Surface Ripples

Websites Are Going Out of Fashion…

Not long ago, I asked whether websites were going out of fashion…  

Call it coincidence, but barely a week later, I got an answer in the form of a YouTube video!

The presenter (who makes money out of showing people how to “get their business found”) made a number of extremely useful points which show just how rapidly things are changing.  The first point was that websites are definitely less powerful in getting business. Why?  Because people are using other spaces to find suppliers.

Originally, companies focused on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to make sure that, when somebody googled (say) “Plumber”, your website came up as one of the first in the Google search engine.  Companies invested considerable time and resources in making sure that they were always at the top of the list and that, once you clicked on their website, the words used in it built the confidence you needed to approach them.

What’s changed is that people are using AI instead of Google (I confess, I’m not one of them!) and ChatGPT is the main search tool.  43% of users have (apparently) used an AI assistant to search for service providers and one in four states that AI is now their main source for recommendations.

The key advantage of AI is the ability to take voice input as we “lay out our situation” much as we would in a conversation.

Now here’s what shocked me: when AI generates answers to whatever query we dictate into it, where does it get its answers?

YouTube!

Previously, reddit was also a popular source but the main point is that AI may not even refer to a website as it knows that “nobody checks these”.  YouTube videos, however, get viewed by everyone (guilty as charged!).  The result: organisations with a great YouTube channel get the business.  It doesn’t matter whether they have 2,000 or 2 million viewers, AI “scrapes” every source available to get information.

So, now YouTube is becoming more important than a website (although the latter still has a place).  Because a recommendation from AI seems to be “warmer”, people pay more attention.  They still may need to choose between one of three suggested suppliers, but if they’ve input the right conditions into their AI search, those suppliers are far more likely to be able to meet that person’s specific needs.  We’re told that 53% of users use AI to compare and narrow down options and that 85% still double-check through other sources.

Now we come to the website.  It still has a meaningful place, but it needs to be “done differently”.  Instead of having numerous pages describing different services, these get made into well-produced YouTube videos.  The AI “Claude” tool can write and design websites which sound like anyone else, but YouTube videos (the claim is) can’t be faked. 

When producing your YouTube video, you need to answer two different types of question.

Logistical questions - “Questions you get all the time”:

• They’re asking about hiring you.  Here, you answer one question with one video (the most important, of course, will be indicative pricing).  Don’t worry about competitors knowing your pricing - they probably already do through other means.  Your videos could address pricing, comparisons of processes and other products, how long to see results, how to choose a supplier and any of the other “questions you quote always get”.  The key point is, such videos are “made for humans” and preferably use a “real Live” employee of the business. 

“Claim Jumpers” - What You Specialise in And Who You do Your Best Work For:

• This answers which clients would choose you over other suppliers because you meet their exact needs.  This could be case studies of clients (if they’re willing to participate), mentioning whom you work with, choices of topic and to what sort of client your business is the “obvious answer”.

Here’s the interesting bit: it apparently takes 3 - 6 months to see results once you start loading up YouTube videos, but AI can find and recommend you from Day One of that!

What role for your website? As mentioned above, it’s where you send people – to book a meeting or call - and where you close the deal.  A website alone is predicted to become far less useful within the next year unless it has AI “pointing” at it.  The website now becomes the last step in your sales process after making potential customers aware through YouTube of how you meet their specific need.

I deliver change in markets ranging from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. 

Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 14:02 0 Comments

Effective Performance Reviews

Let’s face it, we dread these, both as the manager reviewing someone else’s performance and as the person under review ourselves!

I've certainly had both “good” and “bad” reviews (both performance and non-performance related).  What I found, amongst all the “good” reviews, even if my achievement of objectives was only “acceptable” was that my reviewer had clearly prepared, acknowledged my contributions, listened to what I had to say and worked with me to plan the future and how to improve.

The not-so-good reviews were announced at pretty much the last minute, my performance had obviously received only the most cursory review and the manager clearly wanted to “get it over with” as quickly as possible.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is.  We’ve probably all had those experiences.  What also doesn’t help is that all-too frequently, HR “shift the goal posts” and change formats, timings, etc, making life more difficult for appraisers and appraisees alike. 

Small wonder then that the reviewers and subjects of reviews mostly tend to feel dissatisfied.

Be that as it may, the purpose of the review is simple: to ensure the organisation meets its objectives and to help every single employee be the best they can.  For some, this “best” will be higher than that of others but everybody is capable of achieving something.

Meryl Runion and Janelle Brittain provide a great framework for reviews which should help every manager and employee (or every reviewer/reviewee) 

Reviews are NOT to be: 

• Announced at the last minute
• Conducted at the last minute
• Conducted in haste

By giving reviewers and reviewees time to prepare, we give both the chance of having their say in a constructive manner as well as ensuring that the whole organisation benefits from a well-run, cooperative and objective process.

Does the “ideal performance review process” exist?  I suspect the answer is “no” as every organisation has different needs, a different culture, and different time horizons.  Our job as leaders is to make sure that everybody has the best possible chance of making the contribution they were hired to make. And to improve as a person. 

I deliver change in markets ranging from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. 

Labels: Career, Leadership, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 14:31 0 Comments

When AI CEOs Say This, It’s Time to Worry

We’ve seen reports that the heads of the world’s big AI developers have called for a slowdown in pace of development until they have time to work out the full implications of what they’re doing.

That’s a warning gun.

Whatever one thinks, if the “experts” recommend a course of action, one would be wise to listen.  If our doctor recommends a course of treatment, do we ignore them?  We can ask for a second opinion, but if that’s in agreement with the first, then we need to do something.

Needless to say, a world leader who shall -not-be-named immediately commented that the risks they foresee “will never happen”. Then they did…. Ask the Australian government. 

I’ve already expressed my darts in at least one previous article on AI and it now appears that those weren’t altogether unfounded. Like anything else, AI is a tool and needs to be used correctly. Like any other tool, it can be used for good or evil purposes. Simple example: a Kitchen knife that can be purchased at any supermarket can be used for cutting vegetables or stabbing someone.

There are plenty of benefits to AI, just as there are with the Internet but as we move forward in this field, we need to understand the full implications of what can happen. I know of at least two examples where an AI product “hacked” another company’s database because it simply didn’t know that doing so was “wrong”.

By all means, let’s exploit AI for the not inconsiderable benefits it offers. It’s going to be part of our lives just like cars, trains and airplanes.

Let’s make sure that we use it correctly, responsibly and ethically, though.

I deliver change in markets ranging from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. 

Labels: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Leadership, Regulation, Risk

posted by William Martin @ 11:52 0 Comments