October 2009 - Ann Elliott recognised in local business awards

Entrepreneur of the Year finalist

Local businesswoman, Ann Elliott, was last night shortlisted for the prestigious category of Entrepreneur of the Year at the Milton Keynes and North Bucks Chamber of Business Excellence Awards. The Chamber's Business Excellence Awards recognise the achievements of local businesses and rewards them for their commitment to excellence

Elliott Independent was founded in 2001 by Ann Elliott as a specialist marketing agency for the leisure, hospitality and tourism sector. Following a hugely successful few years, the company evolved ito Elliott People in 2006 and has now expanded to include a thriving PR team. Led by Ann, Elliott People is widely recognised as an industry leader boasting partnerships with many high profile blue-chip clients.

Ann is an important figure in her local community. Playing an active role in the Great Horwood Village Hall Committee, she has organised the village fete for the past two years and is committed to providing support for local people. Ann regularly offers work experience to young adults in the local community - and works hard to ensure they get the chance to play an active role and benefit from new working experiences.

This year Ann supported a summer school led by Milton Keynes based Performing Arts Academy, Spectrum Arts UK. She sponsored a child to participate in the week long event, which aims to really make a difference to the lives of children who haven't had a holiday this year and who have a very difficult home situation. 

Ann comments: "It is a great honour to be recognised for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Elliott People has come a long way since 2001 and as a small agency with a workforce of 12 we have built an impressive client base over the years. While success is clearly an objective for Elliott People, I believe that business is about more than making money. It is also about our responsibility to those around us, and in particular to those in need, which is why I encourage the team to support the local community in every way possible. " 

September 2009 - Disney Keys to Excellence Program

Our Account Executive, Joanna Harris, talks about her experiences at this conference

I recently attended the Disney Keys to Business Excellence program, which gave a fantastic insight into the Disney philosophies, strategies, concepts and tactics which help make it such a successful and inspirational organisation. The presenters, Chris Caracci and Scott Milligan, were dynamic and passionate about their subject - leaving you in no doubt that they practise what they preach.

Among the messages delivered on the day, there were three that stood out; storytelling, understanding your 'guests', and experience mapping.

The power of story is not something that would necessarily spring to mind as a key business strategy. Surely there are more important things to be spending time on? But when you think about it, simply taking the time to paint a picture can make a world of difference. Do you know what is important to your customers? What are their values? And why would they want to work with you? Yes, you might have a great product and great prices, but chances are that you're not the only one. 

Every organisation has a heritage, which means every organisation has a story to tell. Who was the founder? What were they like? What were their values? For new businesses, you're mkaing that history at the moment. Take some time to capture it. 

Another is understanding your 'guests'. The likelihood is you know exactly what your customers want. You know what product or service they're after, how much they want to pay for it and what you can do to help them with that. But in reality, customers don't pay a product, they buy the whole experience. There are four things to think about; your customers' needs, emotions, wants and stereotypes. Consider all of these and provide a positive experience, and it's likely that your customers will overlook the negatives.

Finally I was struck by the importance of experience mapping. How often do you take the time to see your organisation through your customers' eyes? Think about each point of contact you have - this could be a brochure, advertisement, website, or even your car park. Do they give off the impression you want them to? 

Chris and Scott provided some great tools to help with all of these elements. If you'd like a copy of them, email me at joanna@elliottpeople.com and I'll be happy to send them on. 

April 2009 - The Fox Restaurant Concepts

Do they know something we don’t?

Following a visit to the USA in April 2009, Ann Elliott has produced a report on the American Eating Out market, focussing on the Fox Restaurant concepts.

Written from an informal perspective, this report explores the question ‘Do they know something we don’t?’.

If you would like to receive a copy of this informative report, please contact us on 01296 714745 or email ann@elliottpeople.com.