31/01/2008 by admin.

The Met Office is forecasting much colder conditions to spread southwards across the UK during Friday (1st February) and persisting into Saturday (2nd February) giving heavy snow in places. Areas most at risk include northern and western Scotland, Northern Ireland, along with parts of northwest England and Wales where 10cm of snow could occur locally with up to 20cm on higher ground.

Disruption to transport is likely. The public are advised to take extra care and refer to Traffic Wales for further advice on road conditions.

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31/01/2008 by admin.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR - The Internet has profoundly changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. But it has also changed the way businesses communicate with their customers (and those who they want to be customers). In the old days, companies could only communicate through the filter of expensive advertising or media ink placed by a PR firm. Today the rules have changed entirely. The New Rules of Marketing and PR shows you how to leverage the potential that Web-based communication offers your business.

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31/01/2008 by admin.

Click here for your free e-book ‘Why sales people fail and what you can do about it’. Thanks to Mark Pickles for sending us this free e-book on sales techniques - look out for his event at Llyndir Hall in February.

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31/01/2008 by admin.

Most new businesses fail simply because the people who matter never heard of them.

Traditional advertising and old-fashioned marketing methods such as cold-calling and postal-direct mail, apart from being expensive, just aren’t effective any more. But free advertising - now that is alive and well.

However it is not something that you can buy or manufacture - you have to earn it by engaging with your target market. Fortunately this isn’t hard to do, you just need to participate on Internet social networks.

Market your business by telephone or direct mail and the chance of getting a response from someone who didn’t know you would be about 2 per cent - and that’s only if you do it right - but by using web 2.0 networks such as Facebook you can expect a response rate of over 80%. It is a powerful social networking service, and it is fast becoming one of the most effective networking tools for businesses to create awareness and interact with their community.

Some employers may have banned access to Facebook at work, but increasing numbers of people are using the site as a business networking tool. Many companies believe that Facebook can add value to their business - as an example more than 6,000 Citigroup employees are now signed up to Facebook, while consulting firm Ernst and Young’s network has over 16,000 members.

Professional networks can be invaluable to people running small businesses, helping to start and grow relationships with customers and within their industry. Any business owner, even one without computer skills, can easily post content that will draw interest from the target market. Getting started on Facebook may seem a little tedious to start with, and may not produce results for a while, but be persistent and if you are sincere people will start to notice. Your snowball will then start barrelling downhill purely from its own momentum.

How FaceBook Works

FaceBook allows its users to connect with each other and share information by posting online profiles, including personal information and photographs, and then connecting to other users who share common experiences and interests. It was initially launched as an online avenue where students could find one another, but has since been transformed into a social network that anyone can use. It become very popular mainly because of its ease of use, taking only a few minutes to update a profile or add new friends.

Getting Started with FaceBook

1. First you need to sign up. To get started with FaceBook you need to submit an online registration form. Creating your own account includes creating a profile about yourself or your business. Your profile is an ideal platform for you to share photos, videos, and audio. You can also include links to your business website. When you first create your profile, it’s up to you how much information you want to include. Don’t get too bogged down in the initial setup. It’s more important to get registered and start experimenting.

2. Connect with your community. Once you have a FaceBook account, it’s time to connect with people in your community. FaceBook offers a convenient Search feature, which can be used to locate people who may already members. Contact them and ask if you can be their friend. Add everyone you know to your list. As mutual friends and friends of friends get added to your list, your contact list will grow fairly quick.

3. Create or join groups that are associated with your line of business. Creating new groups or joining existing groups allows you to share interesting information, join in discussions, share pictures and make announcements relevant to your industry. If you are looking for exposure, make sure you create open groups that can be easily found and one where members can freely invite their contacts to join.

4. Promote your events. Create the event and then invite all your contacts to join. In addition to inviting groups, you also have the option of posting the event details in your profile so interested people can RSVP. To increase exposure keep your events open to anyone. What type of events can you create? Webinars and chats are popular for interaction. If you have a blog, ask people to make comments.

5. Promote your newsletter or blog - FaceBook allows you to share information that is on your blog by either posting a note or by importing your external blog. You also have the option of integrating an RSS feed into your blog with special notes. When the blog is posted, the note is displayed in your profile and all your friends are notified about it. Other members can also add comments.

Facebook can also be used as a research tool. Set up a poll and within a very short space of time you can find out what a representative sample of people think. Used as a research tool Facebook can produce the same results as an expensive, traditional direct mail campaign - and it’s free.

Just having a website is no longer enough - you need to exploit your online presence for all its worth. Not got a website? All businesses need a website if they want to be taken seriously. A good website needn’t be expensive and can be the cheapest and most effective marketing method for your business. Get one here! Facebook does not replace the need for a website for your business it compliments it, and will drive more traffic your way, as does an advert on Wrexham Today, and all can help your ranking in the search engines.

So what are you waiting for? Go to www.facebook.com now! Find me on Facebook here! I’ll be more than happy to be your friend!

Find 101 ways to market your business online here.

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31/01/2008 by admin.

Britain’s growing café culture and taste for alfresco drinking and dining may be under threat from MEPs who want to ban the patio heater. Friends of the Earth is backing calls for the EU to phase out energy-wasting products such as patio heaters. Pubs spent about £85 million on patio heaters after the smoking ban was introduced last year. Besides forcing smokers into the cold there is concern that a ban on patio heaters could bring a significant cash loss to pubs, cafés and restaurants. Read more…

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31/01/2008 by admin.

Wrexham’s Assembly Member has urged Welsh companies to compete and win contracts for works in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Read more…

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30/01/2008 by admin.

Workers were told yesterday that that Dennis Ruabon Tiles, based at Hafod Tileries, Ruabon, is going to close. 80 jobs will be axed after a massive slump in sales. The company was the last remaining quarry tile manufacturer in the UK.

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30/01/2008 by admin.

Businesses in the Vale of Clwyd could save money by accessing help from a government website.

The Employing People section of www.businesslink.gov.uk is designed to give businesses simple, practical advice and guidance on the full range of employment issues, from taking on staff through to dismissals and redundancies.

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30/01/2008 by admin.

Wrexham and North Wales businesses have been given a “competitive edge” over their counterparts in London and the South East of England, thanks to Welsh Assembly Government and European Structural Fund investment in broadband services, according to an AM.

Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths, was speaking during First Minister’s Questions in the National Assembly on the subject of European Funding for Wales.

She told First Minister, Rhodri Morgan: “European structural funds are delivering a huge boost for companies in my constituency of Wrexham. A £30 million investment in the FibreSpeed project, managed by the Welsh European Funding Office, will give Wrexham industrial estate and technology park access to a fibre optic network in north Wales that will deliver highspeed broadband services to local companies.

“Does that not prove that Wales - specifically north Wales - can no longer be regarded as the ‘poor relation’ in the UK, when it comes to providing IT services for businesses?

“Will that not help Wrexham companies to have a real competitive edge over competitors in the South of England and London in the future?”

Rhodri Morgan said: “I am glad that you made that point, because these new areas of infrastructure are as important in the twentyfirst century as highways and railways were in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

“It is important that we do not say, ‘Well, they will happen in London, and in the big cities like Manchester and Liverpool, but they will not come to Wales’. It is therefore important that we intervene early to ensure that we get fibre optic cables throughout Wales.

“FibreSpeed is an enormously important investment, because it stretches all the way from Wrexham industrial estate to Holyhead and back in a figure of eight. It will enable 14 north Wales business parks, including ones in Wrexham, to benefit from high-speed fibre optic cable and, therefore, the broadband services that flow from that.”

Commenting after her Question, Lesley Griffiths AM said: “FibreSpeed is very exciting news for North Wales and Wrexham. This investment will provide a fast and advanced telecommunication network - which is essential for economic development in the region.

“Through this new network, it is hoped that increased foreign investment, increased productivity and new start-ups will flow.
“The Welsh Assembly Government believes prices of high bandwidth internet services for business will be reduced to levels currently charged in London and the South East of England.
“For local businesses, this means they will not only be as competitive as other areas of the UK - but it may even give us an important edge.”

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30/01/2008 by admin.

The first time I was invited to attend a business networking event was some 8 years ago by a printer. He said it would be good for my business, and that they had a slot for my business category. I had no idea what on earth he was on about, so he then explained that all I needed to do was turn up at 6:30am with a one minute presentation prepared for my business. I would then have the perfect opportunity to stand up in front of about 30 business owners and present my business to them.

That was it; I near as hell had a heart attack and made my excuses. I was busy, family issue, sorry thanks for the offer but I won’t be able to make it. The very thought of walking into a room of other business owners and standing up in front of them scared the hell out of me.

I now realise that I had already been networking since I was about 5 years old. When you start school you go into a room of other people all in the same boat as you, and you start to make friends with them, getting to know them all one by one. Business networking is no different really, and it does help to realise that everyone feels the same as you no matter how confident you think they look or sound. They were all first time networkers once and were all just as nervous as you the first time they attended a networking event, or their first day at school.

So how can networking improve your profit?

Well first of, and more importantly than anything else, networking is not about the instant win. If you expect to walk into a networking event and come away with a signed order you are likely to be sadly let down. Networking is all about building relationships; it is called “Farming” in many networking circles. You also have to take it seriously, there is no point attending a networking venue once and never going back again as no-one will ever remember you. You need to attend these events on a regular basis. It is about getting to know those other people in the room, gaining their trust and respect, and then if that goes well they introducing you to other people they know who could use your services. This is referral marketing, and it only costs the price of a full English breakfast! What’s more, these people you meet will happily refer your business to everyone suitable that they meet forever more.

Networking is also a great way to meet new suppliers, new friends and also a great way to build a great support network. Before I started networking I was as nervous as hell standing up in front of people presenting my business. I now happily enjoy standing up in front of crowds of hundred or more people and giving a presentation on anything from networking to my own business. Networking has helped boost my confidence and improve my presentation skills, and it’s all included in the price of a breakfast.

Networking doesn’t have to just be face-2-face; there are online networking communities you can take part in also. There is obviously my old website at www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk, and on that website you can network with a community of over 17,000 other business owners. There is also www.ecademy.com, a hard core networking website which is broken down into what they refer to as “Clubs”. The same principles apply to online networking as do to personal networking. It all boils down to relationships and trust, not the instant sale which so many people fail to grasp. These are the same people that say “Networking doesn’t work for me or my business”, and they wonder why.

Can you imagine how laughable it would be if some crazed lunatic ran into a hall of 80+ business people, threw his business cards up in the air shouting “Buy my great widgets off my website, they are great” and then ran back out of the room never to be seen again. Everyone would laugh at how ridiculous he was and then forget about him by the next day. No-one would look at his website, and no-one would trust him or his products. This principle is even more important with online networking. Those who visit online networking forums, post a message online saying look at my website, and then are never seen again just have their messages deleted and no-one takes any interest in what they have to offer. Now those that contribute on the forums and become part of the online networking community become trusted and known as experts in their field. They are the ones that benefit from networking.

There are hundreds of different networking organisations and events in every area around the world. I’ve pre-booked myself into every single Chamber of Commerce and FSB networking event in my area from now until the end of the year. There are professional networking organisations such as BNI, BRE and others which I’d also recommend giving a try. There are even fun networking clubs, and next week I’m going to a Networking Curry Club and tomorrow I’m playing Golf at a professional golfing networking event. I’ve even been known to try my hand at Speed Networking, which was an experience!

If you want to try your hand at networking, and I strongly suggest you do, then the following are a few good places where you can find out what is happening in your area;

Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and ask their Events Team what networking events that have coming up.

Contact your local FSB representative and find out when their monthly breakfast is on and where.

Buy a copy of your local newspaper on that day that comes with the business supplement, they usually contain a list of up coming networking events.

There is most likely to a business advertorial paper in your area, subscribe to receive that on a regular basis as it is likely to also contain details on local networking events.

Look on the BNI and BRE websites for your area and contact their Chapter Directors’ saying you would like to come along as a visitor.

Finally, don’t forget to ask everyone you meet at every networking event if they know of any other networking events in the area that you could attend.

Another couple of tips to take into account when you do start networking first don’t waste the back of your business card.

Make sure your business card contains all your contact information as well as information on what your company does. I see hundreds of business cards that look really pretty, they do honestly, but I haven’t got a clue what the company does.

Secondly, there is almost nothing more embarrassing than going to a networking event and not having any business cards to hand out. I’d recommend taking no less than 50 business cards out with you when you go networking, but ideally take a hundred. The last thing you want to happen is to be talking to someone who says “Ah you’re just what a friend of mine was looking for, can I take one of your cards to pass to him?” and you reply with “Oops, sorry, I don’t have any”. Always make sure you have plenty of stock of your business cards and carry plenty around with you.

Why do I network? Well in year 2004 I spent just under £100,000 on PR and Marketing in my business and did no networking, in 2005 I spent just under £80,000 in PR & Marketing and just started networking in the summer of 2005. This year I might reach £20,000 in my PR & Marketing budget and I heavily network. My turnover for those 3 years remained fairly constant so where do you think that spare £80,000 I was spending on PR & Marketing has gone?

That, my friends, is why Networking is a Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy.

By Richard Osborne www.ozzy.co.uk

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