Red Ocean VS Blue Ocean Strategy

Great Leadership in the company.. are YOU

9 Tips For Growing A Successful Business

By Chris Seabury

To succeed in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business thinking that they'll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money - only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. You can avoid this in your business ventures by taking your time and planning out all the necessary steps you need to reach to achieve success. Read on to find out how.

1. Get OrganizedTo be successful in business you need to be organized. Organization will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day - as you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you're not forgetting anything and you're completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business.

2. Keep Detailed RecordsAll successful businesses keep detailed records. By keeping detailed records, you'll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome the obstacles that can prevent you from being successful and growing your business.

3. Analyze Your CompetitionCompetition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can't be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money.

4. Understand the Risks and RewardsThe key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is "What's the downside?" If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards for your business.

5. Be Creative

Always be looking for ways to improve your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Recognize that you don't know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches to your business.

6. Stay FocusedThe old saying that "Rome was not built in a day" applies here. Just because you open a business doesn't mean that you're going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals and give the rest time to come together on its own.

7. Prepare to Make SacrificesThe lead-up to starting a business is hard work, but after you open your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases, you have to put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else. In turn, you have to make sacrifices, such as spending less time with family and friends in order to be successful.

8. Provide Great ServiceThere are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they'll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.

9. Be ConsistentConsistency is key component to making money in business. You have to consistently keep doing the things necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money over the long term.

ConclusionStarting and running and running a successful business can be rewarding and challenging. Success requires focus, discipline and perseverance. However, success will not come over night - it requires a long-term focus and that you remain consistent in challenging environments.

http://www.investopedia.com/

5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR REVENUE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY USING 360˚ REVENUE MANAGEMENT

SHONA WHITEHEAD — APRIL 17, 2014

Recent performance reports indicate that the UK hotel market is experiencing and forecasting growth; but are we ready and able to respond to this positive change outlook after several years of challenging trading?

Revenue management strategy must look at the business from every angle – from the outside in (your potential customers, competitors & market demand) and from the inside out (your performance, systems, resources & stakeholders); this is 360˚ revenue management. Thinking about where our revenues come from and starting with the customer; this first set of 5 tips focuses on your strategy from the “outside in”:

1. Know your market

Understanding your demand drivers and who your competition are will impact some, if not all, elements of your revenue management strategy.

Go back to basics to really understand where your business comes from looking at aspects: from transport links to location demographics, local development to the major players in the corporate market, event demand to seasonality and from MICE business to tour operators; this list goes on.

With this information you have the basis to understand your demand patterns, your target market segments and will be able identify commercial opportunities and challenges that should be addressed in your strategy.

2 …and your competition

You probably already have a competitor set or sets that you benchmark against; in many cases critical pricing and strategy decisions are based on how your hotel performance compares to these hotels and so, periodically, it’s good to take the opportunity to question “is it still the right fit?”.

Your key competitors may not be entirely obvious. They could be out of your immediate locale (particularly for large event hotels or resorts), may be different for different seasons and could also vary mid-week vs weekend.  Don’t assume, for example, that a good mid-scale hotel can be ignored by a 4 star (or vice versa): for some types of business they will compete. Be open to having several competitor sets.

In addition to using the standard metrics of: brand strength, house count, facilities, star rating etc.; stress test the validity of your competitor set by thinking and booking like a customer.

3. Think & book like a customer

You may have strong and rational pricing but if your customers can’t find you, can’t book you, can’t understand what is on offer and can’t make a comparison then you are far less likely to convert potential customers.

77% of hotel guests consult TripAdvisor before booking

There are plenty of tools that will provide you with rate shopping but this does not truly give you the customer perspective. A recent report, conducted by PhoCusWright on behalf of TripAdvisor, found “77% of hotel guests…consult TripAdvisor before booking” and the Google guide to mobile hotel bookings states that “people are using mobile phones throughout every step of the travel cycle from beginning to end”. Therefore understanding how our revenue management strategy is “seen” and “bought” from the outside-in is critical.

It can be achieved simply with both online and mobile research:

• Random search by location for various days & dates – how are you described and ranked?
  • What hotels are ranked below and above – why?
• Search on 2 or 3 major OTA sites – how are you ranked, how do compare in price and in pricing product (BAR rates, Advance Purchase, Packages etc.), are your terms and conditions clear?
• Make several bookings at your hotel and at other hotels that appear in search – how easy is the booking journey; who is best / worst?
• Assess your social media presence by comparing key metrics: Trip Advisor Score & Ranking, OTA ranking, Twitter participation (followers, tweets, last tweet, comments & responses), Facebook Likes and engagement etc.

The key here is are you visible and bookable; on the strength of online search is a customer more or less likely to book your hotel? Be honest about your results and adjust your strategy accordingly.

4. Know your product and make the most of it

Maybe you have a great product and perhaps all your competitors do too; how do you stack up?

• Create a grid of all key drivers for your target markets e.g. for corporate this may be: free water in bedrooms, parking included, free WiFi; for leisure something different. Research (from a customer perspective – online) how you are positioned vs your competition.
• Does your offer stack up and is it visible to your customers?
• Room types & descriptions are important; for example, there is little point in “including” a key driver (breakfast, business lounge etc.) if you don’t tell your customers until they are 95% of the way through the booking process

Don’t kid yourself, if you have to re-position your offer to add a key driver that will make you more competitive / attractive, then do the cost benefit analysis (or ask yourself, “can you afford not to?”).

5. Teamwork

Having an effective 360˚ approach means working in a collaborative way with all areas of the business and particularly with sales, marketing, distribution and e-commerce. Strategically addressing opportunities and challenges, making changes to products and pricing, including value-adds etc. requires a joined up approach to ensure the right message reaches the customer.

What works well is to establish, up front, how your hotel or business will make decisions to drive the revenue strategy forward; then when any strategic or tactical changes are needed you already know the right people to gather round the table.

http://www.hotelspeak.com/

Rahsia Kejayaan Air Asia

Air Asia ditubuhkan pada tahun 1993 dan mula beroperasi pada tahun 1996. Diasaskan pada awalnya oleh syarikat kepunyaan kerajaan iaitu DRB-HICOM. Pada tahun 2001, syarikat yang dibebani dengan hutang yang amat banyak telah diambil alih oleh Tony Fernandes melalui syarikatnya Tune Air Sdn Bhd. Beliau merupakan bekas eksekutif syarikat Tune Warner.  Tune Air Sdn Bhd adalah nama yang diguna pakai selepas Tony pengambil alihan pada harga token RM1.00. Sejak diambil alih, Air Asia telah berjaya merekod dan meraih pelbagai anugerah serta bersaing sengit dengan syarikat-syarikat penerbangan yang lain termasuk MAS Berhad. Hanya dalam masa satu tahun sahaja Tony Fernandes telah berjaya menyelesaikan masalah beban hutang syarikat. Beliau telah berjaya membaiki prestasi Air Asia dan merekodkan keuntungan.

Hub pertama yang dilancarkan oleh Air Asia ialah di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA). Di hub pertama,Air Asia memperkenal banyak laluan penerbangan yang baru dengan tawaran harga yang amat murah. Hub kedua pula mula beroperasi pada tahun 2003 di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Senai, Johor yang berdekatan dengan Singapura. Laluan luar negara pertama yang dilancarkan oleh Air Asia berjaya melonjakkan namanya di sana. Namun jika cabaran untuk bersaing tidak disahut dengan formula yang bersesuaian untuk berjaya, Air Asia pasti akan kecundang. Tony Fernandes merupakan tokoh yang amat berwibawa dalam menentukan nama Air Asia kekal berjaya di Asia dan mula menempah nama di rantau yang lain.

Secara amnya, Air Asia berjaya mencatat kejayaan demi kejayaan kerana pihak pengurusan dibawah pimpinan Tony Fernandes mengamalkan sistem pengurusan kos yang efektif. Dalam banyak hal, kos yang rendah amat diutamakan. Air Asiapada awalnya memulakan operasinya dengan kos yang rendah jika dibandingkan dengan pesaing yang terdekat MAS. Strategi menurunkan kos permulaan perniagaan ialah dengan membeli kapal terbang terpakai. Kapal terbang terpakai sudah semestinya berharga lebih murah daripada kapal terbang yang baru. Ini adalah strategi awal. Setelah syarikat sudah mencatat keuntungan dan mempunyai dana yang lebih, kapal terbang yang dibeli pada peringkat awal ini diganti dengan kapal terbang baru secara berperingkat. Selain kos permulaan, kos operasi dan kos harian seperti gaji kakitangan, bayaran untuk kapal terbang mendarat dan sebagainya juga dikenal pasti sebagai komponen kos yang perlu diuruskan pada tahap yang rendah juga.

Bagaimanakah pula Air Asia berjaya mengurangkan kos penggajian kakitangannya termasuk juruterbang? Kos juruterbang pada kebiasaannya merupakan salah satu komponen kos yang paling tinggi yang perlu dibelanjakan oleh pihak syarikat penerbangan. Pihak pengurusan Air Asia walaubagaimanapun berjaya melakukan yang sebaliknya. Terdiri daripada kumpulan pengurusan yang sangat bijak untuk mengambil peluang, Air Asia bertindak ketika syarikat lain mengalami tempoh perniagaan yang sukar. Banyak syarikat penerbangan lain memecat juruterbang-juruterbang mereka akibat peristiwa 11 September 2001. Selepas kejadian tersebut, banyak syarikat penerbangan tidak dapat menanggung kos operasi kerana ramai orang tidak berani untuk membuat perjalanan menaiki kapal terbang kecuali segelintir sahaja atas sebab terpaksa atau kecemasan. Banyak syarikat penerbangan yang lain terpaksa memberhentikan laluan penerbangan yang tidak memberi keuntungan kepada mereka. Oleh sebab itu, ramai juruterbang hilang punca pendapatan akibat dibuang atau kurang melakukan penerbangan. Air Asia mengambil peluang ini dan menawarkan peluang kerja kepada juruterbang-juruterbang yang telah dipecat ini untuk berkhidmat dengan mereka. Akan tetapi Air Asia mempunyai kuasa yang lebih pada waktu itu kerana skim atau pakej penggajian yang ditawarkan adalah jauh lebih rendah daripada syarikat penerbangan pesaing. Juruterbang yang terdesak untuk bekerja akan menerima tawaran Air Asia walaupun pakej penggajian tidak begitu menarik.

Walaubagaimanapun, Air Asia akan memberi inisiatif dalam bentuk lain kepada kakitangan mereka. Ianya berdasarkan kecemerlangan prestasi kerja berbanding satu pakej yang sama rata. Kos juga dikurangkan dari segi struktur penggajian kerana Air Asia mengamalkan sistem pelbagai tugas untuk satu kakitangan. Seorang kakitangan yang mengendalikan kaunter daftar masuk akan juga menguruskan pelanggan semasa hendak menaiki kapal terbang. Kakitangan ini jugalah yang akan meguruskan lain-lain urusan mengemaskini rekod dan sebagainya. Oleh itu tiada duplikasi kerja dan tiada pembaziran tenaga kerja. Kos berkaitan kakitangan diuruskan dengan sangat berkesan dan efektif. Pihak Air Asia akan memastikan kos dapat dikurangkan selagi ianya tidak melanggar mana-mana syarat atau undang-undang buruh dan sebagainya.

Kos penjualan tiket merupakan satu lagi komponen kos yang amat dititik beratkan oleh pihak Air Asia. Di zaman teknologi maklumat yang canggih, hampir setiap orang terlibat dengan kemajuan internet. Masing-masing teruja dan menganggap sesiapa yang tidak arif tentang penggunaan internet merupakan golongan yang tertinggal. Merebut peluang ini, Air Asiamengambil langkah untuk menawarkan cara pembelian tiket penerbangan melalui internet secara atas talian. Tindakan ini adalah untuk mengurangkan kos operasi pengendalian kaunter tiket dan sebagainya. Dengan Air Asia, pelanggan tidak perlu menelefon atau pergi ke kaunter tiket. Mereka boleh membuat tempahan secara atas talian. Pelanggan juga sebenarnya tidak dibebani dengan kos-kos seperti kos pengangkutan untuk ke kaunter tiket dan sebagainya. Oleh sebab itu, lebih ramai yang menggemari sistem pembelian secara atas talian dan ini menambahkan jualan dan seterusnya prestasi perniagaan Air Asia.

Mungkin ramai tidak menyedari bahawa kos untuk menerbangkan sebuah kapal terbang dan membuat pendaratan di sesebuah lapangan terbang adalah berbeza antara satu tempat dengan tempat yang lain. Jika syarikat MAS menawarkan laluan penerbangan dan mendarat kapal terbangnya terus ke Hong Kong, Air Asia pula menerbangkan kapal terbangnya ke Macau. Kos yang dikenakan untuk penerbangan dan mendaratkan kapal terbang ke Hong Kong dan Macau sangat berbeza. Jurang kos yang amat besar. Dengan kos penerbangan dan mendarat kapal terbang yang rendah, Air Asia dapat menurunkan harga tiket untuk menarik ramai orang membeli daripada Air Asia. Pelanggan masih boleh ke Hong Kong tetapi berbelanja dengan lebih jimat.

Penjenamaan adalah juga merupakan satu komponen yang dititik beratkan oleh Tony Fernandes untuk membawa Air Asia ke tahap yang tinggi serta mampu bersaing dengan syarikat penerbangan gergasi yang lain. Air Asia mengamalkan kaedah kerja yang lebih fokus untuk memberi peluang kepada setiap orang supaya mereka mampu terbang dengan Air Asia. Ianya bermula dengan misi menawarkan harga tiket yang amat rendah sehingga RM1.00 untuk menarik perhatian ramai. Kaedah siapa cepat dia untung adalah prinsip penjualan tiket yang digunakan. Jika anda membeli tiket untuk penerbangan sebulan dari tarikh pembelian, kemungkinan besar anda akan dapat membeli tiket pada harga yang lebih rendah berbanding jika tempoh perjalanan yang lebih dekat dengan tarikh pembelian tiket.

Kaedah penjualan tiket yang tidak serata dari segi harga dan sebagainya membolehkan Air Asia memastikan hampir setiap penerbangan adalah dengan kapasiti penumpang yang penuh. Produk makanan dan lain-lain pula disediakan kepada sesiapa yang membuat pembelian sahaja. Dengan cara ini, Air Asia akan hanya membuat tempahan mengikut pembelian oleh pelanggan. Tiada pembaziran berlaku!  Pengurusan pembaziran yang cekap adalah satu strategi yang bijak untuk merekodkan kejayaan Air Asia.

Dari segi penjenamaan pula, Tony Fernandes bijak menggunakan pengalaman beliau untuk membuat pemasaran yang strategik dan bekerjasama dengan orang kuat Virgin iaitu Sir Richard Branson. Air Asia X dimulakan hasil kerjasama denganVirgin. Kesinambungan kerjasama ini dapat dilihat dengan kejayaan Air Asia menawarkan penerbangan ke negara-negara Eropah seperti United Kingdom, Perancis dan lain-lain. Bermula sebagai jaguh kampung dan menerbangkan pelanggan sekitar destinasi domestik, Air Asia sekali lagi mengambil peluang untuk maju dalam penerbangan ke destinasi di luar negara. Walaupun ia mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk membuahkan hasil, segala usaha yang dibuat untuk penjenamaan adalah atas berkat kesabaran Tony Fernandes.

Masalah dan rintangan merupakan asam garam dunia perniagaan. Air Asia juga tidak terkecuali daripada mendapat kritikan daripada banyak pihak apabila pengurusan jadual penerbangan yang selalu mengalami kelewatan dan sebagainya. Tetapi pihak pengurusan Air Asia tidak berdiam diri begitu sahaja. Segala kritikan dan rungutan akan dibawa ke pihak atasan untuk rundingan dan perbincangan lanjut serta mencari jalan penyelesaian. Penambahbaikan sentiasa diamalkan sehingga segala rungutan dan kritikan dapat diatasi. Pada waktu ini, setelah lebih sepuluh tahun beroperasi, Air Asia mampu berdiri tegak dan megah dengan keupayaan mereka untuk menangani masalah tersebut.

Sabar adalah asas untuk berjaya walaupun tahap perniagaan anda sudah berada tinggi seperti Air Asia. Tony Fernades pernah mengeluarkan ucapan bahawa pihaknya sudah mencuba dan menunggu berthaun-tahun untuk mendapat sesuatu laluan penerbangan. Mereka tidak berputus asa dan akhirnya berjaya mendapatkan hak laluan yang mereka inginkan.  Begitu juga dengan hasrat Air Asia untuk membeli satu pasukan bola sepak di United Kingdom. Mereka tidak berputus asa dan terus mencuba. Rundingan demi rundingan dijalankan dan akhirnya pada tahun 2011, Air Asia berjaya membeli satu pasukan bola sepak. Mengapakah langkah ini penting? Ia merupakan salah satu strategi kearah penjenamaan serta cara untuk syarikat penerbangan ini mengorak langkah untuk menembusi pasaran di Eropah pula. Apabila jenama Air Asia sudah sebati dengan peminat pasukan bola tersebut, sekali gus rakyat di United Kingdom akan mengenali Air Asia sebagai satu jenama yang perlu dipilih. Inilah peluang keemasan yang Air Asia nantikan!

Air Asia juga menawarkan servis sampingan yang dirasakan perlu untuk pelanggan-pelanggannya. Air Asia sangat prihatin terhadap permintaan atau kehendak pelanggan. Tunes Hotel disediakan untuk mereka yang memerlukan tempat penginapan yang asas semasa mereka dalam perjalanan. Air Asia menawarkan khidmat penginapan dengan kadar yang rendah terutama kepada kepada sesiapa yang sudah membeli tiket penerbangan Air Asia. Satu pakej yang menguntungkan kedua belah pihak.

“The more you give, the more you will get” adalah pepatah yang diamalkan oleh pihak Air Asia. Banyak bantuan kewangan yang telah dihulurkan oleh syarikat untuk mengurangkan bebanan golongan miskin dan sebagainya. Dari segi pertolongan yang tidak mengeluarkan wang secara terus pula, Air Asia boleh dikatakan agak aktif untuk menghulurkan bantuan penerbangan bagi membawa pulang rakyat Malaysia di negara yang ditimpa bencana seperti di Indonesia atau krisis perang saudara seperti di negara Teluk dan sebagainya.  Mereka percaya pulangan yang akan diperolehi daripada keprihatinan mereka ini akan datang pada bila-bila masa dan dalam pelbagai bentuk.

http://www.usahawan.com/

“Does my business even need a marketing plan?”

Is it worth the time and effort to develop a marketing plan for my business?Yep, it’s a great question, one our clients are constantly dealing with here at TSL. Truth be told, here’s your answer:

It depends.

While that answer might not thrill you it’s probably the most accurate response to this question.  Every business has their own DNA and some may respond favorably to developing a plan and using the plan to discipline everyday activities. Others may spend time, energy and money to develop a plan and then resort to tactical maneuvers that quickly veer off the prescribed path.  Yet others may not have any plan and still manage to hit their numbers.

Get a quick read on whether a written plan may help by answering the following questions:

1.       If you had specific goals or strategic objectives – did your marketing efforts significantly contribute to their achievement?
2.        Does your company struggle with determining what the best performance metrics are?
3.       Are your marketing expenditures heavily weighted to a specific area – even though that area is showing declining performance?
4.       Does your company seek marketing performance improvement but is unsure of how to best achieve it?
5.       Are your functional department leaders – for example, sales, marketing and operations – all on the same page as to what marketing performance should be?
6.       Would a written plan keep everyone more accountable for results?

If you’re thorough and brutally honest in your answers to these questions, you may find that it makes sense to have a plan. One of the challenges in developing a plan is making it match the culture of your organization.  Your plan has to fit the culture and the flow of how “things get done.”  Because of the pace of change today, shorter is better because the plan has to be revisited and evaluated on a regular basis in order to fine tune it.

If you’d like to talk to us about helping you develop a plan that’s right for your company and will provide the foundation for better marketing performance, contact us today using the yellow form below.

http://www.thesaleslion.com/

image credit

“I don’t know where to get started with content marketing.”

Yes, Content Marketing is the latest rage in the world of business and marketing, as well it should be. Great teaching and communication gets results—always has, always will. But as with any trend, the issue of “getting started” has been a huge stumbling block for many companies—from the biggest brands to the smallest mom and pops.

Generally speaking, when a company or brand wants to initiate a content marketing campaign, there are many questions that need to be answered, a few of which are:

• Who in our company can produce content?
• How often should we post new blog articles, videos, etc.?
• What is the best type of content for our business and industry? (text, video, audio, etc.)
• What will the “voice” of our content and brand sound like?
• Who will be the person in charge of planning, organizing, editing, and managing our content going forward?
• Will we need to hire a new employee(s) to do this well or can we leverage the in-house talent we already have?
• What platform should we build our blog on (like WordPress) ?
• How much will social media play a role in our content marketing efforts?
• What will enable us to consistently produce content going forward so it has a lasting impact?

As you might imagine, there are many other questions to consider in this process, which is exactly what we do with The Sales Lion. Companies come to us when they know they want to get started with content marketing but need guidance so as to eliminate the learning curve that stunts the initial success of so many content marketing ventures. Furthermore, they come to us when their content marketing efforts are stagnant and not getting the desired results. And if you want to get a really good feel as to the principles we teach, view this slideshare deck:

http://www.thesaleslion.com/

How to Create a Movement and Explode Your Brand with Content Marketing: A Case Study

by Marcus Sheridan

There is a reality to this thing called content marketing that is inescapable:

Content Marketing is NOT a “tip your toes in the water” approach to business.

Nope, not at all.

The fact is, those companies that manage to turn content marketing from a “program” (a forced set of actions) to a true “culture” (intrinsically motivated actions) are the ones doing exceptional things in their space.

And when this culture is established, the possibilities for impact are literally limitless.

A photo of the Health Catalyst website, a company that is truly creating a movement with the help of great content marketing.

How Content Marketing is Helping to Revolutionize the Healthcare Industry

Case in point, I want to take a look at a company today that is not only one of the greatest examples of building a brand and driving revenue through content marketing I’ve ever seen and been a part of, but has managed to spawn a literal movement within their industry.

This company I’m referring to is Health Catalyst.

In just over 18 months since starting Content Marketing, Health Catalyst not only signed massive clients like Kaiser Permanente and Partners Healthcare, but they’ve also become the “it” brand within their industry—the company everyone is talking about in their space and a respected thought-leader of their field.

But the question is, how did they do it? How did this small, Utah-based B2B company manage to become an industry-wide leader despite the incredibly deep pockets of competition from the likes of Oracle and IBM?

The steps of Health Catalyst’s success are a literal blueprint for any company looking to achieve amazing results with content marketing. And although *your* company may not do exactly what you read below, I would first ask you if the following would be possible…

8 Examples of Content Marketing Excellence by Health Catalyst

1. They have Amazing Leadership Buy-In

I knew the first time I ever spoke to Health Catalyst they were going to do some special things in their space. My reason for knowing this was simple—their Senior Vice President, Paul Horstmeier, told me the following statement:

“We want to be the premier thought-leaders in our industry. If hospitals and health organizations have questions, we want them to think of Health Catalyst.”

Simple, bold, and quite telling was this statement because since that time Paul has literally been the most impressive senior officer I’ve ever worked with when it comes to demonstrating leadership and vision with what content marketing is really all about.

2. They took the time to get Buy-In from staff

I’m sure you’ve heard someone in your company at one time or another say, “We don’t have time for blogging.” And if anyone should have that excuse, it would be Health Catalyst. Their company’s subject matter experts are doctors and health professionals, the last people you’d expect to “have the time” to produce content. Notwithstanding, theyfind the time to make things happen. Since our kickoff workshop to explain to the staff the what, how, and why of content marketing—multiple people throughout the organization have worked tirelessly to establish themselves as the true “teachers” of the healthcare analytics space.

3. They invested heavily in a content marketing team

Often times, companies think the duties of a content manager are no more than a few hours a week and certainly not the job of more than one person. With Health Catalyst, the opposite is true. The company has multiple team members working in their content marketing division and because of this, they have managed to consistently produce 2-4 new pieces of content (most of which is very technical and research-oriented) every week for over a year.

4. They focused not only on great content, but put major attention to things like SEO and Social Media.

I wish we had room in this article to show what the editorial draft of a Health Catalyst blog article looks like, as it would blow most companies away in terms of its detailed nature. But to give you a quick feel, whenever a new piece of content for the company blog is produced, it also includes the following for review:

• Page Title
• Alternative Page Title
• Unique SEO Title
• Target Keywords for the post
• Current site rankings for targeted keywords
• Corresponding articles for end of post
• Meta Description
• Customized URL
• Customized description for each social media platform (twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
• And others components

Pretty detailed, isn’t it? To further paint the picture, their Senior VP I mentioned earlier, Paul Horstmeier, passionately reviews each posts as well as the SEO goals therein. In fact, there have been many times when I’ve personally traded multiple emails with Paul and his team debating over ONE single word in the title of the post, simply because they understand how much one word can matter in the grand scheme of SEO.

5. They developed a world-class website and knowledge center

I’ve spoken about the Health Catalyst knowledge center before, but I truly believe it’s the model for what great content marketing companies should look like. With all of their articles, videos, webinars, case studies, etc. housed in an easy-to-find area of the site, current customers and prospects alike can become immersed and thoroughly educated in the world of healthcare analytics.

A glimpse of Health Catalyst’s incredible knowledge center, full of videos, webinars, case studies, etc.

6. They produced the entire gamut of content—from articles to eBooks to Webinars

As mentioned above, Health Catalyst understands that in order to be true thought leaders, they need to teach the industry using a variety of methods, allowing their prospects to learn in *their* preferred style—be it video, audio, or text.

7. They organized an incredible conference with hundreds in attendance from around the world

In what may be their boldest display of passionate teaching for their subject matter, Health Catalyst put on an extremely successful conference called HAS14 (Healthcare Analytics Summit) where hundreds of health professionals from around North America flew in to Utah and received two days of premium education from the likes of Billy Beane (Moneyball) and other analytics and health professionals. With over 80% of the attendees not even a client of Health Catalyst, and with no reference to themselves (pitching) from the stage, the event was an overwhelming success for attendees and the company alike.

8. They produced a heartfelt and profoundly moving documentary

If global healthcare is going to improve and people around the global are going to get the care they deserve, changes MUST be made in the fundamental way healthcare facilities currently operate. In order to show what is truly possible to others in their industry, Health Catalyst produced an INCREDIBLE documentary called “From the Heart”—a work that has since been shared hundreds and hundreds of times on social media and throughout the industry. Shown below, the documentary is powerful, moving, and extremely well-produced. In fact, I’d personally recommend you watch the following 2 minute video, as it will give you a profound glimpse into the issues currently facing global healthcare as well as the possibility of a When it comes down to it, they’re just great teachers who care.

As you can see, what Health Catalyst has done in such a short period of time with content marketing (about 18 months) is rather astounding. But the fact is, they “get it.”They are obsessed with improving their industry through world class communication and teaching. They don’t shy away from the way consumers use technology, but instead they embrace it and even push the limits of what others might think is possible.

Folks, this is how you make change with content. This is how you become a thought leader in your space. This is how you create a movement.

Well done Health Catalyst, well done.

http://www.thesaleslion.com/

Apple, Microsoft And Google Are World's Most Valuable Brands

A strong brand name is an incredibly valuable asset. Consumer companies in particular devote huge chunks of time and resources to solidify and expand their brands. “A valuable brand delivers a return for the company on two dimensions,” says David Reibstein, professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “Either it allows the company to charge a premium price or it adds more volume or market share.”

When it comes to charging a premium price and moving product, no one does it better than Apple AAPL +1.41%. There are other phones and tablets that are functionally comparable or arguably better than the iPhone and iPad, but the Apple brand carries tremendous weight and credibility, and customers are willing to pay up for that. The company sold 39.3 million iPhones in its latest quarter and could sell as many as 60 million during the last three months of 2014 with the holiday selling season. Apple also moved 12.3 million iPads and 5.5 million Macs last quarter.

Add it all up and the Apple brand is worth $124.2 billion and almost twice as much as any other brand in Forbes’ annual study of the world’s most valuable brands. The value of the Apple brand is up 19% over last year. Apple’s strong brand and innovative products allowed it to redefine four industry categories over the past 13 years with the launches of the iPhone, iPad, iPod and iTunes. The next industries on Apple’s hit list are smarthwatches with the Watch and financial payments with Apple Pay. Premium pricing pushes up Apple’s operating profit margins to 33%, and the company generated $50 billion in free cash flow for the fiscal year ended in September.

Microsoft MSFT -0.18% ranks second with a value of $63 billion, up 11% after being flat the previous three years, as the brand works to make the transition to a mobile world. Microsoft has recently had more success with its move away from the PC and software licensing model towards cloud offerings.

Microsoft inked a five-year, $400 million sponsorship deal with the NFL last year. The pact requires the NFL to use Surface tablet computers on the sideline that download high-def photographs of plays as they occur. Unfortunately for Microsoft the arrangement has provided more evidence of the power of the Apple brand, as announcers and players repeatedly refer to the Surface tablets as iPads and one player called them “knockoff iPads.”  Microsoft is still a bit player in tablets and phones. “There is a lot of catching up to do,” says Reibstein. “They are going to have to work to overcome the brand disadvantage they have in those areas.”

Google GOOGL -0.53% shoots up two spots to No. 3 among the top brands with a value of $56.6 billion, up 19%. Google is the generic term for the search category, but what separates Google from brands like Kleenex and Xerox is the amount of money it generates from its ad-driven business. The Google brand generated $16 billion in earnings before interest and taxes over the last 12 months, and it is one of the biggest ad spenders in tech at $2.8 billion in 2013. “With a well known brand, people trust it a lot more, and part of what is happening with Google is a matter of trust,” says Reibstein.

To determine the best brands, we started with a universe of more than 200 global brands. We required brands to have some presence in the U.S., which eliminated big brands like multinational telecom firm Vodafone and state-owned China Mobile, which has almost twice as many mobile subscribers as any other brand (Vodafone is second in mobile). The final list includes product brands like Anheuser-Busch InBev -owned Budweiser  and brands that are marketed under their corporate name like IBM IBM -0.85%, which ranks fifth overall.

Forbes valued the brands on three years of earnings and allocated a percentage of those earnings based on the role brands play in each industry (e.g., high for luxury goods and beverages, low for airlines and oil companies). We applied the average price-to-earnings multiple over the past three years to these earnings to arrive at the final brand value (click here for the full methodology).

The 100 most valuable brands span 15 countries across 20 broad industry categories. Brands from U.S.-based companies make up just over half the list with the next biggest representation from Germany (9 brands), France (7) and Japan (5). Tech brands are the most prevalent with 16, including 11 of the top 25. Automotive companies landed 16 brands in the top 100 led by Toyota at No.9, worth $31.3 billion.

Sandwiched around IBM are a couple of brands facing the challenges of people’s changing eating and drinking habits, particularly in the U.S. Coca-Cola ‘s value rose 2% to $56.1 billion, placing it fourth. ”When you are selling sugar and water, your brand better be very important,” says Reibstein. The Coca-Cola brand is still extremely valuable, but it operates in an industry with few growth prospects. Coca-Cola sold 13.5 billion cases globally of its signature brand in 2013, up just 0.6% from the prior year. The McDonald’s brand is sixth overall, worth $39.9 billion, but up just 1%. McDonald’s has been working to make its menu appear more health conscious, but many consumers aren’t buying it. Global same-store sales slid 3.3% in the third quarter.

The biggest gainer in the top 100 was Facebook, up 74% for a value of $23.7 billion and No. 18 overall. Various surveys report that fewer teens are using the social sharing site, but the Facebook brand still carries tremendous weight with 864 million daily active users in September. Revenue for the latest quarter jumped 59% with advertising representing 92.5% of total revenue. Other big gainers in the top 100 include Amazon.com (+45%), Starbucks (+25%), Toyota (+22%) and Nike (+22%).

http://www.forbes.com/