The Apprentice UK 2011 – Episode 2 Business lessons review

Episode two of The Apprentice UK 2011 can be viewed on the BBC website or Youtube.

The Apprentice UK – Episode 2 Business lessons review

This episode required both teams to invent a mobile app. They simply had to come up with the creative and any required content (sound or pictures) and then it would be produced overnight by a team of crack coders. The ultimate aim of the task was to have the most downloads of their FREE app within 24 hours.

To aid the download process they had access to an audience at a tech conference and could pitch to three well-known app related websites who would pitch their free download app online to a worldwide audience.

The first element of buffoonery began when each team had to pick their team leader. There was a smash of ego’s on the men’s team which ultimately led to a vote rather than perhaps the most experienced person for the job.

The women on the other hand had only one volunteer, Edna Agbarha so there was no discussion on who was best versed in mobile app technology and thus best to lead them.

The management styles of both teams were also very different. Edna has a very strict ‘I am the boss; style of command but had no clear idea of a product, so as time ran out they were forced to work with the one useable idea on the table – Ambi-App, a totally random app which featured annoying sounds to annoy people around you.

One good thing the women did was to send out a research group on the streets to see what apps people actually had. Perhaps it would have been wiser to spend some time researching online as to which age group and demographic was most susceptible to mobile downloads as I was confused what they actually gained from their in-field research.

The men led by Leon were more structured in their approach to being creative and had time to brainstorm. Ultimately they settled with ‘slang-a-tang’ which was an app featuring random insults with various accents from within the team.

What they ultimately forgot was that the market for mobile apps is Worldwide and Lord Sugar made clear that the audience was worldwide. By narrowing themselves to most British accents and comedy, they had effectively narrowed their target audience from the world, to main UK-based. A very costly mistake.

The pitches were terrible from both teams. They did not know their figures well and they did not seem to have a basic plan of what to say. They had not even prepared answers to common questions they may get asked. Perhaps unforgivable.

There was however one bit of brilliance in this episode and that is the way the boy’s team pitched live on stage in front of 500 people. They clearly told people how to download the app and went one step further by asking people to get out their smart phones and download it instantly. A brilliant piece of marketing and one which left the girls flaws, many thinking that they were just slaughtered by the mens team.

Ultimately the men’s mistake of forgetting their worldwide audience cost them dearly and ultimately Alex Britez Cabral paid the price.

As per usual the boardroom shenanigans were irritating to listen to, but one part stood out clearly. Losing team leader Leon changed his mind about bringing Jim back in after Jim convinced him he was actually a great asset! That was either brilliant mind control from Jim or the sign of a leader who had not thought things through and had not no firm decision-making skills.

Business Lessons to be learned from The Apprentice UK 2011 – Episode 2

1) Make sure you understand who your target audience is. The men’s team forgot this and narrowed a worldwide audience down to just UK-based smart phone users.

2) Practice your pitches so that it comes off naturally without you having to think about it. Also anticipate potential negative questions and have responses ready to answer them should they arise.

3) Whenever speaking to a live audience and representing you product, ensure you always remind them how to obtain your product. Never leave them guessing, make it super easy for them. Use this principle in all your marketing literature also.

The reminder of those three business lessons made this episode 2 of ‘The Apprentice UK 2011′ worth watching.