Who have you got for Christmas?

Christmas is an important time of year, many businesses can see this period as a time for gaining new sales and new customers. This is all very well and good, but the customers you have can easily be overlooked. I always see Christmas as a time to show my customers I care about their business, and their loyalty to mine. A small token of goodwill, can go a long way, I was taught this by my grandfather. He would at this time of year always take something to his customers, if you were really lucky it would be a bottle of spirits, but the expense of that would be far too high these days.

There are many ways you can show your existing customers you appreciate them, and would like to continue doing business with them in the future. A Christmas card, a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates anything that puts a smile, and a little Christmas cheer into them, will make a solid base for your business in the New Year. Go that little extra, enjoy what you give, and your business will receive throughout the New Year!

Merry Christmas to all of our Customers, AND consumers, without you we would not be the biggest most successful business directories in Tenerife.

Saving Tenerife!

With the new directory finding its way onto every desk and telephone table, the new residents scheme is in full view of all Tenerife residents. You can now make savings across the island with our advertisers, and save upto 20% on some products and services. On the front of the new Business Pages Directory, you will find a cut out savings card. You will need to register this card to claim your unique residents number, and write it on the front of the card. Then keep the card safe, and wherever you see the BP Tenerife logo you can save. Most members of the directory will offer you a saving when you show them the card, or quote your unique number from Bptenerife.com, but you must mention you are a card holder before a given quote or fixed price.

Times are still tough across the island, and after spending my time on foot delivering the directories, I can see one out of three businesses has closed its doors. Thats a shocking statistic, but its reality. Has it slowed down, or is there worse to come, we will just have to wait and see. Nobody can predict the future, but we can help you to save money, and help our advertisers to gain business with our new scheme. Make sure you are signed up from the homepage or register your card by calling 902 881 061. The Business Pages Tenerife call centre will register your savings card over the phone.

For further information about Bptenerife.com or Business Pages Tenerife contact info@bptenerife.com

Business Pages Tenerife - back to work.....

After a long summer, our offices are now back in action and we are ready to help with any of your enquiries. As the new 2010/11 Business directory is being delivered, residents will notice our new cut out Residents Card on the front cover. This card needs to be registered from the homepage of the website, or by calling 902 881 061. We will give you a unique residents number which will entitle you to huge savings across the island.. You can save upto 20% on some products and services available in Tenerife with our new Residents Savings Card. These offers will be sent out to our residents mailing list (sign up here) and offer you fantastic deals with Business Pages Tenerife advertisers. Look out for the Bptenerife Logo, in shop windows, on vehicles and in local adverts. Anyone who displays it, are part of the residents savings scheme, and will offer you a discount when you display your card.

For further information email support@bptenerife.com

Whats your USP?

Do you have one, do you even no what one is? well its not the U.S. Mail service for a start. Your USP(unique selling point) is the unique thing that makes your product or service more valuable then any other. If you haven´t got one, then how can you sell your products and services? You could try and sell them by demoting your competitors, and spending your valuable sales time talking about other products available and why you should not buy them. But this will only exhaust your sales meeting, and maybe even highlight another product not even considered by your prospect. Professional sales is an art form in itself, and compiling the correct tools before you go to work is extremely important. If you don´t know why people should use your products or services, and can only base the reasons on why they shouldn´t use anyone else's is a pointless way to go about your business. Find your unique selling point, package it, and concentrate it in your meetings, you will definitely see your sales improve, and your customer will walk away knowing about your product, its uniqueness and why it is so valuable for them to be a part of.

Wheres the Culture!

Even in times of recession it seems the streets of Puerto de la Cruz are still bustling with life. After a few days holiday in the north I discovered it to be as enchanting as ever. We watched as the virgin Mary was paraded around the streets, as street performers uncovered their arts and children played in the warm sunlight. The streets were constantly full of people, and reminded me of Los Cristianos 10 years ago. When herds of tourists wondered adventitiously around the streets, simply enjoying the picturesque scenes. It doesn't take long to comprehend what is so different, once you begin to stroll around and take in the culture and passion for the North of Tenerife. It has history and its buildings are full of Spanish architect that walk you through generations of time. You can feel the influences of different cultures, in both the location, and the types of constructions and design. The south is built purely for lager louts and nightclubbers, unless you´re looking for a cheap camera, you can always find plenty of out of date electronic stores. The tourist for the island has changed, but the south´s mentality hasn´t. Stores, bars and restaurants still treat people with a lack of respect and customer service is non existent, as people continue to treat people like intoxicated 18 years olds. There is no culture in this area once brimming with tourism. The cheap fags are out of date, and the booze isn´t so cheap anymore. Unless you want to stand in a down and out bar for 1 Euro a pint. The problem is, the 1 Euro a pint tourist isn't here, hes in Bulgaria, and other eastern European countries, that are able to sell the beer for 50 cents. That tourist has gone, and judging by the droves in the North, we now have people looking for culture, wanting to experience the islands way of life, and see how Canarians live. The walkers we once laughed at branding their ski style walking sticks are the people we now need to learn more about. The south has fallen behind because it has little to offer now the Euro is strong. The cheap tourism has moved on, the young found new islands, and the genuine tourist opting for education, history and something new.

To attract the tourist back, we need to rebrand the south, move it away from the cheap Tenerife holiday, and bring back cultre and passion. Not a passion for larger, a passion for the beautifull place it really is. Under the nightclubs, the cheap restaurants, the fags, the booze is a beautifull undiscovered island. Masca, Fiestas around the small villiges, street parades, the culture is here, it just needs talking about.

Plain bad Business

Why is it in Tenerife when you want something, it always costs more, and you never get exactly what you want. Let's take Indian restaurants for example, if I order a Shami kebab, I expect a minced lamb sort of spicy burger, not a minced chicken kebab with spices. Is it me, or are lamb and chicken two totally different meats. And these places wonder why they are closing down, they offer poor menus and terrible service. Back in the days when Tenerife was the place to holiday, you could get away with this. If a man stood to complain at a restaurant table, another family would bustle him out of the way to nick it. Everyone was so full of sangria, they didn´t know a big mac from a Shami kebab, never mind what meat was in it. The walkways would be full of people hovering around like flies, from one stool to another, trying desperately to shed a few of their worthless Euro´s. The pound was trading at the top of the currency volcano, and the Euro was the place to shop. Tenerife and the Canary Islands even more so, cheap fags, cheap booze, and many cloth-less women hovering around in a cocktail blur. Unfortunately those days are gone, but us, the business owners are still here. So what can we learn from the Shami kebab, what can we do in this bottoming out period of reseccion to improve our sales?. Well it's not going to take a rocket scientist to work this out. Just take five minutes and write down all the things you hate about other businesses in Tenerife. What they don´t do for you,what they could do better, and what you aren't getting. These are the things that we should all be improving. Then I have a second question for you, what are you offering, that can save people money? In times of reseccion, people need to save, or need an excuse to buy. Giving people that excuse is what turns your marketing messages into cash. Let's take shopping for clothes as an instance. Everyone one loves to shop for clothes, but in times of reseccion, we need another reason. If I am offering two shirts for one, thats a real good reason to purchase. If I´m offering 50% sale on old stock, in my store, I´m giving you a reason to shop. These are the reasons people will buy, simply trying to sit it out, will see your stock slowly dwindle from the shelf, and cash flow to only cover the bills. Leaving you with no stock, no money and no business

.Coupons, discounts, two for one, sales, it goes on and on. There are many people out there ready to buy, you have just got to give them a reason.

Bigger Hard Drives and Cyber Offices!

As the credit crunch continues its domino affects, hitting now the high street, local businesses, and the average household we see many doors closing, and more people switching to online tactics. Even car boot sales are now being conducted on line to save costs on fields and locations. So it seems even the normal everyday person can make money online, even in Tenerife. Sites like EBay have certainly dominated this market, but as they grow in size so do their administration costs, and listing fees. There are more sites out their, but finding one with the audience eBay have is very difficult. You can even open an online store from the eBay user section, if you are looking at selling specific items on a regular basis. This will reduce your eBay fees, and help to maintain all your listings. Your starting bid, is what affects your listing fee´s, it's a good tip to put a little more on the postage charges, and start the listing lower. This makes it more favorable, and also keeps your costs down. So you´ve had a good scout around the house, found some sellable items, and listed them, how can you get paid? Again, eBay´s sister site is PayPal, a very easy to use solution for online payments. It is recognized throughout the world, and many sites and online merchants use PayPal as a reliable form of money handling. The benefit of paying and receiving with PayPal, is they will always investigate a problem that may occur, and protect the victim in any case. PayPal fee´s are also expensive, and if you intend to use this service, you may need to consider the actual cost of your listing and payments to calculate you're starting figure. It's surprising what you can sell online, most things in an online auction will sell, and the postal charges from your local Correos in Tenerife, are very reasonable, and reliable. If you stick to standard certified post, it arrives to the UK with in five days. For those looking at relocating their businesses into their homes, a Website is a must. But not simply a brochure, an actual sales management Website, that controls your orders and clients. Business Pages specialize in all IT solutions for modern businesses, and have a great portfolio of sites, that will show their capabilities. Working from home can be an easy solution to overheads, and with the correct management software can run your business with ease. As we push further into the global financial crisis, we will see this as the way forward for many industries, with the capabilities of the Internet, and file sharing across the world, the need for office space, against Hard Drive space is way out of balance.

Less Spending, More Coupons, This Holiday Season

Less Spending, More Coupons, This Holiday Season

According to a Harris Interactive survey for RetailMeNot.com, 45% of US online adults plan to spend less money on gifts this holiday season than last because of the state of the economy, while one in five plan to spend significantly less. 89% of online adults think coupons are a great way to save money, and 35% of those who will be spending less money on gifts this holiday season will use coupons, the study found.
Among the other shopping strategies for spending less money on holiday gifts, according to online adults who will be spending less money this holiday season:
2008 Holiday Shopping Strategies
Expectation % of Shoppers
Purchase fewer gifts 83%
Buy less expensive gifts 63
Shop at discount stores 44
Shop Online 37
Use coupons 35
Make gifts 22
Shop during Black Friday sales 19
Source: Harris Interactive, October 2008
According to the study, 80% will purchase fewer gifts this year by buying gifts for fewer people (46%), buying a smaller amount of gifts for the same number of people (43%), or making some gifts instead of purchasing them (22%). Additionally:
• Those who shop online are expecting to either to find better deals (32%) and/or to save money on gas (24%)
• 29% will shop early to avoid impulse buys
• 12% will wait until the last minute to get more discounts
Of the 83% of online adults who are willing to make online purchases, 71% say the most popular items are books followed by music and electronics
What Online Shoppers Are Planning to Buy
Purchase % of Shoppers
Books 71%
Music 62
Electronics 55
Clothing 51
Travel 50
Office supplies 39
Health & Beauty 34
Source: Harris Interactive, October 2008
85% of online shoppers use tools or websites to find good deals online. 56% of online shoppers use search engines to find bargains. In addition, they have found other ways to save:
Online Tools for Finding "Good Deals"
Tool % Shoppers Using
Price comparison websites 32%
Online coupon websites 25
Online advertisements 23
Bargain tracking websites 12
Shopping-themed social networks 5
Source: Harris Interactive, October 2008
Guy King, cofounder of online coupon website RetailMeNot.com, concludes that "... consumers are becoming more strategic in the way they look for deals... coupon use, in particular, is on the rise and more consumers are realizing tremendous savings... In addition... online tools are creating new channels for retailers to reach budget-conscious shoppers... "

Online Savings for your Business

In the economic crisis we are all presently facing, the opportunities to save money in your business are very scarce.

Business Pages Tenerife are always looking for ways we can help small businesses avoid extra charges on the services they need.

We are now developing our IT Department further, to cope with the demand for our Network Services and Internet Solutions.

As the credit crunch takes a firm grip on the high street, we are seeing many companies pull back from owning locals and offices, viewing the web as a more favourable place to promote and do business. The overheads are lower, and you are able to communicate with a much larger audience.

Getting your website and marketing right, can offer high, attractive returns.

We provide a wide range of network solutions to suite any existing online business and provide impartial advice to businesses who want to create a website and an online business presence.

We offer an unrivalled web hosting solution for new and existing websites, providing both Microsoft Windows Web Servers to support ASP/.NET based web sites and Linux Web Servers through the highest quality, fastest data centres in the world.

Our Web Hosting & Monthly Support packages start from only 60 euros per month. We have a 9-5 help desk with live support technicians who can remotely connect to your workstations and fix any problems that may have occurred.

We can extend our live support service to deal with your PC problems remotely, our qualified technicians are capable of fixing problems on all major operating systems.

We also have a competent SEO/SMO team that can take care of your promotion and visibility on the web. Finding your site is vitally important if you want it to work for you, and bring you sales.

Our Web Server Administrators will transfer your existing website to our web servers free of charge, and install your systems promptly and securely, with email and web support.

Our Web Designers and Computer Programmers can also update, enhance or rebuild your website to today’s specifications enabling the most up to date browser compatibility.

We can assist your company in all areas of Information & Communication Technology to save you time and money, please contact us directly or call our helpdesk on 902 881 061.

To appear professional on the web, you need the support of a professional company!

Your Business is Invited!

The third BPBA Network Meeting is to be held on the 17th October, at The Bier Keller - now officially called Sound of Music, situated at the Adeje Island off the TF1.
The meeting will start at 2pm and continue through until 4pm (be sure to arrive early if you need parking).
This meeting will offer business incentives, and new opportunities to everyone who attends. We will also throw open the floor, allowing all business representatives to stand, and introduce themselves to the whole room. If you have your own business incentive that you can offer, this will be prime time to take advantage of.
We also have a guest speaker, who will be informing us of the economic future for Tenerife, and ways we can avoid business hurdles, this company speaks with vast business experience.
The network meetings have so far been a great success, with many, if not all attendees gaining new leads and sales.
Come and meet new people, ready to listen to your business message.
They cost nothing to attend but your time, and will market your business message tremendously, to a listening audience, who will help your business succeed.
The key to your businesses success, could be waiting at the next BPBA Network Meeting