Bay of Plenty Business News February/March 2018

20 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018
When PR spin
goes too far
Let’s be honest. Many of us are prone to
focusing on the positive and making the
odd exaggeration when telling a story.
That football match in
the weekend? I scored
a goal. Never mind the
two penalties I gave away. And
that new car my company is
selling? It’s the first of its kind.
Never mind that the only difference
is the unique shade of
grey it is painted.
A little bit of poetic licence
is often accepted when you’re
telling a friend what you got up
to on the weekend, but when it
comes to business or politics,
there’s such a thing as “good
spin” and “bad spin”.
That topic was brought
sharply into focus recently by
US President Donald Trump in
his State of the Union address.
Speaking about his decision
to deregulate the coal industry,
he uttered the oxymoronic
phrase “beautiful, clean coal”.
Trump was making the case
for deregulation of fossil fuels
to boost jobs and business
opportunities, but his turn of
phrase would have done little
to convince anybody outside
his supporter base.
What Trump forgets - or
on his previous history of documented
falsehoods may not
care about - is that there’s a
difference between accentuating
the positive and making
statements that are completely
at odds with scientific consensus.
Good spin has its basis
in fact and it can influence
people because it has a degree
of credibility. Without a factual
basis, spin is nothing more
than deceit.
But it’s not just US presidents
who are tying themselves
in knots. Some Kiwi
businesses are also spinning
themselves off their feet.
One example was
Wellington business
Glassescases, owner of
New York-style diner Five
Boroughs, which was recently
put into voluntary liquidation.
The directors told
BusinessDesk that they
planned to re-open Five
Boroughs a few blocks away
on a site owned by one of
their other companies, and that
winding up Glassescases was
“the quickest and cleanest”
means to an end.
It’s one thing to talk
about the benefits of
deregulation and the
jobs the coal industry
will create, but quite
another to label it
“clean”.
“Our company grew from
four employees when we
opened the doors to 19… we
weren't quite ready for that.
The way I look at it is we had
a practice run at opening our
dream business, and now we
get to do it all over again,” a
director was quoted as saying
by BusinessDesk.
Unsurprisingly, readers
didn’t buy it. The comments
section of the National
Business Review website,
which ran the story, was filled
with remarks from readers
expressing outrage that the
directors were allegedly leaving
creditors and staff out of
pocket. Simply put, the narrative
being put forward by the
company was not perceived as
TELLING YOUR STORY
> BY JAMES HEFFIELD
Director of Bay of Plenty communications consultancy Last Word
Writing Services. To find out more visit lastwordwriting.co.nz or
email james@lastwordwriting.co.nz.
believable. The eventual outcome
was that the directors
of Glassescases issued a statement
saying they had decided
to take out a personal loan to
pay staff what they were owed.
The point of all this is that
companies and politicians need
to give the public more credit.
It’s one thing to talk about the
benefits of deregulation and
the jobs the coal industry will
create, but quite another to
label it “clean”. The same principle
applies to any business
announcing it is going into liquidation.
It’s fine to talk about
lessons learned and plans for
the future. However, any issues
of unpaid debts or the business
closure’s impact on staff can’t
simply be ignored, as they are
more than likely to emerge and
potentially result in the company
being seen in an unfavourable
light
So remember, next time
you’re spinning a good yarn,
make sure it’s founded in fact
and think about how it will be
received by readers. Chances
are that if you’re not convinced
of something yourself, your
readers won’t be either.
Challenges and strategies in 2018
Across sectors, small
businesses continue to
face challenges in 2018;
namely increased competition
from global chains, and technology-driven
commoditisation
of products/services and
consumer comfort with online
sales.
For some, trying to compete
against this changing
world and its economies of
scale seems unsustainable. But
challenges are also opportunities
and in 2018 the winners
will be those who differentiate
themselves in the market,
by delivering highest quality
personalised service and products
by focusing on some key
areas.
These include:
• Customer service - Loyal
customers are a competitive
edge in a corporate retail
and online environment. So
don’t get complacent about
customer service which
will only make you vulnerable
to the convenience
and price advantages of
the corporate/online players.
Focus on delivering the
‘wow’ factor, offering your
customers a highly personalised,
interesting and
excellent experience that
will enhance their sense of
value and give them a good
story to tell. You sell an
experience, not a commodity.
• Business management -
The old adage of working
on the business not in it
still rings very true. Yet,
many owner-operated businesses
still spend most of
their time in day-to-day
operational tasks, to the
detriment of the long-term
business. Take time to manage
the business – financial
planning, reviewing the
effectiveness of systems
and processes such as customer
service, staff training,
and addressing longterm
strategic needs, risks
MONEY MATTERS
> BY STEPHEN GRAHAM
Stephen Graham is director and managing partner at BDO Rotorua,
Chartered Accountants and Advisers. To find out more visit bdorotorua.co.nz
or email rotorua@bdo.co.nz
and opportunities.
• Pricing structures -
Suppliers are struggling as
much as anyone so will be
open to negotiation to be
competitive. It comes down
to getting a price that’s
good business for both
parties, achieving the best
possible margin available
considering the source of
the product or service and
what it can be sold for in
the market.
• Internet presence - Around
49 percent of New Zealand
small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) still do
not have a website. That’s a
shocking stat. A good quality
web presence is critical
in today’s world - that is
where people find out about
you and communicate with
you. Social media platforms
also play an important
role in creating an
online presence - it is estimated
by 2019 there will be
approximately. 2.77 billion
social media users around
the globe. Social media for
small to medium businesses
has the ability to increase
website traffic, as not only
do social media sites help
drive traffic to your website,
but the more shares
your social media receives
the higher your business
will rank online. Without
a quality internet presence
you’re not only missing out
competitively in terms of
branding, but are also losing
out on opportunities to
connect better with customers
and build online sales
and services.
• Community involvement -
As a local business, another
competitive edge you can
build on over the global
and national retail chains
is getting involved in your
community, helping building
a level of visibility, connection
and reputation that
is difficult for the chains to
replicate.
Overall, there is a lot to be
positive about in 2018. There
doesn’t appear to be any sign
yet of the forecast instability
in the economy post-election,
the dollar is strong ensuring
purchasing costs remain stable,
and generally our primary
sectors are doing well.
Opportunity is knocking.