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our most recent articles

How Can I Establish A Stellar Reputation For My Company? - How the right customer experience will give you a great reputation. (Start Your Business Magazine, November 2011)

Why Are We Short-Changing Our Customers? - Why do some businesses not give value for money. (Start Your Business Magazine, October 2011)

Is This The Secret To Growing Your Business? - Spilling the beans on the secret to successfully growing your business. (Start Your Business Magazine, September 2011)

Mastermind Groups Can Accelerate Your Business Growth - How meeting regularly with the right people can dramatically improve your performance. (Start Your Business Magazine, August 2011)

Dear Consultancy Purchaser... - Consultancy programs need to be tailored to your specific needs. (Start Your Business Magazine, July 2011)

Start-Up Britain: Business Support, What Business Support - Does this business support industry actually work? (Start Your Business Magazine, May 2011)

I Am Furious. Really furious. - I am angry at all these businesses going bust. (Start Your Business Magazine, April 2011)

How To Get Out Of Your Box... - How bringing innovation to your business will make it more successful (Start Your Business Magazine, March 2011)

Viewpoint - Robert Craven explains why you should never trust anyone who says "trust me" (Growing Business Magazine, February 2011).

Welcome To The Valley of Death - Why refusing to stay small might be the big mistake. (Start Your Business Magazine, January 2011).

Viewpoint - Robert Craven explains how an out-of-touch board can spell disaster for a growing company (Growing Business Magazine, Dec 2010/Jan 2011).

The M.B.A. Is The Devil's Work For People Starting Up In Business! - The MBA can destroy your ability to set up and run your own business.  Smart-assed, newly qualified, MBA graduates think that their piece of paper qualifies them to be a freelance consultant or to run their own business.  Absolute nonsense. (Start Your Business Magazine, December 2010).

Change Your Entire Business... It Takes Just A Day - How one meeting lasting one hour in the boardroom changed a business forever (Growing Business Magazine, November 2010).

Viewpoint - Robert Craven advocates a brave approach to pricing (Growing Business Magazine, October 2010).

What Next for the UK's Business Support Industry? - Robert Craven looks into a future post-Business Link (Growing Business Magazine, September 2010).

A Caterpillar Doesn't Know It's A Baby Butterfly - Caterpillars go merrily about their business, nibbling leaves and doing caterpillar-type things totally oblivious of the fact that if they survive the vagaries of the modern world then they may well become a glorious butterfly. Similarly, most small and start-up businesses go merrily about their business looking for the next piece of work, oblivious of the fact that if they survive the vagaries of the modern world then they may well become a medium-sized business (Start Your Business Magazine, June 2010).

How Being Green Can Make You More Money - Robert Craven plays the devil’s advocate. It’s time to spill the beans about what many business owners really think about the whole green thing (Start Your Business Magazine, May 2010).

Networking is the Crack Cocaine Of The Business World - Networking is certainly the marmite of the business world: people either love or hate the thing. We have become polarised between those that love and those that hate networking; those that see it as the future of all business and prosperity and those who see it as a total and utter waste of time. “Twitter is for losers” is the cry of the anti-networkers (Start Your Business Magazine, April 2010).

Twitter is For Losers - In the new era of social networking, is Twitter really for losers? Or a way forward for business marketing? Robert Craven explores the "Twitter revolution" and whether its benefits reach out to the world of business (Start Your Business Magazine, March 2010).

How to Run an Effective Board - Robert Craven talks about the ways in which you can run an effective board which could determine the future of your business (Start Your Business Magazine, November 2009).

Getting Under Each Customer's Skin - Make them feel unique, says Robert Craven (Start Your Business Magazine, Issue 32, 2009).

Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself! - "Your business, your responsibility" are the key words from Robert Craven; the problem is business owners don't want to be truly accountable, he says (Start Your Business Magazine, Issue 32, 2009).

Bish Bash Bosh! - Funny how companies that look really good can often fail to produce the stellar results they promise. Robert Craven has some advice (Business First Magazine, Q1 2009).

Keep Your Head Above Water - Robert Craven explains how managing cash is all about putting the right controls in place... (Start Your Business Magazine, December 2008).

More Effective Marketing - Why do 'normal' forms of marketing often fail to deliver for firms these days? Robert Craven can think of at least five reasons right away (In Practice, September 2008).

The common sense approach to customer loyalty - Getting customers to purchase your product or service is always going to be a challange... (Mycustomer, July 2008)

Great Ways to Grow: The Three Plus One Tool - Robert Craven looks at how a little improvement in the way your customers behave can have a significant effect on your bottom line (Growing Business Magazine, July/August 08).

Getting customers to purchase your product or service is always going to be a challenge but how do you make sure that they return time and again? Verity Gough believes that customer loyalty is down to good, old-fashioned common sense (MyCustomer.com, August 08).

Don’t do! - In a desperate attempt to keep control of my life I have now adopted a ‘Don’t Do’ List policy. It should be easier to stick to the ‘Don’t Do’ list but actually it is till pretty tricky (SMEweb.com, June 2008).

Kick that mobile addiction - I have been talking to lots of people recently about delegating more… letting others take the strain… freeing you up to do the important stuff. Another part of that plan will be to stop your addiction to your Blackberry/email/mobile device (SMEweb.com, June 2008).

How will you grow your business? - There are only four ways to grow your business (SMEweb.com, May 2008).

Steer your business to success! - Leading life and business coach, Rasheed Ogunlaru shares insights into driving your business forward through effective marketing.

You Get The Business You Deserve - Despite a strong turnover and great product, you'll still fail if you forget the business basics, says Robert Craven (Growing Business Magazine, June 08).

Be Your Own Brand - Life and business coach, Rasheed Ogunlaru, shares tips on standing out from the crowd and building your profile (B2B Marketing Magazine).

Are You A Zebra? - Robert Craven discusses the need for a unique factor (Start Your Business Magazine, June 08).

For Better For Worse: Creating Customer Loyalty at customerzone.co.uk quotes Robert!

How will you grow your business? - There are only four ways to grow your business (SMEweb.com, May 2008).

Staying Power - A fast-growth business without an exit plan? Surely some mistake. But as Robert Craven explains, business owners who refuse to sell up often run remarkable companies (Growing Business Magazine, May 2008).

Recession Blues - Surviving the downturn is the hot topic of the moment... (Start Your Business Magazine, May 2008).

Tear up the business plan - SMEweb.com, May 2008.

Finger in the air research - SMEweb.com, May 2008.

Who’s the boss! Is your life working for you? - Life and Business Coach, Rasheed Ogunlaru shares the secrets of successful work life balance.

Obsessed with strategy, marketing and teams - SMEweb.com, May 2008.

Bright Marketing - Reviewed by John Ling in The Marketer - April 2008.

Does advertising give value for money? - SMEweb.com, April 2008.

Get the business working for you - SMEweb.com, April 2008.

Find something that works for you - SMEweb.com, April 2008.

Don’t wait for a sales channel to dry up - SMEweb.com, April 2008.

The Elusive Million - how to break through the £1m barrier and why you need a sound exit strategy (Growing Business, April 2008).

Getting a million out of the business - excerpt from The Magic Million Boardroom Briefing (SMEweb, April 2008).

Barriers and enablers - excerpt from The Magic Million Boardroom Briefing (SMEweb, April 2008).

Just found: Calculating customer value: A guide to relationship marketing - (Business Zone Sept 2007)

Just found: The search for customer loyalty - (Business Zone Sept 2007)

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