In this episode, Charles looks at the reasons why a  business can fail and what actions a small business can take to make sure that it is being proactive in securing customers and moving forward.

If you have a business or are thinking about starting one listen in now to find out about how to be part of the successful 50%.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There are lots of possible reasons and lots of places you can place the blame when a business fails. The most common reason given is the lack of sales, but it is also about the lack of marketing.
• The first thing to look at in business is marketing as this comes before sales in any business cycle.
• It's vital that you are doing some sort of marketing to get people through the door and are being proactive about your business.
• You must get your name and what you are offering whether it’s a product or a service out there so people know what you can offer them and where to come.
• Larger companies are constantly updating things and running special offers to ensure their name is out there
• A small business can become complacent, they sit back and expect that business will come, without putting any effort into marketing and getting their name out there.
• Small companies can be their own worst enemy.
• There are a range of different ways to market but when you advertise through more traditional channels such as papers and radio you don’t really know if your message is reaching your potential customers.
• A small business needs to target their marketing to realise the best potential with possible customers.
• A small business can achieve targeted marketing where they are able to calculate the impact. This can be achieved by using platforms such as Groupon to offer free and discounted products and services.
• The advertising medium that has the most impact is Facebook and there is a method you can use to target local people and bring in business from the local area.
• Facebook has 2.3 billion monthly users, 1.5billion daily mobile users and the highest traffic is between 1 pm and 3 pm, on Thursdays and Friday's engagement is up to 18% higher than the rest of the week. 50% of 18 to 24-year-olds log into Facebook every day.
• Each visit to Facebook lasts on average 20 minutes so this means your potential customers are on Facebook. You have to market to the place your potential customers are, and this is Facebook
• You can see the results and impact of a particular marketing campaign. With you can run ads for a few pounds and this means you have the opportunity to test and see what works.
• You need a strategy and a proven system to be successful on and this will be the focus of the upcoming episode.

BEST MOMENTS

‘The recent case of Flybe going under documents their lack of marketing’

‘What is the secret of a successful business?’

‘What are you doing to get people through the door?’

‘How can he make the same profit per person when he’s charging the same price as 5 years ago,  No wonder he’s looking glum’

‘It's important to get started with something’

‘You should do something to get your name out there’

‘You worry about everything and are working lots of hours’

‘We are bombarded by messages all the time’

‘There are a range of different ways to market’

‘You don’t know if you’re hitting the soft spot’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/money-tips-podcast/id1442532994?mt=2&i=1000431497176

You can contact Charles at

[email protected]