As a business owner you might think writing isn’t that important. You constantly have to manage all facets of your business and need to have an opinion on everything from how best to move your company forward to which brand of coffee your kitchen should stock. How could you possibly find the time to worry about your writing? But the fact is every piece of communication you send out says something about you. Here are some tips on how to improve your business writing.

Each business offers a primary product or service upon which the business needs to focus. Better Business Practice offers a comprehensive strategic and financial service support to empower business owners to concentrate on their main source of revenue. No business is perfect, but can be improved incrementally. To compete and remain feasible it is essential to aspire to better the business that you practise. Practising better business is also not only about PROFIT, for a business to be truly successful it is important to consider other business objectives.

If one were to ask 10 marketing directors what the criteria for a successful brand are, you would get 10 completely different answers. Whichever way you look at it, brands today are the most demonstrably powerful and sustainable wealth creators in the world. However, to become a successful brand one has to take it seriously. So, before you embark on a brand-centric exercise here are some questions you should ask yourself.

Put simply, edification happens when somebody else (say your client or a colleague) and not you tells a new client of the great product or service which they have purchased from you/your business and how satisfied they are with the quality, level of service and expertise they received from you and/or your business. Having someone else singing your praises is always more effective than you trying to blow your own horn, so to speak. Here's how to use edification as a marketing tool.

In this article we illustrate how the fundamentals of marketing form an integrated part of your business model. To do so, we answer the following questions: is my business optimal? Where do I start? What is the optimal price? Everything to everybody? How do I get customers to buy my product? Additionally, it addresses how to promote your product and delight your customer.

With the prominent economic recessions, many companies have had to tighten their belts when it comes to marketing spend. One of the hardest hit entities are small businesses. So, how are small businesses supposed to combat this? Put simply: win where you can, and make a plan. Find out more information on this, as well as how you may go about affording these resources in this article.

A satisfied client is an asset to any business, but business owners often neglect to use the positive references of clients as a marketing element in the establishment of credibility during their marketing activities. First things first: If you wish to use a client’s feedback and want to mention him/her by name, it is of the utmost importance to obtain the written consent of such a client. Here are some tips to help you use client feedback and case studies to the benefit of your business

There are two ways to promote your business – advertising and publicity. Advertising is any form of promotional material that you have to pay for, while press releases promote a product or a service and go into appropriate newspapers or magazines free of charge. Sometimes, a radio station may also use this information. Here's how to generate interest on your business by regularly writing and sending out press releases.

Networking is about relationships. It’s about, not only meeting new people and creating new relationships – it’s also about nurturing and maintaining current relationships. That said, not everyone is equally as good at networking. In fact, if the truth be told, not many people actually even like to network. Yet, networking is a crucial part of running a successful business. Find out how best to approach networking through this article.

When you have your own business you need to be alert to clues the whole time: these could be about new products, new needs or new markets. Expanding your network of contacts is one of the key building blocks to a successful business. A network provides support, opens doors to experts or trusted advisers and most importantly to new business opportunities. Here is how to go about networking and expanding your business network.

Marketing your business is one of the most important things you can do to ensure its success. This may sound obvious to you, but many entrepreneurs who are specialists in their own fields find themselves stumped when it comes to marketing. Here are some hints and tips to help you market your business better and attract more customers.

In this day and age, the biggest social media mistake a small business can make is not having any social media accounts. Engaging with your customer base is essential. You also need to have a space where people can recommend you or feel free to complain (which is a great way to improve your product or service). Ultimately, people feel more comfortable dealing with businesses who have an online presence. But there are certain social media mistakes that small businesses tend to make which are easy to avoid. Here they are.

People telling others about their positive experiences of your business sends a far more powerful marketing message than any advertisement. Word of mouth is credible, personal, and admiring. The best advertising cannot match that. Word of mouth is also free, so it is a great marketing medium and deserves more attention that it normally gets. Here is how word of mouth can market your business effectively.

South Africa was considered one of the world’s fastest-growing tourist destination and still offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs. The challenge, of course, is not to get lost in the general clutter that confronts both local and foreign tourists when planning a trip here. This is particularly true for guest houses and B&Bs run by entrepreneurs who can’t match the advertising and promotional budgets of the big hotel chains. The good news is that there are lots of easy ways to promote a small establishment – here are some top tips.

During an economic recession small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often adopt a survivalist mentality by focusing on cost-cutting strategies that ensure short-term success but ignore long-term prosperity. Marketing tends to be one of the first spending areas to be cut when times are tough. SME owners can cut their marketing budget, however, they then need to increase their marketing effort in other ways. Here are some insightful marketing tips for SME owners looking to succeed during tough economic times.

A social media presence – via social media marketing – is a must-have when it comes to marketing your business. You may have heard this phrase being bandied about, but aren't quite sure what it means or how it can be of use to your business. Let's demystify the online world of social media and how you can leverage it to reach a wider consumer base.

What do you think experts said was the ultimate sales secret? Was it relationship? Was it price? Was it sales scripts? Was it your selling tools? No, it was rapport. However, while I wholeheartedly believe that rapport is a very important factor in any business relationship, it is certainly not the biggest factor in closing more sales. You see, you have to understand why people buy things. That's a fact. So then, what is the most important key to selling? Undeniable proof that your product or service works. Here's why.

There is a conception that TV campaigns can only be used by big brands embarking on expensive brand-building campaigns. This is a myth that needs debunking. Smaller companies and start-ups, especially those in the e-commerce industry, can use TV to grow efficiently. Having a partner to track and optimise this campaign performance is crucial to success.

As Christmas season approaches, marketers are scrambling to get their Christmas season media plans finalised, big budgets are being spent on television advertising, and everyone just hopes it will bring in the desired sales. But is anyone looking at the results of last year’s Christmas advertising before spending a fortune again this year? The answer is most likely ‘no’ – because brands in South Africa are not using attribution software to track and optimise their TV advertising yet.

A company's image can be its greatest asset or its biggest downfall. Large corporate companies know this too well and spend huge amounts of money on their corporate branding and reputation-building. This includes making sure that their employees live up to the company's good name. As a small business, image is equally as important and the first place to start building your brand is by taking a step back and looking at the way you and your employees come across to your clients, customers, and/or service providers