From the Editor
Apart from networking (see below), I use this newsletter to spread the Clarihon 'gospel'. If you know of anyone who might appreciate it, please forward it on to them.
Talking of newsletters, have you thought of doing this for your clients and business contacts? Some of the benefits of issuing a regular e-mail newsletter are:
- Your clients and prospects are reminded of your business - and in a positive way.
- Assuming that the recipient has consented to receive it, they're already open to the ideas and the material it contains.
- It's easy for the recipients to forward it on to their colleagues, clients and prospects thus increasing your exposure further
- People can be drawn to your web site via links, articles and references.
- You can use it to gauge interest in products, topics and concepts (see below)
All that's needed is a decent layout, an e-mail distribution and tracking system and some useful content.
I say 'All that's needed' as though it's the easiest thing in the world. The technical bit is easy (unless you try to do it yourself) - it's finding and/or preparing suitable material that's tricky. The trouble is, it's this part that's the key. If the content is poor, or not useful, people won't read the newsletter and the purpose is defeated.
There are plenty of good sources of material for a newsletter if you know where to look. The Internet's an obvious place but be careful to reference articles you use and not 'borrow' whole passages of text as your own. Trade magazines (on-line and paper) often have relevant news and information and there's always your own business's experience and know-how.
I mentioned above that it's possible to gauge interest in products, topics and concepts. By adding a specific link in the newsletter attached to something you want to track, it's easy to collect data on the number of people who click on it and how many times. In fact it's easy to capture the number of people who open the newsletter as opposed to deleting it immediately.
By knowing who's reading it and what interests them you have the opportunity to tailor your newsletter appropriately - or even to take direct action. If the data included interest in a specific product or service this could even include a sales call.
The greatest benefit of a tool like this though is engagement with your clients and prospects. Yes, you could phone them all, but that's probably not feasible. Even if it is, would another reminder of your first class business go amiss?
If you're interested in putting together a regular e-mail newsletter for your clients and prospects, please call or e-mail me and we can talk over some of the options.
Nigel
A note from our sponsor
Jon Davey is Mr. 'Business networking in Berkshire' and runs Business in Berkshire. He kindly sponsors this newsletter - thanks Jon!
What is Business in Berkshire? Business in Berkshire provides a PR vehicle for businesses looking to gain a profile in Berkshire and, from a search engine perspective, across the Globe.
November 2006 and we're offering more choices of newsletters for our readers, see the website (link above).
October 2006 saw over 50,000 visitors to over 200,000 pages of the BinB website, creating 900,000 hits! Currently, over 5000 email recipients enjoy our various newsletters Opt-in today...
We aim to keep things simple. So if you just want to receive our weekly newsletters, give us your basic contact details, select the Weekly news you'd like to receive and then any other information provided is optional.
News & developments
Multifunction laser printers - I mentioned my technical indulgence in the last issue, nice shiny Epson Aculaser CX11NF multifunction colour laser printer. It has networked printing, fax, scanning and photocopy facilities built in. After 6 months of use I'm still very pleased. Although the black toner cartridge has been showing low for months, there's no sign of it running out. The print quality is excellent and the print time, in colour or black and white is short. The fax has worked without error (the few times we've used it) and the scanning facility is first class. Add the trouble-free photocopying and you'll see that we're pleased at RFG. My recommendation? A sound investment. Misco are doing it for just over £500 (incl VAT).
Internet Explorer 7 - Recently released by Microsoft and should be arriving via automatic update to your PC soon. The good news for those who are wary of upgrades and new products is that it's an optional upgrade - for now at least. Early reports are mixed but overall it's deemed a decent upgrade but still short of Mozilla's latest browser, Firefox 2.0.
One small downside to the release of IE 7 is the way it displays web sites. 13% of FTSE 100 web site didn't display correctly when viewed through IE7 on 31st October. It's worth checking yours to see if it's OK. If not, contact your web developer to get it updated.
IT finding still available (Cornwall) - actnow are still providing IT funding for Cornish businesses. You can apply for a rebate of up to 40% on IT investments which are likely to make a step change to your business. For example, this could include website and eCommerce development, or your business's first network or server.
Hints & Tips
Tip 1: Even if you don't live in a semi-rural area like me, power spikes and cuts do occur - and always at the most inopportune moment. For only £28 + VAT you can buy a Belkin combined battery backup and power filter block. Available from Ebuyer and other on-line stores, it gives about 10 minutes of life to an average PC and provides power to 3 items and filtering to 3 more.
Tip 2: If you haven't yet dipped your toe into the Voice over IP phone market how about trying it through Skype? I bought a £20 lightweight stereo headset with microphone and can now call any 01 & 02 landline number in the UK (and the US) for only 1.2p a minute - at any time of the day. I can also call other Skype users for free. I've had some issues with calling mobiles but otherwise the call quality and reliability has been pretty good. Callout minutes can be bought in blocks of £10 and they're offering 6 months of free calls if you purchase £10 or more until the end of December. Too good to miss!
Tip 3: You're obviously computer literate - or you wouldn't be reading this newsletter - but do you know that you can deal with your Tax and VAT online? I do both of mine electronically and wouldn't do it any other way. There are other official processes that can be conducted online and Business link has collected them up for you.
Tip 4: Do you get much/most of your business through referrals (or even hope to)? If you do then business networking is a very effective way to get them.
The Business League (new web site coming) have a dozen clubs across Devon and Cornwall and are set to open more in the months ahead. I'm the chairman of the Launceston and Liskeard club and we meet every Thursday at the White Hart Hotel in Launceston. Why not come along and see how it all works at one of our breakfasts? If you'd like to know more, please call me on 01579-342360 or drop me a note at nigel.day@clarihon.co.uk.
These are links that we've found useful in the past.
actnow - Broadband for Cornwall
Federation of Small Businesses
Business Link Devon & Cornwall
Bizhelp24 for Small Businesses
There are more at our web site on the Business Links page
DP Assist
DP Assist were started by Gill Smith in early 2003 and provide consultancy on all aspests of Data Protection. They were one of my first clients and are based near Exeter. Now I'm in SE Cornwall, they're practically neighbours!
Gill says "We understand that compliance with the Data Protection Act is not at the top of the business agenda for some small to medium sized businesses, but there is a danger that putting it off could jeopardise your company's good reputation and destroy customer confidence and loyalty.
Three good reasons why it's important to deal with it:-
- It's the law, and there are serious penalties for Directors or Chief Executives and employees. For example, if your company's not registered when it should be, or your employees make unauthorised disclosures of information about people.
- It's practical common sense to manage your valuable customer and employee information effectively, with respect for their rights, and as securely as possible. Following the Data Protection's principles helps you to achieve this. Identity theft is on the increase, and you would not want your customers' credit card or bank details to be "leaked out" or found in black bin bags at the rear of your offices!
- It shows you really care about your customers and employees (giving you a possible advantage over your competitors). It's not difficult to put a management framework in place, such as adopting a policy, providing practical employee guidance and ensuring they are well-trained and reminded of their responsibilities.
DP Assist Limited was created to help you sort out Data Protection compliance as effectively and easily as possible (at a reasonable price)."
For more information visit their website at www.dpassist.co.uk or contact Gill Smith on 01392 823068.