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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 14 September 2005
| Thought for the week:
"You do not lead by hitting people
over the head - that's assault, not leadership." Dwight
D. Eisenhower |
In this week's issue:
Small business answers
If
you have any questions about your business idea or target market,
or need help tracking down a grant, subsidy or business support
in your local area, then send an e-mail with your query to the EnterQuest
information team and we'll do our best to help.
Send
your question to
enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
To
access over 800 factsheets, guides and small business reports, go
to www.scavenger.net.
Weekly stir 
The
bad news and good news for small business owners
Since
the late 1980s, when the longer-in-the-tooth members of the EnterQuest
team first started publishing small business information and working
with start ups and small business support agencies, we have witnessed
some startling trends and consistent flaws that apply to most of
the people that have started or tried to start up their own businesses.
The
bad news about all this is that we can tell you that the majority
of new owners of small businesses don't have the right experience,
savvy or know-how to sell or promote themselves to their target
customers.
In
fact, what's worse is that many of them don't even know who their
customers are in the first place, never mind how to find them or
track them down.
What
we're saying is that most small business owners don't know enough
about small business marketing techniques, tactics and strategies.
Despite
this, most new entrepreneurs will make the effort to do some small
business marketing in the way that they believe is right. Unfortunately,
too many of them get into trouble.
Some
of them manage to do the right sort of marketing, but they do it
the wrong way.
Others
do the wrong sort of marketing, but manage to do it the right way.
But
still other small business owners, the ones with the thickest skulls,
do absolutely nothing about finding new customers at all.
The
problem with all of them is that invariably, they don't have a marketing
plan or a marketing strategy to guide them.
The
good news is that this isn't as difficult as it might initially
seem.
Of
course there are many different strategies that any new business
can pursue - you can learn about dozens of them and hundreds of
'guerrilla' marketing techniques and tactics in the UK
Small Business Marketing Bible.
Essentially,
all strategies to promote and grow a small business fall under four
general categories.
1)
Attract more new customers
2) Increase the average sales amount
3) Make your customers buy from you more often
4) Keep your customers for life
Depending
on your own business situation, you should pursue a strategy or
strategies from one or more of these general categories, and make
it happen through your marketing plan.
Creating
a marketing plan doesn't have to be such a big deal either - you
can find a practical factsheet about how
to write a marketing plan on our Scavenger
small business research website - but an effective marketing
plan will generally explain and set out the following:
- Your
general understanding of your market and competition
- Who
your customers are, what they want and what will motivate them
to buy
- The
niche or market gap that you are going to fill
- What
your marketing message and Unique Selling Proposition (USP) will
be
- The
medium or route you will use to reach your market
- Your
sales and marketing goals and targets
- How
much your marketing budget is going to be
Simple,
eh?
Well,
not quite. To approach your sales and marketing properly, you will
need to set aside sufficient - and possibly uninterrupted - time
with your team, your business partners and advisers to think this
through and study your market thoroughly, and develop your strategy
and plan to reach it and sell to it.
It
will almost certainly be the most important time spent 'planning'
that you will ever devote to your business.
Training
tip
Online
sources of marketing training
Training
via the web is an ideal option for small businesses. You can access
the courses from the office or from home in your own time, reducing
time spent off-site and cutting the travelling expenses often associated
with training. Online training can be tailored to suit individual
needs, matching your learning pace and taking into account the pressures
of running a small firm.
The
Internet is a source of a great many free or low-cost tutorials
and training courses in aspects of running a business, from IT to
sales skills. Try using the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC)
Good
Training tool to identify web-based courses in areas where you
need to brush up your skills.
Online
degrees in sales and marketing disciplines, from customer service
to effective telephone selling, are available through online training
portals - see Worldwide
Learn and E
Learn UK as examples.
You
can also visit Marketing
Online and the
E-Marketing Association for comprehensive directories of books,
tutorials and practical web-based training courses covering Internet
marketing.
Tax
tip
That
time of year again...
Don't
forget that if you send your self-assessment tax return to HM Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) by 30 September, it will save you the trouble
of calculating the amount of tax you have to pay by doing this for
you. Although HMRC can still calculate your tax if you send your
return in later than this date, it can't guarantee to do so before
31 January, the deadline for payment.
- HMRC
has a list of key
tax dates, and since some of the detail on the tax return
form can be confusing, it has also published a number of tax
information sheets.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PWC) has also published a series
of tips for self-employed people completing their self-assessment
returns for 2004/5.
- Our
practical factsheets on meeting
tax deadlines and self-assessment
for tax provide detailed guidance on making sure you complete
your tax return properly and get it in on time.
- Finally,
you can find scenarios, frequently asked questions and information
about your tax and National Insurance obligations, along with
every small business legal situation, at the Red
Tape Buster.
IT
tip
Ofcom
promises better broadband competition
The telecoms regulator Ofcom has just announced that broadband is
to be made a little more competitive, and the result should eventually
be lower prices for a broadband Internet connection.
The long-term problem has always been that although there are smaller
broadband firms who are willing to compete with BT, they often have
to pay to use BT's network and wiring. Up until now, there has been
a high fixed rate for this, but Ofcom's decision means broadband
providers will now have room to bargain a fair price.
So what are the implications for you and your business? Hopefully,
it will result in lower prices and a wider choice when it comes
to your broadband connection.
If you're not broadband connected, or if you're thinking of a change,
the Broadband
Checker website is a good place to start researching the options.
You could also check out our factsheet covering Internet
connection options for small firms.
And
for a unique online resource to enable a complete novice to set
up a website or online business, check out the Small
Business Builder.
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:
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 'cavil' means?
a)
to provide security against a loan or overdraft
b) to add a condition or clause to a contract
c) to quibble or find fault without good reason
d) to make an unintentional mistake in your accounts
Answer
at the end of the Bulletin.
Website review
The
Financial Services Authority (FSA - www.fsa.gov.uk)
The
FSA is responsible for regulating the UK's financial advisers, insurance
brokers, mortgage advisers, debt collectors and accountants. But
how user-friendly is its website?
- Navigation
- a clear and easy to follow homepage, with good signposting for
small businesses and an excellent search tool which enables you
to search not just the website, but the FSA's regulatory handbook,
too.
- Accessibility
- the site claims to be compliant with RNIB guidelines, and features
access keys, help with PDFs and captions for non-textual content.
The site also uses only code which is compliant across a number
of different web browsers. No foreign language options, though,
so not a perfect score.
A
genuinely impressive score of 18 for the FSA site - its clear navigation
and the effort that has been made to provide engaging and clear
explanation of what is in fact a complex set of laws make this site
really stand out.
Our
rating - 18/20
Did
you know?
ID
fraud figures are still rising
The
Home Office has published a leaflet providing
practical advice on how to avoid identity theft, and what to
do if you become a victim. Estimates suggest that over 100,000 people
are affected by identity crime every year, and the Government is
urging businesses and private individuals to shred all personal
or sensitive financial documentation to combat the risks.
Worth
a visit
Small
business 'hub' finder
This
linking tool lets you search for clusters, or 'hubs', of the
most popular and powerful sites in your sector, in search engine
terms. Once you've found these sites you have a ready-made target
list of people to link to or request reciprocal links from, enabling
you to improve your own search engine ranking. Simply enter a relevant
keyword, plus your URL and up to ten of your competitors' URLs,
and you will receive a graph and a list of sites that link to two
or more of the URLs provided.
VAT
verification tool
A
useful little tool from the European Commission website, this resource
enables you to check
and verify the VAT number of any business in a European Union
member state in a matter of seconds.
New
website reveals ethnic trends
A
new website has been launched which provides an insight into the
UK's ethnic diversity. The BBC's
Born Abroad site features interactive maps of Britain which
provide demographic information about the number of people born
abroad, at a national, regional and local level.
Worth
a read
A
fascinating read for anyone who uses search engines to find information
online, this book charts the rise of Google and comments on the
future of the search industry, providing a detailed insight into
issues such as privacy, technology and the information economy.
Check out:
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Just one word answer
The answer is c).
To
'cavil' means to raise trivial objections, or to find fault
without good reason.
If
your business plan shows that you've done detailed market
research, potential investors will have nothing to cavil at.
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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.
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