I think you make some valid points maysgr, but I want to take it a bit further after having done a postmortem on the recent announcement.
“1,500 users onboarded since July 2016 adding to the already 3,500 plus users of the incident and risk notification app” (does not tell us much about typical use patterns, how they use it and for what and how it generates cash)
”user-friendly mobile solutions, we look forward to helping our clients maximise productivity while exceeding their safety and compliance goals.” (While I know we can see some functionality on the vault website, it’s about time we saw a presentation addressing how this works)
“Vault is continuing to add to its mobile suite and is teaming up with some of its major customers to develop unique business productivity apps. Empowering Vault customers with mobility is essential to customers gaining the most from their products and this has led to the Vault Enterprise solution now being fully mobile and is a distinct point of difference over competitors.” (Sounds nice, but who are the competitors and how does mobility make us better? I would find it surprising that competitors don’t use mobility in some form, so I find the above statement poor argument)
“More broadly across the business, Vault has strengthened its position in existing markets while monetising its reach into new geographies.” (I am going to be honest here, as former PR exec for Microsoft and AMD back in 1999-2002, this is an absolutely nothing statement. There is a disconnect between the message and intended target. I would hope that all companies strengthen existing positions and monetize their reach, afterall business growth is key to survival)
“New contracts won subsequent to the end of September indicate healthy continued new sales activity in the face of what has historically proven to be the year’s slowest season across the risk software market.” (and this is according to whose evidence and what statistics have been used to provide historic data over what period?)
In September the Company appointed three new professional Business Development Executives to the Australian team. Two are Sydney based and one is Perth based. The appointees have deep risk/safety experience having worked for companies like Enablon, Cintillate (SAI Global), Unite Safety and Cura Software. The Company is excited to have these professionals on board who have had an immediate impact on the development of existing leads and contacts and the sales pipeline in general has now swelled to record levels and continues to accelerate. (so why no announcement telling us who they are at the time of appointment?. They have only been employed since September, yet here we are one month later in October and the sales pipeline has now swelled to record levels….I think the writer has taken great liberty in embellishing what could have been written in a more professional manner with greater belief)
In August, the Company finalised a reseller agreement covering the Asian region with a party based in Kuala Lumpur. This relationship has immediately delivered its first client in September and has helped to further bolster an already attractive pipeline of potential new customers
(I agree Asia represents an amazing opportunity, afterall, I live and work in Asia and see the opportunities that are arising. But again, why not make an announcement and tell us about the journey as it unfolds? Lots of other companies do this without giving away names and deals, but they do announce discussions underway etc))
Vault was nominated by KPMG for the recently held New Zealand Innovation awards and is pleased to report that it was selected as a finalist in the highly sought after area of professional services. Although unsuccessful in winning the award it was a huge accolade for the business and adds to its recent Top 10 finish in the Westpac Business excellence awards in which 460 companies across New Zealand had competed. (Again no announcement. Check out NUH announcement when they were selected for awards recently. They kept investors informed throughout the whole process. This is free advertising VLT, use PR wisely and build awareness in the community and with investors.
My take on the recent announcement is that they are poor at delivering the message. My professional opinion is that it was written either in-house by staff not familiar with PR ways or by a small PR firm with little consideration towards best practice for the client. The message is not connecting and the language used is fluffy and full of embellishment. They need simple speak and they need to connect. It’s about time for a slideshow or company presentation which mirrors the professionalism of their own website.
In terms of the accounting and figures used, I am fine with that, especially as this is new company and it has a lot of room to grow.
If they want the Asian market, and I have 20 years in Asia at senior levels, then I want to see them approach communications in a more professional manner and actually tell the story without the fluff. The Asian market has become very discerning over the past 10 years and while VLT are happy to bounce around data about big money in the sector and mergers and acquisitions, perhaps they need to look behind some of the imagery that allowed such stories to occur. VLT you have a long way to go to connect.
Final word…I like the story, and I am putting my money into the growth for a long term play, but I want to see it done properly.
