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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 284
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| Thought for the week: "I started out with nothing and I've still got most of it left." Seasick Steve |
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In this week's issue:
Can people still find you with pay-per-click?
The Internet is evolving at a frighteningly fast pace, and to keep ahead of your competitors you need to understand and strategically integrate the Internet into your marketing mix.
But there have been some important recent changes to the search engines and you need to stay ahead of the game to keep ahead of the competition.
Google recently altered its pay-per-click strategy to allow firms to bid on their rivals' previously protected trademarks for the first time. With 85% of all searches on Google including a brand element, this shift has created one of the largest battles for online presence the market has ever seen.
The policy change will affect the search engine marketing strategies of businesses throughout the UK. It will also have a longer-term effect in that when a business launches a new product or service, it will no longer automatically be guaranteed to own the brand search terms.
Before the change came into effect, businesses had strong brand protection, which meant only the brand itself could use its trademark terms in pay-per-click ads. After the changes, a flood of bids from rival firms dramatically raised the cost per click of trademark terms and vast sums of money had to be paid to buy them back.
So will this affect your website? The answer is yes. Your closest rival now has the ability to bid on your brand terms and divert potential customers to their site - potential customers who were intent on finding you.
Fortunately, the change to Google's policy presents a chance for you to bid on your competitors' brand terms as well, increasing your visibility at their expense. Act quickly to get ahead of your competitors. If you re-allocate your search engine marketing budgets before they do, you can free up more money to buy your own terms back and out-bid competitors on theirs.
This tip is an extract of an article from EnterQuest's sister publication, BETTER business magazine. Subscribers to the magazine can read even more articles to help them run a better business, including:
To receive a free copy of BETTER business magazine simply send us your name and address to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com, putting 'EQ magazine offer' in the subject box.
How to dominate your market
By Jonathan Jay
Dominating your market doesn't mean you have to be the biggest in a particular industry, profession, or marketplace. Sometimes it's actually better not to be the biggest because being smaller allows you to be more agile and adaptable to change.
But to dominate your market, you have to position yourself as the 'go-to' business. If you're going to play to win you want to be the most successful business in your marketplace and there are certain things that you can do to position yourself in that way.
Firstly, you need to be totally clear about what your market is. You need to know your potential customers - their wants, needs, and behaviours. It's a lot easier to dominate your market if you're very clear about what your market is and who your customers will be.
You then need to choose a specific niche market for your field, your product or service. The more specific the niche, the easier it is to be successful because when you niche your product or service several things happen:
When you do that, you become expert in that marketplace because:
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You have the same type of customers,
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You're providing the same type of service or product, and
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You become better and better at what you do.
You increase the number of referrals you receive because when you are an expert people will refer you to others. When you are an expert in your niche - when you dominate your niche - your fees or your charges increase simply because people are willing to pay more for an expert than they are for a generalist.
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Jonathan Jay is the founder of SuccessTrack - Success Strategies for Business Owners, and author of The Marketing Secrets of A Multi-Millionaire Entrepreneur. Go to www.freemarketingbook.org for your free copy. |
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 'ephemeral'?
a) lasting only for a short time
b) extremely delicate and light
c) tight with money
d) all-embracing
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) The latest UK Enterprise Survey Report from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has revealed that around a third of businesses (32%) think the credit crunch has increased their opportunities for which business activity?
a) business acquisitions
b) reviewing output costs
c) making staff cuts
d) switching suppliers
2) According to research from business insurer Premierline Direct, 70% of businesses surveyed use which technology to reduce travel and time spent out of the office?
a) the Internet
b) a business landline
c) palm-top computers or PDAs
d) a mobile phone
3) The National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that what percentage of businesses think that complying with regulation is less time-consuming than it was in 2007?
a) 1%
b) 5%
c) 10%
d) 15%
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Use Yahoo! Answers to help you think creatively
This blog tells you how you can use Yahoo! Answers to help you in your social media campaign. By asking a question the author used the responses to help him write an article on marathon running. In the same way, Yahoo! Answers could also be used to help overcome writers' block or provide you with initial research for a business idea.
Think Smallest First campaign from FPB
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) launched its Think Smallest First campaign to help raise awareness of the bureaucracy and increasing costs that small and micro-businesses face. The campaign is gathering steam, having won the backing of some MPs and celebrities. The FPB has set up a Think Smallest First petition on the Number 10 Downing Street website.
Extra help for busy Outlook users
Xobni is a free add-on for Outlook users. It offers search, automatically threads e-mail conversations with individual contacts, highlights your free time to make appointments easier, and extracts vital information like phone numbers from messages.
Save money on rail travel
If you travel a lot for business reasons, why not try and save some money by using thetrainline? The site enables you to buy train tickets in advance and take advantage of discounted rates to save up to 39% off the full price.
Win one of 33 uni-ball Jetstream high-tech pens
EnterQuest has teamed up with JetStream, the hi-tech pen people, to give away 33 superb uni-ball pens.
Jetstream boasts smooth, dependable qualities which uni-ball believes will prove popular with busy executives who need to write as much as possible in a short amount of time. It's ideal for signatures, too - the script will not blur and is guaranteed to stay bold.
The pen also features an ergonomically-designed rubber grip which supports the fingers and absorbs the pressure of a tight grip, making the pen ideal throughout long meetings or conferences.
Uni-ball has 33 Jetstream pens to give away, with three first-prize winners receiving an exclusive accessory set including a briefcase or handbag, plus stylish files to ensure their work life is as orderly and precise as their handwriting! Just answer the following question:
Q. In the world of mobile IT, what does the acronym PDA stand for?
a) Personal Digital Assistant
b) Private Digital Archive
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime telephone number, using 'uni-ball competition' as the e-mail subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 31 October. EnterQuest and uni-ball will use the information you provide for their own marketing purposes only and your details will never be shared with any third parties (except to arrange delivery of the prize). Competition rules are available on request.
By focusing on failures and the reasons behind them, this book aims to inspire readers to succeed where others have failed. The author identifies what he calls 14 Key Failure Factors to help entrepreneurs avoid failure pitfalls. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is a).
Ephemeral means lasting for a short time.
The investor saw no point in putting money into business ideas that focused on ephemeral trends. |
How's your business radar? The answers
1) The answer is a) - 32% of businesses surveyed think that the credit crunch gives them more opportunities for acquiring other business. That's despite the survey showing that over two-thirds (72%) think the crunch has made it harder for businesses to plan.
2) The answer is a) - The Internet is viewed by 70% of small firms as a means of reducing travel and time spent out of the office, thereby improving efficiency.
3) The answer is a) - The NAO research revealed that just 1% of small business owners think complying with regulation is less time consuming. Some 40% said it was more time-consuming. |
Visit www.enterprisequest.com to access all back issues of the EnterQuest bulletin. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us to make this service more relevant please e-mail your comments to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
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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. |
