Have you reviewed your financial assets recently? It’s useful to do it once a year and January is as good a time as any. We all do this as a matter of course for our businesses, or our accountants do it for us, but it’s more revealing to look at your total assets as an individual or a couple.
As you may know, we’re not great advocates of discounting. BUT, as it’s January, we are offering FREE one-to-one workshops for business owners and £100 vouchers redeemable against any projects arising. Why? Because we want to get to know more business owners, show them what we can do and hopefully remain front of mind when they need help with marketing.
I had a discussion with a psychologist this week about the issue of pricing. We agreed that people, on the whole, are wary of low prices and don’t associate them with quality. On the other hand, we see Sainsbury’s hedging their bets this week in an alliance with Netto that aims to give them a bite at both ends of the market. As they are also price-matching Asda at the same time this looks a bit desperate to me.
53 Days Until Christmas…
Normally when we talk about Christmas this early on in November we are met with a series of groans, but this is the time of year when businesses should be preparing themselves to make the most out of the busiest sales time of the year.
How much control do we have over the way our lives turn out? We are taught that if we set goals, make a plan to achieve them and work hard, success will follow. This is true to a certain extent and there are many role models and case studies to prove it. Every so often though, things don’t go to plan and paths need to be changed.
Sounds like a bad taste joke but actually the answer is these were two speakers who inspired me and hundreds of other Rotary conference delegates this weekend. Norman Croucher lost his legs from the knees down after falling on a train track as a student. The horrific accident did not deter him from going on to conquer some of the highest peaks in the world – with spare prosthetic legs in his rucksack in case they were needed. Norman’s black humour in the face of a situation that would defeat most people was awe- inspiring.
It may be instinctive to those of us who are business owners, parents or simply adults, to want to step in and help those we are responsible for – to save them from making the mistakes we made or just to save time. Just as there is a spectrum of parenting from over-protective through casual to neglectful, so there are numerous management styles.
I worked with one business owner recently who appointed a manager to run his business, virtually abandoned it for a couple of years then came storming back in because profits had declined. Although he admitted privately that he was at fault for stepping back too soon and taking his eye off the ball, the damage was done in that his team’s confidence was gone and the business suffered the loss of many experienced staff.
Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely festive break and are now feeling refreshed and ready to take 2014 by the horns!
The start of a new year is often a time of reflection, looking back at the year gone by and enjoying memories of the good times as well as the bad. In terms of business, the bad times are often just as useful as the good as they highlight areas that can be improved. For example, a lot of us have social media pages but we’re not really sure how to best use them. By looking back at lasts year activity you will be able to see what worked well and not so well.
It is important to keep in mind that social media is not to be used as a hard sell. Followers will tune out if all you ever share is sale information or ‘buy this’. Here are some tips to help grow your social media following by engaging with your audience in thought provoking, helpful and exciting ways.
You’ve probably heard about content marketing, but do you know what it is and are you doing it?
Content marketing is a term which refers to creative writing which is shared across different platforms including blogs, social media pages and white papers etc. The idea is that potential clients/customers will find this information useful and therefore generate traffic/enquiries to acquire more custom. Content marketing is not focused on selling, but engaging and communicating with existing and potential customers. By delivering ongoing support, interesting and useful information the customer feels a sense of loyalty and will return or be compelled to begin a long lasting relationship. This is what we call Brand Loyalty.