Enterprise news and opinion from Cobweb

In most marketing circles involving consultants and advisers who pass on their experience to small business owners, there is one particular lesson that probably gets repeated more than any other. And that is about the power and importance of a compelling, benefit-oriented headline in your sales message…

In just about every aspect of running a business, financial formulas and numbers are a central factor. And that isn’t just to do with your books and accounts, because numbers are essential when measuring business performance, waste, efficiency and relative levels of success or failure…

How can you develop a reputation where people sit up, take notice and do the talking for you, and where they spread the word to others about how good your product or service really is? You need to look for ways to make your customer experience over and above what they were expecting…

Running small display ads in the local paper, in the Yellow Pages, in specialist magazines and other business newsletters, on websites and online directories can be an attractive low-cost option for a newly-started firm. But this is an area where many small business owners end up being disappointed with the results due to a very common mistake…

If you’re just starting out in business or haven’t been trading for long and you’ve been advised to write a business plan, you won’t go far wrong if you write your marketing plan first. After all, your business plan will be meaningless if you haven’t identified the market you’re aiming your product or service at…

Some marketing strategies work like a dream in particular situations and small business sectors, while other strategies and techniques produce few or no results at all. However there’s one marketing strategy that every single small business can use on a regular basis, but which often gets overlooked or missed out altogether…

One of the biggest mysteries that faces new and inexperienced business owners is why they don’t seem to be able to write copy for an advert or sales letter that will result in sales. So where is it that they go wrong, and what’s the mystery and secret to writing good sales copy?…

Direct mailing your prospects regularly is one of the most powerful ways of communicating with your audience and building up that relationship of trust and confidence. Here are a few tips about regular or sequential mailings that will improve your customer communication and campaign effectiveness…

Every small business owner will claim that they understand the importance of finding new customers, the need to make the buying process as easy as possible and the benefits of providing a personal experience that will bring people back to buy from you again. So why is it that so many owner-managers fail to get this right – or don’t do it at all?…

This week we are going to talk about an interesting topic by beginning with a short tale about a local business. One day a doctor walked into his local butcher shop in a small town and asked for a pound of best steak mince. When the GP asked how much the meat would cost the [...]