Marketing Will Help You Succeed

In this day and age marketing is a multi-layered activity which can make a massive difference to your clientele, your growth and your bottom line.

You need to ask yourself some questions:

•   What do you want to achieve in your business?

•   What are your personal goals?

•   What are your business goals?

•   Have you set any goals?

These types of questions need to be answered before undertaking the task of preparing a business plan.

What are your differences?  What makes you unique?  What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Many people consider marketing to be advertising or promotion, however marketing is much more than that.  Marketing is a number of related activities which start from producing products and services that meet people's needs, making those products and services available and letting potential customers know of the existence of the products and services.  The key strategy is to concentrate on keeping the customers and clients coming back again and again.  Marketing is concerned with everything involved in the transfer of goods or services to your customers.

The aim is to provide the right product or service at the right price, at the right place with the right promotion.

The key questions to be asked include:

•   What is your product or service?

•   How do you determine its price?

•  Who is your target demographic?

•   Where and how do you sell? - Direct?  Through Agents?  Over the internet?

•  What do you do to promote your product to your customers or potential customers?

A marketing review is a very important component of the business planning process.  Factors which can be important today include branding, accessibility via the internet, perceived social responsibility and technology compatibility.

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Have You a Plan if a Business Partner Dies?

No one wants to dwell on what will happen in the event of a death.  However, in business, the death of a business partner can have an enormous impact on continued day to day operations.  Take a minute to jot down a few essentials which need to be in place for your business to continue running.  Think about the steps you would take to smooth over the transition, in the event of death or sever incapacity or illness.

What would happen if you or your business partner died suddenly? 

Planning for the death of a partner in a business must be looked at from both sides of the equation.  What are the needs and expectations of the survivors in the business and the members of the deceased estate?

Contingency plans for the death of a business partner can be incorporated into a Buy/Sell Agreement.  A properly drafted Buy/Sell Agreement with appropriate insurance covers should ensure that there is sufficient cash to enable the deceased partner’s estate to be paid out.  What you need to do is periodically update the Buy/Sell Agreement.  Make sure it reflects the current value of the business and try and get insurance covers on the partners that reflect the value of their share in the business.  It is very important that a commercial solicitor drafts the Buy/Sell Agreement, checks the company documentation and Wills, to ensure that, in the unfortunate event of a premature death, the business will be able to survive and the deceased partner’s estate to be paid out.

As part of forward planning, business people should consider making an Enduring Power of Attorney.  An Enduring Power of Attorney provides the documentation relating to the appointment of a power of attorney to be enacted if the person subsequently loses their mental powers or is incapacitated.  Normally, an enduring power of attorney is made in favour of a spouse, relative or friend, and gives the power to act for you if you can no longer act for yourself.

How long is it since you reviewed your Will?  Indeed, do you have a Will? 

There is also some basic information that you should be summarising to assist in the administration of your affairs in the unfortunate event that administration is required.  This would relate to trade secrets of the business and agreements reached with key suppliers that might not be fully documented.  Writing down many of the business issues will assist the successor in running the business.

It is very important that business people implement proper plans to ensure that, if something does happen to them, due to death or permanent incapacity, there is a structure in place that will enable the business to continue.  We recommend that you consult your commercial solicitor for a review on these matters as part of an annual legal check-up.

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Have You Reviewed Your Insurances?

Recent floods, storms and power outages in various parts of New Zealand have highlighted the necessity for business operators to continually review their insurance covers to ensure that they have adequate insurance cover for the various disasters that can confront an SME.  Can you afford to have a week (or more) of no business, just because of rain?  Some of the issues that you need to consider include:

•   Have you got a detailed Asset Register?  You can then check that all of your assets have been included on the Insurance Schedule

•   Are you covered for replacement cost?

•   Do you have Loss of Profit Insurance?

•   Do you have Sickness and Accident Insurance?

•   If you are in a partnership or a company, have you cross-insured your partner or co-shareholders?

•  Have you got Public Liability, Product Liability or Professional Indemnity Insurance?

•   If you are operating as a company, have you got Directors and Officers Liability Insurance?

Now is an ideal time to be conducting an annual review of your insurance covers.  

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Self-Rating For Business Start Up

To be successful in small business you have to be honest with yourself and understand your strengths and weaknesses.  This includes analysing your personal characteristics and evaluating your general skills. 

•   How do you get on with other people? 

•  Can you handle failure? 

• Can you set clear goals? 

•   Have you got drive and energy? 

•  Have you got self-confidence? 

These and many other questions are very important in determining whether you have the characteristics to be successful in small business. 

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in business will help you to play on those strengths and work on your weaknesses.  It will also help in such areas as hiring staff and in building client relationships.  Contact your accountant to discuss behavioural profiling for business.

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