Ten ways to Sharpen your Business EdgeWritten by BZ Riger-Hull, Certified Success Coach
When running a small business it is very important to lay out a plan of where your business is, what would you like to bring to world through your business, where you want to take it and plan best way to get there. This can be a formal business plan, which is an excellent strategizing tool to develop for your business and then you can update and refocus it from time to time. Or you can start out with a more informal mission statement and assessment of your strengths and areas that need improvement. This second option is a lot less intimidating and will help you gain clarity and focus on what is really important to you and best strategies for achieving it.The most important key is to develop a complete marketing plan. This will cover your business philosophy and your strategies for adding value and client extras all way through what advertising you might place and where to reach your target audience. These ten tips will help you update your business planning and give you a fresh look at your business. 1. Pay attention to articles in newspapers, magazines and television shows about trends and changes in national and international demographics. This information can be very helpful in finding new business opportunities for you, increasing profits and ideas for providing additional value and service for people who do business with you. 2. Go right to your most knowledgeable source, your clients. Ask them for referrals. Explain to them how important this is to your business; give them an extra incentive for spreading word about your products or services. Providing a small gift is a nice way to show them how much you appreciate their help in referring new business. 3. A marketing plan is only as good as tracking system you put in place. It will enable you to see where your marketing dollars are being most beneficial to your business. You will need to track each client, or request for additional information. Get in habit of asking your clients "How did you hear about us?" Then keep that information in your database along with there name, address, and any special request or preferences they may have. It is important to know how that client found you, through an ad, referral, your web site... You will see patterns begin to emerge allowing you to focus your marketing efforts where they are most effective. 4. Joining your local chamber of commerce or other trade associations will help you to network and connect with other small business owners. You will be able to share experiences and bounce new ideas off of these people, and share with other people experiences you have had providing possible solutions to problems they may be facing. More and more small business world works best when businesses co-partner and act in a mutual interdependent way. 5. You are always marketing your business and yourself. Even if you don't think it is a "business setting" you are still conveying an impression of yourself and your business. Be helpful and listen to people. Helping people is very rewarding all by its self but you will find that other people notice and will think of your business first when they need product or service you offer because they know you are committed to community and helping others.
| | What is the purpose of a website? Written by Lori Osterberg
After looking over hundreds of websites over past year, one thing I discovered is people are still unsure of what Internet can do for them. People are generally under impression that a website is used to take their business to next level – expand from a local market to a global market. Most people still don’t realize benefits of a website to a local market – and to a new, small and growing business.Unless you sell a popular product online, you will not make huge waves with your website. Instead, think of your website as you do your phone number. You can’t start a business without your basics, and your website should be considered a basic part of doing business. Start by building your site using a basic format. Include your products, information about your business and general overviews and articles that pertain to your industry. Keep it simple, clean and well thought out and put together. Then expand as your business expands. Put your web address on every piece of literature that leaves your business: business cards, brochures and mailers, shopping bags, your voicemail, stickers, invoices and packaging. Anything that can have your information should provide your web address. Then let time work and provide you with customers you could never dream of accessing through traditional marketing. Let’s consider a gift basket business for a minute. Imagine receiving a phone call for a specialized baby gift basket from a local corporate client. They have a great customer in another state having a baby, and want to show their care and appreciation by sending a basket. You attach a business card to basket, and add their mailing address to your database. Several months later, this client is back at work, and is putting together a tradeshow for their company. They remember your company because they were so impressed by your basket, and have been receiving postcards with your product information regularly. They go to your website, see your corporate themed baskets, and select a style suitable for their tradeshow. They place an order for 100 customized baskets. An order you never would have had if you hadn’t had a website.
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