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What is Competitive Research and why is it so important?

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Outsource to virtual assistantCompetitive research is a type of strategic research that monitors and analyses what your competitors are doing.

The aim of conducting competitive research is to gain an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape. This can help you to identify opportunities in the market and keep the products or services that you’re offering competitive and current.

It can be particularly beneficial to carry out thorough competitive research at key stages of setting up and running a business, like when launching a new product range.

However, it is just as important to keep up with some level of consistent monitoring of competition on an ongoing basis. This can help your business to keep its finger on the pulse when it comes to changes and developments within your industry’s marketplace.

 

How to carry out competitive research

The areas that you choose to examine as part of your competitive research are likely to vary depending on what stage your business is at.

A few key areas that you may wish to consider if you’re carrying out competitive research at a higher level include:

  • List of competitors.
  • Who their target market is?
  • What makes them, their products or services unique?
  • Price points.

A more in-depth analysis may include some of the following:

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How to improve your business’ social media ROI using data

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social media trainingNo matter which social media platform works best for your business, you’ll find a wealth of valuable data and metrics available for your use behind the scenes.

Social media platforms track and collect data about users and the way that they interact with other pages and profiles.

When you track and analyse your social media data, you can paint a picture of who your audience is and which kind of content they react best to.

Armed with this information you can then create more effective and successful social media posts to achieve a better ROI.

Here are four ways you can use social media data to create a more effective social media strategy.

Get to know your audience better

Discover audience insights using your social media data. Find out more about where the people connected to your business live, their age, sex, interests, times that they are active on social media, and so much more information.

Once you have a better picture of who it is that you’re talking to, you’ll be able to create more tailored content that resonates with your audience.

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Making a Success of Outsourcing

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Outsourcing is for big business, right?

Wrong!  Outsourcing can be the key to growing your microbusiness if you use it strategically.  With the advance of cloud technology, outsourcing is becoming increasingly accessible to even the smallest business, making data instantly accessible from anywhere.  This means the right person to do the job doesn’t necessarily have to be in your office.

The catalyst for starting to outsource is often a large order coming in or a sudden rush, but with careful planning, your business can benefit from outsourcing from the very start.

Being a small business owner can feel like you’re a juggler, and keeping all the balls in the air can sometimes seem impossible – how do you focus on bringing in new business when you’re struggling to meet existing demand?  You know social media is key to marketing your service but keeping on top of it is so time consuming.  Your accounting would be so much simpler if you had an organised filing system, but you haven’t the time to sort it out.  No one is good at everything, and sometimes it pays to get an expert to tackle particular jobs.

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Mailchimp Automation opens up New Possibilities for Small Business

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Mailchimp, Email newsletterswhich we love for e-newsletter marketing, has just made automation available on its free plan, and this could transform the way small businesses communicate with their customers.

What do we mean by automation? It’s the process of sending out predetermined emails when certain events or triggers happen.

For example:

You could set up a standard email thanking a customer when they have made their first purchase, automatically send out a shipping confirmation, send a follow up email to subscribers who have (or haven’t) opened a particular communication, or even a “Happy Birthday” message or offer – you set the triggers to whatever is most effective for you, it could be an action or an inaction (i.e. those who click on a link, or those who don’t click on it). You can send a series of emails if that’s appropriate, at whatever intervals you require, or on specified days or dates.

The key to making your automated communications welcome to your customers is making sure the content is relevant, the frequency is appropriate, and that they don’t sound like they’ve been generated by a robot! Although everyone loves the efficiency automation can create, no one wants to feel that they are part of a conveyor belt of automatic emails, so make sure your content is personal, friendly and above all useful.

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The Importance of Good Newsletters

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email NewsletterDo you send your customers regular email newsletters?  A newsletter is a cost-effective medium for building relationships and keeping up a regular contact with customers – it keeps you at the forefront of the customer’s thoughts so when they need your services, you’ll come to mind.

So what makes a good newsletter? How do you create one that people will actually read?  Here are a few pointers:

 

 

1. Pick a Topic

Sounds obvious, but don’t try to clutter your newsletter with lots of different offers and every piece of news about your business – pick one subject and stick to it to avoid your newsletter looking unfocused.

 

2. Don’t Just Sell

Make your newsletter informative rather than hard sell.  Email inboxes are full of marketing messages, people get tired of being sold to constantly, but if you get a reputation for passing on interesting information your newsletters are more likely to be opened and read.

 

3. Pick an Engaging Subject Line

If the subject line doesn’t draw the recipient in, your newsletter will be heading straight to the recycle bin without being opened.  If you’re not sure what will work, why not test different messages?

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We Go Together like Ice and a Slice…

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Pink Spaghetti’s customers often approach us to do a little job they don’t have time to do and before they know it are using us regularly to help move their businesses forward by providing an extra pair of hands as and when needed.

One such customer is Tiffinie Pride who owns The Wiltshire Liqueur Company just outside Hungerford, on the Wiltshire and Berkshire border.

Wiltshire Liqueurs are a fantastic company that has gone from strength to strength due to its unshakeable ethos of offering high quality products supported by great customer service and a slice of fun. They produce Sloe Gin, Wild Strawberry Liqueur, Damson Vodka and Blood Orange Liqueur – with the added bonus of complimentary personalised labelling.

Tiffinie first approached Pink Spaghetti for help with her social Media: “When we set up our business it was very clear to me that we really had to embrace social networking. Rather than spend hours fiddling around and getting it wrong it was a great help and peace of mind to get someone like Suzi at Pink Spaghetti to set this up.”

As Wiltshire Liqueurs got busier and busier, Tiffinie began to use Pink Spaghetti for their broader marketing needs:

“Suzi sent out my first customer newsletter at Christmas as I was snowed under in pre-Christmas orders; she wrote the whole newsletter, managed my contacts database and sent it out to the database as well as posting it up on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally Suzi has taken over the role of keeping our website up to date with forthcoming events and news items. She has also really helped me formulate our marketing ideas so that I can actually sit down and do them!”

By delegating tasks as and when she is busy, Tiffinie has been able to grow her business by spending more time on the road, meeting new customers and stockists. New business has also been developed as a result of Pink Spaghetti building and maintaining Wiltshire Liqueurs’ online network, which as an over-stretched business owner, Tiffinie wouldn’t have had time to do. Every newsletter results in orders, activity on Twitter has generated new trade accounts and there is a great buzz around the brand on Facebook, driving increased consumer awareness and purchasing.

Wiltshire Liqueurs and Pink Spaghetti now have a really cohesive working relationship:

“Suzi really understands our brand and business and gives me complete peace of mind so that when I am stuck or have run out of time, I can pass her my mess and she somehow gets it back on track. To be frank I’m not sure I would have got any social marketing or newsletters done without her. I have also finally learnt how to spell spaghetti!”

For more information on Wiltshire Liqueurs see www.wiltshireliqueur.com

email help@pink-spaghetti.co.uk or click here to find your nearest team