10 Quick Tips for Small Businesses in the 21st Century by Al Bryce www.wordpress.21stCenturySME.com Copyright 2013 by Al Bryce Smashwords Edition Introduction Business is just common sense Set yourself goals and targets Research your market and keep researching it Find a niche Get help where it’s needed Justify spending every penny Nothing is secret Marketing is about volume sort of Embrace online Monitor your marketing Be proactive Introduction Over the last years working as an advisor to start-up businesses I’ve met with over 1,000 people to advise them about starting and running a small business I’ve seen people from all sorts of life, with all sorts of skills and all sorts of reasons for becoming entrepreneurs I’ve seen businesses start-up and flourish and I’ve seen them stutter and fade away I’ve watched good business ideas fail to launch and I’ve seen some poor ones (in my opinion!) go on to success This first hand access to SME successes and failures has allowed me to develop my own theory on the correct way to run a winning small business strategy in the digital age In the middle of 2012 I setup the 21st Century SME blog to share these ideas Both before and during this period I also created and ran my own SMEs, which have been invaluable in allowing me to test out my theories of running successful small businesses I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, so that when I speak with people about starting up and running their small business, I can so out of a position of practical experience rather than one of theoretical knowledge Over this same time I’ve further developed my love of digital marketing techniques Techniques that I believe all SMEs need to start understanding and implementing, not in isolation but as part of their overall strategy, To ensure their business is found by prospective customers, to ensure these prospects can be converted into paying customers and to ensure these customers will become repeat and referring customers The integration of these digital and non-digital techniques are fundamental to my philosophy of what makes a 21st Century SME This basis of this whitepaper was originally written and delivered as a 10 minute presentation to the Haddington branch of 4Networking in 2011, entitled 10 Business Lessons I’ve Learnt from Being a Start-up Advisor Business is just common sense I’m not for a moment saying that business is easy For most of us it’s not It will be frustrating, it will be challenging, it will be rewarding (hopefully) but it will almost certainly never be easy If you break business down into its purest form it’s selling the right product, to the right person for the right money It’s common sense The real difficulty lies in the ability to make common sense decisions Often we can get so caught up in the business, so involved in all of the tiny details of the day to day running of the business that our perspective becomes flawed We become inwardly focused and can lose sight of our goals You need to ensure that you take the time to recognise when you are in this bubble and take measures to step outside of it and see the bigger picture You need to be able to step away from your business, and look at it from the customer’s point of view rather than your own One of the biggest fallacies is that being self employed means you don’t have a boss You do, you have loads of them but you call them your customers No customers means no business So you need to always think about what they want from you rather than what you want to give them This sounds so obvious but there are many businesses out there who focus on themselves They don’t step out of their bubble and so they miss the obvious and they carry on making decisions they think are the correct ones So how you ensure you’re making common sense decisions; that you’re perspective is correct? For some people this may mean having a mentor, someone outside of the business that can help you to identify flawed logic It may be regular catch-ups with your customers to ask them what it is they want Some people I’ve spoken to use a recurring diary note to remind themselves to self-analyse It could even be a post-it on the wall asking “What would my customer think?” We all have the ability to make common sense decisions, we just need to ensure we’re making them for our customers rather than ourselves Set yourself goals and targets “An archer cannot hit the bullseye if he does not know where the target is” Anonymous Why are you setting up or running a small business? There could be a number of good reasons You might like to keep your own hours Maybe you want to get rich and retire early Could be that you love the thrill of creating something or solving a problem Perhaps you’re just unemployable! Whatever it is, you should ensure you’re acutely aware of what that reason is and what you’re in business for There’s no right and wrong answer to this one It’s entirely dependent on you but it’s amazing how many people I’ve met who haven't taken the time to think this through Not only I think this is an important exercise, but I think you need to expand on this further and set out not only why you started in business, but what your business goals are Write them down Only then can you accurately plan how you’re going to achieve them I’m not saying you need to write a business plan (that may sound odd from a professional business advisor but I’d rather create a kick-ass marketing strategy than a business plan) But you should at least right down a list of your top business goals Once you have these, you can break these top level goals into smaller targets that have deadlines and explanations of how you’re going to make them happen Remember to make your goals SMART: ● Specific - what exactly you want to achieve? ● Measurable - How can you tell when you’ve achieved it? How can you chart your progress? ● Achievable - Do you have the resources to reach your goal? There’s only 24 hours in a day ● Relevant - Getting 100,000 visitors to your website may be a good achievement but unless you’re converting them into paying customers then it’s pointless ● Timely - Specify when you will achieve your goals by We all work better when we have a deadline, otherwise where is the motivation to take action today? It’s all too easy to set your goals and never look at them again but you know what will happen; you won’t achieve them Add a note to your diary so that every Sunday evening, Monday morning or whatever time works best for you, you review your goals Measure how you’re performing against where you should be by that stage What can you to get back on track or blow them out of the water Research your market and keep researching it Many people that start a business have some experience within the industry already, usually through employment, but don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security Being employed in an industry can be very different to running a business within an industry so you need to act as though it’s an entirely new area and your research There are many different ways to access customer data but here are some of my favourites: ● Google Keyword Tool - don’t accept what this tells you as 100% accurate, but the Google Keyword Tool allows you to get an overview of Google searches for keywords and phrases This can help give you an idea of 1) how many people are actively searching for your product or service and 2) what the most popular keyword phrases are for your industry (they aren’t always what you maybe think they are!) ● Facebook Advertising - you don’t need to actually run an advert but the Facebook Advertising process lets you get a nice overview into their demographics If you’re a business that sells to consumers (rather than other businesses) then you can gather some good data from this (i.e the number of females aged between 18 and 35 that have listed golf as a favourite activity? 163,000 *at time of writing*) ● British Library - if you’re looking for market data or information then the British Library have an online resource to help you out (non UK based businesses should have a local equivalent) ● Local Enterprise Agency or Authority - in the UK there are organisations set-up to help advise and support SMEs They can often access market research data on your behalf ● Trade Organisations - there aren’t many industries around these days that don't have an industry body set-up to support their members As well as other benefits, they often have access to the latest industry information Much like a business strategy, you need to ensure that you treat market research as an active task It’s easy to get caught up in a bubble when you’re running a business but remember that over time customer’s demands shift, products and services change and your competitors are always evolving You need to ensure you’re ahead of these changes and there are tools available to help you: ● Community Network - as part of your marketing efforts you’ve probably set up a community somewhere be it a Facebook page or a Twitter feed - make use of this oneto-one access to customers and ask them for their thoughts on the industry, your competitors and your own company ● Google Alerts - set up alerts for your competitors (so you can keep tabs on what they’re up to), your product or service (to hear about any new advances first) and your key phrases (to keep in the loop of the public’s latest thoughts) ● RSS Feeds - another great way to quickly and easily keep up to date with the latest movement of your competitors and the leading industry authorities Google Reader is a free tool that allows you to see whenever any website or blog you choose to follow has added new content - it saves you navigating separately to each website you’re interested in ● Survey Monkey - if you’ve built up a mailing list of customers then every so often you might want to ask them for more in-depth feedback Survey Monkey allows you to setup questionnaires that you can easily share to your networks and analyse the data they provide Your Mouth - most businesses have at least some face-to-face contact with their customers Use this time to ask them for their thoughts - people tend to be receptive when asked for their opinion! Find a niche When you start up a small business the temptation is strong to try and make your business appeal to as many people (i.e potential customers) as you can But is this really the best approach? Ask yourself this – “Am I more likely to choose a photographer that handles all types of photography for my upcoming nuptials or am I more likely to choose the photographer who specialises in wedding photography?” I know which I’d go for It used to be difficult to get your business in front of potential customers, or at the very least it used to be expensive You’d have to take out an advert in the newspaper or rely on word of mouth or a few other slow or expensive methods So you would try and appear to be all things to all people otherwise the majority of your costs or time would be wasted These days it’s never been easier to access your customers Using the Internet you can almost access the entire world So we can now afford to focus our businesses on a niche area because that niche could still be huge I’m not saying you should ditch all the services you currently offer to focus on just one But you should at least be working out your key services and treat each one differently when promoting them If I was a photographer I would make a list of all the types of photography that I provided (i.e wedding, family portraits, events and products for example) I’d then pick the top one or two with the most potential and focus on them I’m not suggesting that I’d turn down other work if it came along, but by being more specific about my services I think I’ve got a better chance of: Being found online – it’s all about the keywords right? Converting an enquiry into a sale – because I’m the specialist in the area! Gaining referrals – because I’m the ‘go to guy’ for wedding photography* *Don’t hire me for your wedding photography If you do, I’ll be using my iPhone Camera! Get help where it’s needed I’ve never come across a small business where costs aren’t tight Part of the pleasure out of running an SME is the variety of the work you get to You’re the boss, the teamaker, the salesperson, the marketer and the accounts department all in one There’s a few reasons this is the case but I think the three key ones are: ● ● ● There’s a control element - you want it done the way you want it done You’ve got the time to it - part of being an SME is knowing that sometimes you don’t always have sales work to see you through all day every day You want to keep costs down - taking on staff or hiring in a professional is costly, sometime more than the business can afford There can be a downside to all of this however Think if you’ve ever come across any of these: ● ● ● ● a poorly made, evidently homemade website a terrible logo that looks like it was made with Microsoft Word email newsletters that show the email of everyone it was sent to late invoices or payments from an SME because they are too busy to get it sent out So what I’m trying to get at is there are some occasions where stubbornly refusing to pay someone else to something for your business can harm your brand and end up costing you more than you would have paid in the first place Think about you financial books for a second How long you spend doing them yourself? Let’s say it’s a fairly conservative two hours a week That’s 104 hours a year, or to put it another way, three full 8-hour days a year If you spent those three days a year out actively selling your product or service, could you create more value for your business than the cost of a bookkeeper? I bet you could!* In the very early days, it might just not be possible to outsource because of limited funds but if the aim is to build a business then very quickly you need to consider outsourcing the elements that you don’t have the time or the skill to effectively *This doesn’t include the potential tax efficiencies and benefit from prompt invoice factoring it could bring you either Justify spending every penny Businesses need money in order to survive If you can’t pay your bills or pay yourself then you don't have a business It doesn't matter how many orders you have unless you’ve got the cash in your bank account Unless you’re a millionaire starting up a business for fun then it’s more than likely that you need to get a handle on your costs from day one - and that can mean making decisions you don't necessarily want to make It’s tempting if you’ve never been your own boss before to say “I will buy the latest Apple iPhone for my business because I want it and I’m in charge” What you should really be thinking is “can my business afford the expense of £500 per year on a phone or will I get the older model and pay half that?” There are a few techniques you can try to change your mindset: ● ● ● Work out how many products you need to sell or how many billable hours you need to charge to pay for a purchase and you might start to look at things differently The 40 products you need to sell to pay for that iPhone might make you change your mind Add up the annual cost of your regular purchases, it may just surprise you that the daily latte you buy on the way to the office costs you over £500 per year Think like you have a boss Whenever you're faced with a purchasing decision, think what you would if you had to justify the expense to an employer Nothing is secret These days we in order to effectively promote ourselves online we need to become content creators We need to increase our ‘digital footprint’ by creating and publishing information that we hope our potential customers will find, read and then be convinced to buy our product or service But it can be hard to speak regularly about your business without giving away any trade secrets isn’t it? Yes But here’s the deal - it’s okay to give away your trade secrets! Let me explain You can find out anything on the Internet So in the time it takes me to enter a query into Google I can find out your trade secrets because someone is bound to have discussed it somewhere online Don’t believe me? Unless you’re Coca-Cola or NASA then I’d be pretty sure it’s true There’s two sides to this as well Firstly, by sharing your trade secrets, you’re demonstrating that you’re an expert in the field Just because I could look up Google and find out how to something doesn’t mean I have the time or the inclination to actually it I want someone who can it quicker and more effectively than I could because I want to concentrate on my business or on my life Despite the global economic downturn, many people are still cash rich, time poor and willing to pay for goods or services that they value By giving away your knowledge to many through a blog, you are promoting yourself as someone that knows their business and is worth paying for Secondly, let’s look at a case study of a plumber who gives out tips through their blog on how to stop your water pipes freezing up in the winter, or how to repair a broken tile in the bathroom It may mean that they lose out on the job to come round and mend the burst pipe on a frosty January day, but next time the customer decides to refurbish their bathroom suite who you think they're going to call By sharing the knowledge, you’re helping people save time or money and banking goodwill for when they come to a job that they can’t or don;t want to themselves Heck, they may even get you round to fix that bathroom tile because they decide it’s too fiddly a job for them to and they know you can it right So don’t be afraid of giving away your insider knowledge, because someone somewhere will already of done it And by doing it yourself you can build up your reputation and start storing up goodwill for the future Marketing is about volume sort of As a marketer myself I have no problem in sharing my belief that the fundamentals of marketing are pretty easy Find your customers, find out what they want to buy and try and sell it to them But we know it’s a bit more complicated in practice With the rise in online marketing we can now tailor our marketing towards individual customers But I believe it still holds true that: the more people you can get your SME in front of, the more you will sell I can almost hear the screams of seasoned marketers after reading this but I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have an idea of your ideal customer The type of person or business that will buy from you is an important determination However, once you’ve figured out that you want to market to female golfers living within 25 miles of Edinburgh (or whatever it may be), you surely want to promote your business to as many of them as possible? And not just the volume of target customers but the frequency of your communications ‘How often?’ is an obvious question, but unfortunately it doesn’t necessarily have an obvious answer Ask yourself this: how often my target customers want or need to hear from me (even better go out and speak to them and ask them!) For many businesses, quarterly is a pretty standard timeframe It means that if throughout the year they decide that they need the product or service you provide, it hasn't been longer than 12 weeks since you were in contact with them but you haven’t been inundating them and creating a negative vibe Claiming that it’s about the volume of communication isn’t a very scientific standpoint and may find me ostracised from the marketing community (if I was ever actually in it) but you want to be a successful small business or a successful marketing consultant? Embrace online It really amazes me how many businesses still don’t have some sort of web presence these days I know that many SMEs don’t necessarily need a fancy website or a Facebook page but I struggle to understand why any business working in 2013 can get away with ignoring the Internet I mean, when was the last time you looked up the Yellow Pages to find a business service rather than searching online? I’m sure I’m in the majority here I’m willing to concede that there are probably some tradesmen or shops out there who have been going for a good number of years and have built up a great reputation and network of regular clients who will laugh at this section and say “I’m doing quite alright without the world wide web thank you!” and I applaud them Well done on your years of hard work to get to this position But I bet that they couldn’t it again if they started up today Like it or not, if you are starting a business today or are trying to grow your business then you need to accept that embracing online is just one of the things you need to Here are my top five reason why you need to get online: An online presence means you are marketing your business 24/7 - even while you sleep Your competitors are online so if you’re not then they are out-marketing you People like to browse and compare before they buy Your competitors are online so if you’re not then you’re missing out on potential sales People search online for businesses, especially local businesses (at last count around 33% of internet searches on mobile phones were for local services) Your competitors are online so if you’re not then you're not getting found by your prospective customers The massive growth of smartphones means that more and more people are searching online Your competitors are online and even more competitors will be joining them over the next few months and years - don't get left behind Marketing online allows your customers help you to market your business Your best customers can leave you testimonials and help to share your website and social media updates Your competitors are doing this so you need to compete and let your current customers find your next customers It can look confusing and complicated but it doesn’t need to be Help is all around to get you started Check out your local Enterprise Agency or Chamber of Commerce to see if they run workshops to get you started Go to your local college and see if there are classes that need business case studies for project work Hire someone to help you Watch YouTube videos to learn how to Just go out and find out how it’s done Just get your business online Monitor your marketing Marketing isn’t an exact science (although perhaps many may disagree) So however targeted and planned a marketing campaign is going to be, there are no guarantees There’s a famous quote by John Wanamaker who is regarded as the father of modern advertising that says “half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t know which half” That may be true in the days of mass media, where you spent your money on a billboard and it was read by perhaps thousands of people who would never buy your product but these days we can be a lot more focussed and measure the effect of our marketing to help us make better decisions in the future Here are my top five tips to measure your marketing: Ask the customer - anytime a customer makes an enquiry with you you need to find out how they heard about you If, after months, not one person has mentioned the leaflet you spent £200 on printing and an hour a day delivering then it’s not working so you can divert your energy into other marketing Over time you’ll build up a feel for what is promoting the most customers to purchase Analytics - Install the free Google Analytics programme onto your website or use your built in analytics (most website have them) and get to know them The amount of information they contain is staggering At the very least you want to be able to find out where the traffic is coming to your website from If you use social media channels then knowing which are most effective can be a timesaver Stats - keep an eye on your number of twitter followers, facebook fans, website visitors or email subscribers The goal is usually to grow them (with the focus on quality not quantity) but looking our for patterns or spurts of growth will give you indicators of the types of marketing that sits well with your prospects Tracking codes - if you lots of online marketing then you can use a tool from Google called URL builder which allows you to create unique weblinks that you can use for specific campaigns At the end of the campaign you can simply check how many specific actions your campaign generated Campaign Phone Numbers - maybe not one for very small businesses but if you’ve got a decent marketing budget then it may make sense to buy a block of 0845 (for example) phone numbers They all divert to your main office number but by assigning a campaign a unique phone number then you can easily track how many calls were generated by each campaign You could have one number on your website, one on your leaflet, one on your business card and another on your Facebook page 10+1 Be proactive I’ve left this one until the end because if there is one word that I keep returning to time and time again it’s ‘proactive’ Very few businesses these days can launch and then sit back and watch the enquires flooding in For most of us, it involves getting out there day after day, searching out leads, refining our marketing constantly trying to improve our offering It’s about speaking to people, finding out what product or service they want, trying to provide the very best product and the very best level of customer care that we can It’s about being energetic and enthusiastic about our business I mentioned in the opening section about how I’ve seen many businesses start up and that I’ve seen many of them go on to succeed and many of them fail If there has been a common theme that runs throughout all of these businesses I have to say that it’s the ones which have been proactive that are still here and the ones that didn't make enough effort have gone by the wayside So don;t just sit there and wait for the phone to go or an email to come in .be proactive! I hope you’ve enjoyed this short eBook If you’d like to see more then head over to my website at www.wordpress.21stCenturySME.com Thanks Al Bryce ... working in 2013 can get away with ignoring the Internet I mean, when was the last time you looked up the Yellow Pages to find a business service rather than searching online? I’m sure I’m in the. .. built in analytics (most website have them) and get to know them The amount of information they contain is staggering At the very least you want to be able to find out where the traffic is coming... launch and then sit back and watch the enquires flooding in For most of us, it involves getting out there day after day, searching out leads, refining our marketing constantly trying to improve