Business development: simple principles

(My notes from busy mums networking meeting)

You have your good idea, you’re set to go or maybe you’ve been doing what you do a while.... identifying ‘business drivers’ is essential and we need to constantly keep them in mind. It is very easy to spend too much time working in a business, rather than spending time working on it.

What are Business drivers?

All businesses must consider the things which can grow the business, these are called the drivers. These remain the same whether it’s a florist shop, Internet clothing store, Security Company or a bar. These are: 

• How do we get customers/more customers?
• How do we get them to spend more?
• How can we get them to return/buy again?          

     

Getting Customers

Firstly, who is your typical customer? Which sector are you hoping to attract? Decide who you are appealing to, as your advertising and marketing will be different depending on the type of people you want to attract. For my franchises I want women who have decided they don’t want to go back to work in the industry or sector they were in previously. They are probably not looking for a franchise just an opportunity to get a work/life balance, keep their brain active, do something worthwhile and still be able to collect at 3.30pm. Therefore, doing the franchise shows probably isn’t wise but features in Parenting Magazines etc would be. Facebook is the best for us actually! For my speech therapy side, I spent hours sending fliers to GPs and Health Visitors as they’re the biggest referrers of children to speech therapy but I didn’t think it through properly.... my customers are the parents as they’re paying. An advert in the Primary Times which is aimed at parents did much more.

Attracting more customers:

Getting new customers is the most expensive way of increasing revenue because for every new customer you will have had to make calls, advertise, distribute fliers etc. It is obviously essential to the business but is only part of the plan.

Getting the existing customers to spend more is a great way of increasing income

The art of ‘up-selling’. Giving them reason to spend more. Think of the cinema.... how much do you spend on the ticket vs. the pop corn and although you might decide against spending an exorbitant amount on a drink in the foyer, one of the first adverts is the very cold gin perfectly designed to make you thirsty so you have to go back and get a drink. The warranties on electrical products are part of this too. What can you add that they just need to have? Sweets by the checkout were part of this until the healthy eating plans but I note that M&S have special offers at their checkouts that are very hard to resist and the staff are trained to ask if you’d like to add the temptingly delicious chocolate cookies to the basket! They ask so nicely, it would be almost rude not to.

We use promotional merchandise such as Smart Talkers t-shirts, mugs, pencils, bags. Once one child has a t-shirt the others then follow. We have regular campaigns such as design a mug, design a T-shirt slogan etc. so that they feel they’re having a say in new ones. We are doing our own CD’s so that they can be sold to customers.

How can we get them to return/keep buying?

The experts in this field are the supermarkets, think how they make you go back there e.g. loyalty cards, BOGOF offers, vouchers, points, customer databases which can be used for marketing or contacting later. Studies have shown that the biggest reason for not going back is a lack of feeling important or ‘perceived indifference’. This is the biggest factor to get right but also one of the hardest. If people feel their custom is important to you, they are more likely to return. It’s got to look genuine though, I hate the tag on call-waiting messages, ‘Your call is important to us’. If it was, they’d have answered it!! One of the biggest problems is the first point if contact. It won’t matter how good your product, follow-up service or how you are with the customer if the receptionist answers in manner that might suggest she can’t be bothered or the girl on the till doesn’t make eye-contact or speak.

Staff training is essential. Everyone needs to be aware of what is expected and why. When we had a bar, I showed the staff how they could increase tips by making eye-contact and smiling, also if it was really crowded some people might not want to wait but if the bar maid has made eye-contact and smiled they are unlikely to leave. They didn’t believe me initially but the practise proved it.

Use this knowledge about the customer’s attitude to your advantage e.g. we make a note of birthdays so you can send out birthday cards or let them know about special offers they might find useful.

Customer feedback is a good idea so that they feel valued; add a prize draw and you’re building a great database too!

 Plus your USP: Unique selling point(s)

What makes you unique? That’s such an important concept. What are you doing that’s different or so much better than anyone else? Smart Talkers Pre-school groups are different because we’re concentrating on communication, whatever the group from Baby Talkers to Smart Signing, Tiny Talkers to Small Talkers. However, we need to make sure that we’re maintaining this USP at all times. Think what you could do to make your idea unique to your area.  

These are just a start but are important to bear in mind as you progress and refine. Good luck!

Children's voices need to be listened to in more ways than one!

Few people are aware about the speech and language therapist's role in voice, both for children and adults. We have a role in prevention and treatment of voice problems. There is an excellent article on children's voice care at the Speech Therapy Information Services website http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com.  'We are aiming to do THREE THINGS:
keep the voice box healthy
reduce the strain on the voice
help the child to monitor his/her own voice

The vocal cords are covered with mucus – a gluey, slippery substance that protects and lubricates them. If it becomes too dry or too thick this reduces its ability to protect the cords. The following suggestions can help to stop this happening.

Drink water regularly
Depending on the age and size of the child, they should drink 6-8 glasses (1.5 - 2 litres) each day. This should be spread out across the whole day. Encourage the child to take frequent drinks rather than, for example, having three glasses at lunch time and then not drinking again until they get home from school. There is no need to buy expensive bottled water: for most purposes tap water is fine. Teenage boys aged 14 years and over, will generally require about 11 glasses (2.6 litres) of water each day. Just be careful that children do not drink so much that they then feel too bloated to eat proper meals.
Avoid caffeine
Tea, coffee and many fizzy drinks contain caffeine. This can be drying and it is also a diuretic – this means that it increases the discharge of urine and, therefore, the loss of more water.
Reduce fizzy drinks
As well as the possibility of containing caffeine, these often have high levels of sugar or sweeteners. These may also lead to dryness in the mouth and throat and can actually leave the child feeling thirstier.
Take care with fruit drinks
Fruit juices, smoothies and the like can be beneficial. However, some have high levels of acidity, which is not good for the voice (or teeth). Read labels carefully before buying.
Eat fruit and veg
For a healthy body, now and in the future, the recommended daily intake is five portions of fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are high in essential vitamins and minerals. They are low fat, low calorie foods that also help maintain a healthy weight. In summary, a healthy diet will keep the whole body, including the voice, healthy. Children and young people often enjoy novelty foods, of course. So, rather than cutting these out all together, why not reduce them or, better still, keep them as an occasional treat?
Drink with spicy foods
Hot and spicy foods may cause dryness in the throat. Always drink plenty of water with foods like this.
Keep air moist
Keep the air in rooms humid. In centrally heated rooms, keep a bowl of water on a table or on the windowsill above the radiator, or throw a wet towel on the radiator, so that the air is not too dry. Open a window to allow air to circulate. [CAUTION: DO NOT BLOCK AIR VENTS ON HEATING EQUIPMENT.] You can also use buy humidifiers designed for this job'.  To read the rest of the article: 

http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/voice-care-for-children.html

Voice technology 'could help detect autism'

The BBC report that young children with autism can be identified by listening to the noises they make.

'Research suggests the babbling of infants with autism differs from that of children without it. The differences were spotted with 86% accuracy using automated vocal analysis technology.

Vocal characteristics are not currently used for diagnosing autism, even though the link has been suggested before'.

The study is in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10686912  

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• A speech screen for autism? (nature.com)
• Autism detected in voice of children (telegraph.co.uk)
• Autism has unique vocal signature, new technology reveals (eurekalert.org)
• Signs of autism can be heard in children's speech (theglobeandmail.com)

 

Exploring the link between language problems and behaviour

 A summary of the link between language problems and emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) reported on by the Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research, has shown:

• Approximately three quarters of children with identified emotional and behavioural difficulties have significant language deficits.
• Approximately half of those with language disorders have identifiable emotional and behavioural difficulties.
• The prevalence of language deficits in children who exhibit anti-social behaviours is ten times higher than in the general population.
• Pure language deficits, especially those associated with comprehension difficulties, are at greatest risk.
• Thus EBD children with unsuspected receptive disorders were rated the most delinquent, the most depressed (by parents) and aggressive (by teachers) and had more severe challenging behaviour.
• Children with expressive language disorders were rated as more socially withdrawn and anxious.
• The strength of the association between language difficulties and antisocial behaviour increases with age.
• Difficulties in initiating and maintaining interpersonal relationships is a key mediating variable between language disorders and antisocial behaviours.
• "Language disorders appear to have a devastating effect on interpersonal relationships (ie peer, family, companion) throughout the lifespan." (Benner, 2002)

I carried out a study in 2005 which showed a definite link between auditory memory difficulties and behaviour problems. It's not just a case of 'not understanding', a language problem affects all aspects of a child's life.

Just recently I was asked to see a 15year old boy with a terrible history of violence. He was in residential care but had committed a string of offences. When I assessed him it became apparent that he had such poor language skills that he didn't really understand most of what was being said to him. He was constantly seeking a familiar response and had worked out that if you punch someone the response is always consistent! He understood the outcome of that exchange! He was bright and chatty on the surface which disguised his difficulties. He had a set of well rehearsed stories to impress the listener on a superficial level (some of which I recognised as scenes from films). Yet his auditory memory was just 2 items which means that he can follow only sentences with 2 pieces of information (like a typical 2 year old!).

There's definitely a proven link which is why all children with behaviour difficulties could do with a speech, language and communication assessment by a suitably experienced Therapist. There will be more about the role of SLT in young offenders in a later blog post.

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• Brain biology linked to severe teenage antisocial behaviour (physorg.com)

August up-date Podcast

The RCSLT 'Giving Voice' Campaign Key messages

Giving Voice Key Messages

With the financial climate hitting all areas of the economy the RCSLT realised the profession would be heading for a difficult period. As a result, we set in motion our Giving Voice campaign. 

Giving Voice will help us and speech and language therapy services demonstrate SLTs’ unique value to national and local decision makers, while showing evidence of their efficiency and value for money.

The RCSLT has defined four Giving Voice campaign messages, please click on each message to find out more.

Key Message 1:

Speech and Language Therapists are specialists who enable people to develop or regain vital communication and swallowing skills.

Key Message 2:

Problems with speech and language imprison the individual and severely limit their participation in family life, the community, education and the world of work.

Key Message 3:

Tackling communication and swallowing problems reduces avoidable costs and waste in the NHS, local authorities, the criminal justice system and the wider economy.

Key Message 4:

Urgent changes are needed to support timely access to speech and language therapy for those who need it.

• Giving Voice will provide a strong platform to support national and local influencing as we move into more severe funding constraints across the public sector.

We need your help to make it a success. Remember, speech and language therapy transforms lives:pass it on.

Is it always autism?

NO!!! We're too quick to jump to conclusions when a child doesn't tick all the boxes for 'normal'! (Can you tell this is another of my personal bug bears?!)
Everyone has heard of autism but few know anything about receptive language difficulties or other language disorders which can mean that the child has trouble making sense of the world, fitting in with his peers and communicating his needs and thoughts. These are all symptoms of autism but do not necessarily mean the child has ASD. My own clinical case-load has several children who have been referred for ASD assessments by their school but actually have language based disorders. As they've already been referred when I pick them up it's too late to stop the parent needlessly worrying.

This is why  proper assessment for a differential diagnosis of ASD needs to be very thorough and requires Paediatrician, highly specialist speech & language therapist and expert Clinical Psychologist. At Small Talk our assesments follow the NAS guidelines. A one-off assessment in clinic is not sufficient to label a child for a life-time.
We used to have a term called semantic-pragmatic disorder: Semantic refers to the meanings of words and phrases while Pragmatic refers to the use of language in a social context (knowing what to say and when and how to say it to other people). We now try to separate the two so that we can work on the exact needs of the child. 
The Charity AFASIC have lots more information and they describe it in a way I can't improve upon. The following is from their website www.afasic.org.uk © Afasic 
"Children with semantic difficulties:

• Struggle to understand the meaning of sentences or words. 
• Words which refer to abstract concepts such as feelings (sad, puzzled, jealous) or status (important, official) can be especially hard for these children to understand. 
• They misinterpret and take literally phrases such as "Cut it out!", "Stop it" or "He's a push-over". 
• Often it can be difficult for children with a semantic disorder to work out the topic or key information in a sentence. 

Children with pragmatic difficulties struggle:

• To use language socially. 
• They do not understand how we take turns when we talk. 
• They interrupt more than is acceptable. 
• Their conversation often seems inappropriate or irrelevant. 
• They can seem to be unaware of what their conversational partner needs to know - and can therefore say too much or too little about a subject. 

Some children have both semantic and pragmatic difficulties" other children might have significant receptive language impairment which lead to problems understanding spoken language. I met a 15 year old earlier this year with severe behaviour problems... he had an auditory memory of just 2 items, no wonder he punched first, he knows what outcome is expected from that type of interchange! Imagine how frightening it would be to live in a world when you 'just don't get it' all the time (to use his words).
One of the only benefits of the long wait for ASD diagnosis in Staffordshire (up to 90 weeks for some) has been that it's now clearer when the child's problems are more language based than autistic spectrum based. The difference lies mainly in the rigidity of thinking.
I can highly recommend the AFASIC web site for any parent or professional who wants to know more.
We know more about autism as society now so its time to spread the word about other disorders and problems that affect our chidren's ability to communicate. Problems of any kind, however mild, will certainly lead to isolation, frustration and an inability to fully integrate into society. Children will have a harder time making friends and fitting into nursery or school.