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WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
| Date post: | 04-Aug-2015 |
| Category: |
Marketing |
| Upload: | noisy-little-monkey |
| View: | 42 times |
| Download: | 2 times |
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Context
Ideas are used by businesses to:
● Better approach markets● Launch new products● Adapt structures● Incentivise staff● Build brand● Set prices
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
“To create valuable connections for our clients with their audiences”
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
SIFT PURPOSE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Business publisher
Digital agency
Marketing services platform
140 staff, £9m revenues, founded 1996, Bristol & Boston
Ethos
● You learn by sharing what hasn’t worked● Openness is engaging● If you’ve never failed, you’ve never tried anything new
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Agenda
1. Online community case study - AccountingWEB2. Cross-selling3. Launching in the US4. Acquisitions5. Platforms6. Communication7. Conclusions
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Uniqueusers
0.6m
Profiled members
120k
Page impressions
2.1m
E-newsletter subscribers
80k
Logged in members
18k
Comments & questions
8k pm
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
AccountingWEB revenues (£k)
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Organic & gradual● Evolved not forced● User-lead● Engaged● Authentic
What went right?
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Expectations● Business model● Culture● Forced
What went wrong?InsightExec (BT)
Cross-selling
How difficult can it be to sell something else to your existing clients?
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Launched Mar ‘14● Revenue £25k● Loss £230k● Closed Mar ‘15
● Existing clients & Net Promoter Scores!● New products
○ proper support○ separate & dedicated teams○ not just an add-on○ careful launch
● Client relationships can be very specific● Where is your strategic value?
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Cross-selling learnings
Launching in the US
1. Launched AccountingWEB US in 19992. 5 different publishers3. Under-performed (despite market opportunity)4. We just wanted to copy the AccountingWEB UK formula!
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Acquisitions
1. Fast track growth!2. Sift has made 9 acquisitions
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Sift acquisitions
Financial ROI
Strategic logic
● Allure● Time-consuming and distracting in
themselves● Distract from core focus● Buy-in?
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Acquisition learnings
Platform adventures
1. Initial platform built in-house in Perl2. Sales people decided it wasn’t ‘fit for purpose’ 20023. $1m .NET Norwegian adventure 2004/54. $1m Java in-house adventure 2006/75. Open Source (Drupal) from 20076. Sift Media publishing platform (Drupal) 2014/5
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Initial Sift
platform
Sift Digital clients 1998 - 2005
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Digimaker
• 35K+ developers• 30K+ contributed modules and
themes
• Powers 1% of the top 10,000 websites
Sift Digital clients 2015
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
User profile Brand Profile Content marketing
Campaign amplification
Stronger site visibilityEnhanced profileStandard packagePremium packages
ArticlesPress releasesPDFsWebinarsVideosHubs
DisplaySticky contentContent recommendationUser profiling EmailSocial
Stronger site visibilityTiered profilesLow barrier to sign upIncremental profiling
Measurement
Sift Media - new publishing platform
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Communication
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Sift Update
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Occasional● Personal● Open● Honest
CONCLUSIONS
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
EngagementWHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Myth of great people
● Cause or consequence of success?
Sift Office
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Carpets deep clean● Beer & clear● Kitchen refresh● Stand-up desks
Greener SiftWHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
Sift Cares
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
● Community days● Annual charity partner● ‘Whole of Sift’ skills
●An idea is only the beginning●Don’t just ask someone to ‘make it happen’!●Dedicated team●Build team as if a new company●Conflict with existing teams inevitable●Learning first●Gather evidence to validate expenditure●Evaluate the innovation leader based on
whether she has ‘executed a disciplined experiment’
WHY SOME IDEAS FLY WHILE OTHERS DIE
