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Colin McKellar, Director at Every Cloud Digital writes
As many of my contacts will know, I launched Every Cloud Digital around 6 months ago and I am more than happy to admit, I was scared. All of my working life I have been employed and the thought of no regular salary filled me with trepidation.
I’ve been in sales for over 20 years and have done my fair share of cold calling from newspapers and Yellow Pages (remember them!). I will never forget the feeling of despondency if you had the temerity to tell your sales manager that you had no leads only to see a huge phone book being thrown in your direction, it’s pages already well thumbed.
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Lawrence Collis and David Wiles explain why they founded the Marketing Technology Association
Digital.
It’s a word that can strike either excitement or fear in the heart. That’s because many business leaders are being thrust into a new world. A world that doesn’t make them feel brave. A world built on technology.
In April 2012 The Economist ran a front cover feature that talked of a Third Industrial Revolution, on how manufacturing is going digital. If we pause for a moment and consider what that means in practice, the profound shift that is underway: advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, cloud computing, social. This is not only industrial change, it is cultural change. On a global level.
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At insight engineers we find that our business generally fits into two types of work:
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Primary research – Traditional, end-to-end market research projects. We tend to conduct work in this area when there’s something ‘tricky’ about it. Hard to reach B2B or B2C audience, sensitive subject, multiple countries, mixed methodology, tough deadlines, etc. We don’t have a field-force to maintain, so we can be method-neutral. We’ll design a bespoke solution based on its merits, rather than sell you a ‘product’.
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Consultancy – We’re nothing if not grey haired! The benefit of which we’re able to pass on to all our clients, from advising on building an insight function from the ground up, to making sure you’re getting the best value for money from your existing agencies.
Here are some of the things which kept us busy in 2014:
- Delivered a monthly C-Sat Programme, with leisure and business customers, identifying and tracking ‘magic’ and ‘miserable’ moments in the purchase process, and proving how ‘going-beyond’ to solve a problem strengthens the sales experience, promotes advocacy and enhances future brand loyalty
- Developed an approach, with SMEs, to evaluate the appetite for a new Cyber security service, from initial proposition through to fine-tuning the precise offer content and sizing the potential uptake within tiered ‘go-to-market’ product bands
- Identified and took forward drivers of advocacy into helping the client create and craft a motivating reward programme and marketing initiatives for convenience retail (for the next 1-2 years)
- Identified the resonant and differentiating phrases, territories and look and feel of communication for a low engagement B2B audience in Europe
- Sized and confirmed the pertinent themes and facts to use for Key Opinion Leader briefings and European Conference Papers for a blue-chip healthcare client
- Tested and revised a future pricing concept in B2B Service Provision
- Scripted and managed senior staff briefings of a blue-chip client’s insight portfolio at a series of town hall events
- Managed the placement of a major advertising tracker, from suggesting agencies to pitch, mentoring the client team through the pitch process and helping ensure that they received best value for money from their new agency
If you have similar issues, and you’d like our help, please get in touch.
I graduated in 1988 with an Honours degree in Geography from Exeter University. This led naturally (!) into a career in market research. 25+ years later, I’m still a market researcher. Over the years I’ve specialised in print and radio media research, mystery shopping, customer satisfaction, loyalty, branding, advertising and customer experience research. I’ve worked mainly in the financial services, telecoms, energy, retail and technology sectors. I’ve operated in the B2C and B2B environments in the UK and round the world. Although primarily a quantitative researcher I’ve been known to conduct the odd depth or group.
Nowadays, I’d describe my specialities as running ‘tricky’ primary research projects for blue-chip clients on the one hand, whilst providing consultancy on the research process and better use of research on the other.
My work based interests are around better communication of research findings and data visualization.
Away from work, I enjoy FPS and MMORPG PC games and running (although not at the same time).
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