Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 01 February 2006

In this week's issue:

• Is it time to rethink your small business marketing strategy?
• Finding suppliers and partners abroad
• Flexible working - cutting through the confusion
• Using templates in Word
• The Interactive Media in Retail Group website reviewed

Small business answers

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Weekly stir

Is it time to rethink your small business marketing strategy?

As a publisher of information for new start ups and small business owners, we don't intentionally set out to insult, put down, put off or upset the people who read our newsletters.

However, on occasion this does happen. Because we say things as they need to be said, based on our experiences, observations and opinions about what we see, read and hear in the small business and start up field, we sometimes upset people. Unintentionally.

But these people are few and far between, and quite frankly generally aren't real entrepreneurs anyway, more usually being self-appointed 'experts' in the small business support and advice arena.

Our intention, to which we will unwaveringly adhere, is to inspire, motivate and open up ideas and tracks that small business owners might not previously have considered. And to challenge whatever we believe needs to be challenged, no matter who disagrees, gets upset or throws their dummy away as a result of what we say.

Right, now for this week's lesson from the small business 'school of hard knocks'.

How many of our readers can honestly say that they currently have a coherent business strategy, or more precisely and importantly, a marketing strategy?

And if you do have a marketing strategy, how many of you have regularly and seriously examined whether it's working as you originally planned, is producing the desired results, or is in need of a complete rethink?

Barely a single soul among you all would be our guess.

The goal and objective in any small business should be to focus on a strategy, or strategies, that will achieve maximum leverage and results from all of your marketing efforts and tactics in one or more of the following business growth areas.

Attracting more new customers

 For example, this can be done by:

• Focusing on a niche market you can easily contact and dominate.
• Developing an education-based strategy that compels your prospects to contact you to find out more about how you can help them.
• Creating a proactive referral programme that will open up new channels of growth for your business.

Increasing your average sales amount

Examples of how to do this include:

• Up-selling your customers to high-quality products and services.
• Suggesting accessories and add-ons that complement your customers' original purchases.
• Combining several items into bundles that cost less than if bought individually.

Getting customers to buy from you more often

This generally overlooked strategy can be achieved by:

• Providing ongoing communications about compelling offers that are difficult for your customers to turn down.
• Regularly following up with your customers to thank them for their custom and suggest other products or services that would increase their satisfaction levels.
• Tracking customer usage and buying patterns to suggest purchases before they actually need them.

Keeping your customers for life

Some of the most effective ways to achieve this include:

• Delivering uncommon, unmatchable customer service by always going that extra mile.
• Giving your customers the chance to give you praise and testimonials about your great customer service.
• Regularly treating, surprising or reminding your customers about how they are the most important people in your life.

In conclusion, it's probably fair to guess that the majority of the small business owners that read this bulletin will probably need to take action in one of the following ways:

• Make sure you actually have a marketing strategy focusing on one or more of these business growth areas.
• Completely rethink your existing marketing strategy, and revisit this on a regular basis.

Our comprehensive guide to writing a marketing plan for your business can help you to develop a system that works for you, as well as providing tips on how to revise your plan to get the best out of it.

Marketing tip

Finding suppliers and partners abroad

Finding suppliers and partners is probably the hardest part of trading abroad.The following tools and resources provide advice about how to source overseas customers and suppliers, and offer links to international trade networks and listings of potential foreign partners.

• The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) offers a range of useful tips, links and guides to researching foreign markets. FITA also maintains a directory of businesses operating in Europe, plus listings of trade leads from around the world.

• The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) provides advice on carrying out trade missions and visiting potential customers abroad.

• The European Information Centre (EIC) network's website keeps a database of European businesses that are keen to make co-operative links with other firms in Europe.

• Overseas Trade is a free online magazine offering practical guidance and an introduction to various aspects of exporting.

Legal tip

Flexible working - cutting through the confusion

A recent survey in the Daily Telegraph found that flexible working was turning out to be one of the biggest red tape headaches for small businesses. This wasn't because the idea was wrong, but simply that the law had been implemented in a confusing way.

Under the Employment Act 2002, parents with children under the age of six are entitled to ask their employers to work flexibly (that is, to change working hours in order to suit other routines, often based around the family). The employer is obliged to give the request serious consideration.

With this in mind, what follows is a small selection of the most useful resources to help you understand more about flexible working.

• Flexibility is the website of a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to publicising research and opinions about different ways of working. It features case studies, information about the law, and advice for employers.

• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has a set of documents offering practical guidance.

• The Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) site looks at flexible working from the business owner's point of view, offers links to the legislation, explains how to achieve best practice, and has answers to frequently asked questions.

For other links and resources, you could try the Flexible Working site. And you can use our practical checklist to understand how to deal with a request for flexible working arrangements from one of your staff.

IT tip

Using templates in Word

Most people choose not to use templates in Word, because they manage pretty well using the basic tools it offers and it wastes valuable business time learning new features.

Templates can save you time, though, by cutting out parts of tasks you have to do often. One common use is in having standard formats for your letters. Here's a brief guide to making a template you can use every time you need to write a letter.

• First, open a blank document in the normal way.

• Next, design the header for your letter. You may decide to use text only, but your business might also have a logo that you can position in the border of your document. Don't forget that including the business name, address and registration number is obligatory on all correspondence from limited companies.

• If you want your design to appear at the top or foot of every page in a document with more than one page, click 'View', then go to 'Header and Footer' and add your design to the dashed box.

• Once you're satisfied with your letterhead, click 'File' then 'Save as'. At the bottom of the dialogue box which appears, select 'Save as Type', then 'Document Template'. You can call it standardletter.doc or whatever is appropriate. The default location for Word is a folder called 'Templates'; you can change this if you need to.

You now have a template you can use any time you need to write a letter. Simply go to 'File', then 'New', and select the template called 'Standard letter'.

New business idea

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK.

Here is this week's idea:

• Alcohol and Cigarette Delivery Service

Just one word

Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.

Do you know what 'recoup' means?

a) reform or improve a process
b) regain or make back a loss
c) reorganise or reorder a list
d) recover from a problem

Website review

The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG - www.imrg.org)

• Navigation and presentation - an eye-catching homepage is clearly signposted into areas for members, visitors, consumers and anyone simply looking for news stories, although the rolling list of members at the bottom goes too quickly to be of any practical use. Deeper in the site, there's lots of distracting Flash imagery.

• Accessibility - there are no options to view the site in text-only format - a particular problem given the heavy use of images - and no help with access keys or foreign language options are provided either.

• Content and usefulness - there are some useful tools on the site, although they can be tricky to find due to less-than-intuitive navigation. The glossary of e-commerce terminology is a great resource, though, and although the site's guides and checklists have a consumer focus, they provide an excellent means of checking key compliance issues when setting up an online store.

• Relevance - this is where this site comes into its own, populated with a wealth of engaging news articles on e-commerce trends and developments. There are monthly and quarterly surveys of retail statistics, and an archive of press releases that are published at a rate of at least six per month.

An extremely useful news resource for small firms considering setting up, or already running, online stores. The site could be dramatically improved by the addition of some accessibility options and a bit less reliance on graphics and images.

Did you know?

More firms are getting 'charity scammed'

One of the DTI's more useful recent moves has been the publication of guidance to help businesses avoid falling victim to 'charity scams'. Hundreds of UK firms have recently fallen prey to cold calls requesting payment to place advertisements in charity publications; many see this as a good marketing opportunity, but in reality few of the advertisements are actually printed. The DTI has also included a few practical scam-busting tips, as well as advice about how to check whether a charity is genuine.

There's a task force to beat badware

Worth a visit

Free online courses in England

Vision 2 Learn is offering a number of free online courses, which lead to nationally recognised qualifications, for people living in England. Courses cover subjects as diverse as IT, business start up, basic workplace skills, health and safety, and sports coaching. They can be followed in your own time, depending on your other commitments. Unfortunately, if you live in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, you're a bit stumped - which is bizarre given that the courses are delivered online.

Patent Office opinions service

The Patent Office is offering a new service to help small firms avoid patent disputes. The service provides an alternative method of resolving patent problems to taking the matter to court. You can use the service for an opinion about the validity or potential infringement of a UK patent, and will receive impartial advice about the main issues. The service costs £200, which is a lot cheaper than court action - the aim is to encourage more innovation among small firms.

Guide to raising private equity

Worth a read

Written in a refreshingly clear and friendly way, this book really manages to capture the excitement of the early stages of starting up a new business. It breaks the key processes down into weekly steps, providing a practical, checklist-style approach that is easy to follow and enjoyable to read. It covers the first six months in the life of a new venture, and is packed with useful glossaries, reading lists and case studies. Check out:

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Good luck

The EnterQuest Team

This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.