Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 166
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| Thought for the week: "If you don't have daily objectives, you qualify as a dreamer." Zig Ziglar |
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In this week's issue:
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.
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To
access over 800 factsheets, guides and small business reports, go
to www.scavenger.net. |
Five big ways to get your marketing wrong
Most small business owners start their new venture, or plan to start it, with an idea.
Often, but not always, this can be a good idea. But even these good ideas are worth little or nothing if there isn't a market, or the potential to find a market, for that particular product or service.
And even if your idea is based or has been developed on the back of some substantive market research, this still won't be enough if you fail to take the right steps to market, promote and sell it to your intended audience.
Here are five of the most common sales and marketing mistakes made by new, and not so new, small business owners.
1) Failing to market test
If you don't market test before you launch your new product or service, you're running the risk of losing everything before you even get started. And this isn't just about testing - it's about testing thoroughly. In other words, a half-hearted attempt to test your business concept or idea with a few of your friends in the pub is not the same thing as testing your service for real among a significant sample of your intended target audience.
2) Failing to solve your clients' problems
Most small business owners are extremely comfortable talking about themselves, their businesses and, naturally, their products or services. And why not? After all, it's perfectly reasonable to be proud of what you're trying to sell. But your customers, however, don't want to hear about you and your products - they only want to hear about how your service applies to them and what it will do to solve their problems. When you've got your marketing or selling hat on, always ensure that you look at your business or products through your customers' eyes, and identify how they will help serve their needs.
3) Failing to reach the right customers
We've used the phrase many times before in this newsletter: "If everyone's your customer, then no-one's your customer". Put another way, it's a very rare business that can sell its service to the whole population, and there are all sorts of reasons why there are more people out there who would never buy from you than there are those who would.
For example, think about which people can afford your service, who really needs it, who isn't close enough to buy it and so on. By taking the approach of eliminating the people who would not be interested, or not able to buy your service, you will end up with a much tighter definition of your niche, and why they will buy from you.
4) Failing to follow up
Too many businesspeople completely fail to take advantage of all the hard work or expense involved in identifying or acquiring the names of the people who would be interested in buying from them - by inexplicably not properly following up the leads they have generated. Once you've built up your list of prospects, you must systematically work that list by doing everything you can to continually educate and promote your product or service to your most interested prospects.
5) Failing to get your customers to buy from you again
This is just as big a mistake as the previous failing. Once you've finally got your prospects to buy from you, you totally forget about them, and miss out on the opportunity to get your biggest fans to buy from you again. Your current and previous customers comprise the hottest list of proven buyers you will ever have. By recognising the lifetime value of every new customer you acquire, you will recognise the opportunity to sell them more of the same products, any new products or services you offer in the future, and any upgrades or add-ons that add value to the original purchase. You will achieve this lifetime value by working hard at developing a lifetime relationship with every one of your customers.
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For hundreds more practical tips and techniques about finding new customers, increasing sales and growing your business, check out the UK Small Business Marketing Bible. |
The eight traits of entrepreneurship
A US journalist-turned-author reckons there are just eight traits essential to entrepreneurship:
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Seizing opportunities that nobody else has noticed.
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The desire to run your own show.
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Innovative behaviour since childhood.
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Flexibility.
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Doggedness.
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Self-confidence.
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Pragmatism.
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The ability to 'fail upwards'.
The final one, apparently, means that you should be prepared to go under - as long as you take away the lesson of why you failed, and what you can do better next time.
That's according to Brent Bowers, who says: "Some entrepreneurs brag about their bloopers. As one of the experts I talked to told me, they consider making a mess of things practically a badge of honour so long as they take stock of what went wrong and learn from it."
Some of the examples he gives of entrepreneurs showing the eight traits include:
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James Poss, who spent his childhood pulling apart, mending and creating gadgets. He later founded the Seahorse Power Company, which makes solar-powered rubbish compactors.
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Cameron Johnson started in business at nine, selling greetings cards online, then made $1,000 auctioning his sister's toys on eBay, before earning up to $150,000 a day while still at school by selling Internet adverts.
Find out more from Brent's book If At First You Don't Succeed: The Eight Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs.
You can also check out our factsheet, which will help you to assess your own personality traits to discover if you could run your own business.
What smoking bans will mean for businesses
On 26 March 2006, smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces in Scotland was banned. England and Wales will introduce a ban in summer 2007, and Northern Ireland starts its ban in April of the same year.
The bans will affect many businesses, in particular the hospitality industry. The type of premises likely to be defined as 'no smoking' include:
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Premises where the public have access.
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Premises used completely or mainly as a place of work.
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Premises used by a club or other association.
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Premises used for the provision of education, health or care services.
The ban also covers business vehicles. However, if you use your own car for business purposes, this is exempt. There are also a few other exemptions to the law. These include:
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Residential accommodation.
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Designated rooms in adult care homes, hospices, psychiatric hospitals and units.
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Designated hotel bedrooms.
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Designated detention or interview rooms in police stations.
In order to comply, businesses will need to take 'all reasonable precautions' to ensure that employees, customers and visitors don't smoke on their premises. This could include:
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Displaying 'No smoking' signs.
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Removing all ashtrays from the premises.
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Implementing a no smoking policy with staff.
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Telling anyone smoking on the premises that they're committing an offence; asking them to extinguish the cigarette/cigar/pipe immediately, and if they don't, asking them to leave and refusing to serve them.
You can download sample signs and read FAQs on getting ready for the law on the Clearing the Air Scotland site - although its information is aimed at the Scottish rules, the principles of the bans in the rest of the UK are likely to be broadly similar.
And the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health publishes 'A Breath of Fresh Air: Introducing a Smoke-free Policy at Work', which provides practical tips for employers.
Finding a good website designer
Developing a website for your business may require the input of a professional website designer, particularly if you don't have any technical know-how or design skills yourself.
There are a number of different ways to find a website designer. Try one of the following options:
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Search the membership directories of web design trade associations, such as the UK Web Design Association or the British Web Design and Marketing Association. Members of these associations are bound by strict codes of conduct.
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Search online directories, including Find a Web Designer and the Web Design Directory. On both sites you can search by county and on Find a Web Designer you can search for a designer by speciality.
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Your local Yellow Pages or Thomson Directory should also have listings for website designers in your area. If you go down this route, remember to ask to see a portfolio of examples of the designer's work, and ask for customer testimonials and references.
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Spend some time looking at other websites and find a few you like the look of. You could then contact the site owner for information about the designer they used, or often the design firm will advertise at the bottom of the site.
Once you've found a suitable candidate, you need to make sure you're clear about what the terms and conditions of working with them will be. The SiteReference information portal has a great ten-step template for coming up with a contract agreement with a web designer or developer.
You can also check out our factsheet on choosing and using a web designer - it looks at issues such as how to brief the designer, and what to do if things go wrong.
Each
week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business
ideas in the UK.
Here
is this week's idea:
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 difference between the commonly confused words 'commensurate' and 'commensurable'? Which of the following two definitions applies to which word?
a) the same as, sharing the same properties
b) measurable against the same standard or criteria
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
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The North West Regional Development Agency (NWRDA)
(www.nwrda.org.uk)
Continuing our theme of reviewing Regional Development Agency (RDA) websites, this week we're looking at the NWRDA. How user-friendly and accessible is its website? |
Navigation
and presentation - there's too much crammed into the homepage, which means you have to scroll endlessly down to reach the bottom. However, different areas of the site are sensibly categorised and well signposted.
 
Accessibility - another excellent example of an accessible RDA site. Detailed accessibility guidance is prominently featured on the homepage, and help with access keys and screen-reading software is available, although sadly there are no foreign language options.
Content
and usefulness - the business section of the site features a range of useful content, from a tool to find an adviser in your sector to info about exporting, useful links, and detailed descriptions of different business support and finance packages.
Relevance - current news keeps the homepage looking fresh and topical, and visitors are also encouraged to sign up to a free newsletter that can be tailored for specific districts or areas of interest. There are also up-to-date events listings available.
A high score for a site that combines useful, interactive content with an impressive array of accessibility options.
Our rating - 16/20
Late payment interest rate held
The rate of interest that businesses can charge customers who pay late will be unchanged for the rest of 2006, the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) has confirmed. The rate is set at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, which was recently held at 4.5% for the tenth consecutive month. The BPPG offers a useful online calculator to help you work out the interest due on overdue payments.
World Cup e-mail worm warning
Businesses are being warned to beware of an e-mail worm that is targeting football fans during the World Cup. Hackers are using titles like 'Naked World Cup Game Set' and 'Crazy Soccer Fans' to persuade people to open the e-mail, which contains a worm that disables security software. If you employ staff, you should advise them not to open attachments unless they're expecting them. Security software company Sophos says this is the latest - and won't be the last - in a series of malicious e-mails using the football tournament to lure people into opening infected e-mails.
PayPal users targeted by fraudsters - again
Online payment bureau PayPal, which is owned by eBay, has been the victim of a campaign by fraudsters, who are using the website to steal users' credit card and personal identification details. The phishing scam involves a modified PayPal web page, which redirects you to a fake login page where your details can be harvested. This is the latest in a long line of similar identity fraud scams to target the PayPal service. The scam is explained in detail, with screenshots indicating the appearance of the affected pages, at the NetCraft website.
Tools and tips for improving your strength
Focusing on strength-building in personality rather than body-building terms, the Strengths Toolbox is a free resource offering practical tools and exercises each week for enhancing your professional and personal life. It covers themes such as overcoming setbacks, mentoring others, employing positive people, making the most of your energy and following your vocation.
Source products and check prices in a click
Sourcing products and materials from overseas or even just in the UK can be a minefield of negotiation, paperwork and price confusion for business owners. Product Sourcing Services is a new resource that operates on a no-find, no-fee basis, sourcing a wide range of niche products, raw materials and equipment from all over the world.
Bargain hunt
Haggle 4 Me is a new website where bargain hunters can make money by finding items for online shoppers who can't be bothered - or don't know where to look - for the cheapest prices. The idea is that customers post the price and details of the item they want to buy, from travel tickets to electronic goods, then hagglers look for exactly the same item, but with a smaller price tag. Hagglers who manage to save a shopper more than £20 receive a fee for their services. The site reckons people save an average of 20% by using it, and that more than 60% of listings end with a saving of at least £20.
This practical, plain-English handbook includes basic information about using a broadband Internet connection, and features step-by-step guidance on everything from choosing antivirus software to setting up a wireless network. Other topics covered include instant messaging, downloading music, making phone calls from a computer and finding the best broadband websites. Check out:
Just one word answer
Commensurate applies to definition a) - it means something that is the same or shares the same properties as something else.
Commensurable applies to definition b) - it means something that is measurable against the same standard or criteria. |
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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. |
