Business advice news | SGBA - Transforming businesses- Part 2

Is the economy running out of road?

08/04/2015 By

With the approaching General Election due on May 7^th we are being presented with a blizzard of facts and figures to prove almost any point the politicians care to dream up. In fact in many cases the figures cited, frequently taken out of context, are often used to prove opposite sides of the same point.

However a recent report from the Chief Economist of RBS throws new light on the economy and begs the question is the economic growth we have been experiencing coming to an end? So what are the details?

Firstly the UK economy grew by 2.8% last year making our economy one of the fastest growing in the developed world. Inflation was down to 0.6% at the end of 2014 when we exclude oiland has since dropped 0%. Many economists fear that we will be experiencing deflation for the first time since 1948 holding out the prospect of slowing growth.

The ‘feel good’ factor seems to have kicked in during 2014 with business investment increasing by 7.5%. However despite this and the fact that GDP is up by 3.4% on pre-crisis levels, output per hour, a measure of productivity, is 1.7% below its old level. Why is this? Lack of productivity has long been an issue for the British economy and unless productivity improves quickly, 2014 will be seen as the peak of economic growth for some time.

Let us have your thoughts about how the economy is affecting you. If you are concerned about the productivity of your business and how to improve it talk to your local business advisor or call 0333 444 8522 (lo call number) to be connected to a productivity specialist.

Is failure to update your website harming your business?

26/03/2015 By

So many websites have the following messages:

“From all our team we wish you a Happy Christmas.”

“Come and visit us on stand H331 at ‘Pharmaworld Exhibition’, 17-19th November 2013 in London”

Does your website welcome visitors with these out of date messages? There are many out there that have similar. Not months but YEARS out of date.

So, what does this say about the way you manage your business? Perhaps you do not pay attention to detail, the very detail that differentiates between the ‘acceptable’ and the ‘excellent’.

For many, your website is your shop window. Would you expect to see Easter Eggs in a shop window in October, when the shop next door has haloween products?

The lack of attention is sadly widespread.

So, a simple message, keep all up to date. Make sure you review your website regularly.

Be professional.

And for those reading this, delete the following sentence as applicable.

Happy : Easter / Christmas / Halloween / Birthday

And dont forget to call in to our stand at Wembley, 30th July 1966.

Want an impartial review about how your online presence can affect your business? Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

Do we need to reassess our Export Markets?

06/02/2015 By

Exports have always been a large part of SME activity.

There has been much said about our special relationship with EU countries. However, uncertainty with the Euro means that many are becoming nervous about this business. Together with the potential for an ‘IN / OUT’ referendum on the EU, there could be turbulent times ahead.

Of course Euro giants like Thales, Siemens, Santander, and Mercedes will still want to trade ‘tariff free’ with the UK in the event that a vote made an EU exit inevitable. So, perhaps the relationship that Norway and Switzerland has with Europe would be the model. Who knows?

In reality UK business has been guilty of letting certain special relationships slip when it comes to Exports. Let us take Canada and Australia for example. Both countries share the same language (in the main). They also share the Monarchy, our Royal Family. In the past we did some great business, but we appear to have taken our eye off the ball, and Asian companies have benefitted.

Back in the 1980’s, for every £1 in value we exported to the USA, we exported approximately 25p to Australia and similar for Canada. Today, it is less than 5p in comparison with the USA. Whilst we have clearly nurtured USA relationships, we are guilty of paying scant attention to our closest allies.

Asia has undergone great changes. Manufacturing is not as attractive as it was. So, perhaps now is a good time for Exporters to reassess where they sell to.

If you would like an informal talk about your export markets, aspirations and frustrations, then why not call us?

Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

Planning a Social Media Campaign

02/02/2015 By

To many business owners, social media is something their kids do on their smart phones. Many do not really understand what social media is and also do not understand how it can be used in business. If you ask them why they don’t use social media they often fix you with a glazed look in their eyes and mutter something about it not being relevant or not having the time. However more recently social marketing has become one of the foundations of a successful marketing strategy.

For many people social media is just Twitter and Facebook. But in fact there are many more tools and channels and you need to make sure that the channels you choose are the right ones for your business and your customers. In order to do this effectively you need to incorporate social media planning into your overall strategic marketing plan.

This plan should answer the following questions:

Who are your customers?

Do they all engage in social media activities? Which ones?

Where are they?

Define which market segments they are in and decide on the characteristics of each target segment. What are the demographics. For instance if one particular market segment has an age profile of 16-25 the it could be Facebook and Pinterest that could be of value rather than LinkedIn and Twitter.

What are you trying to say?

Have you got a particular message? Are you launching a new product or service or do you have a special offer?

How are you going to get the message across?

You have decided on the core message but the means needs to be developed. For instance it could be blog posts, videos, infographics, white papers or a myriad of other means. But the core message needs to be consistent and it should do what it ‘says on the tin.’ The clue is in the title, Social Media. Make sure your message is social and personable which helps in developing a brand personality.

What does success look like?

How are you going to know that your campaign was a success? Decide on what you want from your social media campaign. It may be ‘likes’ it may be increase in web traffic or indeed numbers of new customers. Whatever you decide to measure make sure that you review the results frequently and adjust the campaign accordingly.

To talk to someone about your social media plans contact SGBA, the Business Transformation Specialists at 07941 426807 or email us.

What can Small Busines do to help UK Balance of Payments?

21/01/2015 By

The UK Balance of Payments is a sorry story.

In short, we buy much more stuff from overseas than we sell overseas, and have done for many years.

Some items, such as raw materials, and highly specific components we have little choice other than to import. But other decisions we do have a choice. For example, deliberating whether to get an Audi or BMW as your next company car? Why not consider a Jaguar?

Simple purchasing decisions can make a difference, and the greater prosperity we create in our own market the better, and the more likely there is stability in terms of taxation.

Clearly International trade is very important. Both Imports and Exports have a vital part to play in our economy.

So, what can the export orientated small business do to help rebalance our imports/exports? If all exporters grew their overseas sales by 20% it would make a great difference. Very easily said, but often difficult to achieve.

Many companies sell their products through distributors. A sensible and potentially lucrative route for many companies.

I have spoken to many business owners who have said : “We operate overseas through distributors, but they dont do much”. I generally counter this with “Well, what is your strategy with your distributors?” The response is usually highly dismissive, in other words, they have no strategy for distributors.

So, where does the fault for lack of Distributor sales fall? Of course each case is different.

Simple Distributor programmes of reporting, educating, and generally communicating success stories can reap great rewards. All of a sudden the 20% growth in overseas sales can look very achievable.

If you feel your overseas distributors can deliver more to your sales turnover, but not sure where to go, give us a call for an informal chat. Let SGBA help bring some strategy and focus to your exports.

Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

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