I attended a eBusiness round table this week… below is a list of things that I gleaned from the presentations

• LoSoMo = the trend towards Local Social and Mobile
• The internet represents a $50b contribution to GDP in Australia (the same size as iron ore exports.
• 36.7% of all music sales are now done online
• The Google campaign with MYOB ‘Getting Aussie Businesses Online’ was considered a success – now about 50% of all Australian small businesses have an internet presence.
• One in every 12 retail dollars is spent online (this number excludes travel and airlines and group buying.) Group buying is not considered eCommerce because they are selling promotional coupons
• 30% of eCommerce transactions go off-shore mainly to the US
• 50% of all purchases made in Australia are influenced by an online presence
• 25% of all searches are now done on a mobile device
• 2% of people who visit an eCommerce site will buy. (ie one in 50 visitors is a purchaser)
• By 2013 more purchases will be made on mobile devices than on desktop machines
• There are about 22million people in Australia and 27million mobile devices
• Google search results on a mobile device will prioritize in presenting results for sites that have a mobile version.
• Googleartproject.com

To be a robust technology driven economy Australia needs:

1. Infrastructure (NBN – it is all about speed)
2. People – build a culture of skilled innovators – invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths)
3. Ideas – focus on the customer experience and the great innovations will follow

A very proud winner of the National Award in the Industry Category

RedBalloon has had a wonderful week of celebration by winning three prestigious awards. Whilst there are many businesses far larger than us, doing amazing things – it is such an honor to be on the same stage as those businesses. Could small be the new big? What could large businesses learn from us about absolute commitment to the employee experience – and as a result the customer experience. How wonderful to be recognized in this way.

Last night I had the privileged of being part of the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year program. A spectacular night surrounded by passionate, persistent people who have a tolerance for risk said our MC Peter Burner.

Congratulations to Michael Malone from iiNet who won the title of Australian Entrepreneur of the Year 2011. (For more about the event and the other winners).

Peter Burner interviewed each of the winners as we took to the stage to accept our awards. I had reflected before arriving at the event about my entrepreneurial journey to date. I was there on behalf of many many people.

This is what I had planned to say:

Thank you to those people who:

Loved me, you made me believe in myself
Cared, you made me feel worthwhile
Shared their wisdom, you inspired me to learn
Laughed, you made my world fun
Listened, you made me feel loved
Challenged me, you made me play a bigger game
Said ‘no’ – you made me more determined.
Disliked me, you made me stronger

Thank you

Megan Bromley accepting the AHRI HR Practioner of the Year award

In addition, I congratulate the team on making the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 again – And a big amazing congratulations to Megan Bromley – Employee Experience Manager, RedBalloon for being named by AHRI as the HR Practitioner of the year…WOW!

Jack Cowen - Founder and Exec Chairman of Competitive Foods

Jack Cowen started his presentation at the EY Entrepreneurs workshop with a quote “An entrepreneur needs to be a cross between a microbiologist and an astronomer.” He believes that true entrepreneurs are special in that they can be both detailed and visionary.

He was a judge in the EY Global Entrepreneur of the year program in Monte Carlo for 2010. It was a delight to have him in the room sharing his insights – not just from his own amazing entrepreneurial journey – but also from the many business founders he has met along the way.

He made the following observation: Those businesses that own the technology or the system, ie they have a level of exclusivity gain great advantage. They have the magic of what people will pay for and it makes it difficult for competitors to invade that space. If a business cannot own the technology (or systems and processes) then it must own the brand.

Jack reflected following the EY event that in his opinion the six traits of great entrepreneurs are:

1. We have a fundamental curiosity – we want to explore things.
2. We are persistent beyond reason
3. We search for better ways to do things – we agitate for change
4. We are endlessly positive in every part of our lives
5. We are focused and able to run lean and mean
6. We have exemplary people skills – we understand leverage and that we cannot do it on our own.

Dancing in the Conversation at EO Amsterdam University

I don’t really like the word ‘networking’ – it implies something forced or not easy (I think the term should remain the domain of IT folks). I was recently at the EO conference in Amsterdam and one of my friends asked me if I was going to ‘network’ there – which made me cringe. I know people have said of me that “You’re a great ‘networker’!” I don’t necessarily think that I am, given that you will rarely see me at a ‘networking event.’… But what I am, is fundamentally interested in people… and I really like meeting people (and catching up with people I have known forever.). One thing I do know is that in the early days of RedBalloon when no one had ever heard of it – it was really important for me to get out and about and meet people – to put a face to a website as it were.

When I ask people I meet what they do – I am curious; but ideally I would love them to capture my imagination so that I can A, remember it and B, introduce them to other people that might be interesting or relevant to them.

The more real the conversation you have with someone when you meet them at a business event the more likely they are to remember which business card is yours, from the many that they collected (though this is not a quantity game – having one real conversation is worth 50 superficial one’s). But please no wearing the heart on the sleeve either – no one is really interested in your life story when you have just met.

One of the most useful things for me when meeting people is to simply ask lots of questions – but then again I am a very curious person so it comes naturally. And hint here – DO really listen to the answer and recall it…

Here are some questions that might take your conversations to a bit of a deeper level.

What makes the thing you do special?
What do you guarantee?
What do your customers say about you?
Do you have a purpose?
What is your BHAG? (you might have to explain this one)
By which values is your company driven?
Where did your values come from?
If you could swap places with another human being alive today who would it be?
What do you like most in other people?
Who do you respect the most?

Just thought I’d share – because in my opinion no one really wants to be ‘networked at.’ I personally don’t ever ‘script’ the sort of questions I will ask – my curiosity allows that to happen naturally – my intention here is to get you thinking beyond the obvious standard run of the mill questions that every one asks. It is about dancing in the conversation– and PS these events are not a place to ‘sell’ to people – they are a place to create relationships – never talk at people… it is very ho hum.

‘Networking’ events are an opportunity to GIVE not to GET – be generous with your time, listen deeply and be truly interested and you never know you might end up meeting a friend for life.

Meet the brand...

It seems that lately I am being approached by many people who are asking a similar question, “How did you do it?”.  Obviously I write this blog so that I can share what I have learned which also means that people can dip into what they think is relevant for them whenever they choose.

My initial reaction when people ask “how did you do it?” Is that it wasn’t ‘I’ … it was ‘we’. I have been fortunate that I have surrounded myself with great people all completely passionate about our vision and committed to what we are doing.

If I was to take ownership for one thing … it would be that I did bring to the start up RedBalloon a corporate background in marketing. When I started the business I was completely passionate about building a brand online. Which was no insignificant task back in 2001 because the internet was in it’s infancy. My marketing background had taught me that to create a brand is to build relationships – and being online we didn’t have the opportunity to meet our customers in person..  So in response to the question “How to build a brand online?” I responded for The Australian newspaper with these three lessons:

1. Don’t hide. It is like any other relationship – people want to get to know you. When I am buying online I like to know who is behind the business – I cannot stand those ‘about us’ pages that say nebulous things like “we are the greatest solutions provider blah blah blah”. Many years ago in the early days I had a woman phone saying I’m just about to make a purchase on your web site – “how do I know you are real?” I responded” I’m the CEO” and she retorted “But you might be the janitor for all I know”. The irony of course was that I was the janitor too.

The principles behind building a strong and enduring brand remain the same whether online or offline. It’s all about building great relationships – with your customers, your suppliers, your clients and especially your employees as they’re the greatest brand ambassadors you have! Shared experiences create and strengthen relationships.

2. People create brands – brand reputation is about who you associate with. Online it is important to hang out with a good crowd. It is important to know who , how and where any links or advertising might appear. Brand association is critical online – in exactly the same way as a retail store – you want to know who your neighbors are. It is the same online.

3. Brands are built in the hearts of our customers and employees through the relationships they have with that organisation. Every touch point adds or detracts from that relationship, because a brand is not advertising, but how people experience and feel about an organisation. It is the people they meet, the stories they hear, what they see on social network sites that form opinions about a business. People question if they can trust or believe the story. And it is no different in building an employer brand.

You have to listen to your customers, clients and employees so you can deliver a positive experience every time they engage with your brand.  At RedBalloon we also know that a high level of customer service starts with happy employees who are more willing to go the extra mile to ensure a positive customer experience every time, and that’s why our company values are fundamental to everything we do. Each and every “RedBallooner” lives the values of integrity, generosity, leadership, having sense of humour and fun, and probably most poignant given our growth and position in the Australian gifting landscape, being a little dog with a big dog personality!

This is why employees are the new customers. Each employee has a voice (and could be a personal publisher). As such it is up to leadership teams to stay vigilant and committed to the employee experience – because that will mirror the customer experience, and ultimately the brand itself.

So the reality is that building a brand online follows similar principles to building a brand offline – it is all about relationships.

I am in Beijing this week for an educational event. It is great to see first hand what we hear so much about in the media in Australia. The last time I visited Beijing was in 1986, only a decade after the Cultural Revolution, when tourists used a different currency – and there was no hot showers. Where I am now almost unrecognizable as the Beijing I visited 25 years ago.

Yesterday we attended an insightful presentation at the local Neilsen office – the largest consumer research company in China. They gave us a fascinating insight into the 14 distinct geographical markets. We see China as one country, however there are massive differences between the north, south, east and west in terms of consumerism and life style.

Neilsen described the impact of the one child policy after 30 years – the creation of the ‘little emperor’ culture. (Effectively six adults caring for one child), however as the population ages – that one child will need to take care of those six adults in their old age.

This is the fastest growing consumer economy in the world. Never, in the history of time has an economy changed,grown and developed so quickly. I am amazed that every luxury brand is represented – Rolls Royce apparently sells more vehicles in Beijing in a month than they do in the rest of the world.

We had lunch with a local family – in their Hutong… they got electricity just prior to the Olympics – until that time they used coal for heating. People tell us how serious the government now is about the environment.

The pollution has definitely improved since I was last here. The infrastructure to allow the 19 million Beijing people to move around is phenomenal. They have built 220kms of subway under Beijing and there is another 180kms to go until it is finished. The city was putrid when I was last here – now the streets are spotless… our local host told me that was because of SARS – Government decided to clean the streets… and stay clean.

No wonder Australian businesses get so excited doing business with China… the shear opportunity in size is so hard to understand.

What an exciting place.

We continued our 1,000,000th customer celebrations with a big sale…. I think we were all surprised with the amount of phone calls the advertising campaign is generating and as a result we got in back log in our customer experience emails (sorry if you were one of them) as the phones were running hotter than expected. It was all hands on deck to answer customer emails. (Really appreciate Jemma GMs quick action once the issue was discovered – and the dedication of RedBallooners from every team answering our customer queries.) Thanks to those customers who gave me direct feed back on our shortcomings – and we have been very intentional about correcting them.

Also I have found that my personal email box is also in an overwhelming state. So if you have contacted me with a request for mentoring or insights – alas at the moment I am focusing on the RedBalloon customer experience. I will get back to you but perhaps it will take a while.

This week.

Monday: Speaking engagement in Mandurah (south of Perth) for Goldwell at their customer event on employees are the new customers

Tuesday: Launch of the Australian Institute of Business Well Being

Wednesday: Tackle some emails

Thursday: RedBalloon board meeting

Friday: Family time for 5 whole fabulous days!

‘Sharing’

People often ask me ‘what is the next big thing?’ Occasionally one get’s an insight into what the world ‘might be like’.

Here are some things we know:

1. There is an anti ‘stuff’ movement – not only can we not store everything we own (we live in smaller spaces in cities – and self storage is one of the fastest growing industries) but we are increasingly concerned about the cost to the planet of manufacturing, transporting, storing, then disposing of all this stuff.
2. That social networks are revolutionizing media…
3. That smart phones are outselling PC/Laptops
4. That people like a deal
5. That people want to trust and believe in brands
6. There is an increasing desire to do contribute to community and for people to feel connected to those people around them. (an increase in farmers markets for instance.)

Put these six things together and there is a perfect business revolution taking place.

Rachel Bolsman in her book ‘What’s mine is yours’  calls the phenomena ‘Collaborative Consumption’ – or the ‘Sharing Revolution’

There have been four phases distinct phases as business models evolve to get us to this collaborative consumption era:

• We connected to share information (open source)
• We connected to people we know (social networks)
• We shared our thoughts and published them (blogs/twitter)
• We connected to share and access to assets.

Apparently in the average life on a power drill it is only used for 13 minutes. Does every man need to have one in his tool shed (or does he just need a hole drilled)… Matt my colleague said that I was missing the point about men and power tools when I mentioned this to him.

So how can we share assets – or utilize what we already have to increase it’s return. The internet has created a true enabler – that is efficient, and that provides the scale needed to make such collaborative consumption work.

There is a shift where access trumps ownership.

There are four interesting business models.

1. Collaborative Lifestyles: Social networking becomes service networking – have a look at AirBnB.com
2. Micropreneurs: EBay is the ‘Big Daddy’ of this but also think Freelancer.com
3. I need – You have: Is about redistribution (back to the idea of swapping, bartering, trading, gifting) think 99dresses
4. Products become services: If BMW were to offer mobility solutions rather than sell more cars –It is worth looking at what DriveMyCarRentals.com.au is doing

Interesting it might take a radical shift of thought to move to these collaborative business models especially for existing businesses – such as manufacturers turning themselves into services.

Business is fascinating – Thanks Rachel for ‘Sharing’ your insights.

I wonder how many bosses will be showing how much they care for their team today? (There is a few love heart chocolates on the desks at RedBalloon this morning.)Interesting results from our survey on bosses showing their love.

Also last week RedBalloon got its 2010 Hewitt employee engagement score (which we are very excited with.)  Glad to see as we enter our 10th year and continue to grow dramatically that the score has grown too.

This week is all about learning… I am loving our Grow theme.

Monday: One on One’s (also still sorting out after the flood) – and a few external meetings too.

Tuesday & Wednesday: Verne Harnish is in town for the Growth Summit

Thursday: Full day planning offsite in Melbourne

Friday: Business meetings in Melbourne (including lunch with Janine Allis)

Reading: ‘He’ll be ok – Growing gorgeous boys into good men‘ by Celia Lashlie

Some years ago RedBalloon invested in a business continuity plan. The leadership team posed the question ‘what if this building was not here – could we still operate?’ We are an online business – we should be able to. At the time it seemed kind of expensive and redundant – didn’t we have more important things to work on – like building the brand, and winning more customers.

Logic prevailed – the leadership team said it would be more damaging for our brand long term if we had an interruption to business. (Every time they did a SWAT analysis – threat of disaster was always on the list.)

Some days don't go quite to plan

Alas we had our own little disaster. On Saturday during the heat wave in Sydney – a water pipe burst upstairs in the kitchen and for more than 48 hours water was running through the ceiling, walls, under the building – through our storage & production facilities… we were drenched.

The first team member to arrive on Monday morning got quite the shock…  GM Jemma put the disaster plan in action. Our phones were duly transferred and new workstations set up. Our customer experience team was off air for 17 minutes.

Our printers and paper stock completely sodden…. Again we had a back up – using technology (and calling on our emergency stock that we hold off site)… we visited the local printer to get production out on time… there were helium balloons going out of the office mid morning – as usual… no customer would ever have known.

We still have damp feet – and the office is chaos – we are still in production, we have the professional flood people in now drying everything out. Customers and the brand were not impacted. And the team pulled together to move a ton of sodden paper and furniture.

The majority of stock is held off site.

This I suppose is the case of when the ‘important’ matters… investing in the things you hope you will never need to use… but when you do – being so grateful that you have the team and the procedures to keep things going.

I’m sure there is a proverb for this – ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ perhaps?

Thanks again team – for your leadership and foresight.