Observational marketing: What business owners can learn from Peter Kay

Gina Dyer — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:51:05 +0100

Good marketing isn’t about spending huge amounts of money on advertising – it’s about recognising the great ideas all around you, explains Geoff Ramm, an observational marketing specialist and speaker at this year’s Sage World small business conference.

Geoff has been described as the 'Peter Kay of marketing' – but what do comedians and marketers have in common? Quite a lot, according to Geoff. Just as the TV funnyman draws inspiration from his surroundings to create their material and entertain the crowds, business owners should look to their every day experiences to find the hook that will get their business talked about and customers through the door, says Geoff.

Q: What is observational marketing?

Free pitching masterclass at Peter Jones' Enterprise Academy: Win a ticket worth £375 to a boot camp with ex-Dragon Doug Richard

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:23:35 +0100

BusinessZone.co.uk and The Pitch 2010 is giving you the chance to pitch your business to successful entrepreneurs Wilfred Emmanuel Jones, the man behind The Black Farmer food brand and social entrepreneur Karen Darby as well as a real life investor in Sheffield at 3pm on 9 September.

Start-ups in most deprived areas exempt from deprivation-fighting NIC scheme

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:44:25 +0100

New companies in many of the UK's most deprived areas will not benefit from the government's National Insurance exemption scheme which is aimed at helping such businesses, accountants have claimed.

Announced during the Emergency Budget, new businesses set up between June 22 2010 and September 5 2013 outside Greater London, the South East and Eastern England will qualify for the scheme which allows them to not pay National Insurance for their first 10 employees hired during the first 12 months of business.

But according to UHY Hacker Young, many of the most deprived local authorities are actually located within Greater London, the South East and the East meaning that the initiative will fail to provide support to areas that need it the most.

How to boost referrals and increase your business sales

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:45:54 +0100

Marcus Cauchi uncovers how businesses can generate faster sales by boosting the number and quality of their referrals.

Systematic referral marketing works, networking doesn’t. If referrals are always a surprise instead of strategic and planned, chances are your networking is more akin to a social life than a business generation activity.

Social media etiquette: The dos and don'ts

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:38:50 +0100

Simon Quance examines how businesses should and shouldn't behave on social media platforms with specific advice for using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

With the advent of consumer websites, watchdog organisations and the ongoing proliferation of new social media using more and more mobile and connected technology, customers are beginning to recognise that they wield more power over brands and organisations than ever before. They increasingly have the power to make their voice heard; they can make waves and, most importantly, they can play their part in making or breaking a brand through word of mouth.

With their reputations at stake, businesses need to raise their game in terms of how they interact with consumers.

Lessons in business risk from the poker table

Gina Dyer — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:25:49 +0100

Caspar Berry, a former professional poker player and speaker at this year’s Sage World small business conference, explains how entrepreneurs can harness poker techniques to help them make more effective business decisions.

As a former professional poker player and having founded his own company, Twenty First Century Media, in 2002 (which he subsequently sold to Bob Geldof’s Ten Alps company), Caspar Berry knows a thing or two about taking calculated risks. Today, he spends his working life teaching business owners to embrace risk taking as part of their long-term strategy and imparts the wisdom he picked up in the casinos of Las Vegas about how to ensure you always play your best hand when it comes to running your business.

Q: What did poker teach you about running a successful business?
Caspar: What sits at the heart of poker – and of business – is decision making. Poker is about how to embrace calculated risk and how to differentiate this from a gamble.

Starting a business: The key questions you need to answer

Dan Martin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:21:19 +0100

Business coach Julia McDaid poses some fundamental questions for those who want to start their own business.

When someone decides to set up and run their own business, what does it really mean to them? There's a lot to think about: the impact on lifestyle, the time devoted to it and what they want to achieve.

Do entrepreneurs really know? I hear from quite a few people who have decided to run their own business or work from home but don't actually know what business they want to be in. If this is you don't worry – you're not alone. Some 80% of new businesses don't survive. So how to you give yourself the best chance? In the box below are some of the key questions you need to ask to clarify your objectives and get you started. Once you know what you want to do and why, you've got a better chance of getting it right.

Starting out: Key questions

● What do you enjoy doing?

No easy ride: Why PR takes time, commitment and a lot of hard work

Dan Martin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:11:50 +0100

Many entrepreneurs believe getting their business covered by the media is the easy solution to all their problems but in reality it takes time, commitment and a lot of hard work. PR agency director Jenna Gould examines the realities behind running successful PR campaigns.

I have lost count of the amount of times I've had clients come to me and say things like, ‘I want to try PR for a month and gauge the results to see if I'm getting the right ROI on it’, or ‘I've not got the budget but the money I'll get from speaker gigs generated by the PR you do for me will more than cover the costs of the publicity’. But when it happens that their return on investment figures don't stack up after just four weeks or they haven't bagged a £3,000 speaking gig in the first three months, is it really because the PR isn't working or the supplier isn't up to scratch?

Reality check

Audio: How to dominate your market and expand overseas

Dan Martin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:42:12 +0100

In an exclusive audio podcast, two experts explain how entrepreneurs can dominate their market and use international trade to drive business growth.

According to the new research by the European Business Awards, four out of five European SMEs are positive about future growth with half forecasting minimum expansion of 10% by the end of 2011.

Fire your partners and tear up the share options: A lesson learnt from business failure

Neil Lewis — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:45:45 +0100

Drawing on his experiences of a previous failed business, Neil Lewis says if entrepreneurs really want to succeed, especially in the early days, they need to stay away from partners and share options.

If you've got them - get rid of them or leave. And, if you've offered them, withdraw the offer!