Over the last few weeks, something interesting has begun happening - we've started getting calls from night clubs, and night club promoters who traditionally have take the cheap and cheerful route looking at using the services of our business.
Why?
Good question, when I asked Dean from one of the promoters who called in, it was because the services that they had been using, less than 90% were actually getting to their contact list.
Well if you're paying peanuts, then that's OK isn't - well, it's easy to say yes, but no not really.
I'll give you a hypothetical for a moment.
I'm a promoter for Night Club A - I have a contact list of 2300 members (OK, so we're a boutique bar) that I want to contact once a week.
In order to get a really good price I need to buy up, so I'll buy 60,000 messages which will cover me for six months which I can get from a provider for 8 cents per message.
The problem is I'm having to pay upfront, which means in rough figures, it's costing me another 5% in lost interest that I could have accrued over that period - so on average the messages are actually costing me 8.2 cents.
I'm sending 2300 messages, give or take, each week, but because only 90% at best are getting through, I'm only hitting 2070 contacts.
Because SMS is such a great way to market, I get a great response of 25% - at $20 per head from the door, my business earns $10,340 per week.
However, I'm missing out getting to 130 contacts - which based on the same ratio means I'm missing out on a possible $460 per week in revenue. Well, it's not huge... that's $11,960 in lost revenue within 6 months - nearly $22k over a year!!
If you add the lost opportunity cost to the cost of the messages purchased in the first place, then actually your message costs work out to be closer to 28 cents per message - which is nearly 2.5 times more than what you would have paid if you had of used a local service and bought that many messages in the first place.
Obviously the figures can be pushed around depending on the size of the club, the upshot though is that even at 90% hit rate, which I think is generous, will still always equate the cheap and cheerfuls of this world to end up being more expensive than the local guys!
Have a great day,
Enjoy,
C
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Jaw pump!
This is going to sound ridiculous, and it is, but today I felt something that I hadn't encountered before in my known lifetime.
Since Skye and I have started going to the gym, I've bought up a bunch of (legit) supplements from a health store in order to get MASSIVE, and improve on my already amazing human strength.
Anyway, Skye went off to gym at lunch today, so I thought I'd carb up on some lunch before he got back and i went over.
I made up my banana roll (which is mash banana in a roll, for those internationals - p.s. it's the most aussie roll about). The roll itself was a touch chewy, nice and moist on the inside, but the crust took some effort to get through... So, as I'm trying to much my banana roll good bye, I notice that I was starting to get sore muscles in the side of my head.
But the end I was struggling to knock it back - I think for big eaters, it's called hitting the wall, or eating it, not sure, anyway only through shear determination did I manage to finish it.
I have another one, but wasn't prepped as yet, but I just couldn't do it.
If you put your hands on your head, each one just in front of your ear and clench your teeth, you'll feel a muscle on each side tense up - this is what I had!
I checked the mirror, and you wouldn't believe it - I had jaw pump and you could visibly see the muscles on each side blown up, like i was some kind of eating builder? Like a bodybuilder, but instead I specialise in eating things.
If this keeps up, if I'm ever trapped in a cave that's incurred rocks fallen in, I won't be bothered, because these choppers are definitely able to eat their way out!
Since Skye and I have started going to the gym, I've bought up a bunch of (legit) supplements from a health store in order to get MASSIVE, and improve on my already amazing human strength.
Anyway, Skye went off to gym at lunch today, so I thought I'd carb up on some lunch before he got back and i went over.
I made up my banana roll (which is mash banana in a roll, for those internationals - p.s. it's the most aussie roll about). The roll itself was a touch chewy, nice and moist on the inside, but the crust took some effort to get through... So, as I'm trying to much my banana roll good bye, I notice that I was starting to get sore muscles in the side of my head.
But the end I was struggling to knock it back - I think for big eaters, it's called hitting the wall, or eating it, not sure, anyway only through shear determination did I manage to finish it.
I have another one, but wasn't prepped as yet, but I just couldn't do it.
If you put your hands on your head, each one just in front of your ear and clench your teeth, you'll feel a muscle on each side tense up - this is what I had!
I checked the mirror, and you wouldn't believe it - I had jaw pump and you could visibly see the muscles on each side blown up, like i was some kind of eating builder? Like a bodybuilder, but instead I specialise in eating things.
If this keeps up, if I'm ever trapped in a cave that's incurred rocks fallen in, I won't be bothered, because these choppers are definitely able to eat their way out!
Thursday, 4 June 2009
SMS that just makes sense
Recently I asked Ann, our Marketing Manager in Nottingham, UK, if we could send out an email to customers giving them idea's on ways people can integrate Business SMS into their business operations that would one, save them money at the end of the day, and two improve on what they are currently doing.
She told me to blog it, so I'm blogging it.
Please note that these figures are approximate averaged numbers, and not exact, but gives a good guide to how simply you could be improving you middle line, and therefore the bottom line.
I've taken A Business as our example, and A Business makes at least 10 calls per day feeding small bits of information to stakeholders whether it be about appointments for sales staff, sending phone messages through, delivery notes and pick up acknowledgements, sending business data to the board, etc...
Using Telstra as my example network with whom A Business have their phone lines with, they are charged a flag rate to mobiles of 39 cents + GST, then depending on whether it's on net (with Telstra) or off net (not with Telstra) will then depend on how much they are charged there after.
Now for a bit of generalisation, if Sandra who is the fictional admin/receptionist for A Business needed to make on average 10 calls a day passing on the above mentioned information, then the average cost to the business for the phone bill would be $1.44 per call (includes flag rate, and then xxx timed charges) times the 10 calls made, the business is being charged $14.40 + GST per day.
Over a 5 day week, that's $72.00 + GST per week, that's $312.00 + GST per month and $3744 + GST per annum.
Again, I've taken these figures straight off the Telstra site, and if there are better plans, then I didn't see them.
Now, according to various websites I found out that an average admin person earns between $39,000 and $58,000 per annum plus super - so to average it out (and to be fair Sandra's pretty good at what she does and is appreciated by her boss) Sandra earns $48,000 per annum (forget about the super for the moment).
So Sandra makes 10 times 5 mintue calls per day - that's 50 minutes spent on the phone, which is fine.
Based on a 37.5 hour week, Sandra earns $24.62 per hour, so 50 minutes of her time equals $20.51.
Each day A Business spends $20.51 for Sandra making calls, extrapolated out, that's $102.55 per week, $444.38 per month, and $5332.60 per annum.
let's combine the two major costs for the moment.
It costs A Business $34.91 per day for Sandra to make these 10 calls, $174.55 per week, $756.38 per month and $9076.60 per annum.
More than you thought I bet!
So, down to business, what would it cost if those messages were sent out via SMS?
The average cost of an SMS from Esendex is 15 cents + GST (because I've been talking averages everywhere else), so 10 SMS's at 15 cents per day is $1.50, over a 5 day week that's $7.50, a month it's $32.50 and over a year that equates to $390.00 + GST.
For argument sake, and the fact I'm feeling generous, I'm going to say it takes Sandra 1 minute to send a single SMS (because she has unusually large fingers for a person of her size and is a slightly slower typist than you would otherwise expect) via Email SMS - it wouldn't take you that long, and I'd argue really if it would take 30 seconds to sent a simple message out, but we'll say 1 minute.
Based on the same figures as above, if Sandra sends 10 SMS messages, which takes her 1 minute to send each, so 10 minutes in total, in terms of what A Business pays her only $4.10 per day to send the messages, $20.51 per week, $88.89 per month which works out to be $1066.67 per year.
Combining the two figure together again, that's $5.60 per day, $28.00 per week, $121.33 per month and $1456.00 per annum.
In this typical example of how A Business would use SMS within their business, the cost savings are like this.
Per day - $29.31
Per week - $146.55
Per month - $635.05
Per annum - $7620.60
** The cost savings don't take into account the GST portion, and ancillary costs associated with staff, power, rent, etc...
It's amazing how something so simple, can be so effective, but I've only shown you the cost saving side, and I did mention about how it would improve on what they are already doing.
So....
Sandra call A Customer about their goods, letting them know that they're ready to be collected, but the person she wants to speak to is on the phone, she holds for a bit, then decides to leave a message with the person on the other end - but they got busy, and forgot to pass the message on straight away.
She then called Another Customer, and let them know that their goods were actually delivered by their driver 5 minutes ago, however John from Another Customer was in the factory working on a break down and not at his desk when the call came in and Sandra left a message - he was furious because he needed the goods for the breakdown and because he wasn't alerted he was really frustrated and took it out on the sales rep from A Business.
The great thing about SMS is the ability to get delivery receipts when the handset receives the message, it's logged by time, date, user and so on, and is kept for prosperity.
Speaking with Roy from R J Sanderson and Associates one time, he said to me that to ask his staff to not use SMS anymore would be like asking them to not use email either, because it was a part of their business systems - his staff preferred it because it meant allowing them to be more efficient and get information across to customers quicker, easier and with the exact details required, and the customers like it because it's direct to them, personal, they themselves can keep it for reference later and all in all feel like they are dealing with a professional outfit.
I think over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and give different examples of using Business SMS with an array of different businesses to show both the cost and customer service benefits of using it within your business.
have a great day, and hope you enjoyed the blog.
C
She told me to blog it, so I'm blogging it.
Please note that these figures are approximate averaged numbers, and not exact, but gives a good guide to how simply you could be improving you middle line, and therefore the bottom line.
I've taken A Business as our example, and A Business makes at least 10 calls per day feeding small bits of information to stakeholders whether it be about appointments for sales staff, sending phone messages through, delivery notes and pick up acknowledgements, sending business data to the board, etc...
Using Telstra as my example network with whom A Business have their phone lines with, they are charged a flag rate to mobiles of 39 cents + GST, then depending on whether it's on net (with Telstra) or off net (not with Telstra) will then depend on how much they are charged there after.
Now for a bit of generalisation, if Sandra who is the fictional admin/receptionist for A Business needed to make on average 10 calls a day passing on the above mentioned information, then the average cost to the business for the phone bill would be $1.44 per call (includes flag rate, and then xxx timed charges) times the 10 calls made, the business is being charged $14.40 + GST per day.
Over a 5 day week, that's $72.00 + GST per week, that's $312.00 + GST per month and $3744 + GST per annum.
Again, I've taken these figures straight off the Telstra site, and if there are better plans, then I didn't see them.
Now, according to various websites I found out that an average admin person earns between $39,000 and $58,000 per annum plus super - so to average it out (and to be fair Sandra's pretty good at what she does and is appreciated by her boss) Sandra earns $48,000 per annum (forget about the super for the moment).
So Sandra makes 10 times 5 mintue calls per day - that's 50 minutes spent on the phone, which is fine.
Based on a 37.5 hour week, Sandra earns $24.62 per hour, so 50 minutes of her time equals $20.51.
Each day A Business spends $20.51 for Sandra making calls, extrapolated out, that's $102.55 per week, $444.38 per month, and $5332.60 per annum.
let's combine the two major costs for the moment.
It costs A Business $34.91 per day for Sandra to make these 10 calls, $174.55 per week, $756.38 per month and $9076.60 per annum.
More than you thought I bet!
So, down to business, what would it cost if those messages were sent out via SMS?
The average cost of an SMS from Esendex is 15 cents + GST (because I've been talking averages everywhere else), so 10 SMS's at 15 cents per day is $1.50, over a 5 day week that's $7.50, a month it's $32.50 and over a year that equates to $390.00 + GST.
For argument sake, and the fact I'm feeling generous, I'm going to say it takes Sandra 1 minute to send a single SMS (because she has unusually large fingers for a person of her size and is a slightly slower typist than you would otherwise expect) via Email SMS - it wouldn't take you that long, and I'd argue really if it would take 30 seconds to sent a simple message out, but we'll say 1 minute.
Based on the same figures as above, if Sandra sends 10 SMS messages, which takes her 1 minute to send each, so 10 minutes in total, in terms of what A Business pays her only $4.10 per day to send the messages, $20.51 per week, $88.89 per month which works out to be $1066.67 per year.
Combining the two figure together again, that's $5.60 per day, $28.00 per week, $121.33 per month and $1456.00 per annum.
In this typical example of how A Business would use SMS within their business, the cost savings are like this.
Per day - $29.31
Per week - $146.55
Per month - $635.05
Per annum - $7620.60
** The cost savings don't take into account the GST portion, and ancillary costs associated with staff, power, rent, etc...
It's amazing how something so simple, can be so effective, but I've only shown you the cost saving side, and I did mention about how it would improve on what they are already doing.
So....
Sandra call A Customer about their goods, letting them know that they're ready to be collected, but the person she wants to speak to is on the phone, she holds for a bit, then decides to leave a message with the person on the other end - but they got busy, and forgot to pass the message on straight away.
She then called Another Customer, and let them know that their goods were actually delivered by their driver 5 minutes ago, however John from Another Customer was in the factory working on a break down and not at his desk when the call came in and Sandra left a message - he was furious because he needed the goods for the breakdown and because he wasn't alerted he was really frustrated and took it out on the sales rep from A Business.
The great thing about SMS is the ability to get delivery receipts when the handset receives the message, it's logged by time, date, user and so on, and is kept for prosperity.
Speaking with Roy from R J Sanderson and Associates one time, he said to me that to ask his staff to not use SMS anymore would be like asking them to not use email either, because it was a part of their business systems - his staff preferred it because it meant allowing them to be more efficient and get information across to customers quicker, easier and with the exact details required, and the customers like it because it's direct to them, personal, they themselves can keep it for reference later and all in all feel like they are dealing with a professional outfit.
I think over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and give different examples of using Business SMS with an array of different businesses to show both the cost and customer service benefits of using it within your business.
have a great day, and hope you enjoyed the blog.
C
Two sayings care of the aussie Esendex boys
It was a funny thing, that last night I said something to Lisa which actually was quite deep and could be applied to behavioural avenue one could take, to come in this morning and have Skye show that the Marketing Manager from Financial Synergy has quoted him on their website!
Skye's saying was...
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"
It about running in circles and breaking the mould to achieve something else, or more... It was born from a conversation about their marketing strategies and how they always sends the same type of gifts along with new products, etc...
Mine's a little different, and born from something more a bit more obscure...
"Sometimes you need to push things away from you a little bit, in order to get them closer"
Deep isn't it? It does sound a bit familiar, not the exact words - but until someone can point out the same saying that was obviously published earlier than this, then I'm afraid my saying stands.
It came up when I was lying on the couch and reached across to the coffee table to grab Lisa's laptop, and I had to push it away a bit so I could get my fingers under it for grip.
I think it's up there with the way Newton came up with his laws of gravity, don't you think?
Enjoy,
C
Skye's saying was...
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"
It about running in circles and breaking the mould to achieve something else, or more... It was born from a conversation about their marketing strategies and how they always sends the same type of gifts along with new products, etc...
Mine's a little different, and born from something more a bit more obscure...
"Sometimes you need to push things away from you a little bit, in order to get them closer"
Deep isn't it? It does sound a bit familiar, not the exact words - but until someone can point out the same saying that was obviously published earlier than this, then I'm afraid my saying stands.
It came up when I was lying on the couch and reached across to the coffee table to grab Lisa's laptop, and I had to push it away a bit so I could get my fingers under it for grip.
I think it's up there with the way Newton came up with his laws of gravity, don't you think?
Enjoy,
C
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Best dinner in the world!
Last night I got home, rest my weary legs on the couch and watched the last bit of who wants to be a millionaire, when I was pleasantly surprised by Lisa giving me a choice of three different possibilities for dinner.
The first was spag bol (which I nearly jumped at straight away), the second was a pumpkin risotto (keep going...) or pancakes - pancakes please!
Just to make sure I asked Lisa what the options were again, yep, pancakes were the winner - actually I shouldn't call them pancakes, they're really crepes which I reckon are even better.
I love spag bol, but I have to say nothing beats crepes for dinner, sure it's not all that great for you, and you probably couldn't live on them as the main part of your diet, but for a once in a year thing, it's the best dinner you could have!
I must admit, I had so many that when I was sitting on the couch eating them, that I noticed the plate was really heavy and my wrist was getting sore holding up the weight of lots of pancakes!
Thanks Lisa, you're the best!
The first was spag bol (which I nearly jumped at straight away), the second was a pumpkin risotto (keep going...) or pancakes - pancakes please!
Just to make sure I asked Lisa what the options were again, yep, pancakes were the winner - actually I shouldn't call them pancakes, they're really crepes which I reckon are even better.
I love spag bol, but I have to say nothing beats crepes for dinner, sure it's not all that great for you, and you probably couldn't live on them as the main part of your diet, but for a once in a year thing, it's the best dinner you could have!
I must admit, I had so many that when I was sitting on the couch eating them, that I noticed the plate was really heavy and my wrist was getting sore holding up the weight of lots of pancakes!
Thanks Lisa, you're the best!
Monday, 1 June 2009
The other night Lisa I was searching through Ebay looking at cars, just because - we've had one car between us for the last couple of years, and I ride my GSXR to and from work each day, which doesn't bother me, but there are some days that I think to myself I'd prefer to be driving in rather than riding.
Anyway she made a comment about a car I had and how I shouldn't have gotten rid of it - although whilst I had she complained about it.
It got me thinking, I've had a couple of cars, and out of the cars I've owned (work cars are excluded from this) which one was my favourite?
Well, to start with I had an old TC Gemini which was fun as a first car, 4 speed manual, and revved it's little head off - until it was written off in a head on.
Then came an early 80's Mazda 626 - this was really cool at the time, 2lt 4 speed manual, so quiet I had to wind the window down to hear if it was on. It was really quite square and low which I really liked, and riving it was good.
Then onto the VK Calais - this was very cool, dark bronze over silver trim with a Group 1 grill and Centreline mags, digital dash and all leather interior. It was only the 6 and not the V8, but still cool.
From there it was back to a TD Gemini which had been worked (on the inside only), it had a 2lt engine from a Rodeo, with Webber carbies, mild cam, 5 speed manual, lowered and 5 slot mags - this thing flew. it was like putting a F1 engine into a go kart. I bought it off a guy who had done it all up, and got it for a steal - following advise from a boss once upon a time of if you want a done up car, buy one that someone else has already done, or get your ate to fix up his car and drive that. If you dropped the clutch in this thing it flicked out sideways, and once it got grip you were off. An amazing little car.
Then there were the Falcon utes, two of them, one a XF ute and a XG - they look pretty much the same too! Reliable, kind of, good for getting out of having to be the nominated driver too!
More recently came the 1976 XJ6 long wheel base - this was great, full eclectics, independent rear suspension, all leather interior with wood grain highlights. When you drove it you had to open the vents and have the windows open a bit because of the smell of fuel made you light headed. It also struggled starting quite often, leaving deposits on the spark plugs, changing the dizzy was a two day job which involved about 5/6 guys, but it was beautiful, and once going (as long as you only wanted to cruise) the drive was great, like being out on port phillip in a nice little cruiser boat.
Then most recently is the big 5.8lt Berlina - every time you put your foot down, you need to plant three trees. It's great, all the mod cons you could want, of course very reliable (I think the only trouble I really had with it was a flat battery caused by having the GPS constantly plugged in) and comfy on those long drives.
So which one was my favourite? Definite the Jag - race breed, once the auto got into gear it could go, the engine sounded awesome, and it was stylish with the shiny cat leaping off the front, this is the one car I should have tried to keep - although with it's fuel vapours in the cabin, massive oil leaks, leaking out as quickly as you put the oil in, the way the fuel gauge didn't quite work, and that you couldn't switch from one fuel tank to the other whilst driving was a bugger, for getting about the change in balance to the car (good idea at the time, but not in practice), the fact that starting it was a lucky dip and getting parts for the roadworthy that never quite happened was a nightmare, it was still cool, and would definitely look at buying one again!
Cheers,
C
Anyway she made a comment about a car I had and how I shouldn't have gotten rid of it - although whilst I had she complained about it.
It got me thinking, I've had a couple of cars, and out of the cars I've owned (work cars are excluded from this) which one was my favourite?
Well, to start with I had an old TC Gemini which was fun as a first car, 4 speed manual, and revved it's little head off - until it was written off in a head on.
Then came an early 80's Mazda 626 - this was really cool at the time, 2lt 4 speed manual, so quiet I had to wind the window down to hear if it was on. It was really quite square and low which I really liked, and riving it was good.
Then onto the VK Calais - this was very cool, dark bronze over silver trim with a Group 1 grill and Centreline mags, digital dash and all leather interior. It was only the 6 and not the V8, but still cool.
From there it was back to a TD Gemini which had been worked (on the inside only), it had a 2lt engine from a Rodeo, with Webber carbies, mild cam, 5 speed manual, lowered and 5 slot mags - this thing flew. it was like putting a F1 engine into a go kart. I bought it off a guy who had done it all up, and got it for a steal - following advise from a boss once upon a time of if you want a done up car, buy one that someone else has already done, or get your ate to fix up his car and drive that. If you dropped the clutch in this thing it flicked out sideways, and once it got grip you were off. An amazing little car.
Then there were the Falcon utes, two of them, one a XF ute and a XG - they look pretty much the same too! Reliable, kind of, good for getting out of having to be the nominated driver too!
More recently came the 1976 XJ6 long wheel base - this was great, full eclectics, independent rear suspension, all leather interior with wood grain highlights. When you drove it you had to open the vents and have the windows open a bit because of the smell of fuel made you light headed. It also struggled starting quite often, leaving deposits on the spark plugs, changing the dizzy was a two day job which involved about 5/6 guys, but it was beautiful, and once going (as long as you only wanted to cruise) the drive was great, like being out on port phillip in a nice little cruiser boat.
Then most recently is the big 5.8lt Berlina - every time you put your foot down, you need to plant three trees. It's great, all the mod cons you could want, of course very reliable (I think the only trouble I really had with it was a flat battery caused by having the GPS constantly plugged in) and comfy on those long drives.
So which one was my favourite? Definite the Jag - race breed, once the auto got into gear it could go, the engine sounded awesome, and it was stylish with the shiny cat leaping off the front, this is the one car I should have tried to keep - although with it's fuel vapours in the cabin, massive oil leaks, leaking out as quickly as you put the oil in, the way the fuel gauge didn't quite work, and that you couldn't switch from one fuel tank to the other whilst driving was a bugger, for getting about the change in balance to the car (good idea at the time, but not in practice), the fact that starting it was a lucky dip and getting parts for the roadworthy that never quite happened was a nightmare, it was still cool, and would definitely look at buying one again!
Cheers,
C
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