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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 259
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| Thought for the week: "I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back in again." Oscar Wilde |
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In this week's issue:
Is it time you established a membership programme?
Small businesses often wonder whether a membership programme would be 'right' for their enterprise. There's a simple 'yes' or 'no' membership qualification test that you can use to determine whether or not you need a membership programme.
Does your business:
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Have to conserve its limited resources when providing service to its customers?
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Want to decrease customer turnover and dramatically improve customer loyalty?
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Need a constant, predictable stream of revenue?
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Want to sell its full suite of services with less effort?
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Aspire to significantly improve its referral business?
If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, your business could benefit from establishing a membership programme. You're probably saying 'There isn't a business in existence that wouldn't say yes to one of the above questions', but that's exactly our point. Every business can benefit from a membership programme and should establish some form of membership marketing.
Membership programmes provide powerful benefits that will improve business performance. Benefits include:
Conserves limited business resources - resources are allocated according to the customer's level of membership (ie lower membership level = fewer resources; higher membership level = more resources).
Increases customer loyalty - membership provides a sense of belonging to an organisation, which breeds loyalty.
Provides a predictable stream of revenue - instead of sporadically selling products and services, membership programmes provide a steady stream of customers providing a steady stream of cash flow.
More revenue from existing customers - multi-level membership programmes entice customers to spend more by moving up to higher levels of the programme.
Improves referral business - people like to tell their friends about a business to which they feel a sense of loyalty.
Questions to help you forecast sales
Cash is the lifeblood of any business and is needed to fund working capital to enable a business to run effectively. A large number of business expenses need to be paid for up front and these obviously have to be paid for out of capital. These outgoings occur against a backdrop of uncertain sales levels and often a delay in receiving cash on those sales - particularly if your sales are predominantly on credit.
It's vital to make regular sales forecasts to assess whether there will be a cash shortfall so you can get financial assistance set up in advance, such as loans, bank overdrafts or factoring.
The following represents a list of questions about the key external and internal factors when calculating demand for your product or service.
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Pricing: Is the product/service priced at a level that will attract a sufficient number of customers? Standard demand and supply rules would dictate that the lower the price, the higher the demand. What price level maximises profitability?
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External trends: How is the product/service affected by external trends? Does demand drop significantly when the economy is struggling? Does the product/service attract extraordinary taxes or tariffs, eg alcohol and tobacco? Will growing environmental consciousness affect demand levels?
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Competition: What is the competitive landscape like, ie are there barriers to entry or attractive alternatives? What is the turnover of a close competitor and how profitable are they?
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Seasonal effects: Is there any seasonal or cyclical element to the product or service?
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Substitutes: Are there many attractive substitutes? What are the main areas of differentiation in the market, ie price, features, service, etc?
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The market: What is the market demand for your type of product or service? Is it growing or stagnant?
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Route to market: Has the business secured a 'route to market'? How will customers access the product/service?
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Marketing: Is there a marketing plan in place? What are the key marketing activities? Is there sufficient budget to effectively target various segments?
Having assessed the various factors, it is now a little easier to hone in on a plausible range of sales forecasts for the months and years ahead.
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To receive regular tips, articles and how-to guides like these to help you run your business more effectively you can subscribe to BETTER business magazine.
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.
- Training shoe vending machines. Niche vending machines have featured before in our bulletins. This week it's the turn of the training shoe vending machine - the Onitsuka Tiger machine, to be precise. The Japanese sports brand launched a vending machine in London earlier this week.
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 'salubrious'?
a) slick, greasy
b) healthy, wholesome
c) aesthetically pleasing
d) formal, ceremonial
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) Recent research by the British Chamber of Commerce has revealed that 31% of businesses have fallen victim to which type of crime over the past 12 months?
a) shoplifting
b) knife crime
c) phishing
d) arson
2) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is urging to the European Commission to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses throughout the EU. According to the ICAEW, the total annual cost to UK businesses of implementing new legislation is what amount?
a) £50 million
b) £1.25 billion
c) £5.5 billion
d) £10.2 billion
3) New figures released by Cass Business School have revealed that which group of entrepreneurs are key to capitalising on UK innovation opportunities over the next four years?
a) teen entrepreneurs
b) older entrepreneurs
c) black and minority ethnic (BME) entrepreneurs
d) women entrepreneurs
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
Publish documents online with Yudu Freedom
Yudu Freedom enables you to publish your PDF documents online. It will also optimise them for the search engines and there's a built-in search tool. You don't even need to sign up to the application - you just upload the PDF and leave your e-mail address, and it will send you a link to the document when it is fully processed. It's a useful tool for individuals looking to publish e-zines, newsletters, magazines and other online content.
CampfireNow collaborative working tool
CampfireNow is a web-based tool enabling businesses to work collaboratively with clients, customers and colleagues. The principle is a bit like instant messaging but is aimed at group discussions rather than one-on-one scenarios. The application works with Internet Explorer and Firefox and the free package enables four people to chat simultaneously.
Thirty-day trial with FreeAgent Central
FreeAgent Central is a money management tool aimed at freelancers, start ups and sole traders. It enables you to create invoices, track projects and has UK-specific features such as VAT returns, corporation tax and balance sheets. You can sign up for a free thirty day trial before paying for the service.
Climate Capital Network website
This website is for investors and businesses involved in climate change. Investors looking for climate change projects or investments can sign up to receive details of suitable businesses. Businesses looking for investors can use the service to find like-minded investors. There is a sign-up service available for those who want to receive details of white papers, events and intelligence reports.
EnterQuest has teamed up with ContractStore.com to give four businesses the chance to win specimen legal contracts of their choosing worth an average of £50.
ContractStore.com have a number of ready-made, professionally drafted business contracts to help protect you in your dealings, give your business a professional, established image when you use standard terms for buying and selling goods and services, and help you meet legal requirements. These can be useful when establishing and managing alliances with suppliers, customers, agents, distributors and joint ventures, as well as when employing staff.
ContractStore.com are offering one lucky reader the chance to win four contracts of their choosing and three runners-up can choose one. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:
Q. According to the British Chambers of Commerce, 31% of businesses have fallen victim to which type of crime in the past 12 months?
E-mail your answer, together with your name, address and daytime telephone number, using "ContractStore Competition" as the e-mail subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
All entries must be received by 30 April. EnterQuest and ContractStore 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.
This book provides information and advice on marketing trends through 25 interviews with top-level online marketers. They provide hints and tips on all aspects of online marketing, including blogs, online retailing, e-mail marketing and affiliate marketing. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is b).
Salubrious means healthy or wholesome.
The entrepreneurs wanted to locate their health food shop in a salubrious part of town. |
How's your business radar? The answers
1) The answer is c) - Smaller businesses are particularly prone to phishing because they have limited resources with which to protect electronic information.
2) The answer is d) - The ICAEW reckons that UK businesses have spent £10.2 billion implementing red tape. It is urging the EC to look at the collective impact of health and safety, employment law and VAT.
3) The answer is b) - Older entrepreneurs are thought to be key to UK innovation over the next four years, especially as they have the highest rate of business success and longevity. |
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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. |
