Last Friday was National Cream Tea day when we were encouraged to celebrate taking a tea break accompanied by traditional scones topped with jam and cream. The combination might seem overdone but it’s delicious and works on so many levels. Taking the break helped me reflect on the week: I’d been in discussions with a [...]
One of the most common questions we’re asked by start ups is “how can I write a simple marketing plan?” Here is what we suggest: Write down what you are trying to achieve What are your aims, your goals? These can be financial – goals for your yearend turnover, the gross margin and operating profit. They [...]
As business owners our time is usually spent dealing with day to day tasks, managing our staff and sorting out any issues that may arise – stuff that’s all part and parcel of running our own business. But do you take time to think? Do you make space in your day to think about the growth [...]
It’s fabulous to see so many young entrepreneurs growing successful businesses but why should they have all the fun? By the time you reach your 40s and 50s you’ve often survived years of corporate life, built up a bank of great contacts and have enough skills and experience for a ten-page CV! If you’ve always dreamed [...]
Some things improve with age and the increased number of ways you can fund your new business is one of them. Alongside the usual methods of raising money to start a business, an entrepreneur in their 40s or 50s may be able to source funds from other areas. For example, the recent changes in pension rules [...]
Do you have a strategy for your business? Strategy is about ‘shaping the future’ and achieving your goals with the limited resources available. As a business owner, your goals may be very different to a similar business in the same industry: their business may want to prioritise increasing long term sustainable growth and profit margins whilst [...]
Businesses in 2017 need to reach customers in as many ways as possible. They need to have a presence wherever their customers are looking for information. This could be in a newspaper or colour magazine, on a website or on social media. Not all businesses are keen to embrace social media marketing for their business. They [...]
As a business owner, you might not be an expert in marketing and selling your products or services. We are here to try and help you improve your knowledge so that you can reach your marketing goals. Large organisations have managers taking care of each department but owners of small businesses are often overwhelmed trying to [...]
A marketing audit looks in depth at your business activities, strategies and goals. It reviews how you tried to achieve them, what worked, what was unsuccessful, and how improvements can be made. The audit is designed to save you time and money in the future. Do you match marketing activities to your goals? When you are [...]
Whether you are starting up a business or have been established for many years there are several areas that are commonly overlooked or misunderstood when you try to market your company. Our top ten tips listed below will help point you in the right direction. Define who your customers are. Ask yourself who could be helped [...]
