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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 280
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| Thought for the week: "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." George Patton |
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In this week's issue:
Get your business in the papers
When you're trying to build a brand, good publicity is vital - in fact, it's an essential part of any marketing campaign.
Marketing and PR agencies will work on your behalf to raise your business's profile, helping you to communicate with your target audience and improve your reputation.
But it is important to understand the basic principles of branding if you are to get the most out of an investment in this area.
Press coverage
If your business is not a well-known brand it can be difficult to persuade people to use it. If you are a small business trying to compete with bigger firms, you need to build your brand in a way that makes people believe you can offer a better service.
The public takes its lead from the media. They respect the journalists and publications that provide them with information. The fact that a journalist has chosen to write about your business markets you in a way that is more effective than advertising.
Choosing the right company
Choose people you trust and who you think you can work with. As more journalists become interested, you may eventually need to work with your PR contact on a daily basis.
A business with a proactive approach will get more results. Businesses need to come up with innovative ideas to attract the interest of jaded journalists.
Allocate responsibility
Someone in your business needs to be responsible for working with the PR agency. They will be the main point of contact, and need to be available to answer questions and make sure that both the press and the public get the right message about your brand.
How much does it cost?
PR and marketing firms can have a reputation for being expensive, but you can keep costs down by shopping around. Some are much more competitive than others, and offer special rates for smaller businesses, including fixed prices for specific services such as sending out a one-off press release.
However, it is important to watch out for hidden charges. There are some who charge for hidden extras like postage, meetings or even telephone calls.
How does PR charging work?
In general, PR firms work on a retainer basis. You buy a certain amount of time, such as six days a month for four months. Most firms will produce regular activity reports and updates so that you can see clearly how the time has been spent.
How much is PR worth?
Weighing up the value of press coverage is difficult. A feature in a national newspaper may get you 15 new clients, so it can be seen as being worth that amount in new business. But what about all the other people who read the article and are now more likely to become a customer in the future?
One way to gauge the value of press coverage is to compare it with the cost of advertising. Anyone can advertise if they have the budget, but for press coverage about your business to appear, a journalist has had to decide that your business is worth writing about.
Can PR increase sales?
A press recommendation is often regarded as the next best thing to a word-of-mouth recommendation. The public respect the opinions of their favourite paper or magazine and a positive article about a product or service will inevitably create direct sales as readers are influenced by the review.
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.
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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Sneakart. This new website gives trainer-wearers the chance to customise their footwear using Sneakskin, a thin, graphic film that can be applied to white or light-coloured trainers. The film is sold bearing a wide variety of artwork or users can create their own design and upload it to the UK-based Sneakart website.
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The Green Microgym runs on a combination of solar power and energy from its clients' workouts. Spinning classes in US-based health centres generate up to 350 watts per bike, offering members a carbon-neutral way to keep fit.
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 'regale'?
a) befitting a monarch
b) to entertain
c) inaccurate
d) to decline
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 credit crunch and economic downturn have been blamed for problems in a number of sectors. However, it has created opportunities for what kind of retailers?
a) charity shops
b) newsagents
c) online retailers
d) corner shops
2) According to the BBC, food prices in UK shops and supermarkets have risen by 8.3%. The price of which food has risen by more than 20%?
a) fruit and vegetables
b) cereals
c) meat and fish
d) baby food
3) Every year more than three million Britons lose money to mass-marketed scams they receive by mail, e-mail, text or over the phone. But which is the top scam?
a) fake clairvoyants
b) bogus foreign lotteries
c) miracle health cures
d) deceptive sweepstakes
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Security quiz
The Microsoft Small Business Centre security quiz will help you to find out what level of understanding and awareness you really have about the security of your IT networks and computer system and the impact this could have on your business.
Online marketplace from BT
A business marketing and advertising service, combining a business directory with the ability to buy and sell online, has been launched by BT. Called BT Tradespace the basic service is free to join and promises the opportunity to market your business in innovative ways.
Compare business utility accounts
Moneyfacts offer a business banking and utilities tool that helps businesses to compare bank accounts, energy suppliers and phone services, to help them find the best deals, depending on their particular circumstances.
Find a tax form
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) provides a useful search tool to enable you to 'find a form'. Check out their website to find the forms you need to complete in relation to topics such as corporation tax, PAYE, National Insurance, self-employment and self-assessment.
Win a year's Vodafone 3G Mobile Broadband contract
EnterQuest has teamed up with Shimmer Telecom, an independent provider of telephony, data and IT services, to give a lucky reader a 12-month subscription to Vodafone 3G Mobile Broadband worth over £300.
A service ideal for use on your laptop, and requiring no more than a simple USB stick, the plug-and-play mechanism works with any PC or laptop, including Apple.
With the Vodafone mobile service, you can browse the web, access your e-mail and, if your machine is set up for it, use your PC as a phone using VoIP.
Shimmer is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a 12-month subscription. Just answer the following question:
Q. What does the acronym VoIP mean?
a) Voice-over Internet Protocol
b) Voice-on Internet Protocol
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime telephone number, using "Vodafone 3G competition" as the e-mail subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 30 September. EnterQuest and Shimmer Telecom 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 and terms and conditions for the prize are available on request.
This book suggests over 100 ideas to help businesses to add value and achieve results which have been gathered from some of the leading companies throughout the world. Concise explanations of the ideas are supplemented by suggestions as to how they can be applied in a business context. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is b).
Regale means to entertain.
The entrepreneur regaled the audience of investors with his imaginative business ideas. |
How's your business radar? The answers
1) The answer is a) - Charity shops appear to have beaten the general economic slowdown as shoppers turn away from the traditional high street chains in search of value.
2) The answer is c) - While general food prices have risen by 8.3% since January, the price of meat and fish has risen by 22.9%.
3) The answer is d) - A new report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) names deceptive sweepstakes as the top scam. The other scams in the top five included misleading prize draws, fake clairvoyants, bogus foreign lotteries, and miracle health cures. |
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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. |
