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How to create a marketing plan for your small business - build a brand, target customers and set prices that will maximise sales.

The internet has transformed business marketing. No matter what you do, the internet is likely to be at the heart of your marketing strategy.

Social media is firmly established as a marketing tool. Having a presence opens up new lines of communication with existing and potential customers.

Good advertising puts the right marketing message in front of the right people at the right time, raising awareness of your business.

Customer care is at the heart of all successful companies. It can help you develop customer loyalty and improve relationships with your customers.

Sales bring in the money that enables your business to survive and grow. Your sales strategy will be driven by your sales objectives.

Market research exists to guide your business decisions by giving you insight into your market, competitors, products, marketing and your customers.

Exhibitions and events are valuable for businesses because they allow face-to-face communication and offer opportunities for networking.

Renewed calls for ethnicity pay gap reporting

23 June 2020

Mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for businesses will be debated in Parliament after a petition attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

The petition comes as prime minister Boris Johnson announced a new inquiry into racial inequality in the UK. However, questions are being asked about why recommendations from previous reviews have not been implemented. It is over three years since Tory peer Ruby McGregor-Smith conducted a review that recommended that companies should be compelled to publish data on how ethnically diverse they are by pay band.

The government department for business (BEIS) conducted a consultation into ethnicity pay reporting in 2018 but it has yet to publish the results. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from 2019 suggests that white workers were paid 3.8% more than all other ethnic groups.

Baroness McGregor-Smith, who is president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), told the Financial Times that "The big gap is ethnicity pay reporting … and that needs to change".

Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary, said: "The government must place a legal requirement on employers to identify and tackle the barriers facing BME workers. We need much greater transparency and accountability. As Baroness McGregor-Smith rightly observed 'daylight is the best disinfectant'."

A new study by Instant Offices has found that diversity and inclusivity within British workplaces is "severely lacking". Its findings show that only 56% of British employees believe employers are trying to be more diverse and inclusive.

Lucinda Pullinger, global head of HR at The Instant Group, said: "It's important to remember that a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture are different. If you have diversity, you don't necessarily have inclusion … For things to improve, the focus on diversity in organisations needs to be on-going and measured."

Written by Rachel Miller.

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