If you have never done it before, developing a new website can be confusing. It can be difficult to know where to start and the pitfalls to avoid. Whether you develop your own or pay a company to help you, click here to read our latest blog to find the answer to the following seven key questions you should ask yourself (and your web developer) to make sure your website delivers results.
1. How much should I pay for a new website?
2. What is my domain name and how much does it cost?
3. How much will it cost to host my website?
4. Is your website mobile friendly?
5. Why does content and design matter?
6. How will I get my website out there and improve my search engine optimisation (SEO)?
7. How will I make changes to my website? Who will maintain it?
Monday, 7 November 2016
Monday, 24 October 2016
Social media marketing for small businesses - it makes sense!
There was a time when social media was considered a passing fad. Yet today, with over three billion Internet users and over two thirds of these people having active social media sites, social media channels have become a critical part of the marketing mix for businesses large and small.
You should definitely consider using social media if your current and potential customers/stakeholders use it and/or your competitors exploit it. In addition, social media is a relatively cheap way of gaining market presence and reaching out to your target audience.
2. Which social media platform should I use?
Every social media platform is different; the only thing all of them have in common is that they reach large audiences. By understanding your customers’ demographics and buying habits, you can find the most appropriate social media channel. For example, if you have a product that is targeted at young mums you may consider Facebook and Instagram. If you are selling a B2B solution you may think about posting relevant content on LinkedIn. If you are selling a service into local government you may consider Twitter....
For more advice on how to make the most of the vast opportunities that social media could offer your start-up or small business, please click here to read the rest of the blog on our website.
Click here to find out more about the services we offer.
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Calling all entrepreneurs - our top tips for start-ups
Top Tips for Starting a Business
Starting a business is a very liberating and exciting thing to do. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge, is resilient and believes in an idea they wish to exploit. I have started a number of businesses and helped numerous people set up a business for themselves. This blog is bringing together some of this experience. I hope you find this helpful.
So, what are my top tips for starting a business?
Your Idea – You need to be able to clearly articulate your idea – why you think it is good and what difference your product or service will make to your customers. Remember, your idea doesn’t have to be new; it just has to have a uniqueness about it that means people will choose you over your competitors. Test your idea on people you know. Gauge their reaction and adapt your approach if necessary.
Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? Do you have the right personality? I always think that to start a business you have to be an optimist. You certainly need to be resilient and you need to love what you do. You probably don’t like working 9 to 5 in a traditional office environment but prefer to be your own boss, confident about your business idea and the future. All that said, you also need to know your weaknesses and you certainly need to know when to stop, to realise that your original idea doesn’t stack up once you have started developing it further or conducted some market testing. However, remember that most entrepreneurs fail before they succeed!
Business Plan – You will need one. There is no way round this. It is a good exercise although not necessarily an easy task if you have never done it before. It can feel daunting but if you take it one step at a time you will build up the picture and it will help you focus and succeed. If you need a template, just Google ‘business plan template’. Most banks have template plans you can use. The Prince’s Trust has some very useful information which you can access via their website https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/tools-resources/business-tools/business-plans. We also have a template business plan which we use for our clients but in the end they are all roughly the same....
Click here to find out more about Scirum Ltd's start-up support.
Susanne Hasselmann, Scirum Ltd
Thursday, 14 April 2016
The power of ‘words’ helps to grow your start-up or small business
After my
usual chaotic start to the morning of herding children out of the door, into
the car and off to nursery or school, I breathe a sigh of relief and turn on the
car radio as I drive into work – one of the only times I have a choice about
what I want to listen to!
One
particular morning, I happened to be listening to a programme about the use of
words. The presenter gave an example of how her friend had changed career –
mid-life – and went from being a lawyer to a mediator. As a prosecutor, the
lawyer would use every word as a bullet to knock down the defendant and prove
beyond all reasonable doubt that the alleged offence was committed. As a
mediator, he would use every word carefully to build bridges between two
parties in conflict with each other, with the aim of finding a way forward.
As a
business owner, this story resonates with me. While we all have access to the
same suite of vocabulary in the English language, the way in which we choose to
use it can have a significant impact on the objectives we are trying to achieve
and how we are perceived by others.
From the way
in which we answer the phone, respond to customer queries, present ourselves at
meetings and networking opportunities, to how we promote our services through traditional,
digital and social media marketing, we build a picture in our customers’ minds
as to the sort of companies we are. More importantly, many will draw from these
experiences and conclude whether we are credible, experienced, reliable and
able to deliver a product or service that meets (and hopefully exceeds) their
expectations.
So if you
are thinking about reaching out and engaging with new and existing customers,
suppliers and, if your company is large enough, employees, think carefully
about the way you use your words, how they will be interpreted and how your
marketing and communications can be used to help deliver your business goals.
If you are
planning a new product launch or you are reviewing your marketing and
communications plan, why not talk it through with us? We offer a free 30 minute
phone consultation to talk through your objectives with one of our senior
marketing and communications specialists. We are a
friendly and approachable bunch. Give us a call to learn more about our team
and what we do. Telephone: 01264
860060 or e-mail us.
Charlotte Welland, Head of Communications, Scirum Ltd
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Learning from my experience – top tips for great customer service
This year started with a number of interesting customer
service experiences – good and bad. I think that we can all learn a lot from
our own exposure to other companies and the way they handle us as customers.
After all, news of a bad customer experience is more likely to reach many more
ears than a good experience – especially in today’s world where social media
provides such an easy way to get your message across.
Large high street consumer electronics retailer
I wanted to buy a new radio/stereo alarm clock and asked for
help in the shop. The customer service assistant was annoyingly slow with a vocabulary
that did not extend beyond ‘yeah’ ‘neah’ and ‘don’t know’. In the end I gave up
and said: ‘OK, if it doesn’t work, I can bring it back?’ The answer was ‘yeah’.
At home, we discovered that we could not get a signal for
DAB, so I went back to the shop to return said radio/stereo. I was over the
standard 24 days returns policy and frustratingly I couldn’t find the receipt. Thankfully,
the customer service assistant was fabulous. Very friendly, bubbly and couldn’t
do enough to help me. Even when he got tripped up by the system, he persevered
on my behalf, calling the manager, explaining, and being my advocate. He found
the sales record on the system, got the manager to extend the returns policy
and in that process made me a very happy customer. My faith was restored, I
will return!
Lesson 1: Your people
are your greatest asset. Unless you select the right people for the job and provide
appropriate training and development, you are doomed to fail.
One of the UK’s best known phone and broadband providers
How would I describe this customer experience? In a word:
Exasperating!
This company decided to single headedly change my contract
and restrict my business to 1Mb/s download speed. I ask you – how can anyone
run a business that way? I have now probably spent over eight hours on the
phone to the company, and talked to four different people in contracts and 4
people in the technical department. I even had an engineer come out. The
engineer and the technical team say that the contracts team has to change their
system to unlock the line and the contracts team say it is a technical problem.
So, I’m going round in circles! What is even more frustrating is the fact that
every time I call I have to explain the whole story again....exhausting. This
company does not appear to keep any records of my calls.
Lesson 2: Listen to
your customer, understand their problems, take ownership and resolve them. This
may sound very simple but you need to ensure that you keep your customer updated
until the case has been resolved to their satisfaction. Make it easy for your
customer to contact you.
Nationwide vehicle glass repair service
My windscreen had a crack (I know, the year is really not
starting well). I went online and booked my appointment. I received a voicemail
to say they needed more information and could I please call them. It was the
weekend and I thought it could wait until Monday. - My appointment was not
booked until Wednesday anyway. When I called on Monday morning it turns out
that my appointment for Wednesday was cancelled because they were not able to
complete my booking (they didn’t say that in their message nor did I receive an
email advising this when making the booking online!). The repair would
therefore be delayed for a week. In addition, they asked me to check my car
(parked down the road), make a new date (my diary was in a different building)
and then pay the excess on my insurance (my credit card was also in a different
building). I therefore ran around from building to building, up and down the
road. A call that should have only taken five minutes took longer than 20
minutes. This can’t be good for the company’s productivity or my nerves!
Lesson3: Be clear
about what you need from the customer and manage their expectations. When you
ask a customer for supplementary information, tell them what you need and give
them a deadline. Tell them clearly about the consequences of not receiving the
information.
And these are my thoughts on good customer service for 2016!
Susanne Hasselmann
Director, Scirum Ltd
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Top ten tips for entrepreneurs
Top ten tips for entrepreneurs by Susanne Hasselmann, Director, Scirum Ltd.
Starting a new business is not an easy task, but a challenge that can be extremely rewarding, frustrating, stressful and fun! Above all, be prepared to adapt as your new business evolves - things often work out differently to the way you expected!
Over the years I have been involved in a number of start-ups, I have helped to re-shape businesses and have had to adjust by downsizing or closing operations. During this time I have myself learned from my mistakes, re-shaped my expectations and celebrated the successes.
Above all, I have tried to learn from others through observation, research and by talking to people who have been through similar situations. The following TOP TIPS are my summary of what I have learned. I hope these are helpful to you entrepreneurs out there!
- Optimism rules!
- Know where you are going – have a vision!
- Know why your business is different - your unique selling point
- Be flexible
- Keep focused on your plan
- Enjoy what you do – and thus do it well!
- Sell yourself in the right way!
- Know what you don’t know
- Know when to stop!
- Control your cash flow and start small
What makes a good entrepreneur? Optimism, determination and resilience! When you are let down by a partner or customer or when things don’t turn out the way you expected, you have to get up, brush yourself off, adapt and try again. I guarantee you that this will happen often. I always think that being an entrepreneur is like being a bulldog - hang on in there until you have exhausted all the options. Stay positive!
Don’t hang on until the bitter end though... – but we will come to that later.
2. Know where you are going – have a vision!
Always have a vision when you start. You need to know where you are going – visualise where you want to be in three/ five/ ten years’ time, set realistic financial goals, then think about how you will get there. Why are you different to other companies? What resources do you need? How will you design and manufacture your products/ service? How will you distribute? Who are your customers (describe them)? How will you let them know you and your product/ service exist? How will you service your customers? What are the barriers you can foresee that could stop you from realising your plan and how would you overcome these?
3. Know why your business is different - your unique selling point
What makes you different from others? What is your unique selling point (USP)? This could be the skill you have, the unique features of your product or the positive impact you have on other people’s lives. You need to make sure you know your USP, you test it in the market to ensure it is unique and you can describe it in one or two sentences – a strap line is useful in that respect.
4. Be flexible
You set out believing in an idea. You have a plan. However, when you start taking it to market you suddenly realise that the format or design is not quite right. In this case, be flexible and learn. Adapt to market needs. Be flexible enough to change your plan in order to achieve your ultimate goal and vision.
5. Keep focused
Whatever you do, ensure you keep true to your vision and where you want to be in three to five years’ time. You may have to adapt your plans but only because you are staying true to your final goals. Keep focused on your customers and your finances! Make sure every decision you take gets you one step closer to your ultimate goal.
6. Enjoy what you do – and thus do it well
Being an entrepreneur is not a 9 to 5 job. It is a lifestyle. You will spend evenings and weekends working on your ideas, making sure the finances are stacking up and the product is perfect. Therefore, in order to do this you really need to love it. You will only succeed if you enjoy what you do!
7. Sell yourself in the right way
Start-ups are based on an idea that you have generated. You will need to sell it. You need to be credible, realistic and not over the top. If you don’t have a large company behind you with a brand people recognise, selling becomes more difficult. As a result, you are in the first instance selling yourself – remember that. Networking is the most important activity for you now. Use all the contacts you already have to let them know about your venture, make new contacts through social media, join local business groups and attend business networking meetings or speak at conferences (that way you usually don’t have to pay).
8. Know what you don’t know
To be able to enjoy what you do and to channel your energies into the areas of business where you can have the most impact you need to think about the areas of business where you do not have the relevant expertise. Make a list and think about how you can enlist appropriate help. You might like to ask a number of people to mentor you or you might think about outsourcing some of your functions to a company such as Scirum Ltd www.scirum.biz who can help. Plan how to fill the knowledge gaps you have.
9. Control your costs and start small
Finding investors is always difficult. You can go to your bank but unless you have a well thought out idea you are not going to get very far. The same is true with grants that are available for start-ups and other funding sources. I always think that you need to prove your concept first which means you need to get out there and test the market. My rule is never to spend more than £5,000 on an initial proof of concept and never to lose more than £20,000 in a business idea. Suffice to say, I have never lost any money so far – and this is where we get to tip number 10.
10. Know when to stop!
The most important thing to know is when to stop. Make sure that when you draw up your plans you include a list of things that will tell you ‘you need to stop now.’ Think about how you would define success and failure and develop some lines you will not cross, i.e. need to have first order by month X and will not spend more than Y on this idea. What happens if market conditions change dramatically - a recession or changes in exchange rates?You will be tempted to overstep these lines because the next contract is just round the corner, but DON’T. Get out before it gets you! Most successful entrepreneurs have to fail before they win big.
Scirum Ltd offers help to start-ups and small businesses. Please see our start-up web page or page for small business. .
To contact us please go to www.scirum.biz, call Tel: +44 (0)1264 860060.or e-mail us.
Join us on Twitter for more updates.
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Do as I say, not as I do – the pit of doom for regular blogging
What is my New Year’s resolution? To follow my own advice.
When I sit with a client and develop
their social media and marketing plans I always say: “Whatever you do, when you
start a Twitter account, Facebook page or blog, make sure you update it regularly. Include thoughts that are personal to you,
maybe talk about an interesting article you’ve read recently or some new
research that’s relevant to you and your blog readers. It’s all about making
your page interesting and informative.”
Susanne Hasselmann
Director, Scirum Ltd
www.scirum.biz
@scirum
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