As an example… we’ve just had Easter bank holiday.  Traditionally this is a very busy weekend, with people spending money on tourist attractions, gardening, campervans, motorbikes, trips away and everything associated with that.  If you’re in a related industry, it would be worthwhile considering the promotions you’re running and how relevant they are to what people are buying right now.  If you can tie in with those trends, you could boost your profits.

This weekend, we travelled for two hours to look at a motorbike only to find that two minutes earlier it had been sold (at a discount) to a dealer.  Despite us calling about the bike that morning.  The bike was already the cheapest of its kind on the internet – It seems the seller hadn’t taken into account the effect of the bank holiday and the warm weather on bikers – they were out in force this weekend, spending their money.  But he lost at least £200 in net profit after he’d already offered the bike at the cheapest price anywhere in the country – and you know I never advise being the cheapest to start with; especially when timings are on your side.

Friday brings yet more opportunities for plenty of businesses.  Are you watching your timings?  If people are buying in force, are you opening longer / opening on days you wouldn’t usually open / running timely promotions / taking advantage of the fact people are spending??  The companies who are will be the first ones out of the recession.

The main points were:

• A cut in business rates, which means smaller businesses may have a little bit more cash available to invest.  This could provide opportunities for businesses who could help them reinvest that cash in future business growth.
• £94 billion in business loans from RBS and Lloyds; nearly half of which will be for smaller firms.  It’s hoped this might finally give easier access to funding once again, particularly for small businesses.  If your target customers have expansion plans, and you can assist in reinvestment for growth in order that they can pay back their loans, this measure could increase you target audience.
• £4bn in business support through ‘Finance for Growth’, which will streamline and improve government help for small businesses.  It wouldn’t surprise me if this is linked with public sector cuts, with some levels of ‘middle management’ stripped out.  This should hopefully make it easier for companies to know how and where to access advice and funding.
• An extra 15% of central government contracts would be awarded to SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises).  That could mean up to £15bn in new business across the public sector.  If your business is interested in this sector, it would be worth ensuring you’re linked into services such as tendering notifications and taking advantage of tendering training available.

It seems that Labour, like the Conservatives, know that the key to economic growth lies in small businesses – the 80% of companies who employ a handful of people, but keep the economy ticking over.  The parties all seem keen to offer support but, when that support is combined with the massive public sector cuts predicted, it’s likely to provide both opportunities and threats.

Our suggestion would be to get hold of some good advice to make sure you take advantage of the opportunities available in your industry.  They will be there…

Music companies such as EMI and Warner Brothers viewed online music downloads as a threat and used legal sanctions to pursue those who downloaded.  The British Government has now outlined a bill to try and stop illegal downloads – but in a Talk Talk survey published this week, 83% of 18-34 year olds said they would defy the law and continue accessing music for free.

Over 7 million people are allegedly file-sharing illegally, according to a recent study by the British Phonographic Industry.  It’s estimated this costs the industry £200m a year.

Marketing Opportunity?

Whilst EMI and Warner Brothers viewed downloads as a threat, Apple saw an opportunity.  They created the iPod and iTunes to take advantage of the new market and last month, they celebrated their 10 billionth music download.

Increases in the number of legal digital music services also pushed income from online sales up by almost 73% to £30.4 million for PRS for Music.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but teenagers have always shared music.  I remember swapping CDs with my friends when I was younger and, if we found a really good one, we’d both buy copies.  And, in fact, in a recent report for Panorama, DJ Jo Whiley found that people who illegally download music are also the biggest buyers of legal music.  It seems they download and listen, share good tracks with their friends and then buy high quality versions – legally – just like we used to.  A survey conducted by Davos showed that 42% of illegal downloaders were listening with a view to buying and that Person to Person pirates spent an average £77 per year on legally acquired music, compared to just £44 shelled out by those who comply with copyright laws.

The Future..?

Online shopping has also changed the way teenagers are asked to buy music – gone are the days when we would save our pocket-money and head down into town.  With online downloads, teenagers now need to borrow a parent’s credit card – if they’re under 18, they can’t have their own.  Perhaps that’s one barrier that needs removing?  And perhaps that’s one opportunity for mobile internet?

There’s no doubt the digital economy has changed the music industry – but are companies really taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, or are they throwing their toys out of the pram – and with them the chance of even larger profits?

This includes the following:

• Policies of the leading national parties
• Local policies of politicians in your area (whatever their party)
• Public sector changes in your target area
• Public opinion – which usually sways political opinion (when voiced by sufficient numbers of people)

For example… most people are predicting cuts in public sector spending in 2010 to make up for their increase in 2009 (which bolstered the economy).  The Conservatives have allegedly suggested they would abolish regional assemblies, such as the regional development agencies, which would save a significant amount of money – and would possibly be a vote-winner.

What impact would such a move have on your business?  And what opportunities might it present?

How could you position yourself now to take advantage?  For example…

• What contacts might you need to make
• Do you need to be on any tender lists?
• Do you know the local MPs and what their policies are?
• How might your target audience change with an election, in terms of what needs / problems they have?

Now’s the time to be positioning yourself and building relationships with the ‘right’ people – after the election will be too late.

Gym memberships were down on the whole, but sales of aerobic DVDs and home exercise equipment were up.  Restaurant sales were down, but the cinemas did very well.  Organic sales were down, but fair trade were up.  Whatever the economy, someone always benefits.  The question is, how do you make sure your business is in the right place to take advantage?  And, if you are in the right place, do you have the right skills and knowledge to take advantage?

2010 looks set to be another difficult year.  The majority of economists are predicting the continuation of recession at least into the summer.  Property down-cycles historically have taken 5 years to recover fully, so many estate agents are expecting another difficult year.

But, to add to the confusion, we have an election taking place.  Could that bring about the end of the recession?  It’s likely to have a huge impact on the economy – and it will certainly bring opportunities with it – regardless of which colour comes out on top.

Either way, the following are just a handful of the things we expect and will be watching with interest:

• Public sector jobs are likely to be at risk this year; following a huge investment from the government in 2009 to bolster our economy.
• As a result, trust will continue to be high on the agenda for consumers; further pushing Corporate Social Responsibility and ethical marketing trends.
• More redundancies will lead to more home-based businesses and technology is facilitating that
  
• Mobile phones will continue to develop and compete with hard-wired alternatives
• Property will continue to be deflated until the banks start lending money
• British holidays are likely to remain popular, as people get fed up with additional security measures and choose to support our economy instead (the weather will likely play a significant part in this.)

These are just our best guesses, based on what we’ve seen and read.  It’s crucial you know the trends within your industry and customer segments, so you will be better placed to take advantage and use your marketing research to capitalise on the opportunities 2010 will present.

If you don’t know… ask someone to help you.  You need to understand this information if you want to boost your business and take advantage of what 2010 has to offer.

I couldn’t agree more – niche is the way to go in the current marketplace, as there are so many generalists.  Through the internet, niche markets can now be fairly substantial and, if you’re an expert in a particular field, you can command a higher price.

Become known as the ‘go-to’ person for that skill, or that industry and people will be seeking you out, rather than the other way around.  You can demand higher prices because of your knowledge, so you’re fishing in a very small pool which contains some very fat fish – and you know exactly what they eat for dinner!

So, if you were stuck in a lift with Richard Branson and had seven seconds to tell him what you do, what would you say?

This is “your one moment to impress or depress, depending on what you say and how you deliver.”   Rob Brown, How to Build Your Reputation.

Our top tips for a great elevator pitch are:

1. Tell people about you – not your job description (are you an accountant, or do you save people tax? Which introduction do you think has people wanting to know more?)
2. Make great eye contact when you’re speaking
3. Smile
4. Deliver your elevator pitch with passion and enthusiasm
5. Prepare – know what you are going to say
6. Have 7-second, 5-minute and 10-minute pitches prepared
7. Don’t forget to ask the other person about them (listen to their answer, so you can ask another intelligent question)
   
8. Be specific about who you are, what you do and what makes you different
9. Create a picture and tell a story if you can – give people your message in technicolour and put them in the picture
10. Be careful of invading people’s personal space

Someone probably asks you every day what you do for a living, but do you take full advantage?  Having elevator pitches prepared will mean you never have to miss that golden marketing opportunity.

• Visibility
  
• Credibility
• Profitability

It’s fair to say that without visibility, you can’t be credible and without credibility, it’s very difficult to be profitable.  But, how do you get the right kind of visibility for your business and ensure you’re remembered for the right reasons?

This week we’ve been focusing on the importance of first impressions – networking can be a great way to meet new people face to face, but you need to be sure you take advantage of it…

You will no doubt have met people at networking events who make some of the following mistakes:

• Invading your personal space
• Shaking hands with their business card
• Only talking about themselves
• Trying to sell to you
• Asking for your business card and then spamming you for the rest of your life

We attended a Referral Institute Conference recently and one of the speakers described this as Invisibility or Irritability Networking.  People who do these things certainly leave an impression, but it isn’t a favourable one.

If you are using networking as a marketing tool, remember most people won’t buy from you when they’ve just met you.  And they’re even less likely to refer you to someone else and put their reputation on the line.  In order to be visible, people have to have contact with you a number of times.  You could keep in touch using some of the following ideas:

• Follow-up the initial contact
• Arrange another meeting / telephone call
• Send them something useful
• Invite them to a relevant event
• Help them in some way

By helping people, you become more visible.  And…what goes around, comes around.  BNI has a principle called Giver’s Gain and it really works!

Christmas party bookings are coming in thick and fast, and it appears people are set to have a huge amount of fun this party season, after a tough year – so how can your company take advantage?

Here are just a few of our top tips:

1. Create a pre-Christmas offer to encourage sales before the holidays
2. Ensure your Christmas menus / products are out early (now at the latest)
3. Contact all the people who bought last Christmas and ask for their order
4. Send cards to all your customers and prospects thanking them for their business
5. Hold a Christmas party for your staff and your customers
6. Thank the people who referred you business this year

Some of these may sound like small details, but it really is the detail that counts.  And, if you don’t thank your customers, referrers and suppliers, someone else may well do next year.

An audit should consider a number of areas:

Business Mission

What are the over-riding aims of the company?  What do you stand for?  What is your core business?  Do you have a mission statement that makes this clear to you, your team and your customers / suppliers?

Market Analysis

What is happening in the external business environment currently?  Are there opportunities you could take advantage of?  Are there threats you need to be aware of?  Is your business growing, or shrinking?

Internal Analysis

What’s happening within your company at the moment?  How are things changing?  What’s the position with key members of your team?  Are your products / services improving?  What do your customers think of you?  Is their buying behaviour changing?

Objectives

What are your goals and objectives for this year? (More on this in tomorrows post.)

Once you have a view on where you are, you can start to take a look at where you’d like to be.  And, we’ll cover that in a bit more detail tomorrow…