Direct Marketing For You: June 2016

Monday 27 June 2016

Buying or leasing industrial land

Prime industrial land is offered for sale or lease in various locations throughout Queensland. You can buy industrial land directly through Economic Development Queensland or through commercial real estate agents in your local area.

Industrial properties for sale or lease suit a range of needs, including:

low-impact industry (e.g. small engine repairs)
medium-impact industry (e.g. concrete batching plant, fuel depot)
high-impact industry (e.g. asphalt manufacturing, engineering works).

This guide provides information on current and future industrial land for sale or lease in Queensland. It also provides access to guidelines and forms that regulate sales and leasing.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

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Leasing premises

A lease is a legally binding contract that gives you certain rights to a property for a set term.

You should never sign a lease without understanding all of its terms and conditions. If you don't understand what you are agreeing to, you could experience serious financial and legal problems.

We recommend you ask your solicitor to explain each clause of the lease to you. Your solicitor can also help you to negotiate lease terms to suit your business.

This guide will help you to understand what it means to lease business premises, and the best way to go about it.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Finding the right business location

Choosing where to locate your business is a big decision that requires research and planning. Your business's location can be crucial to its success, so it's important that you take the time to find the right location.

The type of business that you run may influence where you choose to locate it. For example:

primary producers may need easy access to a regional distribution facility
retailers may need to be close to other retailers or tourist attractions
manufacturers may need to be located in a zoned industrial area close to major transport links.

This guide will help you find the right location for your business.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Premises security and crime prevention

Appropriate security measures should be in place to protect all aspects of your business, regardless of what kind of premises you operate from. For businesses that operate from commercial premises or factories, security is especially important to prevent crimes such as robbery and vandalism.

A comprehensive security plan that details security measures and staff training is essential for all businesses that operate from premises.

Before you create a security plan, you need to identify risks to your business. It is useful to carry out a business risk assessment, which covers the possible threats to property, stock, IT systems and data, and personnel.

Business owners also need to plan for what to do in the event of an incident. A business continuity plan details how to keep your business up and running in the event of a security breach.

This guide explains security measures that could help protect your business, the importance of staff training, and how to prepare for and respond to an incident.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Research resources for business and industry

Whether you're just starting your own business or are already operating, you need accurate and up-to-date information to help you make informed decisions.

Researching key information about how to run a business in Queensland - for example, which licences you need, how to employ staff, if you are eligible for any grants - will help you establish your business in the best possible way.

Researching and understanding information about your target market, competitors, location and industry will allow you to recognise opportunities for change and growth.

Finding information on this diverse range of issues is simple if you know who to contact.

This guide introduces a number of organisations that can provide you with essential information as you start, run and grow your business in Queensland

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Researching customers

Successful businesses make profits by understanding their customers and identifying their needs. Good customer research helps you choose products, tailor your marketing, and develop sales tactics for the people in your market based on reliable, accurate information.

Customer research should be part of your overall market research and should be conducted regularly. While your market research looks broadly at your customers, competition and industry to identify who you will market to, customer research provides more in-depth information on the needs, wants, expectations and behaviours of your customers.

By identifying information about your consumers such as where they work, what they read and where they look at advertising, you can improve the strategies you use to attract them. It is also important to understand their purchasing behaviour and attitudes with regards to brands and products.Testing new product or marketing concepts with potential customers is also a good way to prepare for a launch to see if your work has potential to translate to success.

Identifying your customers' needs and preferences allows you to tailor the strategies and tactics you use in your marketing plan. This will help you to:

attract more customers
set the best price for your products
create the right marketing message
increase how much your customers spend
increase how often your customers spend
increase your sales
decrease your costs
refine your approach to customer service.

This guide explains how you can grow your business by identifying customer needs and preferences.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Competitor profile chart

Profiling your competitors allows you to understand a range of key information about their business - including what pricesthey charge for their products, where they find their customers and how they advertise.

Researching competing businesses to create a competitor profile will help you to see gaps in the market that your business can meet. For example, if your competitors do not have an online presence, you might be able to attract customers by offering your products and servicesonline.

Create a profile for each of the competitors to your business by reading the questions below and typing your answers into the competitor profile chart.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

	Competitor 1	Competitor 2	Competitor 3
What is their business name?
Where is their business located?
How would you rank their location and why? (e.g. exposure, traffic flow, access, parking, other businesses)
How many customers do they have in a particular time period? (You could observe their office or store to determine this.)
How many employees do they have?
How effective are their employees at doing their job?
What do they charge for their products and services?
What is their refund policy?
Which customers are they targeting? (e.g. young male professionals, families with teenage children)
How do they advertise or market themselves?
Do they have an online presence (e.g. website, social media)?
What is their competitive advantage?

Your competitive advantage

Your competitive advantage is what sets your business apart from your competition. It highlights the benefits a customer receives when they do business with you. It could be your products, service, reputation, or even your location. For example, do you offer home delivery, a money back guarantee, a 2-hour call-out service or childcare facilities?

How to identify your competitive advantage

To identify your competitive advantage, you need to understand your competitors and your customers. Ask yourself:

Why do customers buy from us?
Why do customers buy from our competitors and not us?
Why do some potential customers not buy at all?
What do we need to do to be successful in the future?

Market research will help you to answer these questions. Good market research will reveal how your business is different from your competitors, and what you have to offer that appeals to your customers. In-depth customer research will help you identify your customers' needs and increase your competitive edge.

Use our market research kit to find key economic, demographic and statistical information about your industry.

Customers buy benefits

When customers buy your product or service, they are buying the benefit that it gives them. It may be that your product makes their life simpler, or your service helps them to feel better about themselves. Think about how your competitive advantage benefits your customers.

For example, the competitive advantage for a sandwich shop may be: We use fresh, local ingredients to make-to-order the highest quality gourmet sandwiches in the local area.

Different customers may see different benefits:

customers with allergies or particular dislikes will enjoy the convenience of ordering a sandwich with their preferred ingredients
customers who want to treat themselves will be attracted by the fresh, high-quality ingredients, and the fact that the sandwiches are gourmet
customers who want to support local businesses will appreciate that you use only local ingredients.

Thinking about how your business can benefit your customers will help you to pinpoint your competitive advantage. A strong competitive advantage:

reflects the competitive strength of your business (e.g. quality of service)
is preferably, but not necessarily, unique
is clear and simple
may change over time as competitors try to cash in on your idea
must be supported by honest and ongoing market research
must highlight the benefits to customers rather than boast of your business itself.

After you have highlighted your competitive advantage, the best way to tell your customers about it is to create your unique selling proposition.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Market research kit

This market research kit is a free, step-by-step guide to conducting your own online market research.

Using different websites, you will gather data tailored to your specific business type and location. You can then use this information to:

identify potential customers in your target market
evaluate the latest economic conditions
locate competitors and suppliers
assess the viability of your business idea.

Whether you are starting up or looking to grow, this information will be crucial to your business planning. It will give you a clear picture of key factors currently affecting the potential success of your business.

Each step of the process is explained with instructional text and a video, showing you exactly how to perform the online searches.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Market research

Researching your market helps you target your ideal customer, identify new market opportunities and improve your sales performance.

Successful businesses make regular market research the foundation of their marketing and sales planning. You can develop strong marketing strategies based on what you find out about your products and services, your customers, your competitors, your industry and the challenges in your marketplace.

Market research can also help you identify areas of your business that could be updated or changed.

It's important to clearly define your market research goals so that you can give yourself the best chance of finding accurate and useful results.

This guide explains market research methods - including primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative research - and shows you how to research your market.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Benchmarking your business

Benchmarking your business is a way of measuring your performance against similar-sized businesses in your industry. It gives you essential information about how you can improve your business.

There are many ways to benchmark your business. You could:

buy financial benchmarking data to
- compare your business's income, expenses and profitability against your industry averages
- examine the financial data of similar businesses
contact your business or industry association for information about industry standards to measure your performance against
research and compare your business's products, services and practices with your competitors.

Benchmarking helps you to:

see where you can reduce costs and improve efficiency
assess the productivity of your business compared to how many employees you have
identify opportunities for improvement, new ideas and innovative practices
highlight opportunities for making your business more competitive
forecast the impact of any changes and see how to prepare for growth.

This guide will show you how to benchmark your business.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a simple tool to help you work out the internal and external factors affecting your business. It is one of the most commonly used business analysis and decision-making tools. A SWOT analysis helps you:

build on strengths (S)
minimise weakness (W)
seize opportunities (O)
counteract threats (T).

To get the most out of a SWOT analysis, you need to conduct it with a particular business objective in mind. For example, a SWOT analysis can help you decide if you should introduce a new product or service or change your processes.

A SWOT analysis is often part of strategic planning. It can help you better understand your business and work out what areas need improving. It can also help you understand your market, including your competitors, and predict changes that you will need to address to make sure your business is successful. It is also a particularly useful step in your marketing planning process.

The following guide provides an overview of what a SWOT analysis involves and how to conduct one.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au

Business requirements under trade measurement laws

As a Queensland business it's important that you know your rights and obligations under trade measurement laws.

Businesses that sell goods by measurement, and those that manufacture, pack, import or sell pre-packaged goods, must comply with the following legislation:

Using measuring instruments in your business

Any measuring instruments (e.g. a scale) that are used to sell goods must be:

an approved type, suitable for their intended purpose
verified before use by a servicing licensee or inspector
used in the correct manner (e.g. level and calibrated to zero before use)
positioned so that the customer can easily see the measurement process, or you must provide a written statement of the measurement
kept clean and in good working order
verified after each repair or adjustment.

Servicing your measuring instruments

You should have your measuring instruments checked regularly by a servicing licensee to make sure they are working properly.

For a list of servicing licensees near you, call the National Measurement Institute on 1300 686 664 (select 2) or email tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au.

Requirements for pre-packaged goods

If your business manufactures, packs, imports or sells pre-packaged goods, you must:

make sure packages are correctly labelled, including measurement statements and packer identification
make sure packages contain the amount stated on the label
have appropriate measuring instruments to perform compliance sampling.

Measuring pre-packaged goods

You have a duty to carry out sufficient checks to ensure that all batches of pre-packaged goods meet the legal requirements for correct measurement.

There are 2 approved methods that you can use to determine if your pre-packaged goods are measured correctly.

Average system

The average content in a sample of pre-packed articles of the same measurement cannot be less than the stated quantity marked on the packages.
No pre-packed article can have a shortfall greater than 5% of the stated quantity.
An inspector will generally check 12 articles, but can choose a number of packages greater than 12 for this sampling process, depending on the circumstances.
The allowable average deficiency in a sample of 12 or more articles is nil. However, a small number of 'desiccating' goods, which lose moisture after packing (e.g. mushrooms and soap), are allowed a greater maximum deficiency and an average deficiency after the day of packing.

For more information about desiccating goods and measurement-marking requirements, read the trade measurement legislation above.

Average quantity system (AQS)

The weighted average net content in a sample from the production run of pre-packed articles cannot be less than the stated quantity marked on the packages.
Allowance is made for a small number of pre-packages to exceed a 'tolerable deficiency'.
None of the pre-packages in the sample can have more than twice the prescribed tolerable deficiency.

Find out more about AQS.

Learn more about the requirements for pre-packaged goods.

National Measurement Institute (NMI)

NMI maintains measurement standards and provides the legal and technical framework for businesses in Australia. For example, they make sure that the pricing of traded goods from business-to-business and business-to-consumer is based on accurate measurement.

Find out more about NMI.

Trade measurement inspectors

NMI employs trade measurement inspectors to educate, monitor and consult with businesses about their trade measurement obligations.

Inspectors can visit your place of business 'at any reasonable time of day' in response to a complaint or enquiry from a consumer, or as part of a trade measurement compliance inspection program.

The inspector does not have to give notice of entry, and you are obliged to assist inspectors with any enquiries.

Source: www.business.qld.gov.au