We add another list of Top Tenders from Zimbabwe compiled by your favourite business forum-ZBIN!

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By now you should have seen a pattern…ZBIN does not run out of ideas when it comes to opportunities identification!This is something that now runs naturally in our blood. From May 2017 more ideas will be shared with registered members but for now we will continue giving out ideas to the nation irrespective of your membership status.

Today let us  take a closer look at the transport industry. The Kombis market is over saturated-Some say every new opportunity in Zimbabwe has a lifespan of 3 months. You can make profits in a sector for 3 months before competitors enter the field and wipe away profits.This assertion is however debatable because there are certain sectors where players have been active for years earning above average profits.

So our case study is the Transport Industry looking specifically at trucks for driving schools. We have left out trucks for hire to other sectors its risky. Unless you have reliable people to run or over see transport business projects-kungonyudza mari as you will be conned!

We have chosen trucks for hire out to driving schools because the demand for driving is still high despite current economic challenges. Charges in Harare vary from $250-$400 week. No need to worry of fuel costs or drivers phoning saying that the vehicle has been impounded. No worries of drivers hiring out the vehicle without your knowledge.

So if you are thinking of shipping trucks to Zim then this is an area you need to look closely at. In future ZBIN will compile a list of driving schools so that you can easily get in touch with them.

Wishing you a blessed weekend

Zimbabwe is made up of two countries- Real Zimbabwe and Virtual Zimbabwe. You can break down Virtual Zimbabwe into Local and Diaspora. There are opportunities, plenty of them in Real Zimbabwe but the field is increasingly getting congested. Now Virtual Zimbabwe seems to have opportunities for everyone irrespective of who you are!

There are loads of opportunities and the good or bad thing is that most Zimbos are still to understand about these opportunities. Conventional education does not cover in detail opportunities in ‘Virtual Zimbabwe’ where opportunities are unlimited.

In ‘Virtual Zimbabwe’ you can set up factories, mining companies, retail shops, newspapers, shopping malls, vehicle sales….hey there are no limits kani. So its easy to give up and say there are no opportunities in Real Zimbabwe because our education was tailor made to grab opportunities in Real Zimbabwe, our role models are people who made monies in Real Zimbabwe…this talk of Virtual Zimbabwe is alien…its an outer space phenomenon!

So u can easily give up all hope when you fail in the Real Zimbabwe but guess what? The good news is that opportunities abound in Virtual Zimbabwe if you are innovative, are willing to work hard and got integrity.

You are reading this article on Virtual Zimbabwe, Calculate the amount of time per week that you spend on Virtual Zimbabwe, some have more friends on Virtual Zimbabwe than in real life….so Virtual Zimbabwe is the future. For now there are still obstacles with less internet coverage in most parts of Zimbabwe but try and imagine 20 years from now. In 20 years internet will be free-everywhere….go to Rwanda for a case study. Visit some Asian countries for inspiration.

Real and Virtual-The battle

Have you seen that there is real battle going on between the 2 Zimbabwe? Look at newspapers…in some developed countries they have done away with newspapers; you no longer find newspapers for sale on street corners. All news is now online or virtual….Banks are downsizing with online transactions taking over…The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) recently closed shop in Harare because they computerized most operations including exams…no more need to send physical exam papers to Harare or Bulawayo for exam candidates and transporting them back to UK.

So the risk here is if you lose interest in Virtual Zimbabwe then you will be swept aside by the Virtual Tide. Virtual Zimbabwe is the future and already we are witnessing more time by youngsters being spend on Virtual Zimbabwe…already over 4 million Zimbos are on Virtual Zimbabwe with the number expected to increase in the future. It is affecting every facet of our lives-families now have Whatsapp Groups, Schools are now connected on Whatsapp and Facebook. There is a whole lot more happening and I may need the entire day to write it up

Grabbing Opportunities

The purpose of this article if for you to grab a piece of Virtual Zimbabwe. To occupy and take advantage of this ‘new country’ where the old generation does not fully appreciate. A Virtual Zimbabwe which is not comprehensively covered in the old system of education. Some are still stuck in Real Zimbabwe and do not see any benefits of the Virtual Zimbabwe…some are even dismissing it out rightly. The fact that some are still decades away from appreciating Virtual Zimbabwe is a big advantage for you.

So go and have a plan to grab a piece of land on Virtual Zimbabwe-occupy as many hectares as possible and resale it in future. Go and build factories, build your own shopping malls, your own stadiums, your own stores and the cost of building is very cheap!

We will cover more opportunities in Virtual Zimbabwe and show developments in this country which is less populated.

NB* Article to be part of a presentation by ZBIN to a group of college students.

One of our biggest initiatives to date is the Tenders Tracker. The tracker allows our members to have one central place to access latest tender information in Zimbabwe. In future we are going to cover more countries in Southern Africa so that the tracker becomes Regional.

Your truly has a lot of experience in applying for tenders and reviewing tenders. I therefore hope to share with you a lot of tips and resources on winning tenders. The hope is to see more ZBIN members becoming experts at winning tenders.

When developing the tracker, we had 2 groups of people in mind. The first is the Diaspora Community-folks who are not likely to ever have access of this information because most tenders are advertised in local newspapers in hard copy format. So the Diaspora Community should easily have access of this information through our site and online newsletters. This information should help them to partner with locals in securing goods or services which may not be available locally. With free information about tenders being available, the Diaspora Community can be able to track what is trending in Zimbabwe and make informed decisions when it comes to investment. Our last tender tracker shows that there is an increase in the IT sector with computers, laptops and software upgrades being on top of the list. So you can read the tracker with an interest to apply for tenders or read the tracker with the purpose of checking what is trending, which areas are on high demand.

The second group we are interested in are remote areas. Someone teaching in Binga, a District Administrator in Chivi, a Policeman in Chimanimani, A teacher in Lalapanzi. This group of people maybe at a disadvantage when it comes to business information. They may not have access to newspapers resulting in a lot of opportunities bypassing them. ZBIN would like to break barriers when it comes to business and investment opportunities-this is why we consider remote areas whenever we are coming up with new initiatives or programmes.

So let us talk about Tender Reviews and the help we can give our members. The process of tenders is that you must first qualify by meeting all requirements listed on the tender advert. Most people or applicants usually miss out or fail at the first hurdle simply by ignoring instructions!

We will share with you a checklist for tenders so that you can download and use. This article is looking at the last hurdle to winning a tender-Physical Verification of Premises. After shortlisting prospective applicants, the Tender Committee usually visits the premises of companies that had bid for tenders. Let us assume that there are 3 companies and they have all been shortlisted for tenders. Company A has no premises, Company B is located at the residential premises of the owner and Company C has got premises, secured premises located at Harare Exhibition Park.

Who wins the tender based on physical verification is an obvious guess….Company C located at Harare Exhibition Park! So it is important to have physical location for your business and they should be presentable and you should have in mind that its should be appealing to prospective employees, customers,suppliers,partners and potential tender verification committees. There are marks allocated for business location!

Below we give you an article on tips for looking for business premises. You need to balance costs and benefits before finalising on a place to locate your business.

Tips when looking for business premises

We have compiled a list of opportunities from the Harare City Council website. We hope that more city councils in Zimbabwe will have websites where they showcase investment opportunities for the benefit of residents and potential investors especially the Diaspora.

Having a website with direct contact details eliminates middlemen and greatly reduces incidences of fraud. The City Council still needs to do more in terms of details of projects but for now we give them credit for the efforts they have put in place in compiling the list of investment opportunities. You can visit their site on www.hararecity.co.zw

Development Models

• Joint Venture
• Build-Operate-Transfer
• Community Management

The business opportunities in Council are categorised as follows:

Harare Farms

Main Goal

To introduce modern intensive and diverse commercial farming operations at Council farms.

Council has five farms as given below:

Opportunities for Investment 

• Piggery
• Poultry
• Meat processing
• Stock breeding
• Cropping or stock feed production
• Horticulture (Porta and Churu farms)

Harare Markets

Main Goal

To develop Council Markets and Bus Termini into viable and modern business ventures.

• Home Industries
• People’s Markets
• Flea Markets
• Fresh Produce Markets
• Bus Termini
• Carter House – Overnight Accommodation
• Truck-In Facilities

Opportunities for Investment

Market Square Bus Termini

Develop in partnership with Council a modern bus rank comprising:

• Bus Terminus
• Parkade
• Shopping and office complex
• Toilet facilities

Cameron Street Bus Rank (Copacabana)

Develop in partnership with Council a modern bus rank comprising:

• Bus Terminus
• Parkade
• Shopping and office complex
• Toilet facilities

Angwa Street and Robson Manyika Bus Rank (Charge Office)

Develop in partnership with Council a modern bus rank comprising:

• Bus Terminus
• Parkade
• Shopping and office complex
• Toilet facilities

Luck Street Complex

Develop in partnership with Council for the construction of:

• Parkade
• Shopping Mall
• Office Complex

Other Related Opportunities

• Built-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) home industry facilities
• Construction of Regional Bus Termini
• Construction of modern Fresh Produce Markets
• Construction of Satellite Bus Termini (Mabvuku, Kuwadzana, Hopley etc)
• Construction of Satellite People’s and Flea Markets

Horticulture

Main Goal

To introduce commercial horticulture and floriculture business ventures at Hillside Nursery and Cleveland Dam.

Project profile 

Other suitable areas can be identified

Opportunities for Investment

• Horticulture
• Mushroom Production
• Floriculture
• Nursery

Harare Stadia

Project Vision

To develop high class sporting and function facilities in Harare as a viable business enterprise.

Rufaro Stadium

Build under the grand stands to create offices, shops and training facilities such as gym and fitness centres.

Gwanzura Stadium

Build support facilities at the stadium.

Zimbabwe Grounds

Develop a cluster of sports disciplines and support facilities.

City Sports Centre

Develop a cluster of sports disciplines to fully utilise the amphitheatre.

• Potential ventures in the sports areas
• Soccer Matches
• Musical Shows
• Wedding Reception
• Boxing Tournaments
• Netball and Volleyball Courts
• Basketball and Tennis Courts
• Indoor Hockey
• Offices
• Sports Shops
• Fitness or Wellness Centre
• Entertainment Facilities
• Beauty Shops
• Sauna Baths and Massage Parlors

Health Sector

Harare Pest Control

This is an entity created within the City Health Department to deal with problems of mosquitoes, rodents and other pest.

• The entity has a laboratory.
• The opportunity is to commercialise the entity so that it is run as a business entity.

Wilkins Hospital Extension

The extension was initiated in anticipation of the HIV and AIDS challenge.

• The project was being funded by the World Bank which pulled out of the country in 2000 leaving the project uncompleted.
• The HIV and AIDS scourge has not developed to the challenge that the health experts had forecast.
• However the extension is a major health enhancement facility.
• The opportunity is to complete the hospital extension and run it as a private hospital in partnership with City of Harare.

Modern Hospital in City

City of Harare has a prime piece of land (Herbert Chitepo Ave and Fifth Street) for construction of a modern hospital as a joint venture initiative with the private sector.

Other Business Opportunities

Harava Dam Resort Centre

Project Vision

To create an environment friendly and focused theme park and accommodation facilities that are original and rooted in our rich historical and cultural heritage but at the same time appealing to a cosmopolitan and international tourist market

Profile of The Site

Harava Dam project is situated 20km from the City Center of Harare off Seke Road. There is a virgin forest area of approximately 80 hectares. The site provides the following facilities or activities;

• Flora and fauna and rock outcrops
• Security and guarded entrance
• Harava and Seke dam on Manyame river
• Fishing
• Boating and canoeing
• A block of toilets near the dam wall
• Proximity to Mbizi Game Park

Potential for partnerships in the project

Council intends to attract partners for the following activities;

• Development of a complete package of a theme park and accommodation facilities.
• Development of boating and canoeing facilities.
• Development of camping site and play centre.
• Conference facicilities.

Mukuvisi Corridor

This project focuses on the rehabilitation and beautification of the Mukuvisi River from the Cleveland Dam to its lower reaches on the western side of Waterfalls area. The project envisages the construction of Business Malls, Recreation facilities and Office Parks along the banks of the river.

Cleveland Dam

Main Goal

To create holiday resort center with up-market accommodation and recreational facilities that are original and rooted in our rich historical and cultural heritage.

Opportunities for Investment

Partnership is required for the following:

• Development of a complete package of a nature based holiday resort center.
• Development for a hotel and conference facilities.
• Development of a camping site and play centre.
• Development of a Golf Course or Golf Estate.

Here is  Great News for followers and members of  Zimbabwe Business Ideas and Network (ZBIN). We are now formally registered! We are now a legal entity! We had been operating for the past 2 years informally. So we  got registered last week on the 23^rd of March 2017 as a Trust and our Registration Number is MA 000457/2017.

Our objectives remain :

1. Provision of  Business Information, Resources  and Support to Members
2. Assisting Business Growth for members by enabling Access to Markets
3. Assisting members with Access to Capital

Our board of directors is made up of the following members:

1. Martha: NGO Consultant, Harare (Board Chair)
2. Farai: CGMA, CPA, Finance Director, USA (Deputy Board Chair)
3. Rudo: Bsc Nursing, United Kingdom
4. Laureen: Registered Nurse, USA
5. Polite: MBA, Consultant, Plumtree
6. Margaret: MBA, Human Resources Officer, Civil Service, Harare
7. Victor : ACMA, CGMA, Consultant, Harare
8. Rutendo, Legal Officer, Civil Service, Harare
9. Tavaziva, CA, Audit Manager, United Kingdom
10. Farai: MBA, Masters in Water Engineering, South Africa

Why is this good news for our members?

Being a legal entity means that we are going to recruit full time personnel that will help in the implementation of the forum objectives. We will be setting up a secretariat and opening of offices in Harare and Bulawayo in the next 4-9 months.

What next for the members?

Formal registration of members will take place and the board will advise on the process to be followed in the next few days.

ZBIN  once took Homelink to task a few months ago. We asked for more action-more energy from them so that they can play an active part in the Economy. Perhaps a bit harsh but we asked why they were doing nothing in terms of building new homes or bringing new initiatives that benefit the nation. The good news is they have responded in style! They have launched an excellent facility targetting the SMEs, Individuals, Groups and Cross Borders. Dear member, Homelink seems to be back! This is perhaps the best facility for SMEs to date! Homelink has introduced a USD 15 million Cross Border Traders & SME Facility.

The objectives of the facility are as follows:

To provide working capital to support bonafide Cross Border Traders

To provide credit and banking services to Cross Border traders and micro-producers

To provide micro-export finance

Individuals and Group Requirements

1. Reference letter from a registered cross border association
2. Goods/raw materials imported must not be prohibited in terms of statutory instrument 64
3. Security vetting and figure printing to be done at homelink
4. Where one is formally employed, proof of employment in required/Confirmation letter from the employer/3 current payslips/3 month bank statement
5. Where one is not formally employed, an applicant to provide a formally employed guarantor. Guarantor to provide the following(Identity document, confirmation letter from employer, 3 current payslips, 3 month bank statement)
6. Valid Zimbabwean Passport
7. Individual to be an account holder with Agribank
8. Proof of residence in the form of a utility bill issues in the last 3 months. Affidavit by the landlord or confirmation by village heads.
9. A group consists a minimum of 3 up to a maximum of 10 members. All members collectively liable for the group loan repayment

SME Loan Requirements

1. Must be a member of an SME association
2. Must be an account holder with a Zimbabwean bank
3. Goods/raw materials imported must not be prohibited in terms of statutory instrument 64
4. Security vetting and figure printing for directors to be done at homelink
5. Must be buying, manufacturing or producing goods in Zimbabwe for exports
6. Proof of residence of the directors in the form of a utility bill issued in the last 3 months
7. Company documents: CR14,CR6 & registration certificate
8. Bank statement for the past 6 months and confirmation of signatories to the account and /or sales book/invoice books for the past 6 months
9. Financial statements for the past 6 months
10. Projected cashflow for the next 6 to 12 months
11. Asset Register for the company
12. Directors’ personal Asset Register
13. Debtors Book

Loan Terms and Conditions

1. Individual amount from $100 up to $1000
2. Individuals in groups $100 up to $1300 per member
3. SME loan up to $5,000
4. Association Loan up to $30,000
5. Interest Rate up to 1% per month
6. Non-refundable application fees (2% of loan value and a minimum of $10 for individuals and $50 for SMEs)
7. Insurance fees deducted from loan amount (2.1%)
8. Loan tenure 14-90 days
9. Loans above $1.000 shall be disbursed into an account, Visa or Master Card

 Homelink Contact Numbers:

72-74 Samora Machel Avenue, Hardwick House, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phone numbers: +263-4-792800;263-4-790972

Email: trade@homelink.co.zw website www.homelinkzim.com

ZBIN Comment

We would like members to utilise the facility responsibly-remember its a loan and not a free grant. We would like to cover success stories of people who would have benefited. The trick is to do well with a small loan facility and apply for a bigger loan. Also make sure that you have a solid business plan before knocking on the doors of Homelink-we will share with you business plan templates and cashflow templates

*ZBIN Mozambique Group should be the happiest  people celebrating this-for all the efforts that you undertook travelling to Tete in Mozambique, all the endless meetings we had in 2016….what more could we have asked for. We will share more information on the ZBIN Moz Whatsapp Group on opportunities in Mozambique.

Wishing you the best of luck in not only your applications, but successful business ventures funded by Homelink. Next we will push for such facilities to be extended to one of our key constituencies-The Diaspora!

We continue with our efforts to help members to have access to business opportunities. We introduced Tenders Trackers 2 weeks ago and today we cover part 2 which showcases the top 6 public tenders for your information. We hope that the information reaches the Diaspora and remote areas across the country where they do not have access to newspapers.

For more information in relation to the tenders, do phone the respective organisations and find out about the tenders. Interesting facts about these tenders are as follows:

1.Most of them IT related, procurement of Desktop computers and laptops

2.Short turn arounds for tenders-closing dates coming in the next 2 weeks

3. Tenders related to construction

4 Tips on winning tenders?

-Your company should be registered and be tax compliant

-You should have good references from customers and suppliers

-Your books of accounts should be up to date, an up to date audit being a great advantage

-Your company should have a physical presence

Wishing you the best in your applications. You can download the Tender below. 

So ZBIN had been invited by ZAOGA Blessed Assembly located in Granary, Kuwadzana Extension in Harare to do a business presentation-how did it go? We can only say Superb Stuff; this was an enriching and interesting presentation. We really do not know how we ran out of the 2 hours that had been set aside for us. Who ever thought a business presentation can be so interesting for the presenter and members attending?

We are really humbled by support and hope that church members will use the skills discussed during the presentation. We also hope that they will follow up on the special business opportunity identified for them by ZBIN; it is a special gift that should help a lot of people within the church and outside.

Special Credit goes to Mr Howard Chisale who facilitated the presentation. We also encourage more churches to equip members with business opportunity identification skills. There is no better empowerment tool than to ensure that members have sharp skills to identify opportunities and are always ready to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

A practical and participatory process, we are happy to share some of the information that we shared. We feel that most churches should have Business Platforms where members freely discuss and brainstorm on business and investment. The presentation can be downloaded below and feel free to edit and use it for the benefit of your local church members.

God Bless

Did you know that its easy to give up a business venture and say this business is not profitable at all? Last weekend I was invited by a ZBIN member who wanted us to help him with a tender application for major construction project. During the process of drafting the tender, we got to discuss about the current operating environment and impact on small businesses. Akati Munemo munyika hamuna mari, vanhu havana cash! Ndikati so who are you targetting? He said the local community had no cash, no disposable income. Yes hazvina kumira mushe we have challenges that need urgent address but in terms of his business there was one thing he needed to do and that has to do with who he is targetting in his business. We had an interesting discussion where i demonstrated how he can improve sales without a need to spend an extra penny. He had all the essentials in place but only that he was concentrating on the locals who obviously had limited disposable income.

I will share with you in detail next week the little things we did, for now allow ZBIN to share with you how to target new customers, below is an article which we found on Smarta.

How to target new customers

It’s typically much more difficult to reach new customers than to get existing ones to buy more. But because of that, once you have a wide, established customer base, sales are going to be easier, more predictable, and easier to grow.

This guide introduces you to a range of techniques for targeting new customers. Which ones you choose to use will depend on your budget, timescale and logistical capability.

• Incentivise. Offer exclusive deals and discounts for first-time users. This has a double advantage in that to ensure people can only be a ‘first time buyer’ once, you need to take contact details – thus building on your store of customer data.
• Show them what it’s all about for free. Give out samples of your product, either outside your premises, online (which would enable you to collect data and contact details for future use) or in locations where your target customer is likely to be. Ensure anyone handing out samples is wearing a branded T-shirt.
• Hold ‘open evenings’ or ‘open days’ where new customers are able to wander in to your premises and try your services out for free as a one-off (this won’t suit every business, of course, but some, particularly gyms, use it to great effect).
• Create offers structured around giving a first taster of your services or product for free, but then the customer needs to pay for the next time.
• Target new customers through your existing customer base. Incentivise your existing customers to bring their friends to your business by introducing ‘refer a friend’ schemes – discounts or special offers for the person who has convinced a friend to register an account with or buy from your business.
• Introduce gift certificates (where appropriate) – the person who receives them may potentially be a new customer. Apparently approximately 20% of all gift certificates are never redeemed, 80% are redeemed for more than their value, and 40% are redeemed for more than twice their value – they’re practically a license to print money!
• Use everyone you know. If you haven’t already, you need to get friends and family to sing the praises of everyone you know. Make sure they understand what exactly your business does, and make sure you sound excited and passionate when you talk to them about it – you’ll inspire them to want to help you further your hopes for the business. Ask them to tell people they know about it – promising you’ll return the favour somehow, one day!
• Advertise. To make any ad spend worthwhile, you need to carry out some detailed research on who your new target customer is going to be.
  • As targeting new customers can be somewhat hit and miss, you may want to reduce costs by trying co-operative advertising – where you team up with another company to produce an ad.
  • Some websites will allow you to list yourself for free – try placing a free as on Gumtree or Craig’s List, for example.
• Get yourself in relevant directories. Getting listed in a directory such as Yellow Pages for a year can cost as little as $100, but can be a quick-fire way to drawing people who definitely want the service you offer to your business.
• Take out classified ads. In much the same way as directories work, with classifieds you know the people are looking for the service you offer if they find you – that’s a gold mine – you don’t even have to try to sell to them!
• Trade shows and expos. They can be expensive to attend (think a few hundred pounds for a stand, plus the additional cost of producing marketing material and flyers, as well as taking at least a day out of your schedule). But if you know there are going to be hundreds of potential new customers there, it can be worth the cash.
  • Find out normal attendance numbers before you pay for anything to make sure it’s worthwhile.
  • Check out who else is taking a stand, so you know you’re in the right company, and so that if a huge number of the other stands are your larger and more popular competitors you know it’s either pointless taking a stand or that you really need to put on a great display.
  • Go armed with loads of flyers, marketing material, product and sample, banners if possible, and other things to decorate a stand with – and of course hundreds of business cards. You want to be the brightest most appealing stand in the hall, not the one everyone looks past. Sweets or wine, while simplistic and fickle, are also consistently effective in drawing people to a stand.
  • If you can’t afford a stand, just go and network with as many people as you can to tell them about your business – this can still be highly effective.
• Flyers can be a good vehicle for lots of information, but they often get chucked straight into the bin.
  • It’s usually best only to hand them out with free samples, or at least a sweet or something similarly enticing to encourage people to actually look at what you’re handing them.
  • That said, if you can get a good deal at the printers and don’t mind standing around for a few hours, the scattergun approach of flyering always produces a few results – just monitor how much return you get on the time and money investment to see well it’s worked for your business.
• Do PR. Either use an agency (read more in our guide on *how to use a PR agency*) or do it yourself (get advice on that from our guide on *how to get your business into the press*).
• Promotions on other sites. Asking another website to promote you to drive traffic to yours can work well with sites who cater for a similar audience but who are non-competitive.
  • Offer to promote them on yours in blogs and on the pages they prefer in return.
  • Getting another site to include links to your website has the added advantage of upping your Google rankings, which are dependent on other websites linking to yours.
• Creating an eBay shop (where appropriate) gets you exposure to a potentially massive audience nationwide (or even internationally).
  • It can also be a nice little extra revenue stream.
  • You can brand your shop, so getting the word out about your business.
  • You can also direct traffic to your business website, so drawing more people closer to your brand.
  • Just make sure you always deliver on time and to the standard promised, else you risk doing damage to your brand.
• Competitions. Giveaways in trade or relevant magazines and websites and a good way of getting the brand name out there, reaching a specific demographic and showcasing your product. A highly favourable description and a nice big picture of a product never did anyone any harm – in fact, you’re essentially getting an advert for free.
• Social media. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Smarta, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo – is free and can potentially open you up to a nationwide or even international customer base.
  • Each site has its own etiquette, and each has certain sneaky ways for your business to reach as many people as possible.
  • Read all about how to use it to your best advantage in our social media section.
• Draw customers away from a brand they already use. Undercut the existing brand on price, out-do them in quality or offer customers a deal they can’t refuse, then make your advantage over the competitor abundantly clear in your marketing communications with the new target customers and/or your advertising.
• Sponsor events or awards.
  • If you know your target customers arelikely to be there at an event can be a good way of getting your brand name out there.
  • You may also be able to give samples out at the event.
  • It will, however, be expensive – from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
  • Speak to event organisers in-depth about their usual demographic and attendance numbers before handing over any cash to make sure they align with yours.
  • Assess whether the people attending are influential enough in their social or work circles to make the money per head it would cost you to sponsor worthwhile in terms of how many people they’re likely to tell about your business as a result of sponsoring.
  • Sponsoring smaller scale events and awards in the local community can help position you as a locally-liked business and brand, one that’s supporting the community, and make you look both professional and, potentially larger and more established than you actually are.
• Cold calling.
  • Many consumer are resistant to cold calling, as it can be seen to very irritating, and, in some cases – particularly for older people – very unsettling. So think very carefully before you do it.
  • It is also very time-consuming and can be incredibly disheartening – you may spend days on the phone only to have one or two people interested, if that (there’s quite an art to phone sales and it’s a lot more difficult than it sounds).
  • Make sure you are always polite, never pushy, and try to focus on the advantages to the person on the other end rather than just explaining what you’re selling.
• Door to door.
  • Many consumers are averse to door-to-door selling, and it can be very annoying. Then again, it must produce some success, or else people wouldn’t try it.
  • We’d recommend leaving it as a last option, as it could do more harm than good to your brand and reputation – it can look fairly desperate and some people find it intimidating.

Monitor your results

• As always with marketing activity, you need to measure results carefully to ensure everything you do is producing enough benefit to your business to warrant any money and time you spend on it.
• Ask new customers how they heard about you when they place an order to monitor this.
• Adapt your strategy for getting new customers accordingly by focusing on the most effective channels and dropping the least effective ones.