Every small business needs to take every available marketing
technique in order to be successful. Phillip Thow suggests these steps
to get there.
Begin with a solid business foundation
Before you open your business develop a strong business plan. When
you want to start your own business you need more than an idea. Make
sure to develop a strong business plan that will see your business
through any rough times you may encounter. As you are planning for the
future you may want to use a business mentor to make sure you have
thought of everything you can. After you have a solid business plan you
can move onto the next step.
Have a strong marketing plan
Whether you are going to use internet marketing or not you still need
to know how you are going to let the public know about the services or
products you are offering. If you don't market your idea you won't make
sales. Sales are the driving force behind any business. In order to be
most effective Phillip Thow suggests targeting your audience. Pay
attention to the details. If you pay for advertising on a site that is
unrelated to your business it is unlikely that you will create more
business for yourself.
Do your market research
Research is an important part of any marketing plan. If you don't
research you won't know the best approach to marketing your business.
There are several ways you can do your market research. Research must be
done to figure out interest and the best possible way to reach your
potential customers. Phillip Thow knows that good research equals better
application of marketing to your small business.
Design your website
There are many ways to have a website created. You can do it
yourself, find a company that has ready made templates or hire a
designer. It is important to put a lot of consideration into your
website. It becomes the online face of your business. Once you are
online you can direct customers to your website. Increased traffic will
lead to increased sales. With today's technology and internet
availability any company that wants to get and remain relevant needs to
have a website based on their company.
Following these steps can help your business succeed. Phillip Thow
advises small businesses too work hard and follow this advice. Any small
business can be successful with the right preparation. Take the time to
follow all these steps and set up your business and market strategies
accordingly. If you fail to plan and research accordingly your small
business may not succeed. Not only do you depend on the success of your
business but if you have any employees they are depending on the success
of your small business.
Become a leader in your community with your small business. Be active
in charities and involve the community. Make sure you know your target
audience and listen to them. Your small business can be successful with
the right decisions and hard work.
Start ups fail for a variety of reasons. We talked with Phil Thow of
the SD startup Burton Softwares and asked him what according to him the
top 5 mistakes starts ups make were.
1. Not following the cash flow. Ever heard a startup founder say they
could make it to the magic millions if only they had a couple more
months of runway? A founder must at all costs watch his cash flow like a
hawk.
2. The number one thing that trips up cash flows especially for first
time entrepreneurs is poor management of amounts receivable. So you did
your math and you were going to be cash flow positive this month except
that those five customers you serviced haven't paid up yet. Always get
paid in advance or at least at the time of service.
3. A surprising yet not uncommon way for startups to fail is
expanding too fast. Forward planners are tripped over by this time and
again. You know the business will come in next month so you must
absolutely hire those 10 people and buy that additional space and
inventory to allow for all that growth. What this does is that it makes
your business vulnerable. If the business that is supposed to come next
month comes a bit late, you will still be paying for it from now itself.
Proper expansion plans must make for just in time growth.
4. Another related ones is spending too much time planning. This has
been said over and over again and yet we see entrepreneurs fail on this
time and again. Things rarely if ever go according to plan. This doesnt
mean that you shouldnt plan and being able to make great plans is a
valuable skill but it can kill your business if you spend too much time
planning. Focus on execution and selling and getting money in through
the door first.
5. Last but not least, Robin says that he is seeing a number of
entrepreneurs who are promising way more than they can deliver and this
is a sure road to failure. Without sales and cash flow coming in you
have no business? But the extreme opposite is a problem as well. If you
make lots of sales, but don't fulfill the product or services, you can
be in trouble really fast.
These, according, to Phil Thow are the top 5 ways businesses fail and
we think this is on the whole some very good and seasoned advice.
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