Social Media: What is All the Fuss About? Stage 1

The business world is changing fast and at the forefront of the change is technology. One of today’s marketing buzz words is ‘engagement’, which directly links to social media. However, a lot of business owners are wondering what all of the fuss is about and whether it actually delivers solid organisational benefits – particularly sales.

The world of social media is a potential minefield for the uninitiated and most business people have heard mixed reviews about the various channels available. It’s sometimes easy to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ when a marketing tool is free but this isn’t always the best route to take.  In this business article (the first in a series of expert comment pieces) we delve into the social media phenomenon and give a basic overview of where to start and what to think about.

Stage One: Who’s Your Target Audience?

The first stage of any marketing campaign is to consider your target audience. The majority of businesses skip this stage to jump straight into tactics, i.e. “Let’s set up a Facebook Page because all of our competitors have one”. This is a major downfall for most social media campaigns.

A successful way to think about your target audience is by creating a customer persona (or several, depending on your business). This is essentially a summary of the main characteristics of a customer/ client. For example, a Laura Ashley ‘soft furnishing’ customer is:

Likely to be called Dorothy, she lives in the Home Counties and is a housewife.  Her husband has a disposable income of about £60,000 a year.  She is very house proud and socialises mostly through coffee mornings and dinner parties with her neighbours and other mothers from school.  She listens to Radio 2 and watches costume dramas and murder mysteries on the television.

What social media do you think ‘Dorothy’ is likely to use, if any? You might be surprised to learn about the demographics of certain channels…

Social Media: What is all the Fuss About? Stage 2
 

This article has been written by Tanya Hemphill, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Public Relations, based at the Warrington School of Management (University of Chester).

 

What Disney World can Teach us about Customer Service

 

Martin Metcalfe, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Events Management at the Warrington School of Management (University of Chester) explains what businesses can learn from Disney World to improve their customer service…

 Forty three square miles; that’s about the size of the city of Manchester…it’s also the area taken up by the Walt Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida. Consisting of four major theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios), two water/swimming theme parks, over thirty resort hotels (with over 30,000 guest rooms to clean each day), two entertainment, shopping and eating areas, five golf courses, a sports complex, scores of restaurants, hundreds of shops, eight conference facilities and a transport system similar to that of a large city, it is no surprise that it takes a lot of employees for it to run smoothly (63,000 of them, in fact). The logistics alone are impressive: WDW sells over ten million burgers, six million hot dogs and 75 million soft drinks per year. It also sells three and a half million ‘Mouse Ear’ hats, holds over 10,000 firework displays and hosts over 1,500 weddings annually. Disney even has its own language, based on cinematic references:  employees are cast members who do not do a job, but undertake a role, wearing a costume, not a uniform. Customers/tourists are guests who stay in resorts, not hotels.



It is the largest single-site employer in the USA, but what many may not realise is that at up to 7,000 of these employees are university students from all over the world, with a sizeable number from the UK. Many of these are registered through the Disney International Programs, providing around ten weeks of summer work in Orlando.  All cast members undergo an intensive period of training which is specifically designed to introduce them to the ‘Disney way’ – orientation: regarding how to look and act in (and out of) character, and traditions: the embedding the core organisational culture into the hearts and minds of cast members to enable them to deliver ‘Magical’ customer service experiences to Guests from all over the world.




Roles undertaken include: Fast Food and Beverage, Full Service Food and Beverage, Merchandise, 

Operations and Life Guard, amongst others. Some are lucky enough to be Disney Characters or Character Attendants. Regardless of role, the cornerstone to Disney’s training programme is ‘the Four Keys’ – an organisational approach to providing guests with the best possible experience. Training takes place at the purpose-built ‘Disney University’ and is delivered by a number of Disney experts. During the training process,  cast members must go through a period of in-role training when they wear an ‘Earning My Ears’ attachment to their normal name badge. This attachment is removed once ears have been earned (i.e. training is complete).

 

 

Safety represents one core value; dealing with millions of visitors each year (many of whom are young children) this covers everything from ride maintenance to tending to lost youngsters. All cast members are expected to be courteous (and smiling!) at all times, to stay ‘in character’ and to make sure the ‘Magic’ is always evident. Disney enables cast members to enact ‘Magical Moments’ to heighten perceptions of service quality and allow Guests to get the most out of their visit. It is not unusual to see cast members replacing a dropped ice cream or spilt drink, usually to the delight of the recipient.


Though clearly focussed towards providing excellent customer service delivery to visitors/tourists (in Disney’s parlance, Guests – and always with the capital G), this approach offers a useful template for any business to follow, particularly those in the service sector. The Four Keys has  links to the  SERVQAL concept of perceived customer service quality (suggested by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as long ago as the early 1990’s) which identified five quality audit dimensions of Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness as indicators for organisation’s to understand customer expectations and perceptions in order to improve levels of service quality.

Disney is recognised as one of the world leaders in customer service and training. Embedding such fundamental concepts as engagement, diligence and empowerment into training programmes and when cast members are ‘on stage’ (at work) enables the organisation to realise key outcomes (satisfied Guests) and allows cast members to add vital aspects on to their CV. Those lucky enough to undertake the Disney International Programme bring home with them a range of transferrable skills, knowledge and proficiencies that may be to the benefit of themselves, and the organisations that employ them.

And the name badge? All cast members wear one (along with a smile!), which states their name and where they are from. It provides a very useful introduction to those who work for Disney. If you visit WDW, when you come into contact with a cast member check out their badge – they might just be from your home town.

 To find out more about Warrington School of Management, visit our website and follow us on Twitter

Warrington is the location of choice for new start-ups

THE Chartered Accountants UHY Hacker Young recently reported that the WA1 postcode was one of only three places outside of London in the UK top 20, to start a business.

This is a remarkable achievement for the town which consistently punches above its weight in the commercial world.
 

WSM Business Centre, Warrington

There is a range of advice available to assist in business start-up from public bodies, professional services firms, chambers of commerce and financial institutions.



In addition there are many initiatives which can support new companies with business advice, training and development of their ideas, mostly free. 



Financial support may also be forthcoming too, directly in the form of supported loans or through resources such as business incubation.

If you are considering a start-up some basic knowledge is useful; finance, business planning, marketing and increasingly social media use, this can all be developed through education and training.

 

To succeed you need to have a good idea and the capability and determination to deliver it. If this sounds daunting then talk to the people that provide support, they will help you through this process.

Timing-wise now’s promising, a growing economy and strong sector recovery in the region. Warrington’s business environment is a growing success.

Professor Lawrence Bellamy is Associate Dean at the Warrington School of Management, University of Chester Warrington (Padgate) Campus.

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@WSofManagement @ProfLawrenceB

Helping your staff cope with stress

The CIPD (2011) has identified stress as the number one cause of long-term sickness absence with poor management style being the top of work-related anxiety. Work related stress is also linked to lost productivity, low morale, high staff turnover and can result in a higher risk of accidents in the workplace. Here, Stephenie Hodge looks at some of the key drivers of stress in the workplace and how to manage them.

30% of SME decision makers admit workforce stress is hitting their business with stress related absence levels increasing by 27% over the last two years.Businesses could be losing in excess of £1 billion in direct costs as a result of staff taking time off due to work-related stress. One in five employees has taken time off work due to stress, with Monday accounting as the most stressful day of the week.

In a tough economic climate and ever increasing and demanding workloads, it’s hard not to feel the extra pressure at times.

Manage teams well and the individuals feel more able to cope and will rise to the challenge. However, managed incorrectly could have the opposite effect with the individual becoming unable to cope with the stress. The ability to cope with stress and balance workload has a direct correlation with a manager’s performance (ILM, 2013). Teams and managers could be at the heart of both the cause and solution or stress-related problems. Organisations need to foster the right conditions and provide the necessary training.

Addressing workforce challenges and risks is becoming an essential part of achieving better performance and greater growth for UK SMEs. If these issues are not addressed, then they could have serious long-term consequences for business stability and performance.

Most of us admit that we work better under pressure against deadlines and a degree of stress can aid performance. However, people have different ways of dealing with stress, a situation that could be motivating and challenging for one person could feel stressful to someone else. Stress can affect how we feel, think and behave. Work related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands being placed on them, coupled with not being correctly supported.

Stephenie Hodge is Senior Lecturer in Marketing and HR at the Warrington School of Management.

 

It all starts with the Culture of the Organisation

Culture is driven from the top down so managers have the responsibility to nurture the well-being of the team, supporting positive beliefs and attitudes which will in turn help to set the tone for a workplace environment that champions open lines of communication. Organisations can slip into a culture where employees are expected to work all hours at any cost.

Occasionally it may be required to take work home; however, if this is on a regular long-term basis then it is usually a sign that something is wrong, another stress trigger. We need to get away from work at the end of the day, both for our mental and physical well-being. 21% of employees take work home at least twice a week. Addressing workforce challenges is an essential part of achieving better performance and greater growth for businesses.

Providing Support

The more managers know what makes their team tick, the greater the chance of noticing the signs and taking the appropriate action to support and elevate the cause. They need to understand how their management style and behaviour impacts on the people they manage.

Managers can either cause or exacerbate stress or help prevent and manage it. It is in employers’ interests to ensure managers have the necessary people management skills to manage and prevent stress.

Relieving stress in the workplace makes work a more positive place and delivers mutual benefits. Stress will not disappear, within organisations we just need to learn how to manage our teams.

Prevention is the best cure, create and nurture the appropriate sets of conditions. De-stress the working environment by:

 

Talking – small adjustments such as altering hours, even on a temporary basis may help to supress the issue
Training if applicable
Listening
Supporting
Motivation
Empowerment
Mentoring system
Effective and timely communication
Clear vision and understanding of value
Fare and consistent
Flexible approach
Knowing teams’ strengths and weaknesses

People are the lifeblood of any business and looking after them by ensuring that stress levels are balanced is vital if a company wants to attract the most skilled employees and retain existing talent. Companies that do this will be best positioned to take advantage for the future.

Stephenie Hodge is a Senior Lecturer at Warrington School of Management, University of Chester, Warrington (Padgate) Campus.

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60 seconds with......

 

Tanya Hemphill



Position: Senior Lecturer in Public Relations

Department: Business at the Warrington School of Management

Place of work before coming to the University: I was self employed for 10 years before joining the University last September. During this time I had set up and run three different businesses - a PR agency, a lifestyle magazine and an ecommerce company.

Biggest Career Achievement: Setting up my PR agency with a £3000 loan from the Prince's Trust and growing it in to an award-winning agency with clients such as John Lewis.

 

Favourite Place: Relaxing on a sandy beach.

Most memorable moment: Meeting Prince Charles after winning a 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year' award 18 months after setting up my first business.

Ultimate dream: To travel around the world with my family.

Most embarrassing moment: Forgetting to put on my car handbrake during a job interview and finding my car one inch away from hitting my (potential) boss' shiny new Ferrari. He was witness to the whole thing; and suffice to say, I didn't get the job!

Favourite song: It depends on my mood.

Favourite book: I belong to a book club, which means that I read a novel a month (on top of academic text books and journal articles for my MSc in Digital Marketing). Therefore, I've been lucky enough to read a few great new books that I wouldn't have normally chosen! My two (recent) favourite ones have been Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie.

Favourite food: I love Italian food (which may be linked to the fact that my Grandfather was Italian!)

Describe your self in three words: Creative, inquisitive and focussed.

 

 

You can find out more about Warrington School of Management, our specialist courses and expert staff at our website , Twitter or contacting us by email.