Increase Sales

Business Growth Fund Opens Its Account

A Business Growth Fund worth some two and a half billion pounds has been launched by the government in the United Kingdom, with backing from a number of the largest banks operating in the country. The terms of each agreement that will be set up using the Business Growth Fund are to include the Fund taking a position on the board of the company and also a minority stake in the company, in return for capital of between £2 million and £10 million for companies with an adequate annual turnover.

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20/05/2011

Posted by
Rebecca Woods
in
Business planning
Increase sales
Starting-up

UK Government Encourages Investment From Abroad

Further announcements have been reported that indicate how the UK government is hoping to make the country a leading focus of international investment, with small and start-up businesses among those being encouraged to seek investment and trade from abroad as well as from domestic UK sources. The strategy seems to be intended to attract more finance into the UK economy, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is said to be set to make greater efforts to support British businesses in their search for trade and finance from abroad.

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16/05/2011

Posted by
Rebecca Woods
in
Increase sales
Starting-up

Growing Your Business with Employees

Recent comments in the media have highlighted the fact that the government in the United Kingdom seems to be encouraging start-up businesses and entrepreneurs to hire employees by allowing a number of employees to be taken on without the employer having to pay national insurance contributions up to a fixed limit.

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11/04/2011

Posted by
Rebecca Woods
in
Increase sales

What are the benefits of your business?

The most important asset of any business – whatever its size or nature – is, in the final analysis, its customers. Beyond the company’s official accounts, balance sheets, and perceived state of financial health, the customers who actually buy its products and services are the most important part of any business. Without a vibrant customer base, a business will have no future.

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Increase sales

Getting the word out

You have spent a lot of time and effort getting your start-up business into a position where it is ready to take orders and start generating income. You have products or services ready to roll, and you have sufficient finance in position to cover the early days and to pay the bills that will come from suppliers and from the basic running of your business in terms of office costs. Of course, though, the thing that this is all about is your customers, and although you have done the research to know that particular goods or services are needed by a particular segment of the market, you now have to get the word out to the people who are going to buy your product, and in a way that makes them want to spend money on

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Business planning
Increase sales

The value of your business

As you are preparing your next marketing campaign based on your background research into your product, customers, and competitors, it is worth reflecting a little more on your product or service from your customers’ point of view. Although it is easy to overlook, your product or service has a value for your customers, otherwise they would not be spending money to obtain it. Of course, if the value to your customer in monetary terms is higher than the price that they are paying to obtain it, then there may be a margin that you could examine to increase your profitability. In more sustainable terms of customer satisfaction, however, if you can find out what it is that makes your product or service of value, you can look at ways of increasing that value to your customer, and then at increasing value and profit both for yourself and your customers. Then you are becoming more like a partner to your customers and they may be more likely to stay with you than opt for a competitor.

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Business planning
Increase sales

Your business’ benefits

When you are starting out with your newly formed business, eager and ready to attract customers to buy into your wonderful business idea, is an easy trap to fall into to imagine that your customers will view your product and your business from the same perspective that you do. In fact, your customers will perceive your business in a totally different way, and what is more, they are likely to be making comparisons between what you offer and the value of your business and the same things in relation to your competitors in the marketplace.

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Business planning
Increase sales

Are you making yourself clear?

One trap that many start-up businesses fall into is spreading their marketing message too broadly, and by trying to attract a wide range of customers, actually attracting few or even none. The message that you are putting out in your communication should be clear: you should be pointing out the value of your business to your customers. Moreover, as you will read in many marketing manuals, you should be selling “the sizzle not the sausage”, as it is benefits that make an impact, rather than features. To do this effectively, you need to have a clear idea of what it is that you are offering and then produce focused marketing messages to push it to potential customers.

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Increase sales

Growing your business

Even with a great idea, detailed and realistic planning, solid financial backing, and a well laid out marketing strategy, start-up businesses can find that the path from start-up to growth can be a long and difficult one. Growing your business can be a long learning process, with many highs and lows along the way. You may have gone through several drafts of your business plan before settling on a version that describes your position and aspirations, and perhaps a slightly differently targeted version that you can use for raising finance. You will have done the research on gaps in the market and the value of your business to your customers, so that you know what sort of price levels you can aim at and how this affects the balance sheet against projected spending. However, none of this is a cast iron guarantee that business growth will be immediate

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22/03/2011

Posted by
Jane Khedair
in
Increase sales

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