Are you a business owner under 35 years of age based in NSW?
Would you like to be part of shaping government programs that assist young business owners of the future?
Be one of a select group of inspiring Gen Y business owners to make a difference on how the NSW Government can help your business grow.
Meet the Minister for Small Business and guest speaker Jack Delosa, Anthill’s Top 30 under 30 award winner who are keen to hear your thoughts on business development.
How can you make 2010 the year for your business? Well listen close, I am about to provide you with the best business advice you are ever going to hear… Word of Mouth Marketing (WoMM) is what it’s all about!
If you want a sensational and successful year in your biz, it’s as easy as focusing on word of mouth to promote your business. WoMM is the key to your business success because it is the only guaranteed way to get through to customers who are bombarded with an endless stream of ads and media noise on a daily basis. When buying products or services, customers look for recommendations from their friends and family. And this, my friend, is the most powerful tool of all. RIP advertising!
Biz success in 2010 and beyond will be driven by real conversations between customers who are motivated to talk about your business, product or service. Of course it’s easier said than done - so how do you motivate complete strangers to tell their friends and family about your business, products or services?
Well here is where the hard work really begins… you need to start a conversation. Smart companies get people talking about their products and service by focusing on what makes their product or service truly remarkable. The good news is, it doesn’t cost a fortune to get a prospective or actual customer talking about your business! So, how do you show how remarkable your business really is?
Take a fresh look at your products and services
Let’s start with your product or service: does it truly satisfy the needs of your target market? You will be surprised to learn many business owners think their product or service serves a real need… but, ask the paying customer and you get an entirely different story! Have you looked at the features and benefits of your product through the eyes of your customer? Does it really satisfy their need?
Not sure…. ask them!
Hey, why not ask your customers directly “How are we doing?” “How could we improve?” - genuine attempts to improve your product or service will not only get people talking about your biz, it will help you make improvements and create an even better product or service! And, better products have more people talking about them!
Trust me, it’s not beneath you to ask! Just look at Coco Cola. Even the big boys occasionally get it wrong and have to go back to the drawing board! Coke were so desperate to crack the growing energy drink market they made a spectacular flop with the launch of their version, Mother. But, within no time they announced a re-launch of the very same energy drink, with an open apology ‘We got it wrong!’. Even the tops of the new cans were emblazoned with: “Tastes nothing like the old one”! Coca Cola listened to their customer feedback, and saved face with their loyal customer base (and maybe if they had done so earlier, they would have saved lots of time and money!).
Customers start conversations and recommend the products and services they use when the product or service truly satisfies their own needs. How does your product or service rate?
Ding, ding - service anyone?
Another thing that is very easy to improve is your customer service. Sadly I could write pages on the bad customer service I see on a daily basis – I’m sure you could too! Why is it so hard to provide quality customer service? The short answer is, it isn’t. When you focus on giving your customer a great experience, you give them something to talk (even gloat!) about to the people around them!
This is such an easy area to improve on - customer service is cheap (often free!) so why not start right now! It can be as simple as making sure customers can access your product information quickly and easily. Also, make sure everyone in your biz (yes, that’s you!) is up to date with the latest product and industry info and where your product fits in. Jump on and have a fresh read of your website… does it provide detailed product/service descriptions, testimonials and other relevant info? How easy is it for your customer to actually purchase your product? Small changes can make a huge difference!
To be a remarkable business you need to focus on the small stuff because these are the things customers notice and these are the things your competitors aren’t doing.
Open your eyes to a new way of doing business – it’s all about WoMM. Being remarkable makes more money and sense, because customers will talk about you, your business and your products and services. That’s advertising for nix.
This year the key to your success is to learn how to be the remarkable company that people want to share with their friends.
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Written by Sonia Williams Sonia Williams is a high-energy entrepreneur and author of Start Me Up! a compilation of more than 100 business ideas that any budding entrepreneur can run with, as well as great tips for those wanting to start a business.http://www.start-me-up.com.au/
You’re Invited - Young Entrepreneurs Evening 4th November
Wanna hang out with other young entrepreneurs just like you? Wanna hear from awesome speakers who will inspire you and give you tips that will impact your business positively straight away? Wanna hear about future young entrepreneurs programs that you can get involved in?
Whether you have already started your own business, or want to, our Young Entrepreneurs Evening is a must for you.
We have an awesome guest speaker Joseph Renzi of Our Wishing Well, who is a passionate young entrepreneur himself. We also have a panel of successful entrepreneurs; you will get to pick their brains in an intimate Q&A session. The voice of young entrepreneurs will be strong when we hear from some young biz owners who are sharing their tips on how to grow your business, and other young entrepreneurs who are in the process of systemising their businesses and how they are managing that.
Date: Wednesday 4th November Time: 6pm-9:30pm. Place: bioFirst Seminar Room Ground Floor, Australian Innovation Centre Australian Technology Park 4 Cornwalis St, Eveleigh (near Redfern) NSW Plenty of parking on site. Investment: $25 per person (Free entry for YESUP alumni)
Want to get featured in the media, gain attention for your business and you?
Come along to The Frank Team's Workshop on Tuesday 14th July in Sydney and learn all of the PR & Media secrets to get yourself in the media.
Our workshop "PR Secrets" is the perfect place to learn how to do your own PR (public relations), how to deal with the media yourself and put together press releases that will get you and your business coverage.
Here are the latest and greatest opportunities just for you!
Workshop: PR Secrets for Beginners
Would you love to get some coverage in the media to grow your business but don’t know where to start?Effective PR is important to any business because it raises your profile to your audience, positions you as an expert in your field, helps to build your database and most importantly INCREASES SALES! Next in our SHOW ME HOW Workshop series is PR Secrets for Beginners led by Jonica Bray from Publicity Insider. Come and learn the tricks and tips to use yourself! Book Now http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/prworkshop.html Recording of the workshop will be available.
Young Entrepreneurs Evening – SYDNEY
Come and hang out with other young entrepreneurs just like you who are running their business or just getting started! Learn and be inspired by our awesome speakers who are successful entrepreneurs; young and old! You will get tips and strategies that impact your business positively straight away and feel at home as you network with others just like you!
A great competition that tests your entrepreneurial talent with some great prizes up for grabs. Applications are now open. The 6 day intense event will be held in August, and will take competitors through four carefully designed business and social challenges. Entry is open to anyone aged 18-25.Meet great people, network, build your profile & test your skills. More info http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/opportunities29june.html
Young Innovators & Scientist Awards
The 2009 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is now open for applications. If you're aged between 18 and 35 years and have a great idea that will help boost Australia's agriculture, fisheries or forestry industries, then start working on your application now!. Learn more http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/opportunities29june.htmland apply now!
Media Opportunity – Get Exposure
Would you to be featured in Money magazine? If you're interested in getting a financial plan, are comfortable talking about your financial situation and attitudes to money and are happy to be photographed to appear in an upcoming issue then they would like to hear from you. More infohttp://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/opportunities29june.html
Get Credit for Your Copyright
Learn more about copyright and how to get credit (& payment) for your work if it is used by anyone else by checking out CAL. If you produce written content of any kind, that you think others may want to use then you can register with CAL to ensure you get credit for your work, and sometimes payment!. More info http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/opportunities29june.html
Got an opportunity you want to share with others? Let us know and we will spread the word!
The thought of contacting a journalist and media agency can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ve been around the PR block and learnt a thing or two about what NOT to do when trying to gain media exposure for you and your business.
If you want to learn more about how to be a self-sufficent PR gun, hurry and book now for our ‘PR Secrets for Beginners’ workshop which is running July 14th, Syd with young PR and publicity extraordinaire Jonica Bray.
As busy people it can be tricky to keep a finger on the pulse in all areas of your business or organisation. So knowing how to continually promote you and your organisation through media channels can be daunting…unless you have the know-how.
Effective PR is important to any organisation for a number of reasons. Mainly because it raises your profile to your audience, positions you as an expert in your field, helps to build your database and most importantly INCREASES SALES and exposure for what you do!
Book Now to come to our engaging and highly effective workshop so you learn the Tips from Jonica who has worked on the inside of media for many years. And of course like all Frank Team programs it will not only be HIGHLY useful but also VERY fun too with networking galour!
A reminder that our Young Entrepreneurs Workshop is happening this Saturday at the SSHED, Loftus NSW.
Details below, get in touch if you'd like to RSVP for this FREE event!
The Frank Team are excited to announce our next Young Entrepreneurs Workshop - check out this FREE event!
The SSHED - Sutherland Shire Economic Hub for Development is a world class business incubator helping out biz's in the Sutherland area and they're hosting another Young Entrepreneurs Workshop on the 13th June from 10am-2pm. We have young entrepreneurs from near and far travel to participate in this event each year.
This is a great opportunity for skills training, facilitated networking, and self promotion! It’s run by young people, for young people.
We have a great line up of speakers and guests at this year’s workshop, with Mark McCowan, Director of Synchro Marketing as our key note speaker.
And throughout the day you will also hear from: Melissa Abu-Gazaleh - Best Catch Stella Katsaros - Little Miss Stella Joseph Renzi - Our Wishing Well Alex Vaughan - Alex Vaughan Photography Jessica Schebesta (Kiely) – The Frank Team
Plus you attend two skills workshops: - Effective & fun biz planning for those just starting out - Website know-how: simple & effective tips for building your website
Getting involved again fifth time round are Sutherland Shire Council, the SSHED, GROW Sydney, University of Wollongong and the workshop is being run by The Frank Team.
