Sales & Marketing Resources

Whether you’re thinking of starting a new business, considering adding new products, opening a new branch, or increasing the services you offer, it’s common sense to research your market to make sure there is sufficient support for your idea.
There’s little point adding the latest top-of-the-range spa pool to your product range, for example, if you’re running a DIY store in a low-income area. A year from now, you’ll be selling them at cost, or below, to recoup your investment.

You probably already have a coordinated marketing plan, set prices, and know what you’re doing. However, to create more awareness and increase sales of your offerings, you may need to make some minor adjustments to your overall marketing strategy.

If you’re serious about getting the best value you can for your marketing budget, you’ll need to develop a marketing plan. Below we outline eight simple steps for making your marketing efforts more effective.

It’s easy to come up with a number of business ideas but to make sure your idea is viable and can be run at a profit, you’ll need to do quite a bit of market research. The good news is that doing your own market research is not as hard as it sounds. Here are five top ways to research your market.

Choosing the best export target(s) for your business is critical because ‘getting it wrong’ can waste time, energy and money. This section provides ideas and information to help you understand the opportunities better and identify the best targets and marketplace.

Start-ups are at a disadvantage when it comes to their first sales forecast because, clearly, they don’t have any historical data to base it on. But there are still ways to create an accurate sales forecast, and it’s important to do so because it’ll help you work out if your business idea is financially viable.

If you want to grow your business, you’ll need a strategic plan – which should include how you’ll find new customers and get your products or services into new markets.
Here’s what you need to know to identify new customers and markets.

Whichever industry your business is in, cultural differences can have a direct impact on your profitability. If you try to understand the cultures of your customers – their customs and differences – you’ll have a better chance of keeping them and gaining more.
By being aware of the key factors that will impact your business, you’ll set yourself up to maximize sales from a global melting pot of potential customers.

A competitive advantage is something that you offer or have that the competitor does not. There must be some compelling reasons for people to do business with you rather than with other businesses.
The need to identify your point of difference is important. The more similar your business is to many others, the greater your need to develop competitive advantages.