http://www.pcb.org.za/ Blog

Branding

2012/02/01

Melanie Veness: PCB CEO

I was somewhat amused when, having selected a box of plasters from the shelf at the supermarket, my husband, who was looking over my shoulder, asked: "How do you know that those are the best ones to buy?" I raised an enquiring eyebrow, and he went on to say: "Well, these ones are waterproof and these ones kill germs and these have all sorts of sizes, and these are cheaper ..." Suffice to say, I left him to select the plasters. But it occurred to me that we are so spoilt for choice that it is almost impossible to select the simplest product.

Thank goodness for brands! I mean, if you buy what "you know" to be the best product, then you can't go wrong - right?

Brands are more important today than they have ever been, not only because they establish a presence in the marketplace, but they also simplify consumer decision-making. In short, they help us differentiate between products, and help us choose.

Branding used to involve an attractive logo, a clever pay-off line and some advertising, but it is much more than that today. Branding now is about creating an experience and about credibility. It is about a proven track record, about trust and about values and ethics. Customers need to believe, and they no longer just accept your word for it. Customers have become very savvy indeed. The Internet allows us to establish how other customers experience products and services, and we are easily able to compare products online. And we do.

According to the experts, it has become almost more important to develop a brand plan, than a business plan as your brand is the very essence of your organisation. It needs to be entrenched in every aspect of your business too. Your people and processes are as important in informing your brand as your products are. You need to live your brand in order for people to be convinced.

Gone are the days when marketing departments were allocated a budget and marketing was handled as a stand-alone department. Today’s business environment requires a much more integrated approach. Branding is no longer just a marketing line item, brand establishment needs to inform your business planning, or you quite simply won't be able to compete.

You need to be sure of what you are promising and then look at how best you can re-enforce that promise. A brand-led organisation puts their customers at the centre and customer needs inform decision-making. The way that customers experience your brand should not be left to chance, it should be by design.

The Future Farmers Project

2012/01/24

Melanie Veness: PCB CEO

All around us there are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Towards the end of last year I met a very inspiring woman named Judy Stuart. She described herself as a simple farmer from Underberg and asked whether she could stop by my office to tell me about a project that she is involved in called "The Future Farmers Project".

It is a project that grew out of a need that she identified whilst working with emerging farmers. She found that many of these farmers, because of challenging circumstances, lack the necessary skills to become successful commercial farmers.

She decided that there was a real need to start equipping young people with these skills, and this drove her to work on developing an apprenticeship programme. Students entering the programme are drawn predominantly from Zakhe Agricultural College at Baynesfield, one of a handful of secondary institutions that offer hands-on agricultural training.

Zakhe has produced impressive matric results, and attributes this to a disciplined environment with a strong Christian ethic and a focus on integrity. The boys that are unable to attend university are placed on commercial farms as apprentices.

They start on a one-year contract and work on everything from fencing to irrigation, and attain skills such as milking and inseminating. During the course of the year, farmers are encouraged to send the students on short courses and to pay for the courses if the student passes.

After students have completed their apprenticeships, those that have shown a good work ethic and a real aptitude for farming are placed on farms overseas. This helps the young men to develop a world perspective and it allows them to gain valuable additional skills.

On returning, they are encouraged to study further via correspondence. The project is enjoying some wonderful results. Some of these competent young men have come home to be offered shares in commercial farming operations.

I am impressed with this project for so many reasons. Firstly, because it is making a real contribution to black economic empowerment and it is doing something positive to address our food security challenges.

Secondly, because of the values of integrity, old fashioned hard work, reward based on merit and a principle of "nothing for nothing". Young people who are talented and hardworking are given the opportunity to succeed. Their ticket overseas is paid for in advance, but they are expected to pay it back from the wages that they earn overseas. This money is then used to fund the next student.

There is much that we can learn from success stories like the Future Farmers Project and that we can apply across sectors. Talking to Judy highlighted some important points for me. Success comes from a combination of talent, hard work and taking advantage of opportunities that one is given. To my mind, the failure of so many empowerment projects can be attributed to the poor selection of candidates and too many hand-outs. Opportunities should be offered to deserving people.

Business Budgeting � Making it Work

2012/01/23

Every business needs to have a budget. Too many business owners make up a budget and then forget about it. Budgets only help your business if you use them. Sometimes, it's hard to make a budget work to suit your business needs. Follow these steps and it will be easier.

Make conservative estimates when making your business budgeting worksheet or budget spreadsheet. Underestimate your revenue and overestimate your expenses, particularly at first. If you do this, and your budget estimates are a little off, you've already taken it into account.
Go over your budget every month. Even if you fear that you've gone over your budget, take a deep breath and look over your budget every single month. Look at how your revenue matched up. Look at where you went over and under your planned expenses. If your revenue was lower than your expenses, try to find some ways to cut costs.
Budget in a cash emergency fund. Try to set aside a portion of each month's revenue and put it in some sort of savings account. Even though your budget will be tight, you will be glad you did this if there is a sudden economic downturn or a big bill suddenly crops up.
Cash flow problems kill many small businesses. Watch your cash flow on a monthly basis and be sure you are in positive cash flow territory. If you are not, look at ways changing the status quo.
Show restraint but not rigidity. Your business budget should help restrain you from unnecessary spending. If something comes up, however, that is an expense and would be valuable to your business, weigh it up before you take advantage of the opportunity.
Learn to be flexible. Especially when you first start developing business budgets, remember that you are new to this. Like anything else, you have a lot to learn. Learning comes with experience.

Article supplied by Three Peaks. Three Peaks is an established Financial Services company based in KwaZulu-Natal, www.threepeaks.co.za

The Theatre

2011/12/14

Melanie Veness: PCB CEO

The theatre is one of my favourite places in the world. I get goose bumps just standing in the foyer. This last week, I was treated to Snow White at the Sneddon, and quite frankly, I was spellbound. The script, set and cast were masterfully put together – what a superb performance! I was enchanted, and delighted by the audience participation, and I am utterly humbled by the talent that we have in our province.

I wanted to study drama when I left school, but having obtained a decent matric, I was dispatched to study “something sensible”. “There is no money in drama,” I was told. But there should be and we should support art.

In order to be balanced people, we need to embrace both logical and creative thinking. In addition, art in its manifestations, could be said to be society's expressive interface. In this sphere, questions about society are posed and intellectual boundries are extended.

Cultural Economics studies the economics of the creation, distribution, and consumption of works of art and literature – I am not sure how much work has been done in this field locally, but perhaps the support of the arts should become more of a focus area in our economic planning?

It was wonderful to see young and old enjoying a live performance together, and it made we wonder how many opportunities there are for families to have this much fun together? Our lives have become so entwined in technology and things.

The other thing that I did this week was to ride on the carnival rides with my teenagers at the opening of Mr. Funtubbles at the Liberty Midlands Mall. We giggled until our bellies ached.

Wouldn’t it be great to give loved ones an unforgettable experience this festive season, rather than a tangible gift they probably don't need? Chances are the “gift” is imported, so it even makes greater economic sense to do the experiential things. Besides, one would be supporting local entrepreneurs and we all know that local is lekker! We could give presents like hair make-overs and pedicure vouchers or 10 carnival rides, or a boat trip around the harbour? There are even more adventurous gifts like a tree-top canopy tour, 20 rounds of go-kart racing or a sky dive?

Attending Snow White has made me even more excited about the imminent revamp of our Winston Churchill Theatre. Our capital city will once again have a place to stage performances of this calibre, and I, for one, can’t wait!

Labour Brokers

2011/12/08

Melanie Veness: PCB CEO

The labour broker debate continues to rage. For me, the important thing to consider is what we, as citizens, and our economy stands to gain or lose from the proposed banning of labour brokers.

The statistics show that 20% of all the jobs that have been created in South Africa since 1994 have been temporary jobs created by labour brokers. This equates to between 600 000 and 700 000 jobs. When one considers that construction created 608 000 jobs over the same period and that the manufacturing sector only created in the region of 271 000 jobs, then one realizes how significant a role labour brokers are actually playing.

We are talking about a large number of lives that have been positively affected. This begs the question: if labour brokers had not existed, would these people have enjoyed employment of any kind? And if so, how many of them?

I was interested to read what Adcorp, the biggest supplier of temporary workers in South Africa, had to say about the average duration of their temporary contracts. Although their contracts tend to run for on average eighteen months, workers tend to stay in these positions for an average of 8.4 months, because they tend to move onto better assignments or more permanent employment.

This, to my mind, is something that we must take cognisance of. With our terribly high unemployment levels and with limited opportunities for both graduates and non-graduates to gain experience, we simply cannot underestimate the role that labour brokers are playing in our economy. It is obvious that temporary contracts, while not ideal employment, are a valuable means to better opportunities. And, as people move up and on, access to market opportunities are once again opened up for other people.

Professor Haroon Bhorat, director of the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, makes the point that although a number of businesses make use of labour brokers, there is insufficient evidence to support the notion that they do so in order to pay cheaper wages. Rather than saving on wages, it seems that employers are looking to save costs on human resource management. They are able to save by not having to run a human resource department within their organisations. This, he goes on to say, is a further indication of the rigidity of our labour law.

It makes sense to conclude that any change in labour legislation that restricts labour broking activities will limit opportunities for those needing to gain experience, and will consequently be bad for employment. Anything that negatively affects employment is bad for South Africa. We have excellent labour legislation. If there is abuse taking place, shouldn’t we just police compliance better? Perhaps we should even be looking at less restrictive labour legislation to avoid complicating employment further?