When business is booming, but the cupboard is bare
An over-efficient accounts payable person can be the worst enemy of cashflow in a business, writes Sue Hirst.
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Sustainability in business is not a side project
With increasing pressure from external regulatory bodies and savvy consumers looking to make smarter and more responsible purchasing decisions, it is more important now than ever to operate sustainably. But it isn’t a matter of simply planting trees or installing energy-saving light bulbs. It is imperative that companies take responsibility for their operations and, ultimately,…
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Tapping the crowd
In past recessions, the tried and proven strategy has been for organisations to shed all non-core businesses and hunker down to the job of making the core business more secure. Often in the process, entrepreneurial activities are starved and new product development is pruned back. The problem is, consumers have grown to expect continual improvements…
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Getting paid
Sometimes the hardest thing in business is not finding customers; it is being paid for the product or service you provide. As Australia’s economy slows, the average age of accounts receivable is stretching many smaller and emerging businesses to almost breaking point.
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How to generate media attention for your startup
When aiming to generate media coverage for our start-up or business, we often get one thing wrong. It relates to our training as marketers. We are too targeted.
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What the original Material Girl has that you don't!
IN BED WITH BEN As we enter a time of certain economic turmoil, businesses wonder whether they can weather the storm… and begin to panic. To succeed in this uneasy period, business will require a vital mix of strategies to ensure they not only keep their heads above water but flourish. This may be easier…
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What the original Material Girl has that you don’t!
IN BED WITH BEN As we enter a time of certain economic turmoil, businesses wonder whether they can weather the storm… and begin to panic. To succeed in this uneasy period, business will require a vital mix of strategies to ensure they not only keep their heads above water but flourish. This may be easier…
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Don't overlook the value of referral marketing
What’s the fastest way to generate new business without spending a fortune? How can you develop a targeted list of potential clients that have a need for your product or service? Do you need to improve your conversion of potential clients into new clients? It’s time to think about referral marketing.
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Don’t overlook the value of referral marketing
What’s the fastest way to generate new business without spending a fortune? How can you develop a targeted list of potential clients that have a need for your product or service? Do you need to improve your conversion of potential clients into new clients? It’s time to think about referral marketing.
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When the price is right
Tougher trading conditions and increasing costs are common concerns for many small businesses in today’s economic environment, but it doesn’t mean that you need to resign yourself to tighter margins and declining profits. What it does require is for those businesses to take a closer look at the fundamentals of their operations – inputs, outputs and pricing. In challenging times, reassessing and restructuring your pricing strategy is critical and could be the key to unlocking financial relief. If managed well, it can help to shore-up the business, enabling you to reap the rewards when conditions improve.
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Degrees of connection: 10 ways to boost your business network
You should treat networking as an extension of your current marketing and business development efforts. Below are a few tips for making it as painless and productive as possible:
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IP litigation
You might be feeling pretty good about yourself because you’ve secured your intellectual property. But the reality is, a patent or trademark is not worth paper it’s written on unless you are prepared to back it with the threat of litigation. There are several tactics to apply – and several common pitfalls to avoid –…
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Leadership: What's the weather like in your organisation today?
What are the critical factors impacting on the success of your business? The answers to this question are likely to be many and varied and would probably include: the quality of your products and services, your brand, the buoyancy of the market you operate in, competitive forces and, last but by no means least, your…
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Leadership: What’s the weather like in your organisation today?
What are the critical factors impacting on the success of your business? The answers to this question are likely to be many and varied and would probably include: the quality of your products and services, your brand, the buoyancy of the market you operate in, competitive forces and, last but by no means least, your…
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Strategy: Close counsel
Starting a new business can be lonely work – especially if you’re an office of one, as many start-ups are. Employees of established businesses have the benefit of managers and colleagues to bounce ideas off and seek input from, and can assemble teams to tackle complex issues. In contrast, business founders are often faced with…
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Counterfeiting – a global problem
Counterfeiting is rife in Australia and many people who would consider themselves law-abiding are involved. We’re not talking counterfeit currency here, but the manufacturing, importation and sale of items infringing the intellectual property of others. The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition estimates that the problem has grown over 10,000 percent in the past two decades, with counterfeit…
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Planning: Creating a sustainable business
You’ve come up with a fantastic business idea, pinpointed your target market and want to get everything up and running. Or maybe your existing operation isn’t running the way you want. Before you go any further, stop and think about your company’s structure and branding. Existing business owners need to regularly remind themselves why they…
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Leadership: Converting strategy into action
A friend of ours was recently poached from one boutique software company by another. We ran into him about four weeks after he had started his new job. During the conversation, he made the observation that the two companies had virtually identical strategies, good quality people and reputable brands, yet one was going from strength…
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Marketing: Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction can help your business to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It’s about understanding the way a customer feels after purchasing a product or service and, in particular, whether or not that product or service met the customer’s expectations. Customers primarily form their expectations through past purchasing experiences, word-of-mouth from family, friends and colleagues…
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Strategy: The importance of focus
The number one cause of start-up failure is running out of cash before a sustainable (and sustaining) income stream can be secured. The root cause for this is often very simple: lack of focus. An entrepreneur’s starting point as they assess an opportunity is asking several key questions: how big is the market, who is…
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