“Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail” this is advice we’ve heard since our school days but how many of us really believe it and follow it in our business. In this video Patrick White discusses just how important it is to have a strategy if you want your business to succeed.

Have you got a Strategy? Is it right for your business?

On Module 3 of the Business Growth Course you’ll be introduced to eleven potential strategies and evaluate which one is right for your business based on your Vision and Goals, and the Diagnostics you created in the previous session. Having the right strategy for your business if fundamental to your success!

What Does Module 3 Include:

The saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. When preparing for growth in your business, it is essential to know exactly where the business is heading and how you are going to get there.

In this session you will be building on the work you have already done to set your Vision and Goals, and combining that with the in-depth knowledge you now have about your business from the Diagnostics session, to create a realistic plan for growth. During this session, you will start to work on the Strategy Document for your own business.

What you’ll be covering in this session:

• How far ahead can you realistically plan for?
• The key elements of Strategic Planning—Competitive Advantage, Adding Value, Mass markets vs. Niche Markets, Cost-Based Strategies & Market-Based Strategies
• Examining Contingency Plans and Growth Plans
• Corporate Culture—what is it, what drives it and how do you go about defining the culture of your company?
• Integrating your Strategic Plan with your Vision, Aims and Objectives
• Using Analysis tools such as SWOT and PEST within your Strategic Plan
• Porter’s Five Forces model and how this can be applied on a practical level within your business
• The resources that you need to implement your strategy
• 11 Different types of Strategies and how to choose the strategy/strategies that will enable your business to grow and meet your objectives

Find Out More about the Business Growth Course

There is more to business success than having a great idea.  For some people, their ideas translate instantly into a profitable business and for others, years of hard work and study. Often entrepreneurs who find success quickly are considered lucky, but as Patrick tells in this video there is more to it than just luck, and early success does not dictate ongoing success.

For more information on the Business Growth Course and upcoming start dates, click here.

Knowing where you’re driving your business is just as important as driving it. Having a clear vision and mission for your business allows you to make decisions that are right for the long term growth of your business, rather than short term ones that feel good.

In this video Dr Patrick White introduces the first module of the Business Growth Course and explains just how important having a clear vision for your business is.

To find out when our next Business Growth Course starts Click Here

Or call Lenka on +44 (0) 20 7939 9910 to discuss whether the course is right for you.

It can be very rewarding and exciting when your new business takes off and experiences fast growth, but as Patrick White explains in this video, its not always a good thing.

The Business Growth Course, led by Patrick White, takes place over 6 weeks. The 2 hour sessions are perfect for learning the theory and then applying to directly to your business.

To find out when the next Business Growth Course starts Click Here

Or call Lenka on 020 7939 9910  to discuss whether the course is right for your business.

Read Testimonials for this Course

Funding is available via Train to Gain. A Home Study Course is available.

Watch the Full Video by Clicking Here

Patrick White, a Director here at SME Academy, opens up about his background and how he learned the skills that have helped him to dramatically transform businesses all over the world. With 14 successful businesses of his own, each selling for millions, he now shares his tools and techniques with you on his unique Business Growth Course.

To find out when the next Business Growth Course starts Click Here

Or call Lenka on 020 7939 9910  to discuss whether the course is right for your business.

Read Testimonials for this Course

Funding is available via Train to Gain. A Home Study Course is available.

To hear the full interview Click Here

How to get more business from your small business website.

Hannah McNamara, SME Academy Director, talks about how to convert hits and website traffic into paying clients and customers. She explains why offering special reports, ebooks, white papers and mp3 downloads can help with data capture and building an email marketing mailing list. She also discusses how to put a landing page together and get more people to opt in to your database so you can send them your newsletter, ezine or articles.

www.GetMoreClientsMakeMoreMoney.co.uk

Dr Patrick White from SME Academy explains how the principle behind providing your customers with fresh milk and boost business and differentiate you from your competitors.

Transcript:

Today I’d like to talk about the critical question – you may wonder what the question is. Well it’s quite simple; it is:

Why should customers deal with us?

You might have heard this term ‘Customer Value Proposition’ or ‘Unique Selling Point’ but it is very important in today’s world because we need to differentiate ourselves from our competitors because most products are now commoditised and most services are similar.

So we’ve got to try and make ourselves different and appear different to what our competitors are doing. How can we do this, you might ask. Well, it’s quite difficult but I’d like to talk about a little story which might illustrate the point.

When I first went into business I bought a hotel and the hotel was in a tourist town where there were lots of other hotels.

Having bought the business I suddenly discovered that all the hotels were charging about the same price, which is a problem in itself because the worst place you can be is in the middle because you’re neither at one end of the price spectrum or the other.

However, I thought: “How can I differentiate myself from the other hotels?”

The first thing I discovered was that in hotel directories the most expensive hotels are always listed first. You know the thing: 5 Star, 4 Star, 3 Star, 2 Star, ‘Bring your own tent’ type hotels.

So I figured that if I could make myself the most expensive I would be at the front end of the directory and more people would see me. This, you would think, is quite simple.

However, why would people come to me just because I’m the most expensive? I had to find other ways to differentiate myself from the other hotels in the town and so justify the premium I was charging over them.

Another thing I noticed was in most hotels when you book in they provide you with coffee and tea and they give you those little pottles of milk – you know, the UHT type ones?

Well my hotel was in Australia where milk was quite readily available and quite cheap and most Australians and other visitors that come to Australia do not actually like UHT milk.

So one of the things I hit on was that I would give every customer that stayed in my hotel fresh milk. So when you checked in we pulled out a jug of fresh milk. But that in itself was not enough; we had to add other things.

Another thing I noticed when I was booking into hotels was that people would give you your key, say: “Here’s your key; go to the third floor and it’s the second room on the right.”

And I would be there with my wife and children and be struggling with bags and everything trying to get up there. So one of the other things we did, once we had checked people in and poured the milk jug, we then took the people key in hand to their room helping them with their luggage and their children.

Another benefit of doing this was I could get into the room and check that the quality of the room was fine; that the cleaners hadn’t left anything there, that everything was in ship-shape.

So I would make a display of putting the milk in the fridge, checking the room, helping them settle in and then go back down to the reception.

What happened after this was that we got a reputation amongst a lot of people: “You should stay at this hotel because they actually give you fresh milk.”

So it was a very small thing. It cost me 40 cents to give fresh milk and got me a $20 premium on the price of the room. I had differentiated myself from the rest and therefore people started coming to me and often it was because of word-of-mouth.

What you’ve got to ask yourself in your business is:

“What can I do to differentiate myself from my competitors?”

- And then answer the question:

“Why would people come to me?”

Just saying: “We give good service, go the extra mile.” – Etc, etc doesn’t cut it because everybody does the same thing. Look into your business and find out what you can do uniquely that differentiates you from your competitor and then work on that strength and try and build more business.

Thank you.

For more video tips and articles go to: www.smeacademy.co.uk

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