Archive for the ‘Nick Hague’ Category
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Market research specialists B2B International have welcomed over 1,000 employees during their 10 years, with Leah Fletcher (pictured above) being the lucky 1000th.
Peter Mullarkey, operations manager at B2B International’s UK office says:
We’re delighted to have reached this milestone. More than 1,000 people have now worked for B2B since its inception in 1998. This includes the consultants in our research team and those working in the telephone interviewing unit. There’s certainly always a lot going on here!
Whilst there are a large proportion of English-speaking interviewers, B2B also employs people of many nationalities with up to 35 languages being spoken amongst the staff at any one time. This, in no small part, is due to the international nature of many of the projects that B2B conducts.
Director and co-founder Nick Hague says:
This multi-national aspect is why so many clients commission us. We talk to people all over the world, and the differing time zones means the phone unit is often busy 24 hours a day!
With the opening of a Beijing office 18 months ago and a New York branch having opened in June, Peter says constant expansion means B2B that is always looking out for additional staff:
The B2B phone unit is thriving. Work is quite flexible, which suits many people, and also very varied – short interviews, longer in-depth conversations, through to focus groups. We‘re a happy and dedicated team…and the provision of a tea trolley also proves highly popular, as well as helping lubricate their voices whilst interviewing!
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Monday, June 30th, 2008
B2B International recently celebrated its 10th birthday – And what better way to celebrate than a good old-fashioned cake?
Founder Nick Hague has found it an exciting first decade:
Planned and sustainable growth has been key to our success. It’s interesting to look back at some highlights – becoming a global agency with the opening of an office in Beijing in 2007 and one in New York this month; managing over 1,000 market research projects per and recently welcoming our 1000th employee!
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Friday, May 16th, 2008
Director Nick Hague’s second Thursday Night Insight post takes a look at what the colours we adopt in both our personal and business lives really say about us.
If you want to get ahead, wear red.
Well I would say that wouldn’t I, being an avid Manchester United supporter, especially in the aftermath of their winning the English Premier League last weekend. However, it appears it might not be all down to the tantalizing skills of Ronaldo and Rooney but have something to do with the colour of United’s home kit. So say academics anyway who have analysed all the English Football League results since 1945. It seems that red is a testosterone-fuelled colour that exudes strength, aggressiveness and passion.
It must be said that my view might be slightly biased, but has the colour chosen for Manchester United’s home kit played a significant part in the club’s success; especially when viewed against their city rivals, Manchester City? And can the same be said when looking at other derby rivals? What about Liverpool and Everton or even Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – has colour influenced the historical path that these clubs have trodden? Even when looking further afield to the USA, attempting to determine who the best all-time NBA basketball team isn’t easy, but surely the 1995 Chicago Bulls team would come close, especially if viewed on the most games won in a single season.
Of course, there isn’t one deciding factor in success but colour does play a part and the same should be said within business. Branding is all about communicating the essence of your company, your products and your services to your own personnel and to the wider world. It is about letting existing and potential customers, and your staff, know what sort of company you are and what they can expect from you. It is an intricate process of combining visual communication with behaviour to create an image in the public’s mind of who you are.
Far too often, companies approach their marketing and logo creation in a very simplistic way. Many companies spend so much time focusing on second guessing their target market and don’t put enough resource behind market research to find out the market’s view on a brand, what it stands for and the brand personality. Branding research can deliver a wide range of colours that can be used differently to deliver consistency and powerful positioning in logos, corporate marketing, packaging and even uniforms. Take a look at the colours below and what they stand for:
- Red – strength, aggressive, passion, boldness
- Blue – regal, authority, dignity, security, faithful
- Orange - fun, cheeriness, warmth, positivity but can also look cheap if used on its own
- Green – environment, tranquility, health, freshness
- Pink - femininity, innocence, softness, health
- Yellow – optimism, motivated, energy, cheerful
- Purple - sophistication, spirituality, royalty, mystery
- Brown - earthiness and subtle richness
- White - purity, truthfulness, contemporary, refined
- Black – somber, serious, distinctive, bold, classic
- Grey - authority, practical, conservative
What does your corporate brand say to you and your market?
For more information about how B2B International and market research can help you and your company please visit our pages on branding and corportate positioning, or take a look at our white papers for information on branding in b2b markets.
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Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
A Manchester-based recruitment agency is challenging the more established London companies
The recruitment industry in the UK has borne witness to exceptional growth in recent years. In the last decade the industry has grown from a value of less than £10billion to just under £25billion. With the rapid growth in the industry have come many new methods and systems of recruitment; methods such as "talent mapping" allow blue chip companies to proactively solve their recruitment crises before they happen.
The vast majority of the recruitment business is located in London. However, Warren Partners is an independent executive search consultancy that has broken the mould, being based in the North West. In the seven years since its inception, Warren Partners has grown to be one of the most successful executive search companies in the North West with a turnover of over £3million.
Warren Partners recently commissioned specialist business-to-business research agency B2B International to undertake research to see how they were positioned against the London-based executive search companies.
Findings indicate that competition is rife. B2B International found that 90% of companies looking to fill an executive vacancy use more than one executive search company and the majority use more than three. London executive search companies are definitely more front-of-mind for the higher valued job positions of £100k+.
However, with the ever-changing business environment and the heightened use of e-mail and telephone, location is not an important driver when choosing an executive search company. This is evident in how the market views Warren Partners competing on an equal footing with the likes of Heidrick & Struggles, Whitehead Mann, Spencer Stuart and Odgers Ray & Berndtson.
When looking to fill executive vacancies, there are three key factors that companies look to fulfil:
- ease of doing business with the company
- specialisation in an industry sector
- company values and what the company stands for
Warren Partners excel in every one of these categories with 4 out of 10 customers stating that they are better than the competition. Words that customers use to depict Warren Partners’ key strengths include expertise, values/culture, communication, relationships, honesty, reputation and network of contacts.
The research concluded that no one company has taken the high ground in people’s minds as the executive search company to use. Over and above that, HR Managers and Directors are looking for something different from what is currently being provided; a fifth of companies felt that there were product or service gaps that are not being offered by the market.
B2B director Nick Hague, in charge of the research, says:
Warren Partners are now working on a wider service portfolio as well as a focused communication strategy to build brand presence and more closely meet the needs of companies in the marketplace.
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Friday, February 22nd, 2008
In the first of a new series of posts from the researchers at B2B International, director Nick Hague looks at how b2b companies can make a greater play of their environmental credentials, and set themselves apart from their competition.
For the last 10 years a lot of the market research projects we have carried out have been in commodity markets e.g. chemicals, gases, additives, power, paper. All these products are undifferentiated, even though their corporate positions are not.
There is no doubting that differentiation, of either a product or service, is a source of competitive advantage. As the product becomes more different, categorization becomes more difficult and hence draws fewer comparisons with its competition. This therefore allows you to up-sell your product and not compete primarily on price (as is the usual trap for the average salesman).
The huge opportunity to create a special position in any market is through marketing. A distinctive position is highly desirable as it creates a customer value position at a high level that puts a supplier into the “consideration set� – the shortlist of companies or brands that are considered as a possible supplier.
There can be few people who remain unconvinced of the need to reduce our harmful impact on the environment. Until a few years ago the environment was a small dot on the radar screen. Today that dot has grown in size and influence and is becoming an increasing necessity to prove when pitching for new clients, sourcing suppliers or selling to customers.
"Green" claims are not uncommon in today’s consumer markets, but within business to business markets this is untapped territory with no immediate companies that spring to mind having sought this position.
Sustainability and the environmental friendliness of b2b companies is destined to grow much more in the years to come. Whoever can build a unique and strong position, taking the environmental high ground in a particular market will definitely differentiate themselves. However, don’t fly the green flag just because it is fashionable. All initiatives and statements need to be substantiated and not just used as another marketing tool. In other words, greenwashing (misleading customers about a company’s environmental practices) should be avoided.
Green policies and practice need to be treated with the seriousness the issue deserves.
For more information on product differentiation, have a look at the following links:
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