Articles

by Murray O'Brien

We live in global village. A tired phrase perhaps, but true none the less. More than ever we communicate with and travel to places far beyond our own towns, countries and continents on a regular basis. The English language has cemented itself as THE international language, and more particularly the influence of “American English” is far reaching, whether we like it or not. More than ever it is important that in order to understand each others ideas, needs and wants we require a standardized way of communicating with each other. So leaving aside ...

by Fay McLean

In a crowded market place you need to be sure that you have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) so that your ideal clients and customers can pick you out from the crowd. This article gives you several ways to discover how to distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Without a doubt the question I get asked most from my community is ‘how do I make my business or website unique”. In marketing terms, this is known as the unique selling proposition, or USP. You may have also heard it expressed as your point of difference (POD).

It doesn’t matter what you call it, the point is, differentiating your business from others and defining your USP could be one of the most important decisions will need to make about your business.

Your unique selling proposition is what makes your business stand out. It’s what makes you different ...

by Mark Overton

Your practice obtains around 80% of total income from the sale of frames, lenses and other products. Product and service pricing has a major impact on your bottom line. An important factor in the financial success of your practice will be the decisions you make about pricing.

What Will Customers Pay?

The process of determining price varies from practice to practice, but ultimately the final price you settle on for a particular product will be a combination of the demand for that product from customers, ...

by Kirsty Wilson

More than likely, by now you have a fair idea of what Social Media Networking is all about, and you could well be active in one or more of the available social media platforms. How do you choose what platforms to be involved in and which to leave alone – you can’t possibly be part of all the social networking communities that are out there!

For myself, I’m unable to attend face-to-face networking functions easily due to family commitments and this is where online social networking becomes invaluable. It’s also the way business/consumer relationships are heading with the move towards a Web 2.0 environment. In support of this I’d like to share this interview ...

by Mark Overton

“If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him.”
Seneca, Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician (5 BC - 65 AD)

Business is not about riding the bumps and berms of our economy and environment, but charting the best possible path to our considered objectives, avoiding those potential hazards where possible.

So first we have to know where it is we want to end up, in fairly specific terms. I wise man once said of politicians (something to remember in coming weeks!) that “the value of a political statement can be measured by whether any sane person ...