Mar 30
A huge apology to all who want to view our Business Forum… We have had an issue with a “hacker”, and have to wait for the “rescue squad” to put back the pieces, I guess it will give people a break from their “forum fix” and give them a chance to read the main articles and comment in here!
It makes things hard when on Saturday I handed out a bunch of FBT cards at a business function, rather annoying!
Mar 26
As more companies go down, and an unrepentant writhing takes place as people follow the sense of fear pervading workplaces, I am left to ask… Were these big companies not smart, or perhaps should they have been conservative?
Ok a boom is a boom, bust is what it says and no one wants to go bust. So how then do you even out the ride and make things settle down into a form of business which can handle the tougher times. Get conservative, get smart.
There is heaps of info on business smarts, same probably for being conservative (chat to your accountant if you don’t follow…) the idea is to put in action plans to ensure you cover your butt. Meaning put some cash away for a rainy day. If you have more than enough then you can invest some of the rainy day money (preferably into things which you can sell and turn back into cash readily.) then as the investments grow you might be in a position to take on some longer term assets which return an income (read rental property)
By taking this sort of stance you make sure your business has a back up plan and a solid foundation to build security with.
I guess it all comes down to the aim of the business, do you aim to be in business for the long haul and reap it’s various rewards, or simply take risks and live in the fast lane for a while… Conservative or smart, perhaps it’s both.
Positives and negatives abound in the new found financial meltdown news, some people have lost value but not $$ (Big business CEO’s who find their stock options are “a little short on value”) while others have lost $$ but not value (e.g. work has dropped off for some contractors).
Despite all this the average “Joe” is now fighting to keep their jobs or hoping to get another one where the boss is not giving them grief and so the applications for positions has gone down but the number of applicants has gone up. Strange times call for strange answers…
Ages ago I wrote about a tourist town in New Zealand doing Ok, but what would happen in tough times? they supplied to the “wants” of the world and not the “needs” of the world. This put a few noses out of joint, but unfortunately the minute things went haywire so to did the tourists… bye bye, back another day when things pick up.
It comes down to balance (yeah too easy for me to say huh…) if the overview of the situation is too much one way (providing just wants) then hassles occur… if you provide to just needs then there are no want type situations to be taken advantage of. (imagine a supermarket, which just provided basics and NOTHING else… It equates to all work and no play.
So much for macro economic theory (of which I know little formally) what about Micro? Well the situation is this. You are in charge of the $$ at home and the things under your control, so you had better figure out how to balance things there (strangely similar? yep!)
Basic investing 101 says “Have a balanced portfolio” so you buy shares across a range of areas, resources banking etc… This helps to balance things if one goes up and the others go down, but if the HWOLE share market goes down, stiff luck. What it really means is, have some $$ in shares, some in business, some in Investment properties, some in the bank. In tough times you can shift things about to suit.
For most people the balanced portfolio idea outlined is nice but few have the ability to fund this many investment options. Challenging and frustrating all at once, so this is where a BIGGER picture plan comes into being. If you have just shares what are you saving for? An investment property… or the chance to put profits into the bank. Either way your plan should show you the way.
Lets face it many people have been caught out by the current financial dilemma and many more will feel pain before it’s over, but there are those who have taken a balanced approach and will not be doing things so tough as others. Half their luck. let’s hope in the positive future we can all heed their wisdom and build a sustainable portfolio for long term financial support.
A marketing action plan is the most vital part of the planning process in your business. It details what strategies you will use, when you will do them, and what you hope to achieve. Setting goals and a timeframe is also crucial. Below are 5 tips to help you create your marketing action plan.
1) What are you really selling? You need to work out what your benefits are, rather than your features. For example, if you are selling natural baby products, then your feature may be ‘all natural products’. But what does this mean for me? It means that I won’t have a chemical baby or bubs will be less prone to health risks etc.
2) Define your own uniqueness. What is your USP? And try not to use cop out’s like ‘top service’ or ‘money back guarantee’. Find something that is unique about you and your business, that no-one else can replicate. Then use it. Use it all over your website, your emails, any interaction you have with your clients and prospective clients.
3) So who might your target market be? Take some time to really think about this. Following on from the baby example above, you may think that your target market is mothers. And in a way, it is. But if you delve deeper into this, and ‘segment’ your market further, you will find that your marketing can be much more targeted. For example, if your products are priced at the higher end of the market, then you need mothers with a certain amount of disposable income. You won’t want to be attracting the bargain hunters, and this means you can cross out coupons as a method of marketing.
4) Which strategy is for you? This is where many people fail to do some real research. The average business owner believes that the best way to market their business is via advertising. Wrong. Advertising may work for some businesses, but not for others. So how do you know which strategies work best for you?
Think about your target market. Your ideal customer. How are they feeling? What emotions do they go through before purchasing your product? Appeal to these emotions. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself how would they go about purchasing my product. For example, many products needs to be felt and touched before purchasing. Use strategies that incorporate this emotion.
5) Track and report on how all strategies are doing. Always track your marketing. Ensure you keep an eye on it and take out what isn’t working, and increase those strategies that are working.
By now, you will be noticing that creating your own action plan takes time and effort to get it right. If you are unsure of what strategies will work best for your business, contact Emma at Diva Promotions and apply for your very own, personalised marketing action plan – http://www.divapromotions.com.au/actionplan or get your free list building guide – http://www.divapromotions.com.au
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