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I have talked about this with others. I have had others explain it to me. If you haven’t had a clear explanation yet of what a business model is and why you must have one if you want your business to survive, please watch this presentation below.
Let me start by stating that you don’t need to wait till the end of a financial year, calendar year or any other ‘end’ to look at what you are doing in your business and change it to something different or better.
That being said, dates like June 30th, December 31st or March 31st (depending on where you are) can prompt as a reminder to take stock of your business and re-align where it’s going.
Firstly, check to see if you are happy with how the business has performed the past 12 months. Are you pleased with the results? If not, what are you not happy with that you could have done better, given different resources? If your business has grown and you are happy with its performance (taking into account the issues below), then it’s a matter of keep doing what you’re doing.
If you are not 100% happy with the results thus far (lets face it, most people think that something could have been done better or differently), find out how you have been perceived by your customer. This means asking for feedback. You may think that things weren’t great, but what did your customer think? The information you can get from your customers can help with your next 12 months.
Did you set a budget for the past 12 months? If so, did you perform well against your expectations? Where did you fall short? Were your expectations too high? Were there unforseen factors that impacted on the results? Did you set the bar too low? Checking your dollars is not the only measure of success in a business (see the first point), but it goes to checking the financial viability of the business now and in the future.
What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months? What types of business, customers and opportunities do you want to experience? If it’s as simple as “I want to grow my business”, you’re got to know by how much or have a rough idea of the target you’re aiming for. Otherwise, how will you know if you have reached it? Your targets may be financial, cultural, or ideological – it’s important that you know what you want to achieve before you work hard at getting there.
Lastly, how are you going to do it? Employ more staff, sub-contract, buy another business, create new business, or conduct a joint venture? There are so many different ways you can create the outcome you want. It’s a matter of picking a way that you believe will work.
Two important final points:
If you have any ideas you want to share, please feel free to list them below.
An interested visitor who has been strolling through your site has finally come to just what she is looking for and is about to make a purchase. It’s a sunny afternoon, and her cat, which happens to be sitting on the moss under the visitor’s large fifty-year-old snow-rose bonsai tree, suddenly jumps down, and the priceless tree topples over. Read the rest of this entry
Just like the successful self-help book written by Susan Jeffers, feeling the fear and doing it anyway is one of the secrets to achieving success in business. In fact, it is one of the key secrets to succeeding in almost anything you ever want to do in Life.
In case you weren’t aware of it, you a salesperson. Before you deny this fact till you are blue in the face, let me explain. You are a salesperson if you:
You may have heard about them before, but never quite thought about how they can help you personally. They seem to be an ambiguous element of the business world, and when they are discussed, always seem to be this …thing… that other companies and organisations do.
What I am referring to is Business Systems. Read the rest of this entry
Without doubt, understanding what a customer’s wants and needs are is one of the most important aspects of running a business. You must know your customer.
For the most part your customer will buy on emotion, especially for products or services that are not a necessity and where there are a number of suppliers for the same item. Understanding and defining why your customer shops the way they do is your key to success.
There may be a number of factors that are common amongst your target audience for your business service or product. By researching and finding out what these are, you will be able to see what areas you can focus on where there is a need, and what areas will not interest them. Write down what your ideal customer will looks like, behaves like and wants from you. Seeing your business through their eyes will help to highlight your strengths and any weaknesses you might have.
Where can I find information about my customer?
There are a number of resources that you can access at LITTLE OR NO COST to you, that can help provide accurate impressions on your customer and their buying habits. Also, these resources will help you define and research potential markets that you had not yet considered for your business.
Firstly, research and access all the SECONDARY data that you can. Secondary data is data that has been gathered by someone else for a different and specific purpose. Often, this data contains information that you can utilize and apply to your own needs. For example, the research may relate to how people spend their money in the home, and you may want to know what people and how much they spend on tools for the shed. This secondary data could well provide the information on the amount they will spend, where they will shop and why, and what type of customer will do the shopping.
Places and Sites that you can visit to begin gathering secondary data:
* Ibis World (http://www.ibisworld.com/) – The IBISWorld US Industry Reports provide you with immediate access to vital information on 100′s of industries. They are continually adding more industries to eventually cover the entire economy in depth.
* LibrarySpot.com (http://www.libraryspot.com/) – a free virtual library resource center for educators and students, librarians and their patrons, families, businesses and just about anyone exploring the Web for valuable research information.
* Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/) – The Internet Public Library (IPL), is a public service organization and learning/teaching environment full of information and resources to help educate you.
* US Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (http://www.abs.gov.au/) – Census Bureaus serve as the leading sources of quality data about a nation’s people and economy, providing the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality, and cost for the data they collect and services they provide.
Having gathered any secondary data available, you might find that you still need some information relating to your customer and niche market. The best way to do this is to gather what is called PRIMARY data – information that you gather for your own purposes. There are a number of ways that you can do this. For example, you might choose to call people out of the phone book and ask them to complete a survey over the phone. You also might choose to go to the local shopping complex and interview people you meet. This second idea is very useful if your product is something that is already sold through retail outlets, as you can talk direct to customers that could become your customer in the future!
If you have never written a survey before, visit the site below as a great starting point:
* How to Write a Good Survey http://www.accesscable.net/~infopoll/tips.htm – this site has a description of each step in writing a survey, and some useful links and further articles about the gathering of information by using surveys.
Don’t be afraid of gathering your own information – it can prove to be an invaluable exercise. Not only do you gain a more complete understanding of the needs of your customer, but you increase your own knowledge and understanding of the marketplace. This places you in a better situation when building and expanding your business.
A business name is more than just a name. Words will carry a message. But, what about colours, shapes, and other parts of the business name?
Before you were born, your parents most likely spent considerable time in deciding what name to give you. Reviewing books with name suggestions, thinking about other family members or influences in their lives, and wanting to give you a label that you would be proud of were all considerations that weighed on their minds. Let’s face it, choosing a name for something that will have a life of its own carries a fair amount of responsibility, as usually names stick for life.
Business names are no different.
Yet, how much time is given to the planning and development of a business name. If you are in business, or are about to go into business, how much time have you spent on thinking about what you should call you future venture?
When you are planning this part of your business, here are some useful considerations to be aware of:
Is it memorable?
Obviously, you will want the name to be memorable. It is often the first thing that your client or customer will see about your business, and the last thing they will too. Usually short or rhyming names are memorable. If the name can tell a story (when explained by your marketing material or yourself, if you are in a service-based industry), then this will also serve as a way that your name will be memorable.
Is it too obscure?
Acronyms, Latin names, or any other name that you choose needs to make sense – at some level – to the customer. Unless you have a massive pool of marketing dollars to educate your target audience that your name equals your business (such as Nexus Energy – Oil Company), you will need your name to be readily understood. For example, if you are in the design industry, words such as art, creation, image, and so on can be incorporated into your name to explain what you might provide the customer. “Nexus Designs” might be a name you choose, and it is most likely that your customer will think that you operate in the design industry.
Does it reflect the personality of the business?
Your business is a reflection on you – period. If you are passionate about life, helping others and so forth, your business will reflect that in its levels of customer service and satisfaction from the customer. If you are lack-lustre with life, your business will most likely reflect that with a relaxed attitude to marketing, and perhaps a low level of customer satisfaction. So, make sure your name captures the “feel” of your business personality.
Is it proactive? Is it energetic? Is it detailed and thoughtful? It may seem weird trying to capture feelings in words for a business name, but it is important to consider this when deciding on your name. After all, it will be around for a long while, and if it doesn’t reflect the personality of the business from the start, it might cause trouble for you later on.
What tag line does it match with?
Often, business name development doesn’t include the tag line or by-line that sits underneath or very near the name. This is a vital part of the branding and business name process, because it is a chance for you to explain a bit more about the business, the services you provide, the personality of the organisation, and so on. For example, Microsoft’s tag line is ‘Your Potential, Our Passion’. In this line, they are letting the customer know that they are committed to seeing the customer’s potential achieved through the Microsoft products and services.
You might find as you work on different name options, certain words or phrases will pop into your mind that could work as this tag line. Be sure to write them down and review them in the context of the name, the industry, and other aspects of your future business.
Are there any quirky aspects of the name that will lend itself to a good logo?
A business name is more than just a name. Obviously, the words will carry a message, and should consider the areas mentioned above. But, what about colours, shapes, and other parts of the business name? You might be thinking – this is a name, not a picture. But, a business name becomes a picture
So, do the words you have chosen lend themselves to some interesting shapes, fonts, colours and so on? What aspect of your name can readily be utilised in creating an image that also captures your personality and supports the brand of the business?
Often, the best approach for developing your name is to sit down with a piece of paper (make that a few sheets of paper), and begin brainstorming. The key is to not stop until you have produced a list of – say – 35-45 options. Then, leave it for a while. Possibly come back and review it the next day. Show it to those that you trust with your business interests – those that support your endeavours. Listen to their feedback. Then, brainstorm some more. Keep going until you have a short list of possible names that meet the above criteria. Once you have done this, then you are in a position to check which of these names are legally possible to register.
In any business venture, you will need customers in order to be IN business. Anybody can start a business – even tomorrow – but without the promise of a customer (in fact, a lot more than one), the chances of succeeding long-term are slim to none.
When you were growing up, you had needs. You were hungry, so your parents fed you. You were cold, so you were given clothes to wear. You needed support and encouragement, and your family and friends supported you and gave you the love and social interaction that we as humans need. So, how is this relevant to your business?
In one sentence, here it is.
If you are not satisfying a need, you will make little to no sales – period.
If you are in the process of starting your business, you can research a category, idea or product on the Internet very easily. There are websites that you can visit that will help you find out how many people were looking for a particular piece of information, according to the number of times a certain keyword search or phrase was used. A popular site for this is http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html, which has helped fill a gap after too many drop-outs from the Overture Yahoo! Keyword Search tool.
By typing in a keyword or phrase, such as mustang car parts, you will be presented with the results for the previous month. For February 2008, a total of 651 searches were done for this term on the Yahoo search engines.
What this tool does is give you an idea of the potential customers for your product, and helps to highlight potential need in a product or service. The higher the number of searches, the higher the potential for sales
Another great way to find out what your customer’s needs are is to ask them. You can do this in person, over the phone, by email or in the mail. This is great for all types of businesses – online and offline. You can also ask other questions that will help you in growing your business. Questions such as what products they would prefer, how much they would pay for them, and how they go about finding the information for that product. This information is invaluable when you are putting together your business and marketing plans.
Starting, growing and expanding your business is often portrayed as a complex process. Honestly, some of the stages are. But the part that truly matters – whether you are making sales or not – is whether you are meeting the needs of your customer. If the answer to that is yes, then your next stage is to let your customer know you exist.
By finding out what need they have and filling it, you will have a product that will interest them when they find you.
Providing a newsletter for your opt-in list subscribers provides many benefits in terms of driving traffic into your site as well as boosting the sales and profits of your site and company.
This is a marketing ploy that will not hugely dent your marketing budget and will not also require many man-hours in developing this project.
There are millions of sites on the Internet that will tell you what you should do to sell products over the Net. But what if your product isn’t electronic, or aimed at other Internet marketers? I mean, so many of the successful websites selling products seem to target this group of people. Read the rest of this entry