Sussex Food And Drink Awards 2008/9
Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2008/9
If you have a business in Sussex that provides local Food & Drink, then you should encourage your customers to vote for you in the Sussex Food and Drink Awards. The competition is open to Sussex Farmers Markets as well as producers, growers, restaurants and shops that promote their fare.
Your customers can vote for you online at www.sussexfoodawards.com The deadline for votes is 17th October 2008
Awards judging – A shortlist for each award will be drawn up from the nominations with the highest number of votes in their category and will be considered as finalist. The judges will then verify the finalist against set criteria for each award category. The winners will be announced at a glittering awards dinner on Thursday 29th January 2009.
For further details please visit www.sussexfoodawards.com
Paul Stanford is a Director of 4Momentum http://www.4momentum.co.uk. 4Momentum provides business advisory services to small businesses, charities and social enterprises primarily in Sussex. Services include advice on starting a business, growing and transforming a business and selling a business. Clients typically contract 4Momentum for short periods of an hour to long term consultancy over many months for advice on subjects such as mentoring, business planning, sales and marketing advice, bidding for contracts, raising finance and general business advice. Paul is approved by the UK Government to deliver business advice on their behalf through Business Link and is a member of the Institute of Business Consultants. Visit his blog at http://www.paulstanford.co.uk/blog
Copyright 2008 Paul Stanford
Home Based Business Free To Enter Competition
Entries open for Home Business Awards
Enterprise Nation, the home business website, has launched its annual Home Business Awards and is on the look-out for the UKs best home businesses. This years Awards are bigger and better than ever with new categories, more prizes and top Judges.
Having had the difficult task of choosing just one winner in 2007, Enterprise Nation has introduced three new categories this year; the Home Office, Home Business Couple and Young Home Business Owner of the Year. All entries will be automatically considered to win the top title Home Business of the Year and entrants can check a box to be considered for any, or all, of the new categories.
Entry to the Awards is free and well worth the time as there are some great prizes to be won.
For the Home Business of the Year
* A virtual assistant for 12 months, from Moneypenny UK
* Printing package, including printer and consumables, worth over 1,000 from Brother
* Accounting software, QuickBooks Pro, valued at 299.95
* Senseo coffee machine, plus coffee supplies, provided by Douwe Egberts
* 10 days of free access to private London club and office, One Alfred Place
For the Home Business Couple of the Year
* Two night, full-board stay at the luxury Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel
For the Home Office of the Year
* 200 of vouchers from home office specialist, Flujo
For the Young Home Business Owner of the Year
* 200 of online shopping vouchers from fashion website, OSOYOU
Winners will receive plenty of profile on Enterprise Nation and across media partner sites including Travelguru.tv, mydeco and Make Your Mark, plus a copy of Spare Room Start Up: How to start a business from home authored by Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation.
Emma Jones said: Were very excited to be launching the 2008 Home Business Awards; the only Awards to recognise people who are starting and growing a business from home. This year weve attracted a host of great sponsors and media partners who can offer our winners the tools and opportunity to really get their business noticed. May the competition now begin!
Joining Emma on this years Judging panel will be:
* Mark Barber, Enterprise Editor, The Times
* Rachel Clacher, co-founder, Moneypenny
* Tracy Vegro, Director of Enterprise Strategy at the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform
* Wendy Shand, Founder of Tots to Travel and the 2007 Home Business of the Year
Entry to the competition is free and open to any home business in the UK. The closing date is Friday, August 15th and winners will be announced on Monday, September 1st.
To enter online or download an entry form, please visit www.enterprisenation.com
Small Business Beating The Competition
Setting Yourself Apart
Most small businesses face a great deal of competition. Often, that competition comes, at least in part, from big businesses. In order to set yourself apart – especially among larger competitors – you must give customers something different.
You must differentiate yourself and your business from your competitors.
First, you must determine what it is that sets you apart. What makes your company different?
Is it the customer service that you can provide? Is it the cost that you offer? Whatever it is, put it in your mind and keep it there. You are going to need it.
Tell Your Customers about It
Knowing what makes your business different will not help you much if your customers don’t know about it. They are not going to search you out and find out on their own; you are going to have to tell them.
Communicate with your prospects in some way, and accentuate your differences. You can design a color printing to place on brochures or postcards, and get as many of them as possible into your customers’ hands.
Do not try to sell your business on these materials. Trying to convince customers that your company is great will not do much for you. Instead, tell them how you can fill a need that they have. Then, tell them how you can fill that need in a different way than your competitors.
Test out Your Methods
Although finding ways in which your company is different is great, and can provide a boost in sales when you take advantage of those differences, profit is not always guaranteed. It all depends on how your customers perceive the difference.
Try out several ad campaigns, with each one accentuating a separate way in which your company is different. Keep a detailed record of each campaign and how it fares. Record where you placed the ad, or to whom you sent your color printing materials, and how many you produced. Record how many responses you got from each campaign, and how many sales it generated.
Analyze your efforts and determine which “difference” plays most effectively with your customers. You may be surprised by the results, but take advantage of them nonetheless. Expand the ad campaign that generated the greatest results.
Also, keep recording the results of your campaign. Just because a particular “difference” works at one time does not mean it will continue to work for a long period of time. Continue to record your efforts, and continue to look for more ways in which your company is different. Keep trying out new campaigns that accentuate these differences, and continue to record your results.
If you are able to find ways that your company is different from others, and you effectively communicate those differences to your customers, you will see a significant profit in the long run.
For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Color Printing
Charen Smith writes articles about Internet Marketing. She has an extensive knowledge and experience when it comes to business strategies, techniques and business solutions.
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