Business Support

Globespan – How a good company fails with 100,000 forward bookings?

In the light of the sad demise of Globespan it seems entirely sensible to recommend two areas for serious investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, the Administrators Price WaterHouse Cooper (PwC), and lastly but probably most importantly, the CAA.

In the first instance, I would like to suggest an Independent Review be commissioned (not sure who would pay for it, but paid in part by the key parties - in this case CAA, FSA, and the Government, representing lost PAYE, VATand Corportaion Tax - the taxpayers purse). The review’s brief should be a thorough examination of the mechanism for reimbursement of consumers’ monies (paid in advance, or reimbursement of expenses to complete their holiday) in the event of a (travel) company collapse.

The system now, which simply requires Credit Card Companies to bail out their cardholders, is not responsible, and may well have, in this instance and in hundreds of other cases, made a signficant contribution to the premature demise and eventual failure of a successful travel company like Globespan. I say successful, because at the time of its collapse in December 2009, it has 100,000 advanced bookings, which considering it is December is an oustanding achievement in anybody’s books.

The second suggestion is for Senior management and for all UK Travel consultancies. Tom Dalrymple MD of Globespan, the CAA, and the Travel consultancies, need to reflect deeply about the substantial power Dalrymple allowed E-Clear to have over his business. Allowing any other entity to weld such power is nothing short of co-dependence, completely irresponsible and appears to be an act of desperation more than inspiration. The problem with these kinds of heavily dependant relationships is that it is unhealthy for either party. Either the other party simply cannot bear the burden (as might have been in this case) or it seeks to walk away, causing potential havoc, and treating the relationship with disrespect (that it may deserve).

The sad demise of a much loved, well established and respectable Scottish travel firm, Globespan group, tells a dark tale.

An excellent commentary and feedback on Globespan, entitled The Missing Millions, written by Douglas Fraser, Business and Economy Editor at BBC Scotland gives the online researcher a broader picture of the Globespan story, and comes with the added bonus of the feedback from his army of avid Frazer ledger readers.

Did Tom Dalrymple have the best business support, advice and assistance around him, and the people he really needed to help him manage the crisis? Even if he didn’t have the ‘right muscle in his corner’ going into the crisis, it is little excuse these days as there are now much easier ways to find trustworthy, cost effective expertise fast, at the click of a button, using free online business support location services like Business Support Finder and the like, as well as the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

On another point, if I was a client of E-Clear I would seriously think of changing card processing company. This relationship should be ‘put in competition’ on an annual basis (as with all supplier relationships).

Scottish minister for Finance, Mr Swinney, quoted recently in the Scotsman believes vehermently that Globespan could have been saved. If you would like to read more try reading the article in the Scotman entitled:”Flyglobespan could have been saved“.

The demise may in large part be due to the contractual and operational arrangements that Globespan had with its card processing company - in this case a card transaction processing company based in London called E-Clear. This company is alleged to have been (with-) holding £35m from Globespan, and it transpired that it may be the legal obligations of card processing companies in the event of airline failure that could have been a key ‘driver’ in the behaviour and actions of E-Clear. If so, this would be a monumental professional oversight by the industry watchdogs, both travel and financial

Quoted in travel publication the TTG, in July 2009, Elias Elia is credited as saying that the travel industry is becoming riskier”. This is interesting since a previous client of E-Clear was collapsed businesses XL Leisure Group and Zoom Airlines. Interesting also is that Elia was quoted during the XL collapse as saying that his firm was insured for any exposure and the impact was “nothing we could not handle”.

A Slovakian low-cost airline SKY EUROPE which went into administration in June also appears to have had difficulties in obtaining its monies from E-Clear.

E-Clear has been also involved this month with the failure of Allbury Travel Group, which includes Libra Holidays, Argo and Jetlife. Libra Holidays had a good reputation, as well as Argo. They handled considerable holiday business each year, consistently providing good quality holidays and value for money for its hundreds of thousands of happy clients and customers.

Looking at E-Clear, prior to August 2008 the highly rated Deutsche Bank acted as E-Clear’s guarantor. It has not been explained why the bank ended the relationship, but it is likely that Deutsche Bank consider the risks has become too great to warrant the returns.

Looking for answers is always hard in the travel industry which, over the decades from the collapse of Clarksons in the 1970s, Intasun and Air Europe, Laker Airways, right up to XL Leisure, is a graveyard including good travel businesses as well as the bad (ask the CAA and ABTA for a list).

 Successfully managing medium or large travel organisations is not for the faint hearted, and it can be any number of factors that can cause the demise of a successful travel organisation.

google web history - why one needs to take notice of the changes

The latest google algorythmn change might affect internet marketeers and eBusiness strategy. Why?

Unless consumers click disable, then the DEFAULT SETTINGS for (YOUR CLIENTS, AND YOUR) ……GOOGLE Web History will be Enable customisations based on search activity.

What is the significance of this seemingly minor setting?

It will distort what the consumers see on their screens.

If the WEB HISTORY customisation is NOT disabled the reSults to their screen of a Google search will include the most visited websites of that search (TERM). Spend a moment to think about this.

In theory the first time the consumer searches they will get normal results. After that they will start to see most prominently the results that they have previously viewed most.

This may not be the best example, but this type of insight is another example why UK SMEs need to make sure they have use of the services of a Internet Marketing Business Consultant to get access to expert SEO advice. This is particularly important when SMEs are planning to invest in renewing their websites, as they need to be made SEO friendly (whatever one might read in the National press, written by journalists who do not make their living by selling online).

Of course, SMEs need business advice and assistance for planning their internet strategy. The best person to consult is an e-business consultant.

Without a Search Engine Specialist (SEO) most SMEs will be lost when it comes to making a profit from their online investment. The startling statistic is that over 90% of SMEs do NOT succeed in making a return on their investment (ROI) with their websites.

The question is….which statistic do you and your business want to be included in - the few that succeed online I suspect? If so, use the internet to start your research. Services like Business Support Finder. Last piece of advice is, whichever business consultant you use make sure that they have professional indemnity insurance cover.

Is Google Insights Flawed

The free resource programme from Google allows you to chart the rise ir fall of a search term from anything from a month to 5 years. First you enter a keyword or search term you would use for your business, in this instance “composite door” and the results show a huge rise in search volume over the last 5 years, representing the growth in popularity in this time. It also sows that compared to the UK, the USA only searches for composite door to a 8 to 100 ratio, proving that the UK is delievering the growth in tthis ype of business. This is all great stuff until you start researching customer behavior on the internet. a representive from MSN a few years ago claimed that up to 50% of search terms were new or very rearly used and that as time goes on. more and more of us use longer search terms (long tail).

So what has this got to do with Google insights? Well loads really, because when you use the tool for the search term “car parts” you see a drop over the last 5 years in volume of searches suggesting a decline in the industry. But being based in the car part industry we just know this is not true, so even though the Insights info suggests a drop, the market has increased.

What has really happened is that searchers are using more detailed search terms rather than generic terms like “car parts” and so insights only really measures search term usage, not growth in business.

With the composite doors market being so new, long tail searches are just now being used that much yet, but of course as awareness of the product increases, so will the varuation of search terms. So is Google insights flawes? The answer is no, if you know how to understand and use the information delivered.

For reference composite doors www.globaldoor.co.uk

Sir Gerry Robinson - what needs changing in the UK Care Industry (Dementia Care)?

Sir Gerry Robinson has been described as one of the best businessmen in the UK, and whose career is depicted in wikipedia. He is credited in turning round Coca-Cola’s UK fortunes (£7m loss into £17m profit within 24 months); leading the then biggest management buyout of Compass from Grand Metropolitan (1987) and turning round Granada’s losses in 12 months to profits of 10% more than anticpated best expectations.

 In December 2009 Gerry Robinson did a couple of BBC TV documentaries on Dementia and Care Homes in the UK, highlighting the successful strategies and those which need attention. Robinson sees change in the care of dementia in the care industry to be a very slow process. It was a joint venture with The Open University, which has produced a booklet on Dementia Care.

Robinson reflects that as an entrepreneur, if one’s homes are full, meeting all the regulations, and are economically viable then why would you want to change it? Yet he sees the standards could easily be raised.

He identifies an excellent example of how best practice in Merevale Homes, adided by leading Dementia Specialist Consultancy ‘Dementia Care Matters‘, and also shows how quickly the environment can be changed forn the better in the example of Thornfield care home, which was transformed in just 4 months.

As an observer the issues for me are the dangers of working as a professional, i.e. a care industry business adviser. Working in these difficult conditions, under constant scrutiny from outside authorities and relatives highlights the risk of litigation, and just how vital is and just how enormously valuable is Business Adviser Professional Indemnity Insurance is for a consultant working in the Care Indsutry.

Remote Access working - boost to productivity

After having wasted several hours, and several attemptes over several days, I have given up with LOG ME IN.

Small businesses don’t have the time to waste. Several frustrating hours on a couple occasions, and a cul-de-sac conclusion makes me  believe that this is a corporate strategy on behalf of LogMeIn (based in the US). LogMEIn seems uncessarility complicated, has restrictive timelimits etc. It pertains to offer a Free service but I have a distinct feel that it is merely a cheap trick and sales gimmick to entice the hapless consumer to pay £60 a year for a service that is free with other free Log Me In software reputable services such as TeamViewer. If this is for personal use it is free.

Business Consultants could use this software to log in to their pcs at home to access sensitive data and to reduce the requirement to carry expensive it equipment with them out of their office and away from home.

How Will VAT Increase Affect Businesses

On January 1st the VAT rate will go back to its normal 17.5% against 15% over the last year, for most businesses they believe it made no difference at all, 2.5% reduction on a price just isn’t that attractive in a world where 50% off is more the norm. There is an arguement that international contracts have been made in areas wher 2.5% could mean a few million here and there, but most small businesses have not benefitted from the reduction.

An area that may have gained is the new car market. Take away a few grand for the scrappage scheme then another 2.5% on the balance can make the difference between affordable and too expensive. But on new years day, we all be faced with an increase or will we?

Looking through many shopping sites for Chistmas I noticed all prices still ending in 99p. Considering most prices tended to end with the 99p anyway before the VAT reduction, I find it hard to see when we actually got the extra 2.5% back for anything. The reality is more like businesses just charged the same and gained a bit more into the bargain. So it is very likley that the consumer will not lose out for the VAT increase but business mat suffer.

Even business services are unlikely to be affected returning to the motor trade take business car lease as an example. Business car lease may cost more as a monthly payment, but as VAT is refundable and business lease falls into that bracket depending on CO2 emmissions, the executive owner will be no worse off. In fact it is hard to understand if the benefits of the lower VAT rate actually covers the costs of outting this into practice. Take accountants, or pricing within the retail sectop, it cost money to report takings and purchases in a different tax code.

So on January 1st will we see prices rise? I think there is a good chance we will, including those who did not reduce prices when it was reduced. More money to the accountants.

Twitter - how valuable is it in business?

Recently many ‘names’ in business (Robert Craven, Ken McCarthy and many many more) have declared in favour (UK Spelling) of Twitter as a business medium for ’spreading the message’ (their business).

I have been a raving fan of Twitter from the start. Heralded as a milestone in internet history and search engine optimisation, Twitter could best be described as one of the initiators of micro-blogging. Registering as a business on Twitter is easy, such as example BusinessFinder on Twitter.

Twitter can be an excellent medium for businesses, as any good marketing consultant should verify, to keep in contact with its customers, prospective customers and indeed any customer segment it chooses, and as many as it chooses since there are few restrictions to membership.

One of the key questions to me is the value in terms of search engine optimisation and the quality of internet links is a micro-blog post on Twitter. Is it only the main link that has value or is does the link in each post also have a value?

Abbey Business - customer service quailty standards being met?

Thanks to Jasmine Birtles of MoneyMagpie in her article ‘The misery of Abbey Business‘I don’t feel so alone in my desperation and frustration of Abbey Business Banking. I ma grateful to her for sharing her personal experience. I too have had problems in accessing my money deposited with Abbey Business in the UK. Abbey is part of the Santander banking group allegedly one of the Top 10 global banking institutions.

I have been obliged to ring them 6 times today (no regard for the customer’s valuable time) and I have been obliged to repreat a lengthy series of security questions (no regard for the customer’s level of acceptance, tolerance and frustration levels).

Previously I was offered a telephone reply by an Abbey supervisor or departmental manager. No telephone contact with me was made. To add to my injuries an unprofessional member the Abbey Business fraud department, who declined to offer her name (which I suppose is understandable - why publicise that you are a bad employee) and made the decision by herself to terminate the call despite.

Finally today I’ve been told that the Abbey Business ecommerce team have identified the problem (this is after other members of the Abbey Business team had previously identified the problem and failed to resolve the issue affecting my business account), and I’ve been told it will take the system 24 hours to update.

All in all I have had very little access to my business accounts in three weeks.

It is a good job I have been able to survive in the meantime, because 98% of all businesses would not have been able to trade through such poor level of business banking service. I would be most interested in the comments of a Professional business adviser in business banking, and his suggestions?

In conclusion, without prejudice, here is a summary of the Abbey Business bank customer experience I have witnessed. I am unable to say whether other Abbey Bank customers would experience the same below par levels of customer service or what impact that it might have on their business performance. How many businesses would be willing to chance it?

1.  After I reported my involvement is a fraud phishing scam, Abby responded quickly to stop any transactions out of the account. They were unable to set account quickly to keep me going, but offered to transfer monies to a new account to keep me in business. Fortunately I had just opened another business bank account with another bank. Yet the monies transferred by the Abbey representative never arrived in the new account, and were returned or transferred to my new Abbey current account 5 days later with no explanation ever given.

2. I was told I had failed a security check (quite hard since it was me, and I do not believe I had behaved differently from any other occasion.) I was threatened with my account being put on hold.

3. I rang to make a complaint. I was promised a telephone response by a Manager, which I never received.

4. I rang today 6 times to get access to moving monies. I was passed from Abbey Business Banking to ecommerce department and back again. The Abbey Ecommerce member of staff did not advise me why he asked me to return to the main department, nor did he speak to a member of staff to instruct them what to do. As a result I was left “hanging in abeyance”. Eventually a helpful member Greg, told me that he had contacted ecommerce again and they have identified the problem and it should be resolved within 24 hours.

What impression can I have with the low level of customer service I have received?

I am sure someone senior on the Santander banking group would be scandalised to learn of my Abbey Business customer experience.

As a business analyst, and business consultant involved in best practice would do as well, I could implement several quality control measure to transform the customer experience and at the same time vastly reduce time wasted, simultaneously massively increase individual productivity, and undoubtedly staff morale as well.

The Internet influence - 5 interesting facts (Anthony Tjan, Harvard Business Publishing)

Anthony Tjan in his Harvard Business Publishing article (28 Oct 09) entitled ‘Upstarts and Titans’ highlights 5 key facts that he has observed on the Net in the world wide web world:

1. Explosion of websites - (2009 200m) 40,000 times increase since 1994 (spanning 15 years).
2. 2009 1m blogs daily (the term blog first used by Evan Williams founder of blogger.com)
3. Twitter - launched 2006 - in 2009 has over 5b ‘tweets’ - blogs of 140 charatcers of less.
4. Google 2b global internet searches per day, and Facebook 700,000 new members daily.
5. Internet-unique industry-high rate churn of Top 10 players.

What does this say about the importance of business internet marketing? Fundamental to your business strategy? Do you need help from a business strategist or from a internet marketing consultant? What does it say if your business is not leading from the front, and where does a business owners or senior manager go to get good business advice?

Business experts on personal development can help today’s managers.

In my humble opinion In the UK there is a shortage of business gurus.

Names like Robert Craven nicknamed by the Sunday Times as the ‘entreprenueur guru’ spring to mind, but there are not many.

In the US it is a different story. Whatever one may personally think of Anthony Robbins, one cannot ignore the significant contribution he has made to the field of personal development, which he suggests is ‘the source of all one’s business’ and therefore his contribution to business performance.

His message is that there are 5 things to help (managers) face adversity and crisis.

1. Be decisive. (whatever happens, make a decision, learn from it).
2. Get resourceful (get help from a mentor, business adviser, colleague)
3. Get a vision (of how change will happen. If you can’t think of a positive one, think of the most negative one, and then do the opposite)
4. Get a proven plan (ideally, model on somebody who’s been through the same and who’s succeeded. Athony Robbins says “success leaves clues”).
5. Take massive action.  (5 frogs sitting on a log floating in a lake. One decides to go for a swim. How many are left? Answer: the same number since the frog who made the decision has only made up his mind, he hasn’t taken action yet. So this step is equally crucial).

So as a manager we need to think deeply with our minds (using Stephen Covey’s terminology) how best we can respond to the current situation, bearing in mind the current economic climate, and the current activitiy of our competitors. In my mind, as Robert Craven always reminds the UK SME business community, we don’t get far trying to go it alone. I have learned this from personal experience. For outstanding results we need outstanding business improvement, and that is likely to come from seeking external business advice and assistance. Do you agree?