SME Academy, London | Advice, Tips and training for business owners » strategy

Module 4: Marketing

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 09:55:55 +0000

The business world is changing! Today customer’s are better informed and much more demanding. The internet has made information readily available to customers and for the first time ever small companies are able to compete with the big boys on very small marketing budgets.

It is therefore imperative that your business is ready to respond and has an up to date and robust marketing strategy. In this week’s tip of the week, Serial Entrepreneur Patrick White introduces you to Module 4 of the Business Growth Course, which addresses these very issues and offers helpful insight.

Find Out More About the Business Growth Course

Session 4: Marketing

A good Marketing strategy is at the heart of a solid growth strategy. In order to increase your revenue and profitability, you first need to understand your customers’ needs, provide a product or service to meets those needs and let your customers know that the solution they are looking for exists!

What you’ll be covering in this session:

The concepts behind a Marketing-led approach to business and the POISE model of Marketing
Contents and Structure of a Marketing Plan and how each section is relevant to your business
Marketing Research—working within the process, different types of Marketing research
Using Marketing Research tools and techniques
Applying analytical tools to your Marketing Plan
Understanding Buyer Behaviour and what makes people decide to buy from you—you’ll be shown how this applies to both B2B and B2C customers
Classification and segmentation of customers according to type and buyer behaviour
Setting strategies according to the current stage of the Product Life Cycle and planning for New Product Development and Launch
Applying the Boston Matrix and Ansoff’s Matrix to your business to identify which products you should be offering to which markets
Pricing Strategies—you’ll be shown 13 different short-term and long-term strategies for using your price to position your products and services in the marketplace; as well as in the minds of your customers, and to generate sales
Channel and Distribution Tactics—selling via agents, wholesalers, retailers and other intermediaries
Communicating your message and promoting your products and services through appropriate media
Relationship Marketing and Business Development strategies for forging strong business contacts
Creating your own Marketing Flowchart which illustrates how you will execute your plan

Find Out More About The Business Growth Course

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Module 3: Strategy

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:38:37 +0000

“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

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Module 2: Business Diagnostics

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:29:33 +0000

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.

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Module 1: Vision & Mission

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:06:45 +0000

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.

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What Does It Take To Be A Millionnaire?

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:48:57 +0000

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

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Bribery & Corruption

admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:50:43 +0000

Having a mailing list for your business is incredibly important as it allows you to keep in contact with your potential customers and let them know about your business. Newsletters are so effective however that now everyone is offering them – so how do you get people to sign up to your offering? With a little bit of modern day bribery and corruption.

In this Video Tip I discuss how you cost effective and attractive things you can offer to entice people to sign up to your mailing list.

www.GetMoreClientsMakeMoreMoney.co.uk

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[Video Tip] Put a shark in your business

Hannah McNamara — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:01:48 +0000

Dr Patrick White from SME Academy explains how a little-known Japanese fishing technique can be applied to your business in a recession to improve results.

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Transcript

Hello. Today I would like to talk about:

‘Putting A Shark In Your Business’

You might think this is a really odd topic but I’m relating it to the recession that we are currently having; because one of the things I have learned, being old enough and having been through a few recessions is that it gives you an opportunity to really examine what is going on in your business and make some steps that will improve your business ready for the future.

I’d like to tell you a story that relates to this which I read not that long ago and it’s to do with a Japanese fishing fleet.

The Japanese, over recent times, had fished out all the fish around their own islands and therefore had to send their fleet much further afield to get the fish. Obviously they couldn’t keep the fish alive to get back to the market unless they did something about it.

So initially what they did was they put big freezers on their ships and froze the fish and then took it back to Japan.

However this presented a problem because the Japanese consumer noted that the fish did not taste as fresh as they were used to eating. So what were they to do about this?

So they took their fleet, took all the freezers off and replaced them with big tanks. When they caught the fish they would put the fish in the tanks, fin-to-fin, and let them wriggle around and try and keep them alive so when they got back to Japan they would have the fresh taste.

However after a while the fish stopped wriggling and would just go into a sort of state of frigidity. So when they got back to Japan the same problem happened; the local consumers in Japan said the fish still tasted like it wasn’t fresh. It still tasted like it had been frozen under the previous way of doing things.

So then someone came up with a bright idea of: “Why don’t we put a small shark in each tank? And the shark will swim around; he might eat a few fish but because the shark’s there the fish keep wriggling around.”

And when they got back to Japan it tasted still like fresh fish. So you’ve got to treat the recession like someone has put a shark in your business. And let it wriggle around until you find out ways to do things better and get the results you want.

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

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