Have you had this problem before? I was looking for the telephone number for a supplier we have used in the past. I found the number in an old email on my computer. Rang the number and got a Telstra message saying the number was disconnected. Oh, no…

Looked up the business name in Whitepages online and Google – it was the same phone number.

Had they gone out-of-business?

I eventually found a mobile phone number for the business, so I thought I’d call that as the last resort.

They answered! And yes, they were still operating.

I asked the obvious question – why weren’t they using their old phone number. I found out they had moved and their reply was "We paid for phone diversion for 6 months…then we cancelled it".

Now, your business phone number is very important in marketing. You have no idea how long it will remain around for on the internet, in old emails and on old brochures, business cards, promotional products, etc. Here’s an important marketing tip – never get rid of your old number. Put it on diversion for ever! It will still pay for itself and generate repeat business for you.

This supplier was really lucky that I was persistent – other past customers would have called a different business (their competition).

P.S. This is at least the second time I have had difficulty tracking down past suppliers. These guys just don’t know how many repeat sales they are losing! Please don’t make the same error in your business.

Human resources (your team) is an area that can be certainly systemised.

For example, for the Marketing Projecting Specialist due to leave shortly on carer’s leave – I opened the last version of his Positional Tasks, spent 5 minutes updating it, then had a meeting with one of our casual staff who I knew would be suitable for the position. I then had the former Marketing Project Specialist train his replacement using the Positional Tasks as a guide – as well as showing the replacement team member all the training documents that he developed for each part of his role.

Wow – so easy for me (the business owner).

Not only that – I had the Letter of Offer and the Employment Contract for the position on computer also. Another 10 minutes later, both documents updated and given to the new team member.

See how I was able to turn a potential headache into a very minor issue? Most businesses have standard positions – Sales Person, Office Manager, Receptionist, etc. They are good places to start for you to systemise.

Don’t wait for one of your key people to leave your business and throw your business into chaos!

Here’s my recommendation:

1. Interview each staff member for a particular position. Write 1-2 pages of headings and bullet points for each task they do.
2. Ask that staff member to begin creating instructions for each of these. Check back with them to make sure they have done this.
3. Update all your recruitment and induction documentation. Including the advertisements, interview questions, Letter of Offer, Employment Contracts, etc.

Sure this takes effort -but would you rather do this at (usually) the worst time (when someone leaves) – or have it all pre-done and avoid the stress?

What would you rather do? Purchase a retail business at the peak of the market (last peak was 2007) and pay the ‘peak’ price. Or obtain a bargain at the bottom of the market which can only move up?

Although I’ve included yet another article from "Gerry Harvey" – love him or hate him, he certainly knows the retailing trends in Australia (see article below).

Underperforming retailers are closing – often business owners have seen a decline in sales from 2008 to now – and they’re worn out, frustrated and tired.

A perfect time to make them a ‘fair’, yet realistic offer.

The challenge for you – if you decide to purchase a retail business right now- it to be able to maintain a positive profit figure in the current consumer market. Certainly paying too much for the business and stock won’t help.

However, if you have bought well, kept a very close eye on your stock levels and marketed your store using some of our low cost marketing strategies – then you’ve really got a lean and profitable store with good sales growth potential when consumers return to spending (which they will). Not only will you take advantage of the increase in cash-flow, but also capital growth too!

We are all familiar with seeing businesses close down, however the actual number is staggering. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that of the 36,122 WA (new) businesses that began in 2007-08, only 17,554 were still operating in June 2011. WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry economist John Nicolaou said the 48 per cent survival rate was not surprising, given the unusual trading conditions in the current economic climate.

Of the TOTAL 211,745 WA businesses operating in mid-2007, there were 126,716 still in business by the middle of last year (just under 60%). Amazingly, not only a large number of new businesses close but a good portion of longer operating businesses do too.

This goes to show HOW important good marketing, sales and business management is to business survival and success.

What are QR codes? Well, they’re similar to the barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products at the point of sale. The main difference between the two is the amount of data they can communicate.

Traditional bar codes which I’m sure you’re familiar with use vertical lines and can only hold up to 20 digits, whereas QR codes are two-dimensional (2D) and can hold much more information.

When a customer scans or reads a QR code with their iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, the phone can automatically:

• Be linked to a web page (for your shop, or business)
• Activate a number of phone functions including email, messaging or SMS
• Directed to an online video (Youtube, etc)
• Display prices or other data about a product, etc

Really it makes it EASIER for a customer (or potential customer) to obtain further information about a product – WITHOUT having to enter in information (e.g. your website address). It’s a good marketing and sales tool.

I’ve recently seen a big electrical goods retailer use QR codes as a ‘teaser’ for advertised specials. So it will be interesting to keep tabs on the varied (and creative) uses for QR codes in retailing and business.

Brad’s Giovanni blend coffee is so good that he retains cafe and restaurant clients for many years – hence the Lifetime PROFIT Value of that new client would easily be $32,000 over 4 years.

To read other marketing success case-studies, click here.

• Tip #21 – Getting More Customers – Fast! (part 1)
• Tip #22 – Free Marketing Strategy: Lead Generation In Public
• Strategy #32 – Store Traffic Information : A Simple Way To Boost Store Sales!
• Strategy #33 – How Many Customers Didn’t Revisit Your Store? And What You Can Do About It!
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Products – our business marketing systems
• Client results – case studies and testimonials from clients using our business marketing systems
• Client results #2

Article published from our head office – Balcatta, Perth, Western Australia.

Thousands of business owners have chosen to use MYOB Accounting software systems.

However, what other accounting systems are used by Australian businesses?

Interesting question… I found this useful list:

• Business Vision 50 Accounting
• BusinessWorks
• DacEasy
• MAS 90
• MAS 200
• Microsoft Dynamics GP
• Microsoft Money
• MYOB Accounting
• MYOB Premier
• One Write Plus
• Peachtree
• Sage – Simply Accounting
• Sage PFW
• Quickbooks
• Quicken
• Timberline

Any others I’ve omitted?

WHY? Answer: A business is more valuable when it can operate profitably, survive and grow and survive without the business owner.

The business owner needs to spend a little time EACH and EVERY day (as much as possible) to work on "Entrepreneurial tasks" and not "Employee tasks". Entrepreneurial tasks like marketing planning and documenting processes (or working with a staff member to document processes) adds significantly more value to a business than $18-$22 per hour employee tasks like making deliveries, filing, bookkeeping, etc.

For more information about which business tasks are entrepreneurial – click here.

Wouldn’t it be great to avoid those ‘pesky’ questions from staff about HOW to do something on the computer. Or, perhaps your existing staff know how to do something – but if they left your employment, would you know to train the replacement?

Though – don’t record how to use your business software. e.g. how to add a contact, etc. Those videos will already exist on Youtube and on the software developer’s websites.

What you want to do is – only record a SPECIFIC procedure unique to your business. For example, a special way your staff create an invoice, or use MS Outlook for a particular task, or use your in-house production software, etc. Also you don’t want to record dozens of videos for seldom performed tasks either – just the most common daily or weekly functions in your business.

Video is simply just another documentation tool that can be used to free up your time as the business owner. Use it well.