Eric Witheridge - Blue Signage Ltd How can local companies advertise effectively when the cost of boosting 'pay per click advertising is so expensive, opportunities for paper advertising are reducing and trying to boost your online presence in a sea of very slick international competition is getting harder? One way would be to take an advertising slot on a small screen near by. Many Golf clubs, Leisure Centres and even Doctors and Dentist's surgeries have information screens available and will often encourage local businesses to take space on them. This provides a cheap and effective local advertising space and reduces the cost of providing the service for the venue. Many Pubs and Clubs have screens that are only used to display sports and when not in use play local radio. Why not ask your Pub if you can have an advert on their screen when it's not being used? They'll say that it's not possible or they don't know how to do it. This is the perfect opportunity to suggest they talk to Blue Signage. Especially, when they realise it could earn them extra revenue! Adverts start from just £10 per month per screen with the cost reducing for multiple locations. Have a look at how effective this is at the Main Place and Bells Golf Club. In fact, why not ask to place an advert on one of their screens before they fill up! For more information call us on 01594 888580 or 07791 190700
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Bob Pointer - CFIL Global EMPATHY IN BUSINESS “People often confuse the words empathy and sympathy. Empathy means the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, whereas sympathy means ‘feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune” Oxford Dictionaries @ Oxforddictionaries.com Gaining empathy in our communication with others is essential – or so we are told. But in normal business interactions is it viable? I suppose that all depends what you perceive as an empathetic relationship. In formal encounters like business meetings we are told we should try to build rapport and be empathetic. But often we get so caught up in our own role in the process that we simply do not have enough capacity to relate at an emotion level with the other participants. According to Feshbach and Kukenbecker (1974), empathy has 3 essential parts,
So, in the terms of formal business interactions, my contention is that the role of empathy has to be considered carefully. Empathy is not easy achievable - but an understanding of the commonality that exists between both parties can be conveyed and understood. Mutual understanding of the others position and a respect for them as a human being and equal is more achievable and in my opinion right for the situation. I shall be making a short presentation to CAP meetings in the near future based on this blog entitled ALF – Always listen first. Andrew Callard - Aimed Business What do you want Gloucestershire to look like in 2050? I’ve been talking at CAP, other business networking groups and with businesses and I’m shocked with how few people are aware that currently there is a consultation going on in Gloucestershire. Glos2050 is all about setting the strategy for what Gloucestershire will look like in 2050. It proposes 8 ambitions and 6 ideas and wants feedback now. The Eight Glos2050 Ambitions
And The Six Glos2050 Ideas
Finding Out MoreThe consultation is available at https://glos2050.com/ . Please go there to find out more information and also to participate before 31st July 2018. The Forest of Dean District Council is also reaching out to people who live, work and play in the Forest in order to set the economic strategies through to 2050. Its Forest Economic Partnership is looking for individuals who are happy to participate in sub-groups to discuss and agree the best way forward for the Forest as a whole. To find out more visit the FEP stand at the Forest Enterprise Fair being held at Vantage Point Conference Centre on 18th April between 10-4. It’s also a great opportunity to network, take advantage of free training and meet other Forest businesses. Ben Warner - Megabyte Technology Every business uses computer system across multiple areas of their business. It is therefore vital that your IT systems are running probably when you need them. Outsourcing your IT support will provide your business with professional IT support without having to add one to your payroll or waste your valuable time trying to find solutions to the IT problems you might experience. Your IT support options can involve outsourcing specific tasks such as setting up new computers, installing networks or buying in services such as data backups and computer security. If you choose the right IT support company they will willing to provide you with a flexible range of options at a manageable. Small business should be able to benefit from the same level of IT support as bigger companies and using a good IT support company for outsourcing your IT support requirements means that this is possible. Sarah Orchard - Orchard Marketing Yippee I’m 10! Well 2017 was a major milestone for my business, I made it to the big 10! No that’s not 10 clients but 10 years running a small business. Given all the stats around small business failure, quoted as high as 80% in the first 3 years, I feel very proud to have survived against what seem like the harsh odds. I started in 2007 just as the big recession hit and at times it might have seemed like a foolish decision to walk away from my lucrative Corporate job but my motivations weren’t money-driven. I had become disillusioned with the politics, back-stabbing and how slow and hard work the progress always felt. Time to make a difference and do something that had more immediate impact and was more rewarding. So I set up my marketing consultancy and had no clients and no contacts in the small business world. Gulp! It hasn’t been plain sailing by any means and I have learned the hard way with mistakes and getting things wrong. I have also learned some good stuff that I wanted to share to help other small business owners flourish and not flounder. So here is my top 10 tips for small business success: 1 Why are you actually in business? Be true to yourself and do what you are passionate about. It shows! It pours from your being and infects your prospects customers, associates and also importantly, your family and friends. Life is too short to do stuff you hate ever day – find your passion! 2 Really know your Ideal Customers It can be tempting to throw your net wide to maximise your chances of success. But it makes the marketing job much harder and in fact, niche is best. The more focused and descriptive you can be the better. I went too wide initially and just said Small businesses and really it is small business owners who sell to end consumers and have an experience business – tourism, hospitality, leisure, or retail. Be really clear who your customers are! 3 Get your pricing/fees right You need to be good at the commercial numbers. Don’t be tempted to start low – don’t undervalue your experience and skills - as it is hard and sometimes impossible to raise your prices later! I was told a good rule of thumb and choose to ignore it as the daily rate seemed a bit scary – it took me 3 years to get to the fees I charge now. It made I was somewhat of a busy fool for the first few years. 4 Networking In the Corporate world I didn’t really know all this networking ‘underworld’ went on. Meetings in pubs and golf clubs in the early hours, sometimes before dawn! I spent the first 18 months networking, trying to go to 1-2 meetings per week. It can be hard work but it paid off. It takes time though. I didn’t really start to see results for about 9 months but it has repaid my investment ten fold and I met some great business buddies and suppliers along the way, as well as getting client work too. Don’t expect to walk away with it on day one though!! 5 Get a business buddy – a mentor or some peer to peer support… Working for yourself can be lonely. I had always worked in big teams in large corporates. Suddenly I was on my own and ‘I’ and not a ‘we’ anymore! Nobody to bounce ideas or problems off of. If you are finding stuff tough – sometimes your life partner isn’t the best person to chat it through with, as they get scared about money and your happiness. Find some fellow self-employed business people – a supportive supplier, a networking friend, get a coach, join a Mastermind group, or get a mentor through a professional body or association. It can really help you develop your business and grow it quicker. 6 Outsource what you are not good at! Do what you are good at, outsource what you don’t have the skills or patience for. Grow your business quicker. It can seem like a cost but these people are experts at what they are passionate about so let them help you – with IT, accounting, office admin, telemarketing, marketing and social media. I got my own Virtual Assistant (VA) about 5 years ago and in the first 12 months I doubled my turnover. Getting her to help with things meant I could focus on fee earning. It was a pivotal moment for my business. 7 Working on your business, not in your business We all hear this expression all the time but it is easy to forget. Nigel Botterill in his Botty Rules book speaks about working on your business for 90 minutes every day – not on the urgent stuff – the important, business development or innovation stuff that moves you forward. I think most small business owners will struggle with 90 minutes every day, so I recommend setting aside 45 minutes, 3 times a week to do your own important stuff and that includes marketing your own business, not working on client work. I do this myself and it really does work. Make sure you set aside this time at the best time of day for you – when are you most focused and/or productive? 8 Don’t underestimate the power of your own website and Google As people keep obsessing with social media (don’t get me wrong I love it as a marketer and what it does for us small businesses) but it often means I meet clients who spend all their time on it and don’t’ work on their own ‘shop window’ – their website. If you had a physical retail shop, you wouldn’t neglect your face to the world would you? Well if you did, you would soon close! I’m on my third iteration of my website now in 10 years and investing in it and doing my SEO and blogging has brought significant benefits to my business. I have grown my website traffic 10 fold and I get 50% of my business from organic search – Google etc. 9 Love and nuture your existing customers Businesses are always looking for new customers but what about your existing ones? People who have bought from you are much more valuable! It costs ten times more to acquire a new customer and just doing some basics like email marketing, client gifts and thank yous for referrals, can all work wonders. No fancy digital marketing techniques but surprisingly still very effective in this modern digital age! I get 50% of my business as repeat and/or referral / recommendation. I always send a little gift to my top clients and a thank you chocolate to people who refer work. Little thank you gestures mean a lot. 10 Above all else - keep your Integrity! I find this the most difficult thing about running a small business (alongside chasing late invoice payments!!). You have to know when to walk away from business or a client, if it isn’t working. It’s a hard conversation to have with yourself and the client or supplier involved. But you must keep you integrity and your gut feel is always right. It must never be ALL business at ALL costs. It isiou the best - luckew tore new ot business, I hope it helps you be even more successful. good and identify with some of something I feel is really fundamental. Well that’s it, I hope if you have been in business for many years (probably much longer than me), you will smile wryly and identify with some of my struggles and woes! If you are new to business, I hope it helps you be even more successful. I wish you the best - Good Luck! |
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