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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 343
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| Thought for the week: "A rumour without a leg to stand on will get around some other way." John Tudor |
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In this week's issue:
How to offer your customers 'universal benefits'
People don't buy 'things', they buy opportunities. When you package up all the opportunities you've created to sell a product or service, this is known as your 'offer'.
The challenge when selling your product or service is to create an offer so irresistible that your prospects will find it difficult to refuse.
In order to do this, you have to understand the principle that people are more likely to respond to offers that appeal to their emotional or personal needs, regardless of the features of the product or service being offered.
One way you can do this is to describe the benefits that your prospects will receive in terms of 'universal benefits'. By this we mean those benefits that appeal to every warm-blooded human being. These universal benefits include the desire to:
- be beautiful
- be popular
- be wealthy
- have fun
- not have to work
- be smart
- have better relationships
- have power
- be healthy
- be loved
- avoid pain
- have more time
- avoid guilt
Now take the features of your product or service and see if you can express the results of these features in terms of universal benefits, and you will have just created immense value virtually out of thin air.
If you can do this, you will have a much better opportunity to create an irresistible offer that your prospects will find it difficult to ignore.
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For more marketing techniques and ideas, check out The UK Small Business Marketing Bible, which 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.
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Simple way to sell second-hand Macs and consoles. SpeedSell is an online business that values users' second-hand Macs, games consoles and games, collects them from the user's home then pays them the price that the goods were valued at. In short, it provides users with a simple way of exchanging unwanted electronic goods for cash.
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Wedding donations registry service. This business is aimed at couples about to get married. Instead of the usual gift list containing household goods, couples can write a list containing "wishes", such as a college fund for the first-born, or even a first house, and the business sets up a donations page. It then sends guests invitations to donate money towards the couples "wishes".
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 'stultify'?
a) to inhibit
b) to energise
c) to reduce severely
d) to persuade or encourage
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 TNS Global, which of the following proposed solutions to card fraud have not been heard of by a third of consumers?
a) prepaid cards
b) payment by mobile phone
c) three-digit card security codes
d) anti-fraud services such as Verified By Visa
2) Research from Econsultancy.com has revealed that businesses are ignoring which of the following channels for developing customer relationships?
a) online networks
b) mobile Internet
c) blogging
d) local business clubs
3) Chancellor Alistair Darling has revealed he will scrap the proposed 1% rise in corporation tax for small firms, and intends to introduce a reduced 10% corporation tax on income from which of the following sources?
a) patents
b) investments
c) donations or gifts
d) sale of industrial assets
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Free health and safety resources for small firms
Health and safety training firm RRC has an online resource centre that contains free resources for small firms, including podcasts, technical updates, reference guides and newsletters. You need to register with the site to access all of the resources.
Marketing Forecast iPhone app
This free app for the iPhone provides a constant feed of marketing news, developments, Google trend topics and more, and is useful for anyone who wants to keep up to date with marketing trends and analysis. It can be downloaded from the iTunes store.
Free intellectual property health check
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched a free IP healthcheck service for anyone who wants to get more out of their IP assets. It checks the status of your IP then asks a series of questions about it. The IPO estimates that the tool will take an hour to complete.
Real-time website tracking and analysis application
Woopra collects and analyses web statistics, including numbers of page views, a user's browser settings and more, using real-time technology so that you can see what is happening on your site at any time. It's a desktop-based application, not web-based, and the basic service is free.
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 a Bluetooth mobile printer worth £199
The PrintStik from mobile working solutions firm PlanOn is the world's smallest full-page printer that makes it possible for users to print documents anywhere, any time, while on the road.
PrintStik offers full-feature printing capabilities on a self-contained, 20-page roll of A4 paper. It is extremely user-friendly and syncs easily with a variety of devices including laptops, PDAs and smart phones, transferring images and documents clearly with no smudging or bleeding.
EnterQuest has teamed up with PlanOn to offer readers the chance to win this really useful device, worth £199.
To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, just answer the following question:
Q: The proposed corporation tax on patents is due to come into effect from which year?
a) 2011
b) 2013
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime phone number, using 'PlanOn PrintStik competition' in the subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 31 January. Full competition rules are available on request.
This book will help you understand how to use all the elements of the marketing mix to great effect. It provides answers to questions on brands and marketing, and will help you develop a toolkit that can be used in marketing plans and strategies. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is a).
Stultify means to inhibit.
The entrepreneur felt stultified from taking on a member of staff because of employment red tape. |
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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. |
