​Many of us are aware of the burdensome challenges Churchill faced whilst the British army was heavily under fire, including himself. However, he proved it does take true courage and perseverance especially in the face of failure. This eventually led Britain to victory. Your business may be under fire at the moment for various reasons, lack of customers, state of the economy, cash flow issues, temporary industry setbacks, lack of funding or even a lack of clarity of the health of your business. RBSS Consulting will help you do a full business health check and performance diagnostic and offer real solutions to help you meet your business goals and thrive.

Being successful is not always the hardest thing in the world as it is equal parts of luck and hard work. However, if your business concentrates on adding value to its clients or customers and does this wisely, then you are on the way to success.
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Nevertheless, adding value is a not as easy as people think. Einstein was true to his word and is well known for his theory of relativity and the equation E=MC2, which foreshadowed the development of atomic power which we still enjoy and value til today. As an entrepreneur, it is important you look to add sustainable value to your clients, thereby being an effective business model within your community​.  Value that is not easily eroded.  This could be in the business model, customer service, innovation, etc.  RBSS Consulting will help you with this.

I believe I can safely say whenever Branson features in the press, he’s often caught with a big smile. We should also be aware that happy employees are central to the success of a business as emphasized in his book, ‘Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business School’. This largely contributes to Virgin’s success. Appreciating and embracing your team including their ideas really makes a business. This gives employees freedom to help structure your decision making process. An entrepreneur should aim to be a lender and NOT a boss. 

If you are facing any of the above challenges or would like to talk to an expert about taking your business to the next level, connect with the top business adviser in Romford, RBSS Consulting on 0333 355 1696 or drop an email at info@rbssconsulting.com. We provide real business solutions for startups and existing micro and small businesses.

Undeniably, customers are at the heart of every business and you need to keep on acquiring new ones to keep your business afloat. It doesn’t matter what you do, you may be a consulting firm or a bakery or a real estate agent, your business needs new customers. They not only provide increased access to finance but also help in boosting business growth. 

However, it is easier said than done. In the competitive business world of today, you certainly need that extra edge over competitors to be able to draw in new customers. Here are 5 essential tips to get new customers and stay on top of the game –  

1. Make it easy for customers to find you
Have you been complaining about how you just can’t seem to get new customers? Well, think for a second – is your business easy to find? It doesn’t matter how great your services are or how amazing your product is, it all boils down to the fact that are you visible to potential customers or not. Increase your online presence; put a digital marketing plan in place, make use of online directories as well. Make sure that you put yourself in front of your potential customers. Visibility is the Key to Credibility which leads to profitability.

2. Leverage your existing network 
Try to put your existing network to use when it comes to getting more customers. Request your old customers to provide a referral; these could be the strongest leads for your business. Make efforts to network within your target market. For example, if you run a bakery business then join local baking groups, online baking communities and more. Then leverage this network to increase your customer base. Why not look up your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and join their networking events?

3. Speak at events and exhibits (or host one)
Sign up for speaking at events, exhibits and meet-ups within your target market. This is the best place to put your business out there, in front of your potential customers. If there are not many relevant events, then maybe you could host one? It would be the best chance to connect with your target market.

4. See whether free trials work for you
People don’t buy what they see or hear, they buy what they experience for themselves. If you can provide a free trial of your product or service, then advertise the same. If a complete free trial is not viable for your business then you could offer a small sample for free. This is a proven way to gain new customers; ones that are more likely to turn into regular clients. This isn’t proposing offering a free service as part of your accessing the market.  It also works better for some businesses than others and can be built into your model in a positive manner.

5. Run a referral program 
Referrals are often undermined whereas they should be treated like gold. Plan and put in place a referral program which mutually benefits everyone. For example, ask your customers to refer a new customer and both of them could get x% off on the next order. Overtime, you will have a good number of new customers coming in from your referral program itself. 

If you would like to talk to an expert about acquiring new customers, then connect with the top business adviser in Romford, RBSS Consulting on 0333 355 1696 or drop an email at info@rbssconsulting.com. We provide real business improvement strategies and also offer business start-up plans for small businesses. 

The type of finance you choose will depend on what sort of business you are setting up, how much capital you need and what you will use it for. For example, you could:

Use your own savings or personal borrowings to get the business underway, especially if you can’t get finance or investment from external sources.
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Borrow money from family or friends. But be careful. It is often hard for them to say no, but what happens if the business fails? How would you pay back their money? What strain would that put on your relationship. Are they ending you the money, or investing in a share of your business? Remember to put things in writing.

Borrow from a bank if you have a credible business plan and can offer some security. If your business is seasonal in its cash flow, it’s essential to be able to clearly illustrate these to your bank so you can plan an overdraft. Many businesses use overdrafts for day-to-day borrowing and to manage cash flow, and loans for long-. You may want to use funding to finance large purchases such as equipment. When considering bank finance, it is generally a good idea to take professional advice from your accountant or business adviser.

Can you secure outside investors? Perhaps you are willing to sell shares to business angels or venture capitalists. This can provide short-term finance without the need for repayment. Having investors can also bring in additional business expertise. When you hand over shares to investors it is likely that they may want some control over its management.
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Do you qualify for a grant? Grants or government supports can offer cheap financing, and often come with business advice or consultancy. However, there is usually a lot of competition for grant schemes, and you will invariably need to meet various criteria first.

For those unable to get bank finance, you could consider commercial lenders – such as insurance companies and building societies. These tend to have lower interest rates. However, commercial lenders are also subject to fewer regulations than banks and so you may have to provide some security in order to obtain funding.

Consider crowd funding – also known as crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, crowd financing, equity crowdfunding, or hyper funding) describes the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their resources to support efforts initiated by other people or companies. Crowdfunding is used in support of a wide variety of activities, including disaster relief, support of artists by fans, political campaigns, start-up company funding, or free software development, inventions development and scientific research. Crowdfunding can also refer to the financing of a company by selling small amounts of shares to many investors.

Most businesses use a mixture of finance sources. For example, you might invest your own money to cover market research, bring in outside investors to share the risk and borrow from the bank to purchase equipment and machinery.

All of this can be confusing and overwhelming, so it is advisable to speak to a business consultant first. Our Romford-based team at RBSS Consulting can be reached on 0333 355 1696 or by email at info@rbssconsulting.com.

​Customers are the heart of all small businesses and without them the business is sure to fail. Therefore, it important that they are treated properly and you strive to build a relationship with them, to ensure you gain a loyal customer.

Here are six essential steps to consider when building a strong client base;

1. Communication
Whether it is via email, text, phone, newsletters, websites, social media or face-to-face it is vital that you are letting people know you exist. Let them know what your business is about and how customers can get your services or products. Why should they get them from you and not somebody else? A good tip is to share some knowledge or useful tips and tricks. Communication is also important in the aspect of replying quickly and professionally.
 
2. Customer Service
Go the extra mile for your clients and make their experience personal. Customers will always remember the companies that treated them well and those that treated them badly. Ensure you deliver good customer service by ensuring staff are well trained, customers are listened to and not rushed. Reply to queries complaints or emails as soon as you can. This will ensure that they will come back if they need your services again and they will recommend you to anyone they may know who needs those services; therefore, building up your client base.
 
3. Customer incentives
Incentives give customers a reason to come back to you rather than go to another company. This a good way to start building a client base from nothing, especially if your services are something new and not well-known yet. Having incentives like a free consultation or loyalty rewards can influence people to use your services over another companies; as they know what they are getting before they pay for the product or services. This allows them to make a decision based on what they want rather than what people have told them.
 
4. Reliability
This is a great quality to have for customers. People have very busy lives these days, so it is essential that deadlines and agreements are met on time and up to standard. For example, someone may own a small office supplies company and an office may order some ink and the delivery date is next Monday but it doesn’t arrive until the Wednesday and they had ran out of ink between the date in which it was supposed to be delivered by and the actual delivery date. This could cause a customer not to want to come back to your business. The client may write a bad review online about the business, which may cause other people not to try your business.  So ensure when discussing deadlines and deliveries that enough time is left for these to be met and communicate with the customer throughout to see if it suits them or if suddenly a deadline can’t be met.
 
5. Address customers by name
Make sure that you clearly communicate to customers that you respect them and make them feel important as they are by addressing them directly and taking time to know their names. Depending on which sector you’re in you will know whether to use Mrs, Ms or Mr, etc or their first name. This builds loyalty and builds a good relationship from the start. If you tell a customer your name they then know who they are speaking to and what they have discussed and can refer back to it if needed and be held accountable. Also customers are more likely to open up to you and will gain more trust to form the basis of a good long-term relationship.
 
6. Training staff
Training staff is essential to provide good customer service. Make sure that all staff have an overview of the business and can give customers answers for all aspects of the business, rather tah having to deal with too many departments for simple queries. Staff training allows the employees to feel more confident in their job role and motivated which allows for good work which leads to reliable and loyal customers, as well as staff retention.
 
If you want to talk it through how to improve your business in order to increase your customer base, give RBSS Consulting a call on 0333 355 1696 or email info@rbssconsulting.com. We offer you real business advice and solutions for start-ups and small businesses.

Is your businesses struggling to be seen? Does it have an active presence on social media, or are you like one of the many business owners who say that they don’t have time to post regularly on social media? Do you know that social media makes a difference? These social media platforms will bring awareness to your business, organically grow your business, and one of them may even make you some extra money! By not doing so you are letting opportunities pass you by.

Most of you are familiar with Facebook, so I’m focusing on three other platform that small businesses should get to know, as they could be a real boost to your business. Although they are free, time is also money and they require an investment of time. Time well spent can generate money on the short to long run. Make it part of your wider marketing strategy, be consistent and you will get results.
 
Twitter
Use Twitter to get your businesses noticed; especially if your competitors are using it too. By using Twitter you can begin to level out the playing field and you can have equal opportunities to show your services, products and expertise.
Twitter is a quick way to get a message across to a lot of people that you don’t personally know. For example, if you are holding an event, Twitter is a great way to spread the news fast and to an audience that you didn’t necessarily have before.
‘Retweets’ show how many people shared your tweet, this is a good way to see if people like, dislike, agree or disagree with your content. This is good for seeing what you can improve and what you should carry on doing.

Instagram
Instagram is great for business that can present their products and services in a visually appealing way, for example: fashion, art, food, cars, etc.

This allows your company to create a good first impression and it also gives you the opportunity to get people interested in what you do. Instagram allows potential customers to see what service or product they will be getting before they approach your company.

When you follow people on Instagram it allows you to see what kind of content they like, this allows you to see what the competition is doing and to see what kind of things attract your target audience; this gives you ideas about how to improve your business as well. Also having followers helps because it brings your page higher up on the list when people are searching for certain things.

If you post good quality photos (which you should be doing anyway) and you post regularly, then you have the ability to attract collaborations with other companies. This spreads the word about your company faster and gives you the opportunity to earn extra revenue. 
 
Pinterest
On Pinterest you can post business related pictures but unlike Instagram they don’t have to be overly aesthetically pleasing. Pictures on Pinterest just have to be eye catching and informative. 

On Pinterest you can link your pictures directly to your website. This means that when people click on the image they go straight to your website. If you prefer, you can simply just post the picture and put your website in a link below. This means more people visit your website and you have a higher chance of getting more customers.

Pinterest converts browsers to buyers. This means that if someone is just looking through Pinterest they could end up visiting your website or even buying something (you can buy and sell on Pinterest too).
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User engagement is high. Pinterest has a wide range of ages and they are willing to post nearly anything, because that’s what Pinterest is about and Pinterest also encourages it. The more boards your picture gets pinned to the more people will see it.