The Business Tools Store Blog

  Sales revenue is the lifeblood of all commercial organisations. On an annual basis, long debates and negotiations take place before the annual sales revenue budget is finalised. Once the revenue number is finalised and signed-off it is over to the Sales Management to make it happen. Sales management need to dissect the revenue monthly numbers and translate the revenue targets into numbers and value of sales that need to be closed each month. Many organisations have contracted recurri …

Online sales continue to account for a growing proportion of total sales. Even the smallest business can no longer ignore the online channel. The online channel offers opportunities for every type of business and with ecommerce platforms like Big Commerce** it was never easier or more affordable to open an online store. Once you have an online sales presence, channel revenue maximisation becomes a key objective. Three key variables impact the total revenue from the channel. &nb …

Google has quietly released major changes in the way which search data is reported which is likely to have a significant impact on the way SEO is practiced.So what is the big game changer?In October 2011 Google announced that it was encrypting the data arising from organic search for those users who were signed in to their Google account, in the interest of protecting personal privacy and security. The result was that when one used Google analytics organic search sources to see what keywords wer …

  Introverted strategic planning that focuses exclusively on the organisation itself is doomed to failure. All organisations, irrespective of size, operate within a macro-environment over which they have little control. PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis) provides a useful framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental analysis component of strategic planning. The output from the PEST analysis provides a good background against whic …

  We are all familiar with SWOT and PEST analysis as techniques to use during the planning process. Many are unsure how to use them effectively and how they fit together. Should I use SWOT or PEST or both? Once I have completed the analysis how do I most effectively incorporate the results into the overall planning process? The Business Tools Store has produced a Strategic Planning Workbook that allows the novice and expert alike to use both PEST and SWOT in a complementary fashion …