4 Basic Marketing Principles

1.  Targeting

It’s better to have a single, well targeted bullet than to spray randomly all over the place. It’s more efficient and less wasteful – of both resources and time.

In practice this means getting to know your market and what they want and need (which may not always be the same thing). Then it means designing or adjusting your products appropriately.

     2.       Be in it for the long haul

Marketing works over time, and if you keep building on it, can go from strength to strength. It’s not

something you can just do a short burst of and then leave it forevermore. It should also have a many pillared approach, rather than relying too much on a single ‘prong’. Look at all the alternatives that are available to you, including: social media, website promotion, direct mailing, print advertising, networking etc.

   3.       Focus on benefits, not features

People don’t care that a car has a state of the art alarm system, they care that the car isn’t going to get stolen. They don’t care if they website is W3C compatible or future proof, they want to know that it’s going to improve their bottom line and not be a money sink.

In summary, don’t focus on the features of your products and services, focus on the tangible benefits they bring to your customers.

  4.       Be consistent and specific

Don’t try to be all things to all people, a constantly changing chameleon. By spreading yourself too thin, you’ll end up appealing to nobody instead. It’s better to decide what your brand represents, whether that’s based on your own intrinsic principles or what you’ve ascertained your market wants, and stick with it.

Click here to read about Chelsea Singh.

What makes a millionaire?

The Director’s Centre, which aims to help businesses become more profitable and fun to run, ran a survey called the ‘Magic Million Survey’ to try to get to the bottom of what makes one person able to become a millionaire and another not.

High achievers had a strong sense of self belief and a tendency to take responsibility for themselves and the factors around them. Whereas, those who got stuck in a rut and failed to progress and grow their businesses tended to blame external factors and have self-limiting beliefs.

They identified attributes, traits and characteristics of successful business people and discovered that the biggest difference between achievers and wannabes was the approach to success.

Fear is often the main factor in a lack of success, as people are afraid to risk losing what they have, are afraid of failure or are afraid to relinquish control of any aspects of their business (critical for a truly scalable business).

On the other hand, successful entrepreneurs are usually more self-aware, and know that they are often the bottle neck, holding the business back from even more success.

The successful business owners who took part in the survey all presented the following traits in one combination or another: charismatic leadership, a ‘can do’ attitude, a fast-moving, exciting business environment, motivational rewards systems for staff, a good body of staff… and luck.

You can read the original article here.

For more information about Chelsea Singh as an business investor, visit his website.

Do you need to have a degree in business studies to become an entrepreneur?

With worldwide University attendance rates at their highest ever (though watch this space to see how the increased fees will affect UK students), it’s commonly believed that you can’t get anywhere in life without that little piece of paper that says you spent four years or more attending lectures, and sitting exams at the end.

 

But research shows that most students remember almost nothing of what they learned at school or university. So is it worth going to university if you want to make it big in business?

The answer is that while university will be very helpful as a character building experience and to make friends that will last a lifetime, there are many examples of people who dropped out of college, had terrible reviews from their teachers and lecturers and turned out to be some of the most successful business people and entrepreneurs of our time – these include Richard Branson and Bill Gates.

So, there’s nothing wrong with qualifications, and getting an education is no bad thing, but a degree in business studies does not a good business person make, and it’s very possible to strike it rich without a university degree.

Click here to visit the Chelsea Singh Investment website.

Doctor Xpress Launches!

CS Investments is pleased to announce the launch of Chelsea Singh’s latest business: Doctor Xpress, providing medical services to your home, hotel or place of work.

Doctor Xpress is a new concept in medical care, aimed at providing convenience and efficiency that matches the needs of today’s demanding modern society.

When you’re feeling poorly, the last thing you want to be doing is traipsing over to your GP, and it’s probably one of the worst things you could be doing. Not only are you putting yourself at risk of the elements and exertion, but if you’re contagious, you’re putting others at risk as well. And once you get to the surgery, you’re exposing yourself to all kinds of other illnesses – whilst in your weakened state!

Doctor Xpress addresses these problems and offers a unique new service, where medical services and experts are mobile, travelling to where they’re needed most.

Services include flu vaccinations, travel clinics, sexual health consultations and private GPs. All our staff are professionally trained and registered with the General Medical Council.

The service is available 24/7, every day of the year, so emergency medical help can be with you as soon as possible, when you need it most.

Check out our new website to find out more about the service and what it can offer you.

More quotes about making it in business, from Chelsea Singh

Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Thomas A. Edison

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

Colin Powell

I want to put a ding in the universe.

Steve Jobs

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

Henry R. Luce

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

Sam Walton

Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.

Napoleon Hill

The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.

Albert Einstein

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

Bruce Lee

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

Bill Cosby


Click here to read about Chelsea Singh.

Could you run your own business? Part Two: Thick Skin.

If you haven’t read part one of this article, go here.

Some business owners, like Chelsea Singh, always knew they were going to run their own business. There was simply no question about it, it was an itch that had to be scratched and was just waiting for the right moment.

Others start out in normal employment and just consider running a business as a possible alternative, thinking about the benefits of freedom and potential wealth it could bring.

So if you’ve got the itch, how do you know if you’ve got what it takes to actually make a success of your own business?
 

Thick Skin

You’ll need resilience and a thick skin to make it on your own in the business world. Criticism can come from all sides, including well-meaning friends and family who think you’re making a mistake and it’s all going to end in tears.

Then you’ll meet other business owners who criticize your ideas or methods or might be deliberately malicious if they think you’re infringing on their territory.

Also, not all customers are reasonable, and every business owner has their share of rants directed at them, no matter how unreasonable, or how much they’ve bent over backwards to try to keep the client happy.

If you already know that you’re sensitive to criticism, and every time anyone disapproves of anything you do, you spend weeks brooding about it, then it might be worth reconsidering running your own business, and the benefits may not be worth the anxiety that will also come along.

If you’re a bit sensitive, but think you can take it, then prepare yourself for a bumpy ride and hang in there!

Read the next part of the article here.

For more about Chelsea Singh, click here.

More inspiring quotes from Chelsea Singh

"Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming." – Richard Branson
 
"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." – Norman Schwarzkopf

"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." – Nolan Bushnell

"To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult." – Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!" – C.J. Walker

"The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do." – Dennis Waitley

Business Basics – The Business Plan: Part One

If you want to start a business and you’re looking for investment, either from  banks or from private investors, you’re going to need a business plan.

A business plan is a document that details various aspects of a proposed business, including the aims of the business, the background of the individuals starting the business, details of the products and services that are on offer, the market, competition, strengths and weaknesses, operations, pricing strategy and financial forecasts.

Aims of the business

This will include a summary of the business, its aims and a brief financial summary. This section is called the executive summary, and although you have to spend hours, days, even weeks preparing your business plan, at the end of the day, this page may be the only part that the investors actually look at.

The background of the individuals starting the business

The business plan should set out why the individuals are the best people to start this business. They must demonstrate that they have the appropriate skills and experience required to make this business a success, including previous work experience, qualifications and education, hobbies and interests and anything else that’s relevant.

Details of the products and services that are on offer

Naturally a key part of the business plan is details of the products and or services that are going to be sold. There should be a single line description and also a more detailed description. Ideally there will be information about Unique Selling Points (USPs) that will give your company the edge over competitors.

The market,

A sign of a serious entrepreneur is one that knows the importance of knowing their market. It’s no good just assuming the market is there and will be beating down your door – you need market research and hard data to crunch. This should include a description of your typical customer, their profile (individuals or businesses, age, wealth levels etc), what their priorities are, whether you’ve sold them before, location and much more.

Competition

The better the devil you know, as they say. New businesses need to know exactly what they’re up against. That means how much competition there is and what it looks like. Who currently holds the market share, how big are they, how long have they been in business, how do they make a success of it? You can learn a lot from your competition, and you need to be very clear about exactly why your customers should buy from you and not them.

Click here to read part two.

Click here to visit CS Investments

How to reach success - more quotes from Chelsea Singh

 

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
Swami Vivekananda
 

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.
Ross Perot
 

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.
John Foster Dulles
 

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
David Frost
 

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
George S. Patton
 

Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 

Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.
Eileen Caddy

Chelsea Singh - Strategist

What is strategy?

Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a particular aim.

The aim must be specific and measurable and the strategy needs to be broken down into tactics: the actual methods, techniques and actions that will be carried out, that together make up a coherent strategy. Just like in the military, business needs a good strategy and  a good business leader will know when to hold the ship steady despite waves and when to reassess and change course.

Read more about Chelsea Singh and Strategy here.

A good strategist will be able to see the bigger picture, as well as focus down on the details, and will be able to see how all the different elements interrelate. There is plenty of training you can do to learn strategy, and became a specialist an areas from business to politics to saving the world.

But most good strategists have that special something, a little bit more - intuition. They will have gut feelings and instincts that help guide their strategies in ways that simple number crunching can never do.

Want to know more? Read Chelsea Singh's Biography.