'On Demand' Printing Benefits Small Businesses

Digital printing or ‘on demand’ printing, as it is sometimes known is a fairly recent edition to a very old established industry. The arrival of digital printing has revolutionised the print industry and significantly changed the way small businesses are now able promote themselves.

Digital printing has reduced the costs of small run print jobs and significantly reduced the turnaround times. This enables a small business to send their customers highly targeted, highly effective marketing messages.

Short run, full colour litho printing was an expensive option for small businesses. A large proportion of the cost was down to the time consuming and costly process of setting up a traditional 'lithographic' printing press. These set-up costs meant that it simply wasn't cost effective to print a few copies of a document or brochure, so small businesses had to think long and hard about what they would print as many hundreds or even thousands of copies would need to be printed.

The set-up process for litho printing would also mean that delivery schedules would be much longer, perhaps a couple of weeks. You also needed storage space for all your printed documents, as you had so many extras printed over and above your initial requirement, you also ran the risk of them being out of date before you used them.

So to summarize the benefits of digital printing to your small business:

• Ordering your print 'on demand' means that you only order the quantity you want
• Turnaround times for digital printing are faster than traditional printing
• Your literature, information and prices will be more up to date and accurate
• Your offers can be changed more often perhaps seasonally, instead of repeating the same offer several times a year
• You can have specific targeted versions of your literature for each group of customers instead of ‘one size fits all’
• You will get a better response rate the more accurately you target your literature and offers and you can even add scarcity value
• You can test your marketing messages by trialling different versions and then printing larger quantities of the most successful version
• You will be more environmentally friendly as you will have less old out of date literature to throw away

Digital printing has significant benefits to small business owners enabling them to get the most out of their resources and time, both very valuable commodities in the current climate. Being able to specifically target your marketing messages and change and adapt them to the constantly changing environment means you will be in the right place, at the right time with the right message for your prospects and customers.

7 Small Business Networking Mistakes

Networking, the hot topic of the moment is vitally important to small businesses. As a small business or a new business just starting out, networking and making the right connections can make all the difference now and in the future.

So when you get involved in networking, don’t be afraid, it is not as daunting as it may seem, here are 5 mistakes you should avoid.

1. Not being prepared, take lots of business cards or leaflets
2. Not rehearsing your sound bite, you need to be confident and make it flow
3. Do not attend a networking event and sell to those you meet
4. Do not just collect details for the sake of getting your numbers up, spend your time wisely and talk to people where their is mutual benefit for both parties
5. Do not pretend to be something you are not, be honest and genuine and people will reciprocate
6. Do not forget the network of people you already have, do not become solely focussed on building a new network, expand the one you have
7. Do not be selfish, remember its not all about you, people will help you if you offer them help, but not if you just take, take, take.

Now you are armed with your business cards, strapline and sound bite, so go off and network like crazy!

Recession Busting Tips Summary

So just in case you missed any of the 10 recession busting tips published in December and January, a quick reminder summary of the 10 tips:

1. Count Every Penny

2. Show Me The Money

3. Check & Double Check

4. Negotiating

5. Financial Status

6. Your Staff

7. Be Visible

8. Promote

9. Remember Your Regulars

10. Stay Focussed

So did you find these useful, have you gone through some or all of the tips yet?

I would love to hear what you think or what you have acted on; it would be great to expand these 10 tips in the future with your new tips. I look forward to reading your comments and stories.....

Recession Busting Tips No10 - Stay Focussed

Staying focussed and not panicking are vitally important, you now have a list of things you can do to help yourself and your business enjoy a better year ahead.

Work through the list gradually, some things you may already have done or perhaps have been meaning to do, so this is a timely reminder. You may already be following a similar process, well great, whatever position you are in; you are helping yourself to a better 2010.

Wishing you much success, happiness and health for 2010.

Recession Busting Tips No9 - Remember Your Regulars

Your existing customers are very, very important, they are the reason you are still in business, so whatever you do to get new ones, do not loose sight of your existing customers and their value to your business.

Do not take them for granted, or assume they will always be there. Everyone is in the same situation and feeling the recession to a greater or lesser degree, so make them feel special and valued. It does not have to be something big or a grand gesture, just the fact you have remembered them in some small way will be enough to reassure them that they are important and valued by you.

Do not let another supplier step in and take one or more of your regular customers away, make them feel valued, provide good products and services, keep your promises and live up to your USP.

Recession Busting Tips No6 - Your Staff

Use the thoughts and experiences of one of your biggest assets, your staff. Remember they want your business to succeed as much as you do, particularly during a recession.

Ask you staff what they think, what ideas they have, ask for their input. This will make them feel more valued and part of the team and you may be pleasantly surprised about the ideas they come up with.

One or more of them may produce a great idea which may be very successful and make all the difference, if so remember to reward the person. Show your appreciation, get them involved and other great ideas will come in the future.

Recession Busting Tips No5 - Financial Status

Always be fully aware of the current financial status of your business and how the next few weeks will impact on it, know the current outgoings and expected income.

Always communicate with your business bank manager. Try to keep in regular contact (this will vary depending on your business and its requirements), keep them informed of your circumstances and if you think you may have difficulties get their help, sooner rather than later.

Always keep to your commitments and do exactly what you say you will do, the bank will look more favourable on you and your situation.

Whatever you do “DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND!” This can be fatal.

Recession Busting Tips No4 - Negotiating With Suppliers

Don’t shy away from asking for a better cost price from your suppliers, even if you have been working with them for many years, don’t just assume, you already get the best deal you can, because you may not!

To strengthen your bargaining power try to establish your competitors selling and cost prices if possible, if you cannot get costs at least get the sales price, it will allow you to make some judgements about margin etc ready for your negotiations with your supplier.

Use all your market information to its maximum potential to assist you in reducing your buying price. If you cannot manage to get price reductions across the board on all your products, at least target your most popular selling items and get a reduction on those.

Recession Busting Tips No3 - Check & Double Check

In a recession it is essential that you get credit checks on all your customers. It is good practice at any time, but it is even more important in a recession.

If you have not been doing this, it is never too late to start and if you have customers who do repeat business with you, get them checked out as well because things can change in their businesses too.

Also get a credit check on your suppliers, you do not want to spend time and money promoting a product that could disappear or have an intermittent supply line.

Try to take as many of the risks of doing business away, to make your position as strong a possible.

Recession Busting Tips No1 - Count Every Penny

It is a challenging time at the moment for small businesses, staying a float and ready for the New Year with all the additional expenses that Christmas brings from a business and personal perspective mean everyone is looking for ways to economise.

So, the first of our recession busting tips is:

Count Every Penny
Take a little time to investigate where every penny you are spending is going. It will be more than worthwhile to spend a little time on this as you will find some money you can save.

Re-evaluate your business; closely examine all the expenses you have, look at the things that have become old habits, those that just happen because they always have.

Check if you can streamline any of your processes, if you can purchase any better, if you can cut-out anything unnecessary.

The real surprise is that most businesses can cut costs without customers even noticing and without it affecting their high levels of customer service.

So start now and enjoy the benefits.....

.....more tips to follow, look out for No 2 SHOW ME THE MONEY.

Discover what is happening in your business & take control today

Do you run and hide at the mention of book keeping or sales analysis?

One of the most daunting tasks for most small businesses, unless of course you are an accountant, is the prospect of having to do your own book keeping and organising your records.

However this can open a wealth of opportunities for you and your business to grow and capitalise on some hidden gems.

If you are a sole trader you will need to keep track of monthly expenditure and income as well as VAT, if applicable.

Take charge today

The first thing to do is take charge, don’t be frightened and get yourself organised.
It does not have to be a complicated system when you are first starting up, but good organisation is vital for your business.

It can be as simple as 1, 2 3

1. Put every invoice and receipt for each month in a clear plastic envelope, clearly labelled expenditure with the month and year in question.
2. Now take another file or folder for income and add all your invoices that you have raised on your customers, again label accordingly.
3. Now you have that organised in two files, the next step is to transfer this to, for example, an excel spreadsheet and then keep it up to date with just a few minutes a day.

You can develop an easy to use spreadsheet with columns for income, expenditure and if applicable VAT. As you grow there are lots of software packages you can consider that include product records, stock control, Vat calculations, automatic statement runs and much more. But for now, we are just looking at the spreadsheet option and some of the benefits.

Benefits
This will allow you to quickly see all your suppliers and how your monthly expenditure is against your monthly income and where that income is coming from. Now you can see the profit you are making each month.

With these important figures to hand, you can see if you need to make adjustments to your expenditure or if you are doing well and could consider spending some money on marketing and growing your business even further.

Big businesses do a huge amount of analysis on turnover, profit and loss, gross and net margin %, customer segmentation, product analysis and much more, every month.

As a small business it is very important that you also know where you stand, as small changes have a big impact on your business and your cash flow.

You really cannot afford to wait for the end of the year when you give a big box of paper to your accountant to sort out and then, eventually he tells you if you did ok or not!

Your hidden gems
Here are some of the advantages of getting things under control and being more organised

• You are up to date
• You can meet your deadlines
• You can see how your finances really are at any given point in time
• You can give the VAT man all the information he needs when he arrives for a spot check
• You can defend your position when the tax man demands a large sum from you, if you have no records, you have no proof
• You know how profitable your business is
• You know which customers are your big spenders and which spend little, but take up all your time
• You know which customers have paid and who has not
• You know how much you owe suppliers
• You know which suppliers you spend a lot with, so you can ask for more discount
• You know which products sell well and which are gathering dust
• You know where your stock is going and when to reorder
• You have the facts and figures to make the necessary adjustments to protect and grow your business
• You know, you do not have guess or panic anymore

“A few simple steps and you are in control of your business, your business is no longer in control of you.”

There are many things you can do with the extra time and money and even more important without the extra worry, so take control and move forward to a more organised, proactive and confident you.

7 tips when using email in your business

7 things you must know about using email in your business. As a new business you have many things to learn and it’s easy to make mistakes when you are rushing around trying to do too many things at once.

You may see email as an easy and cheap way of communicating with prospects and customers and you would be correct, but you must do it well. There are a few things to remember, do not be lazy because you think it’s not the same as a letter.

Here are some good disciplines to get into early on and then it just becomes automatic.

Spelling and Grammar
Spelling and grammar are very important in all your correspondence, so remember to spell and grammar check everything, don’t risk losing a potential customer because of a poorly written email.

Reply Quickly
Always respond as quickly as possible to an e-mail. Even if you do not have all the answers or have to investigate the question or complaint, at the very least acknowledge the email, preferably the same day, saying you are looking in to it and will reply within 24, 48 hours whatever time frame necessary. If for some reason that is then not possible, don’t leave the person in the dark, tell them what you do know and what you are doing about it, keep them informed every step of the way. Recommit to solving the problem within a new time frame and make sure you do so, they won’t wait forever.

Re: Subject
Make sure you always complete the Subject box; you do not want them to guess or delete it because they don’t know what it is. Don’t mislead people with the subject box either, it should be about the content of the email.

Recipient
Use the recipient’s name, it is much more professional and personal to address the reader by their name, it makes them feel more valued and important, it show you care about your customers, little things matter.

Format
The format of the email does not have to be as formal as a business letter but should still be similar in style and must be grammatical, not text speak, not written in all CAPS or all lower case and do not ramble on without punctuation. It should cover all the necessary points from their email, don’t gloss over things or miss them out completely.

Who are you?
Always include all your contact information, preferably below your signature. You can mention in the email “please contact me if you require further assistance, see details below” or similar just to reassure the person that you are not a faceless, nameless entity. You should add your full name, title, company, address, telephone, email, fax, web address, everything they may need without having to contact you again to ask for it.

Their Message
When you respond to someone and are answering their questions or complaint either include the previous e-mail, or be very specific and include their questions/complaint when answering. This will enable them to quickly relate to what you are saying, we are all busy people and don’t have time to waste trawling our emails to find the one to which your answer refers.

Using email is an effective ways of communicating with all your prospects and customers, but remember in all communications be accurate, honest and professional and put your customer first, offer valuable, useful, informative content and you will reap the rewards.

As A Small Business Owner Motivation Is Key

How motivated to succeed are you?

Self motivation is one of the key elements to the success of your new business.

You may have been very motivated and excited as you were putting your idea together, but as we all know that was just the start.

Now, you have opened the doors and nothing much has happened……., it did not take off as you expected, people did not keep their promises, people haven’t paid you, it’s harder than you thought.

There are many reasons you may be feeling a bit down, it all rests on your shoulders, so it is vital you dig deep, keep focussed and stay motivated.

Now is the time to motivate……..

• Think positively, see how far you have come, remember you had nothing to start with
• Congratulate your self on your successes
• Make a list of your achievements
• Find a mentor, if you can
• Spend time with positive people, family, friends who support you
• Set your self some sensible realistic targets to change your current circumstances
• Visualise your success not what you perceive as your failure
• Appreciate what you have learnt so far
• Identify what motivates you and set a goal around this
• Look after yourself & your health
• Spend time away from work, get the right work life balance
• Take some breaks, coffee, lunch etc
• Take time away from your workplace to think, you will be more productive outside your work environment
• Remember you started this because it’s something you enjoy doing
• Acknowledge what is stressing you out and find a way to lessen the effects
• Take a holiday, even if it is only one day and leave it all behind
• Give a member of your staff or hire someone to do the thing’s you do not enjoy or are not good at
• Finally take positive action, play to your strengths

Need a boost, need to bounce some ideas around to get things going again, I am always happy to help, so get in touch and together we will kick start the process.

7 Things you need to know about your prospects in your target market – Part 7

Their location, where do they live, in a flat or house, in the town or country.

This is not the same as income related i.e. big house in the country, again this is about what they will need and want, a lawnmower is no good if you are living in a flat.

You also need to be aware of both cultural and regional differences, whether you plan to sell across the world or just across the UK ( or your own country) you will still have differences you need to be aware of, possibly even offering different language options.

Values can change widely from north to south and east to west, so be aware of this and target your message accordingly.

These 7 key areas to consider when writing your target message to your prospects will ensure you come away with a much more specific message targeted to and written for YOUR audience at that time.

Also, an added benefit, having done it once, for one , you will find it easy and quick to target the same offer with a new focused message to a different audience when applicable.

In the next blog (part 7 bonus) I will write more about your specific target market profile and how to develop one for all you marketing messages across the web, email, sales letter whatever you use to talk to your prospects.

7 Things you need to know about your prospects in your target market – Part 5

Their relationship/marital status, it’s not a case of are they married, but more the difference between the message to a single 40 something, with lots of disposable income and few responsibilities or a married person in their 40’s with two kids, a mortgage and a lot of responsibilities.

……….to be continued

7 Things you need to know about your prospects in your target market – Part 4

Their level of education, this is similar in some respects to the age related question, once again we need to speak in language the recipient will readily understand.

It is not a case of treating everyone like idiots or conversely like brain boxes, but being appropriate in what we say and how we say it, to ensure the right message is received and understood by the right audience - your target customer.

……….to be continued

7 Things you need to know about your prospects in your target market – Part 1

You must sell to your prospects emotions and in order to do this, you need to know certain key things about your prospect to enable you to successfully sell to them.
This blog series will focus on 7 key things you need to know.

1. 
   Their worries, what is always on their mind, what is worrying or concerning them, what is taking their time and attention?
   What problem can you solve for them, allowing them to then think about other more enjoyable things, family, friends, holidays, hobbies and much more.

Now you know what’s on their mind, you need to know a little about them to correctly and accurately send you targeted message to them and only them!

..........to be continued

Attention to detail – does it really matter?

I received a letter in the post this morning which prompted me to put pen to paper or perhaps fingers to keyboard!

I decided to blog, a little off topic and in the middle of the week, as I felt it was a very simple, small thing, but occurring twice in a few weeks meant it had value as a reminder to us all.

Attention to detail is very important especially in a new start up or small business; you only get one chance to impress, so why would you waste it.

Two examples I have personally received in the last few weeks are as follows:

• 
  A letter arrived this morning, enclosing a CV, the letter was hardly readable as the printer had virtually run out of ink , with some lines disappearing completely, the letter was also unsigned and the applicant for a job at my company, stated that they could be “an asset to my school”!
• 
  A few weeks prior to this I received a letter from someone offering me their accountancy services, this company's letter was also poor, in so far as it was printed at an angle, with some words missing (they fell off the page - oh well doesn’t matter!) and once again almost unreadable due to low ink in their printer – I cannot say more as I never even tried to read it, in the bin it went, first impressions were enough.

Both these people have spent time and money researching clients/employers, thinking, compiling, writing, printing and posting their letters and then ensuring a poor response, all that wasted time, effort and money to guarantee a NO.

In today’s difficult climate a yes is hard enough to get, without putting additional barriers in the way.

Both parties have given the recipient the feeling that they do not care enough to check what they are sending out, so would you trust someone with your very valuable assets: your customers or your money.

The person applying for the job may be very good, as might the accountant, but we will never know!

So your one chance to impress 5 minute check list:

1. Check details are correct
2. Spell check the document
3. Check printer ink
4. Check paper in printer is straight
5. Check it over & sign the letter

5 minutes is all it takes to make a big difference to the outcome, attention to detail and pride in what you do does not guarantee you ‘a yes’, but more importantly, it does guarantee that you will not get an instant ‘NO’, so you are in with a chance.

A chance – the door is open
A NO - the door is closed & locked.

So make sure your doors are all open.

Image Connect connects you with your customers.

"The deadly dozen Part 13 (a bakers dozen!) - boost your business with these free hints and tips"

No. 13 Pictures

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ yes, it can be, but only in the right place, to enhance the written word and when correctly sized for quick downloading or it’s worth 8 ‘I can’t be bothered to wait for this’!

Finally
Time is a precious commodity and having a site that loads quickly, is easy to navigate and read, quickly answers the visitors questions in a straightforward manner is more likely to be visited and revisited.

Remember even if you think you are offering the same as someone else, you need to make it different, make it your own, and then you are NOT offering the same as someone else.

Make sure your website clearly explains what you do, what you are offering, what your USP (unique selling point) is, make visitors trust you and want to do business with you.

P.S.
Having taken all the 13 top tips into account, remember make the site your own, these are just some of the tips to bear in mind, but you can break the rules and make up your own, but always remember the key question is always ‘will your target audience like it’?

If for example, it’s a site for children, then you can break the colour rules and make it colourful, bold and bright, but a word of caution, be sensible, don’t ignore all the rules and tips at once.

Books are black text on white paper for a reason – they are easy to read and that’s the main aim to enable the reader to enjoy the story, and that’s why the reader purchased the book!

Hope you enjoyed this story, please feel free to comment or ask any questions, I am happy to help.

"The deadly dozen Part 11 - boost your business with these free hints and tips"

No. 11 Flash Animation

Flash animation can be great, when used sparingly and correctly, if you want a flash intro, then it must be quick and also convey some information.

Navigation must also be on this page to enable people to move on if they wish, don’t just have a splash screen with an enter site here button, visitors do not know if they are in the right place if you tell them nothing!

.....to be continued