Business Marketing Articles
PR issues your business must deal with - ...rs, buyers and consumers, your banker and your employees. The information you put out should be strictly factual and not an attempt to gloss over so...
Latest "Business Marketing" Articles
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Ways to write a marketing plan for your business (03/13/2011)
(...) To mitigate this, I like to think of a marketing plan as a discussion; writing the master plan, then, simply entails documenting that discussion. Here's how to generate an income like and how to approach the strategy.
Imagine that you're sitting in a coffeehouse or bar, speaking with a colleague about your marketing activities. (...)
Help your business partners to get help yourself (01/21/2011)
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From the viewpoint of the restaurants and bars, being related with Tate Modern was in itself prestigious: having the gallery supply them with free disposables also helped their bottom line. In the exact same time, getting the brand across in a novel and interesting way to 6 million coffee drinkers was achieved at a relatively low price - this sophisticated audience would be challenging to reach in any conventional way.
It's absolutely important to begin by identifying your "typical" target customer - which other goods and services they purchase, where they like to go on vacation, which magazines they read, and so forth. (...)
Learn from advertising agencies how to promote your business (01/21/2011)
(...) Determine what will most interest your consumer. Take the fight to the customer - you need to put the promotion correct where they will see it, outside their business premises if essential. Be daring - you cannot startle somebody with out doing something very unusual. (...)
Reposition your brand into a better marketplace (01/21/2011)
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Lucozade is a carbonated glucose drink accessible throughout Britain and in numerous other countries. It was originally developed as a drink for people convalescing after severe illnesses - the glucose provided fast energy, and the bubbles gave people's digestive systems a boost. As a way of nourishing someone whose appetite may be poor it succeeded very well, and was in fact an iconic brand. (...)
Know the needs of your customers to keep them satisfied (01/21/2011)
(...) Survey Monkey will automatically analyze and collate responses, again all online, so that results come back very quickly indeed.
All a researcher needs to do is direct respondents towards the Survey Monkey website and log in. This can be done by respondents at home, or on the company's premises: in the case of (say) a retail service like a fast-food takeaway or perhaps a hairdressing salon, the business could set up a terminal and ask clients to total the survey while they're waiting. (...)
Use your customer database to the advantage of your company (01/21/2011)
(...) The business installed Trillium software to integrate all of the data on customers into a single database. Interestingly, this showed that some clients appeared in the company's databases more than once, maybe under a slightly various version of their names (for instance, Alan Smith might be recorded as A. Smith), so effort was being wasted on contacting the same individual more than once. (...)
Take your product direct to market and tell people about it (01/21/2011)
(...) At the time, it was more like an online jumble sale or auction than a true street market - but since then things have moved on.
Many businesses now sell goods on eBay. The site permits companies to set up "booths" from which they can sell goods, at a fixed cost rather than via an auction. (...)
Identify your business competitors and learn from them (01/21/2011)
(...) Opodo thus became a virtual travel agent, allowing individuals to book flights from anywhere to anyplace on whichever airline ran the route.
Opodo is not limited to bookings on its owners' flights only. This would limit the usefulness of the site for the consumers, so Opodo can book on practically any scheduled airline in the world apart from the low-cost airlines. (...)
Let your customers handle their complaints (01/21/2011)
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As in most business-to-business markets, buyers rely on having great relationships with their suppliers, so few (if any) abuse the system. In fact, Granite Rock has discovered that the general price of dealing with complaints has dropped significantly: apart from the savings in terms of administration time, clients are actually awarding themselves much less compensation than Granite Rock would have been ready to pay.
The bonus is, needless to say, that customers trust Granite Rock and are much happier to do business with it than they're with (often cheaper) competitors. (...)
Market your new product by giving it away (01/20/2011)
(...) He needed a fast way of getting males to switch more than from cut-throat to disposable razors, so he decided to give the product away.
Gillette gave away thousands of razors, complete with blades, knowing that few males would go back to using a cut-throat razor once they had experienced the safety razor. Within a few days they would need to purchase new blades, so Gillette had produced an instant marketplace, restricted only by his capacity to give away more razors. (...)
Consult your business management team to obtain best results (01/20/2011)
(...) Even though they used only one-fifth of the energy of a traditional bulb, this was not sufficient to make them cost-effective, but they last 50 occasions longer, which is a main advantage. The problem for marketers lay in persuading individuals that this was worth while. Osram, Britain's biggest light bulb manufacturer, reasoned that the new bulbs would benefit businesses much more than customers. (...)
Add value to your product to separate yourself from competitors (01/20/2011)
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Offering extra value has enabled PizzaExpress to withstand competition, and to keep its brand intact in the face of the "pile 'em high and get 'em out there" method of American pizza chains. PizzaExpress is able to charge more for its pizzas than these large chains, because the added value makes them worth while - the higher prices also deter the kind of downmarket clients PizzaExpress desires to discourage.
Only offer added value that your target customers will enjoy. (...)
Do something different than your business competitors (01/20/2011)
(...) The Avon representatives were themselves ladies looking to earn some money in their spare time, frequently neighbors of their customers, so that a visit from the Avon representative was a social event as well as a shopping chance.
Avon cosmetics are sold in refugee camps in the Middle East, in housing projects in New York, in leafy suburbs in Surrey, as well as from canoes paddled up the Amazon.
The company's sales are a number of times those of L'Oréal Cosmetics, and its products seem in some surprising purses. (...)
How to persuade people to sell your product to friends (01/20/2011)
(...) Periodically, the distillery asks "Friends" for the names of three or four friends, to whom the distillery will send a little bottle of the whisky as a gift. There's nothing in this for the "Friend" - the other individual gets the whisky.
What it does do is allow the distillery to expand the quantity of people who know the product, with the added advantage that the "Friends" are likely to choose individuals who they think will enjoy the product. (...)
Using the Internet to promote your product may boost your business (01/20/2011)
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Obviously Betterware can't ignore the internet revolution, any more than any other firm: in fact, you will find distinct advantages in taking orders online. Nevertheless, the business has acknowledged that the main drawback of the internet is the lack of human get in touch with, and in fact Betterware are already far better placed than most other companies to inject a human element.
Therefore, Betterware not just pay commission to the salespeople for any sales produced in their area, even if the orders are placed by telephone or online: they also arrange for the salespeople to deliver those orders to the customers. (...)
Tell your customers what they like to hear (01/20/2011)
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The strapline says "55 teenagers a week wish they'd given the road their full attention." The ad was not produced by professional movie-makers: to gain footage, the Department merely gave 14 groups of teenagers a cellphone camera and asked them to film their typical activities. The group used in the advertisement is an actual group of friends (from Stoke Newington in London) and only the final crash scene is performed by a stunt driver and stunt artist. (...)
Your brand name has to stand out and be easy to remember (01/20/2011)
(...) The impact was electric.
The company was successful in claiming that it was simply the company's name rather than a misspelled Anglo-Saxon word, but young people nonetheless bought the T-shirts. The new brand appealed to rebellious teenagers who had not even been born when the business was founded - and when some individuals in authority failed to see the joke and banned the company's advertising, sales went up even further (and with reduced promotional expenses as a sweetener). (...)
Maintain contact with your customers in a friendly way (01/20/2011)
(...) You need something of real value to offer the customers. Calculating the suitable time gap is really a matter of considering the value of the initial buy, and also the kind of add-on you're offering.
Try to steer clear of calling it a "courtesy call" - individuals are wise to it, and it is poor to start off by lying to your clients. (...)
Ideas for convincing people to buy from you and not your competitors (01/20/2011)
(...) Couple of individuals would borrow glasses from the store and then buy everything else in Sainsbury's: the loan of the glasses shows trust of the consumer, which in turn will reflect back on the store.
The advantage for Waitrose doesn't quit using the sales, either - lending individuals things is really a way of demonstrating friendship, which creates a longer-term obligation on the component of the customer.
Waitrose have even extended the scheme to cover loans of fish kettles, since most households would only occasionally need to cook a whole salmon, for example. (...)
Instead of costly brochures use other ways to promote your business product (01/20/2011)
(...) The stand staff would then offer to mail out a brochure: only the genuinely interested would give their addresses, needless to say, so instantly the salespeople would have eliminated most of the time-wasters.
The next phase of the idea was that a salesperson would turn up at the address to deliver the brochure personally. Even without any high-pressure appointment-making sales script, the salesperson would have established a personal contact, and could be in a position to leave a telephone number or (if the circumstances seemed right) to make an appointment for a demonstration of the product. (...)
Choose your business partners with great care (01/20/2011)
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It also adds another service to their existing business, with no effort or outlay. In some cases, guest house owners have had trial lessons themselves, which of course makes them both more convincing and more enthusiastic when recommending the experience to guests.
From the viewpoint of the flying school, the trial lessons are just an extra income, for the effort of delivering blank vouchers towards the guest houses, something that can easily be done on days when the climate is bad and there is no flying. (...)
Set a price even if you give your product away as a gift (01/20/2011)
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For Institute members, the cost of the magazines (at £10 a time) is just over half the annual membership fee, so The Marketer offers a clear, tangible, and indeed monthly benefit of membership.
People are far more likely to read something that has a price tag attached, even if they did not actually pay the cost - the value is clearly there.
Don't go more than the top on the cover price - it should be realistic, considering the high quality and content of the magazine. (...)
Ways to turn a business disadvantage into an advantage (01/20/2011)
(...) Second, it gives the impression that Hertz, as the marketplace leader, is complacent and resting on its laurels. Third, it appeals to people's sympathy for the underdog. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, it is easily memorable. (...)
Business tips for using the country of origin effect to your advantage (01/20/2011)
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Saatchi & Saatchi was aiming for a young audience, so it started by (controversially) hiring graffiti artists to spray images of Christ the Redeemer on walls all over the East Finish of London. It also commissioned an image of a pool player resting his arms on a cue balanced across his shoulders - imitating the pose of the statue.
Ultimately, Sagatiba seeks to tap into British perceptions of Brazil - hence the use of Christ the Redeemer. (...)
Being consistent in business brings you closer to success (01/20/2011)
(...) Rooms are booked online or via automated call centers exactly where the consumer speaks to a machine, and late-arriving travelers may well find that there's no one around at all - a machine outside will accept a credit card either to book a room or as identification for a pre-booked room.
The machine problems a keypad code that provides access to the room, so there's no need to issue or collect keys. The rooms themselves are basic, are easy to clean, and require minimal checking: in most Etaps there are no free soaps, just a soap dispenser in the shower. (...)
Make it easy for people to pay for your services (01/20/2011)
(...) I have arranged a cope with a cannery on the subsequent island to purchase the mangoes, and using the earnings from this the islanders will probably be able to purchase shoes. I have measured a sample of their feet, and we will need mainly size 8s, wide fitting, but we ought to have around 10 percent of the shipment in 9s and 10 percent in 7s. Women's shoes should be mainly flat-heeled due to the rocky terrain here. (...)
Instead of business competition try bussiness association (01/20/2011)
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Their reputation for clunky reliability produced them a threat, but rather than compete head-on with them, and perhaps risking entering a price war if Skoda engineers could recapture their former days of glory, VW decided to cooperate. Investment by VW in Skoda was not just financial. VW took over Skoda in 1991 and redesigned the plant, re-educated the engineers, and cooperated with them in developing new vehicles. (...)
Form a club for your customers and make them enjoy themselves (01/20/2011)
(...) In return, they are sent a £4 voucher to redeem against Huggies products.
The information allows Huggies brand managers to tailor their marketing method, and of course populate a database. Feedback from the website helps in tailoring new products, identifying recurring problems, and identifying new market opportunities. (...)
Try not to annoy your customers or make them feel bad (01/20/2011)
(...) Breaking this cycle is something any sensible manufacturer would want to attempt!
Kodak is really a company that has suffered a roller-coaster ride over the years since George Eastman first produced photography easy enough for the average individual to take vacation snaps. By the late twentieth century, though, electronics was taking over as digital cameras replaced film cameras. Nowadays, nearly all new cameras are digital - couple of film cameras are still available, as well as the films can be difficult to find. (...)
Transform the negative aspects of your products into qualities (01/20/2011)
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These adverts generated much higher than average recall, and VW's diesel sales rose 40 percent, making it the marketplace leader and displacing Peugeot; 43 percent of VW's new cars sold in Britain in 2002 had been diesels. The campaign was repeated in 2003 and 2004, with equally dramatic results.
Find out what individuals Do not like about your product (or about your company, for that matter). (...)
How to approach your customers directly and make sales (07/17/2010)
(...) You are in control, dealing direct with your prospect.
A comparison can be made with selling through distributors with their margins and promoting direct. Whichever method is adopted, and it may well be a part combination of both, aim for a long-term strategy. (...)
PR issues your business must deal with (07/17/2010)
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PR for the local community can take the form of modest sponsorship for the school lollipop ladies, old folks' outings, 'keep our village tidy' bins, loan of the firm's pick-up truck for the cricket team roller and all sorts of other innocent causes. The small business columns of your local papers are always ready to print good news that shows your efforts in a favourable light. Amid so much gloom a cheerful item should find ready acceptance. (...)
Sell to others like you would sell to yourself (07/17/2010)
(...) All the time they are looking and listening. Looking for reactions, the eyebrows, the shrug, inflections in the voice. Looking for an opening, a buying signal, a chance to sign up an order. (...)
What are gaps and distribution chains (07/15/2010)
(...) Today we all know what has happened. Out-of-town 'sheds' as the trade calls them - Focus, B&Q, Homebase - have decimated the small family business and everything is pre-packaged, with advice from assistants nominal. Convenience and accessibility have overridden everything. (...)
Pay attention to the people and the image of your brand (07/15/2010)
(...) If your colleagues are only working for the pay packet at the end of the week, it will be a fairly soulless existence. Paying the proper wage and thanking them for their efforts is often overlooked. Try to avoid always telling them off: catch them doing something right - and tell them so. (...)
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