, one such being the invention of the flat screen TV!

His patents were said to be remarkable, and his writings on the future were incredibly influential. He predicted the importance of automation, cautioning society on its impact on workers, whilst admitting in 1970: “No one can deny that automation is capable of liberating mankind of almost all monotonous drudgery, of mining with the pickaxe…and mind-numbing work at the conveyor belt.”

The prototype futurologist and technologist explained in his Professorial Inaugural Lecture in 1958: “ The first step of the inventor is to visualise, by an act of imagination, a thing or a state that does not yet exist and which appears to him in some way desirable. He can start rationally arguing backwards and forwards, until a way is found from one to the other”.

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Beno Latest News Public Relations Windsor

Does your business suffer from Parkinson’s Law of Triviality?

Best known for his adage, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” former 1950s civil servant, C. Northcote Parkinson, has passed into business folklore as a wry observer of corporate culture.

So much so that the law has even gone global, as Mikhail Gorbachev observed in 1986, when Alessandro Natta complained about a swelling bureaucracy in Italy, “Parkinson’s Law works everywhere“.

Perhaps less well known is his Law of Triviality, first mentioned in the 1956 book “Parkinson’s law, and other studies in administration.”

Parkinson outlines his idea with a theoretical committee’s deliberations on a nuclear power plant, contrasting it to deliberation on a bicycle shed. As he put it:

“The time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.”

In other words, a nuclear reactor is so vastly expensive and complicated that an average person cannot understand it. So we assume that those working on it understand it. Even those with strong opinions often withhold them for fear of being shown to be insufficiently informed.

On the other hand, everyone can visualize a bicycle shed, so planning one can result in endless discussions because everyone involved wants to add his or her touch and show that they have contributed.

If that sounds familiar at least now you know why! Now, where did we put those bicycle clips…

Action Stations!

Classic quotes on the price of inaction…

“Never mistake motion for action” – Ernest Hemingway

“Well done is better than well said” – Benjamin Franklin

“A promise is a cloud; fulfilment is rain” – Arabian Proverb

“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned” – Peter Marshall

“If you only do what you know you can do, you never do very much” – Tom Krause

“Talk doesn’t cook rice” Chinese Proverb

“If your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt” – Henry J Kaiser
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Beno Fun Stuff TB Marketing

Mysterious Interweb Days

yorkshire post business cutting

It’s sometimes easy to forget how exotic and mysterious the Internet seemed just a few years ago.

Rummaging through the archives I found this little beauty from a 1997 issue of the Yorkshire Post business supplement, quoting me on my searching prowess.

Judging by the amount of fax-related ads in the issue, the YP were obviously a little behind the curve when coming up with this story. It came about when trying to get a bit of extra coverage for my old friends at Toyota, but the journalist was more interested in the magic box that allowed me to find a set of public accounts.

My reaction now, and probably then too, was something like “The Yorkshire Post! They actually ran this?! Wait a minute, ‘tech-head’?!”

Now I don’t know which comment to be impressed about the most, my sweeping generalisation about all of Japan (which I doubt I actually said), the ordinariness / between-the-lines amazement of it all, or the little mention of ‘friendly Yorkshire’.

Ah mysterious, happy days…

Web Untangles Japanese Mystery

Advisers and their clients may be on first-name terms in friendly Yorkshire but there’s no reason to assume this cosy informality obtains all over the world.

So when the top brass from Japan dropped in at Toyota Industrial Equipment (UK), Leeds, it was strictly “Mister”, both during the customary bout of bowing, card-swapping and handshaking and thereafter.

This presented a challenge for Charles Walls, the company charged with publishing the tour- how to find out the visitors first names.

No problem for tech-head account manager Tony Benson. He surfed the Internet and found that the men he had met days earlier were called Kanji Kurioka, worldwide head of Toyota’s forklift business, Takashi Matsuura and Toshiro Ishihara.

“Nobody is on first name terms in Japan, so we didn’t know what to call them,” said Mr Benson.

“I found Toyota’s annual report and accounts and assorted publicity material on the Web and accessed the English-Language version.”

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Harris Keep On Trucking

4K Systems are delighted to have taken a new order for an electric counterbalance forklift from Harris Transport – the seventh such order in just 12 months.

On the anniversary of their move to larger premises and the introduction of a new fleet of six three-wheel electrics and two articulating Aislemaster WHE20 narrow aisle trucks, Harris Transport have added to the fleet to help keep on top of growing throughputs.

The new trucks are working 24 hours a day and are fitted with battery changeover systems and driver access key pads.

4K Systems’ David Scammell believes the equipment is performing well in what is a fairly demanding environment. “Electric counterbalance trucks can get a bad reputation for not being up to tough jobs, but with careful maintenance, modern battery chargers and the correct fleet management, they can prove highly effective at reducing costs.”

George Harris, of Harris Transport, stated that he was very happy with the support provided by 4K Systems and the electric trucks have been a good cost saving investment over the diesel powered Doosan equipment that they operated before the move.

“Moving can be a stressful process, as most people know, but we are delighted with the progress we’ve made and the benefits we’ve gained. We are also very happy with the service and support we get from 4K Systems – it gives us the confidence to invest and upgrade as we grow yet further.”

Harris Transport have been providing bespoke transport, distribution and warehouse services to business of all sizes for over twenty years.

With new, modern warehouse facilities and an expanding fleet of vehicles they offer a complete end-to-end service that includes short and long term storage, logistics service and transport.

Operating out of Southampton and Rotherham, the family owned business is going from strength to strength, offering a high quality, flexible and secure service that is tailor-made to meet the demands of a changing market.

www.fourk.co.uk

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Congrats Swisslog!

We’re delighted to have played a modest part in the arrival of this UKWA innovation gong for our client, Swisslog UK….

We’re liking those magazines too!

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Latest MHE market perceptions

The latest (May 2014) survey of Logistics Manager magazine readers shows that about a third of forklift purchasers acquire their equipment on an individual basis, whilst more than a third (39%) rent or buy on a ‘per warehouse/depot’ basis. Just over a fifth (22%) make their purchases based on the needs of the entire fleet.

Possibly not a huge surprise to people in the industry, but perhaps what is a surprise is how these compare to commercial vehicle or van purchases. Only 16% of commercial vehicle purchases, and a paltry 11% of vans, are bought on a depot basis – why the difference?

Perhaps the most obvious is a forklift is largely situation-based. Vans and trucks have places to go, so customers don’t tend to see these as tied to their location, but each are significant investments and yet the fact is that operators tend to see commercial vehicles, vans and forklifts very differently.

Another fascinating aspect of the survey puts Toyota and a German manufacturer neck and neck in terms of ‘top 3 manufacturer’ status. Presumably to the chagrin of Linde,  that company is Jungheinrich – a big player, certainly, but less than half the size of Kion in terms of sales revenue.

Outside the top 3, Mitsubishi, Hyster and Cat all have a decent showing, with results that belie their lower positions on the global manufacturers list. Whether Cesab are happy, despite being last on the list, remains to be seen. Only 3% mark them out as top 3 manufacturer status, yet they are simultaneously both part of the number one group, Toyota, and a brand perceived above a host of other Japanese, Korean and Chinese names.

Compare and contrast 2009 brand awareness results from Redshift Research…

brand-awareness2009

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Piggy Beno

Celebrating the completion of our first Jimmy Piggs loyalty card with Mr Jordan! Happiest JJ since this… 20140619-141611-51371932.jpg

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Nixon Hires Windsor

TB Marketing’s two Ash’s, Aislin and Ashley, took a trip to the North East to visit a happy new Windsor customer…

Nixon Hire, a leading provider of plant and site equipment with bases throughout the UK, has taken delivery of a fleet of Doosan D110 forklifts for its 14 depots.

Nixon Hire is the epitome of a family-run business that has grown into a market leader. Thanks in no small part to the hard work and vision of its founder, John Nixon, the company now employs over 310 people, has numerous bases throughout northern England and Scotland as well as a presence in the Middle East.

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Around The World In 80 Emails

tbmarketing-10-tips-working-for-overseas-clients

:Ten Tips For Working With Overseas Clients

A few years ago (okay it was 17), the ad agency I was working at belonged to a formal international network of agencies that would rely on one another if a client wanted work doing in more than one country. Well, that was the plan at least.

Perhaps the Chairman got a nice weekend break out of it, but otherwise it was impossible to maintain much of a relationship with 20-odd other overseas businesses, and as far as we could tell, the things we had in common, other than belonging to the same network, were nil.

Being able to produce consistently good work was tough, especially when the international work was like a French steak, pretty rare.

Continue reading “Around The World In 80 Emails”