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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 350
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| Thought for the week: "Telepath wanted. You know where to apply." Unattributed graffiti |
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In this week's issue:
How to surprise your customers
As a small business owner, do you think that "proper" marketing is something that only big corporations can afford?
If you do, you couldn't be more wrong.
There are hundreds of marketing strategies that any small business in any sector can implement, and most of them are child's-play simple and comparatively low-cost. Successful marketing doesn't have to mean paying a fortune to a marketing or PR firm for an expensive campaign that only achieves a fraction of the results you hoped it would.
One of the best ways to increase sales in your business is to get your customers to do your promotion for you, by recommending you to friends and colleagues and by returning to you time and again. So, what's the best way to get them so worked up about how fantastic your business is? Surprise them. Make sure their experience of buying from you is more memorable than with any other business.
Here are a few ideas for cheap or free ways to carry out stealth marketing by making sure your customers are so impressed that they can't help but recommend you to others.
1. Get to know your regular customers. Regulars are the bread and butter of any business, and you should make that extra effort to make them feel good about doing business with you. Learn their names and greet them when you see them, or make exceptions to your usual business policy to show your regulars how much you appreciate them.
2. Talk to your customers and get their opinions on how well you're doing. Give customers a personal call, or even a visit, to ask how they're getting on with the latest product or service they bought from you. If they've hit any problems, ask for their opinion on how these could be fixed - and listen to it.
3. Admit to, and apologise for, any mistakes that you make. No business is perfect, and the proof of the pudding is often not in the mistake itself, but in how you handle it. If you've made a mistake with a customer, always be prepared to go the extra mile and offer them a discount, waive their bill, or offer them another product for free to make up for the inconvenience to them.
4. Do things differently and make your business stand out from the crowd by providing a service that just isn't available elsewhere, such as immediate delivery following a purchase, providing a free buffet on Saturdays or having a longer guarantee on your products than any of your competitors.
5. Reward customers that give you referrals or agree to write testimonials for you. Make a big deal of your appreciation by sending a thank you card, gift voucher or free gift.
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The UK Small Business Marketing Bible contains hundreds more tips and tactics for boosting your sales using proven marketing strategies that work no matter what product or service you sell. |
Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
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 the meaning of the word 'venerate'?
a) respect
b) obey
c) replace
d) grow
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been recently reported in the media. Did your radar pick them up?
1) According to research by Croner, more than half of people in small businesses have no formal training in which subject, despite spending up to two days a week dealing with issues in that subject area?
a) health and safety
b) HR
c) business development
d) marketing and PR
2) According to research by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), the number of shoppers supporting which of the following types of produce has doubled to 30% since 2006?
a) fair trade
b) organic
c) local food
d) dairy-free
3) According to research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), central Government is still late in paying its bills within its own ten-day timeframe. But which of the following was named the worst offender for paying invoices late?
a) central Government
b) local Government
c) private sector firms
d) charities
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Pay-as-you-go newsletter marketing tool
Newsletter Sender is a pay-as-you-go e-mail marketing service for small businesses. You need to buy a credit pack (one e-mail is equivalent to one credit). You can also choose your e-mail template from one of its designs or upload your own. The credits are deleted according to how many e-mails are sent.
Keep track of utility bills and bank statements
MyBillsOnline is a useful tool for freelancers or homeworkers who want to keep an eye on utility bills and bank statements. It enables you to view many of your bills from one location, with one password. The service is free.
Free backlink checker
This free tool helps you check how many backlinks from your site are on Google's search pages. Backlinks are links directed to your site from other sites.
Should your business have a blog?
This white paper discusses the pros and cons of having a business blog, what makes a good business blog, how to get the best from a business blog and the importance of integrating it with other marketing communication tools.
You can get access to hundreds more online business tools, how-to articles, checklists, standard forms and business development resources by subscribing to the Better Business Adviser.
Win an I.R.I.S. package worth over £200
EnterQuest has teamed up with mobile office products manufacturer I.R.I.S. to offer readers the chance to win a package containing IRISnotes 1.0 and IRIScan 2 Express worth over £200.
The IRISnotes 1.0 converts scribbled notes and diagrams into editable text on your PC, while the IRIScan converts paper documents such as invoices and receipts into editable and searchable text files.
To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, just answer the following question:
Q: FSB research has revealed that central Government pays what percentage of bills outside of its own ten-day window?
a) 31%
b) 51%
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime phone number, using 'I.R.I.S. competition' in the subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 31 March. Full competition rules are available on request.
This book will help you polish your speechwriting and delivery skills for speeches or presentations. It contains excerpts of famous speeches from the likes of Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and Barack Obama. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is a.
Venerate means respect.
The awards dinner was rounded off by one of the most venerated entrepreneurs in the region. |
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Remember that we guarantee never to sell or give your e-mail address to anyone else.
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. |
