All about marketing

Nogen går i læ, når det blæser – andre sætter drager op.

2010-03-22T08:49:00.000+02:00

De seneste 18 måneder har givet grå hår i hovedet på mange virksomhedsejere, ledere og medarbejdere.

Hvor længe varer det tilbageslag, som vi oplever lige nu ?

Hvornår er det rette tidspunkt at skære ned, tilpasse sin organisation og sine salg- og marketing initiativer til en generelt lavere økonomisk aktivitet ?

Eller er det nu, at der skal skabes forbedringer i salg og marketingledelsen, så brandet vitaliseres f.x via tilpasning af produktportefolien, udvikling af salgskanalerne og synlighed i markedet ?

De overvejelser, som spørgsmålene giver, er værd at bruge lidt tid på.

For selvom mange markeder er svundet betragteligt ind, fordi forbrugerne vælger at nedbringe gæld eller spare op i stedet for at forbruge, så er markederne der jo stadig.

Og kampen om markedsandele stopper jo ikke. Beslutter man sig for krybe ind læskuret, så overlader man i alle tilfælde kampen og dens præmisser til de andre. Det betyder, at man kommer til at leve med resultatet.

Måske vågner man op til en konkurrencesituation, som man ikke er klar til.

Der er gjort mange betragtninger i senere måneder, om hvorledes marketingparametrene kan tilpasses i en så dramatisk situation, som vi ser nu. Det mest berømte eksempel er et stort amerikansk ølfirma, der for en række år siden stoppede al markedsføringaktivitet i én stat for at se resultatet. Meget overraskende steg salget de første måneder, hvor man tærede på den brandvalue, man havde. Derefter faldt salget – og det blev det ved med. Konkurrenterne havde overtaget billedet i forbrugerens bevidsthed. Prøv selv at google efter resultater, som er relevant for netop dit marked.

I krisetider handler dialogen om markedsføring og salg alt for om den manglende risiko ved at skære ned. Logikken er som reglen, at det gør konkurrenterne også, og derfor holder man share of voice og dermed sin relation til sine kundesegmenter. Umiddelbart lyder det jo fornuftigt nok, hvis forudsætningen holder – at alle kryber ind i læskuret.

Nogle vil også mene, at det vi oplever lige nu er, at vinden har lagt sig helt – Så man kan slet ikke sætte drager op !

Uanset hvilket sortsyn man vælger, så er der en anden option. At gøre det bedre – at give sine parametre og processer et sundhedstjek. Er prisen sat rigtigt, er produktet rigtigt specificeret, arbejder vi ud gennem de rigtige og mest effektive kanaler, har vi et kommunikativt flow, der både fastholder vores relation til vores nuværende kunder og bygger nye relationer op, står vores brand med de styrker, som vi ønsker osv.

Hos Strategy2tactics møder vi flere typer virksomheder, og nogle føler sig forståeligt nok fanget. Tilbageslag i markederne har kostet omsætning, og det har forringet resultaterne, og spørgsmålet er ofte: Hvordan kommer vi videre – under hensyn til at ressourcerne er begrænsede.

Vores svar er som reglen: Fokuser på at få dragen op – brug den vind, der er. Glæd dig over at der er trængsel i læskuret.

Og den gode nyhed er, at er man åben for at se på sit marketingmix med nye øjne, så åbner der sig som reglen også muligheder for at skabe bedre resultater uden øgede omkostninger. Og de forbedringer giver vedvarende konkurrencefordele.

Vi oplever også at det kræver en voldsom ledelsesindsats, medarbejdere og ledere skal motiveres til at gøre op med gamle vaner, der skal sættes nye mål, skabes en ny fælles virkelighed, arbejdsmetoder skal tilpasses, organisation og processer skal måske også have en tur. Men det er der jo tid til hvis kunderne ikke står i kø. Så der et velvalgt tidspunkt.

Netop i det spændfelt arbejder Strategy2Tactics. Hvordan man kommer fra ide til handling.

Så vi tager gerne en dialog med dig og din organisation – hvis du altså skal ud og sætte drager op.

- Bloggen her er ment som et oplæg til dialog og diskussion – så giv dine synspunkter tilkende.

[Via http://soerenmichaelpihl.wordpress.com]

Social Media is here to stay, but....

2010-03-22T02:43:00.000+02:00

So I’ve really been trying to wrap my head around this whole social media craze. I understand and agree that it’s the wave of the future, but I still struggling with finding my fit in the big picture.

On a personal level, it’s been great catching up with long, lost friends from 100 years ago. That’s working for me. Exchanging casual small-talk with friends is fun and great to know what everyone’s doing, even though their Facebook posts seem much more exciting than anything I could think to share. You see, my kids are grown and gone…no soccer scores to share, no academic successes to report, just mundane day to day stuff. Well, my daughter is getting married and we’re planning a big “to-do”, but I’m not compelled to share all those details with the general public. My close friends know what’s going on because we’re plugged into each others lives on a more personal level. They’re not reading about it on Facebook, I’m sharing the news with them, well, in person or over the phone.

Now, on a more professional level, I’ve spent much time analyzing the efficacy of promoting a non-profit business through social media and have found it has much more substance, at least for my needs. There are so many ways to connect with followers and fans on so many levels that it’s created the need for a whole new marketing strategy. The traditional pay, print and distribute method will continue for some time, however digital advertising will eventually shut the presses down and shift the focus to electronic delivery. Until this new delivery system is firmly in place, we need to embrace social media as the most current electronic method of delivery and take full advantage of it’s strength. For now, it is the most viral means of connecting to our constituents that exists and we’d be remiss in turning our back on it’s effectiveness.

As you begin evaluating your social marketing plan and how best to implement, remember, everything in moderation. If everything you put in front of your constituents is promotional in nature, it can potentially become a turn-off and counterproductive. Do you have a marketing plan in place for social media? How are you balancing the business end with a personal touch? Share your thoughts.

[Via http://jagras.wordpress.com]

Balancing Platform and the Novel

2010-03-19T08:01:00.000+02:00

At a recent conference I attended, almost all the agents and editors on staff agreed that platform should consume 50% of the time you dedicate to your novel before it’s published. Some recommended getting started as early as three years before you have a book.

I don’t know about you guys, but backing up to three years before having a publishable novel puts me somewhere around “What’s show don’t tell?” and “What do you mean there are 47 different kinds of third person?” Not to mention, 50% of my writing time brings me down to a handful of hours a week.

Realistically, most aspiring novelists are still learning to write novels. And then they have to write them. All while holding down a full-time job (stay-at-home moms and students, I count you).

Even coming from a marketing background, I had to put the whole thing off for four years for my novel’s sake. Any my sanity’s. My marketing plans are just beginning to roll out now in the areas of blogging, social networking (on and offline), online and print advertising, and library seminars. Below are some tricks I use to squeeze these platform elements in while still finalizing my novel.

Structure, structure, structure. I only get 15 waking hours per week to myself. So structure is crucial. I have set times for blogging, online networking, writing and attending events.

Goodbye Perez Hilton. Somewhere along the way, I developed an addiction to surfing the Internet. Good news! Blogging accommodates this. I’ve replaced Perez, my private Facebook page and a million other bookmarked news sites with writer blogs, forums and Facebook pages relevant to my goals. Commenting on such sites is the best short-term way to drive traffic to my own blog and conveniently scratches my Perez itch.

Google Reader. Subscribing to my favorite writing blogs with Google Reader shaves time off this crucial element of online networking. If you aren’t familiar with news readers, go to http://www.google.com/reader and watch the tutorial. It’s easy.

Evergreen posts. I try to schedule my blog posts about a week in advance so I can come down with the flu if need to, or even better, can finish a scene if I’m hot with an idea. Which brings me to…

Strike while the iron is hot. If an idea for a blog post or a scene comes to me, I WRITE IT DOWN. If it’s technically novel-writing time and I have a blog post burning a hole in my brain, I write the post. This eventually evens itself out.

One social event per quarter. This is a random and personal quantity, but I have a quota of one writer event per quarter. It keeps me out there in the writing world without overwhelming me. Critique group doesn’t count, by the way. The social events always have to be with new people.

Check traffic only once per day. HAHAHAHA. I tried.

Write when it’s time to write. I used to procrastinate during my writing times (with Perez as my accomplice). Now if I need a little transition time, I’ll comment on some blogs or forums. But then I shut the internet down and write. No time for messing around now.

Choosing how and when to build platform is personal. It may be a huge priority for you or you may buck the whole thing. I’m pulling for you either way. But if you are juggling with platform and have some time-management tips for the rest of us, we’d all appreciate your insights in the comments.

[Via http://disobedientwriter.wordpress.com]

Dealing with Failure: How you can learn from Toyota

2010-03-19T02:55:00.000+02:00

We’ve all been there. We make mistakes that might only lead to inconvenience or a little wasted time, or maybe its impact leads to thousands upon thousands of dollars. How to deal with failure can change the outcome in the long run, and influence your long term success.

Let’s take a moment to examine the recent situation involving Toyota and their malfunctioning automobiles. Historically, Toyota has been know for, and built a brand on safety and reliability. It’s been the primary factor in their success in luring away customers from the American brands like Chevrolet and Ford. But then, the accelerator started sticking in some cars. There were reports of drivers crashing, flying out of control and not being able to slow down or stop. People panicked, and Toyota did too. They blamed the customer; top level management went strangely underground and weak promises of resolutions lacking substance were made by mid-managers. The entire situation destroyed any semblance of dedication to fixing the issue at any cost.

This should be an educational experience for both businesses and individuals. How you respond to failure or crisis changes our potential for long term success. If you’ve failed in some way, or are experiencing a crisis in your career, keep these points in mind.

Own it.

You’ve failed, it’s over now and the dust is starting to settle and everyone is looking at you. This is probably the most important action you can take. Stand up straight away and admit your momentary lapse in judgment. Tell people that you did indeed make the mistake and have a repentant attitude. Remember, part of what people want is just to know it wasn’t intentional and that you are truly sorry. They want to blame, but you take away the blame game, and own the mistake. In a company, this needs to be done as quickly as possible by the leader, the CEO of the company. Mr. Toyoda learned this lesson rather painfully this year.

Provide direction.

Now you have instilled some trust and shown character in your ownership and willingness to be accountable. Now provide some direction in how you’ll work towards resolution. Lay out your plan, and try as best you can to get the right people lined up with you to fix the problem, and make the outcome even better than originally expected. Show people you’re not done, you’ve learned a lesson and it’s time to drive it to completion and build back the trust. This might be trust from your boss or coworkers, or like our example, your customers who swore by your product for 10 years only to now consider buying a different car because of something they watched on the news.

Strap in.

That’s right, it’s going to be a grind. It’s time to examine everything to make sure that you understand where your decision making process broke down. Take the time to really dig into your thought process and information gathering processes. You have to help everyone understand the entire scenario that led to this failure or crisis, and how to avoid it moving forward. It’s time to think about how to avoid this in the future.

Don’t waste it!

You’ve heard the old saying, never waste a good crisis. This is so true. You have a newfound willingness to examine yourself and your broken habits and make positive changes. Now you have removed the blinders that were there from ego or refusal to make an introspective examination of yourself, and can really improve. Acknowledge this in yourself, and take advantage of it. Make positive change now, and watch people notice (they’re watching you).

Attack!

You can come out of this stronger than when it started. People will look at your differently because they’ll remember your strong character and willingness to be accountable not only for the bad decision, but the resolution. They’ll hold on to your leadership as things improve. If you are able to make things even better than they were supposed to be in the first place, that will carry even more weight. It’s time to get on the offensive now, start making up ground and moving forward. For Toyota, they need a structured plan of attack to reclaim market share, and lay claim to even more. You better believe Ford and Chevy are on a full on attack of Toyota and their market share, and if you think that your screw up won’t bring your own competition out of the wood work looking to drive down your individual market share in the office, you’re dead wrong.

It’s interesting how you can learn from the crisis in a global corporation and apply some of those same principals to your own reaction to failure in your life. Take care as these situations unfold, and carefully choose each next step. They will definitely have a significant impact on your success for years to come after the mistake. Let me know what you think about this. Have you had a major crisis in your life that you handled poorly, and learned from? Perhaps you handled one beautifully, and learned from that? I’d love to hear about it here in the form of a comment, or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/matt_schmitt/. Let’s connect today!

Matthew Schmitt

[Via http://matthew-schmitt.com]

Why Use Twitter?

2010-03-17T08:00:00.000+02:00

Why do people use Twitter?

And, more importantly…

How does Twitter help with marketing?

There are a lot of people who don’t understand the uses and advantages of using Twitter, and therefore, they argue with the fact that Twitter really does help in marketing products and spreading the word on brands. Nay-sayers think Twitter is a way to pretend you’re “friends” with celebrities, or to post every detail of your day. It’s not!

Twitter is social networking at its finest. You choose who you follow and who is allowed to follow you. You can re-tweet (RT) important information, and create lists to narrow your results — among other things.

But why do people use Twitter? Does it make them feel like they’re important, like they have more friends, or is there something more to it?Twitter, in one of its most beneficial advantages, provides you with a live, up-to-date news feed, providing you with the news before many news outlets can. You can search for trends in tweets and reply to other users almost immediately after they post.

Twitter also gives you feedback from customers, consumers, and followers. Mentions of your username (e.g. @QuinlanCompany), are traced back to you so you can review what others are saying about you. This shows you how your brand or company is being received, and can help you change or improve on certain areas if need be.

Twitter helps you reach out to a wider audience, and lets you connect with them on a personal level. Twitter helps promote events and products, getting your word out to the world. It is also a way to share ideas casually all the while connecting to your audience and building relationships with them.

Twitter also helps with search engine rankings. Twitter gives you the ability to share direct links to your sites with millions of users, and the opportunity for those users to RT your link to others. Your search engine rankings will improve the more you use key words, post links, and mention your brand. Frequency is key! Post often and regularly with relevant information to your audience and you will see results.

Don’t have anything to Tweet about? You don’t need to! Let the news and topics come to you. Create a custom news feed. Check your lists. Ask questions. Twitter is custom-made just for you. Give it a chance, and you’ll understand the appeal.

[Via http://quinlancompany.wordpress.com]

Marketing Vs. Selling : Go to Market

2010-03-17T02:56:00.000+02:00

“Marketing is what you do to make the sale possible — before your first contact with the prospect. Selling is what you do to make that contact and close the sale,” Parker writes.

Both of these are an important part of starting a business. But for many freelancers, marketing is an almost insurmountable task.

According to Parker, there are two primary reasons writers fail at marketing. First, she says they try too hard. That as writers, we expect to come up with the “perfect” marketing pitch – something unforgettable, something smashing.

The truth is, you have to be in it to win it. Or as the instructor of a marketing class Parker took said, If you’re there, you’ll get your share.

Chances are good you don’t suck. I mean, you may, I haven’t personally evaluated your work, but so long as you don’t completely suck, if you put yourself out there you will do some business. But you won’t do any business if potential clients don’t know you exist.

Second, Parker says that writers fail because when they get busy, they focus on the client work and fail to continue marketing themselves. When we’re swamped, like in up past our ears so that all that peaks over the piles of paperwork on our desks is our eyebrows, the last thing we want to think about is finding more work. But guess what? If we don’t, when we finish wading through that pile of papers, there won’t be another one waiting.

In order to make sure you don’t end up in a dead zone, with work behind you but none in front of you, it is essential that you develop a marketing plan and that you stick to it. This is not nearly as daunting of a task as it may seem.

The fist step is to do some market research. At the most basic level, marketing research is figuring out who your clients are and what they want.

If you know a few people who fall into your target demographic, invite them over for pizza and beer and tap their brains. If not, do what I’m doing.

Today, I began doing the preliminary work for my own market research. I put “Astoria” and “Chamber of Commerce” into Google and hit the search button. After realizing that there are a lot of places named “Astoria,” I refined my search and found the Queens Chamber of Commerce website. Listed there are a ton of local businesses.

I began by scrolling through them looking for likely prospects. I believe that my services will be more in demand among service vendors than among retailers; there may also be some demand from manufacturers. In addition to looking for potential clients / contacts, I checked out local small business events on the site’s event calendar and scanned the list for potential competition.

My next step will be to compile a list of contacts and contact information. I will write up a few questions (Do you hire a writer for your marketing materials? Would you? Why or why not? What would you pay for said services?) and then call, tell them I’m starting a small business and would like to ask them their opinion on a few things.

I’ll ask about what these people read, where they look for services, and what kind of small business events they attend.

Recording the answers for a dozen or so calls will give me a pretty good feel for the potential demand for a writer in the area. It may turn up potential competition. If I need more information, I make more calls, until I feel like I have a good idea how to reach the clients that I want to work for/with.

The next step will be deciding what steps to take based upon this information.

[Via http://jargonwriter.wordpress.com]

Heineken Champions League prank!

2010-03-15T08:53:00.000+02:00

A truly geeeenius piece of buzz marketing done for Heineken by JWT Italia (well beyondM25).

They got 200+ football lovers partners/lecturers/bosses to convince their man to reluctantly go to a classic music concert on the same night that the AC Milan vs Real Madrid champions league match was live on Sky Sports, one of the biggest clashes you can find in football.

Once the concert started words start appearing on the screen behind the performers and it soon becomes clear that they have been pranked and then they start to show the match cementing the message that Heineken are ‘made to entertain’

In the days following the stunt was tweeted, blogged and covered in the news (TV and Print) all over the world – Brilliantly clever!

Thanks MyModernMET for sharing

[Via http://beyondm25.wordpress.com]

Unscented Deodorants May Still Have Fragrance; Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, The Dial Corporation, Revlon Cons Prod Corp called out

2010-03-15T02:49:00.000+02:00

Many products are listed as “Unscented” but if you take a closer look they may still be scented with a “masking fragrance”. This makes absolutely no sense to me….. why list it as unscented when they have put a scent in it? Are the companies too lazy to name the scent? Did the marketing departments run out of silly naming ideas like cool breeze, fresh rain, and powdery shower?

The “unscented (but not really)” label is very noticeable in the deodorant aisle…. read the ingredients on the back of all the anti-perspirants listed as “unscented”. You may be surprised to see how many brands do this.

It is labelled "unscented" but it is not Fragrance-Free. Check the back for the ingredients.

The ingredients list a "*masking fragrance".... why call this "unscented?"

Why am I complaining about this? Because I am sensitive to fragrances and I have purchased products expecting them to be fragrance free and they were not. I am wiser now and always check the ingredients on the back.

Proctor & Gamble’s Invisible Solid PH Balanced Secret isn’t the only brand that does this, there are many more. Here’s a list of a few I’ve found labelled as unscented but contains a fragrance….

Unilever’s Dove Sensitive Skin Invisible Solid Unscented
The Dial Corporation’s Dry Idea Clinical Complete Invisible Solid Unscented
The Dial Corporation’s Dry Idea Clear Gel Unscented
The Dial Corporation’s Dry Idea Clinical Complete Roll-on Unscented
Proctor & Gamble’s Secret Crystal Clear Gel Flawless Clear Unscented
Proctor & Gamble’s Secret Invisible Solid Flawless Renewel Unscented (these two are different from the other one pictured)
Revlon Cons Prod Corp’s Mitchum Smart Solid Unscented

I do give Revlon Cons Prod Corp some credit, the Mitchum line does offer an unscented clear gel deodorant for men that does not include fragrance. Mitchum Clear Gel Unscented is the only men’s deodorant that I can find in major stores that is truly without scent. I would think men would want less perfume. I find it strange that more options are not easily available.

Unilever tends to market themselves as healthy with the Dove campaign. I do love Dove’s Sensitive Skin bar soap. I’m sad that they allow one of their deodorant’s to be marketed in a misleading way.

I would love to know why companies market a product as unscented when it clearly isn’t…. perhaps there is compelling argument to be made. I welcome company responses to smell INC.

[Via http://smellinc.wordpress.com]

Museums: Don't be scared of the re-brand (Pt. 2)

2010-03-12T08:56:00.000+02:00

(You can read Part 1 by clicking here.)

Sometimes Re-branding is Necessary

It is imperative that museums constantly reevaluate the messages they project about themselves to the public, what can be considered branding. Re-branding is a part of revamping or even creating an identity for the institution. Thor writes that re-branding:

“is not simply a marketing initiative. It’s a holistic process that must consider and represent every aspect of any organization. Branding is not just about how you want to be seen. It’s about showing the world what you are and what you believe in…your brand must capture your vision, mission and values, not just a subset” (para. 6).

DeLouise suggests, “Re-branding is always an act of imagination. The question to ask if you want to re-brand is “will this propel our mission?” (para. 5). Also called brand repositioning, this process can be difficult and time-intensive. Notwithstanding the financial burden, a museum may not have the resources necessary to change the public’s mind about who they are and what they offer. If an institution is going to re-brand, this not only means a overhaul of its current messaging, logo, graphic standards, and communications processes, but also requires the organization to strategically determine how they are going to persuade visitors and non-visitors to think about their museum in a different way, away from the frame of previous experiences and impressions.

VanAuken (Branding Strategy Insider) offers the following conditions under which an organization might re-brand:

“Your brand has a bad, confusing or nonexistent image…
Your organization is significantly altering its strategic direction…
Your organization has acquired a very powerful proprietary advantage that must be worked into the brand positioning.
You are broadening your brand to appeal to additional consumers or consumer need segments for whom the current brand positioning won’t work.”

VanAuken operates from a commercial standpoint, but his ideas resonate with museums, which also struggle to establish a reputation due to a bad image. The catalyst for change may be that the organization wishes to alter their focus from being an institution known for putting on blockbuster exhibitions to one that showcases more regional art and artists. Many non-profits want to reach out to a younger demographic like Generation Y, individuals born between 1977 and 1998. Appealing to a new segment of the population may require a museum to change its brand so that it is more easily communicated across electronic media platforms like a Facebook fan page, an e-newsletter, or a blog.

How does a museum ensure that its new brand will thrive? As with any investment, monetary or otherwise, the return-on-investment is not always guaranteed, but there are ways an organization can strategize for brand success. Brothers Chip and Dan Heath (of “Made to Stick” notoriety) use the term “stick” to describe ideas that are “understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact—they change your audience’s opinions or behavior” (p. 8). In the twenty-first century, institutions should rely on an integration of traditional and guerilla marketing techniques to communicate a new identity to the public. The process of re-branding may only last one to two years, but establishing an identity and creating meaningful relationships with visitors requires long-term strategizing and commitment to a consistent message and image.

Case Studies

The New Museum of Contemporary Art and NCMA are two examples of museums re-branding and are analogous in many ways. Through the re-branding, both organizations have sought to occupy a more unique position in the marketplace and to mean something more to their publics, to stand out and modernize their brand. The New Museum designed an inventive contemporary building to exhibit art, and crafted a new look and logo to exemplify their mission of “New Art, New Ideas.” NCMA is currently redesigning their building, and the architectural improvements have been supplemented with a complete re-design of the logo, signage, and graphic standards. Due to its establishment of a permanent location and a successful re-branding process, the New Museum increased attendance by 600%. According to the North Carolina Museum of Art, its goal is to communicate consistently while using the flexibility of their system in exciting new ways.

NCMA began its re-branding process by launching a building project, adding 127,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 449-seat open-air amphitheater, and a 163-acre sculpture park complete with walking trails. To augment its architectural improvements, the NCMA hired Pentagram, a design firm, to create a new logo, graphic standards, and signage, essentially “a new graphic identity that would reflect the boldness of the museum’s transformation.” Pentagram designers used a Bauhaus-inspired typography to devise a unique alphabet for the museum, and it is currently being used on brochures and even as the icon for NCMA’s Twitter profile.

The museum re-opens April of 2010, but already the logo has received mixed reviews from the community of Raleigh. On its website, local online newspaper New Raleigh praised the museum for hiring a preeminent design firm like Pentagram and going to great lengths to match their new graphic appearance to the incredible expansion project. However, feedback in the comments section of the article represented a wide range of opinions, from “horrible” and “not very readable” to questions about the cost of such a re-design to opinions that it is beautiful and challenging. While this represents only a smattering of opinions about the new logo, it conjures questions of whether or not the museum bothered to invite the public to have a stake in the re-branding process before embarking on what one can imagine was a pricey venture with Pentagram. The logo visually binds the museum’s various social media platforms together, but what message does this send to their public? Is it one of access or one of exclusivity? This will remain to be seen when the museum unveils its complete transformation in April.

The New Museum in New York City re-branded its image employed a similar technique of using architecture to alter its identity and perception to the public. Marianak writes, “The expressions of the New Museum identity are striking and distinctive in achieving a coherence between mission, building, and identity” (para. 9). The mission of the New Museum is “New Art, New Ideas” and the new building looks like giant boxes stacked haphazardly one top of one another. Designed by Tokyo-based SANAA associates, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, the buildings blatantly contemporary look and bright exterior stand in stark contrast to the rest of New York City. Nancy Schwartz (a.k.a. marketing guru) writes that motivating factor for the re-branding of the New Museum was due to the fact that “it had fallen from the public eye after an initial decade or so of attention” (para. 4). With its eclectic exhibitions and vibrant history, it could not claim a place to call its own and needed to achieve architectural stability before anything else. The planning fell into three steps: development, strategy, and execution, a collaborative effort between the museum’s administration, the architects, the designers, board members, and the like. As a result of early strategic planning and leadership, “the Museum was reward with extremely successfully processes and products on the brand development and roll-out fronts” (Schwartz, n.d., para. 35). The result was an astounding 600% increase in visitors, and 400% increase in new members (Schwartz, n.d., para. 32). Ongoing audience surveying and enthusiastic staff members are propelling this institution forward, fueled by the initial re-branding that was necessary to reposition the New Museum to its public.

Conclusion

When a round-table of some of the top museum directors in the United States convened in the early 2000’s, branding was described as disposable; something that is imposed on the museum but is not “of” the museum; a short-term strategy; a self-destructive strategy; and is incongruent with an institution’s plans to create long-term relationships with their publics (Cuno, 2004, p. 175). Such staid mindsets still exist, but are gradually giving way to innovative marketing plans that involve social media tools, virtual exhibition spaces, interactive websites, and creative approaches to re-creating the identity of a museum by changing what it means to brand a non-profit organization.

Museums should glean information from the for-profit sector on how to effectively brand their institutions, while also staying aware that their mission is different from the goals of a business. Increasing funds and membership is a fortunate by-product, but is not first and foremost an entrepreneurial means to an end. The purpose of a brand in the non-profit sector is to further the mission, not necessarily to sell a product or service. .

Click here for a PDF of the references cited in both parts of the re-branding article.

[Via http://mjwrites.wordpress.com]

Top 5 American Brands, Target switching with Home Depot ... but

2010-03-12T02:45:00.000+02:00

Target leapfrogged Best Buy and Home Depot to 2nd place, according to the Interbrand Design Forum’s second annual list of the nation’s top retail brands. They streamlined their strategy to align with the customers needs and made it look good. They shifted their focus to brand value while captivating the audiences attention. Brass tax to the Target executive board, increase of 49% brand awareness.

Walmart
Target
Best Buy
Home Depot
Walgreens

Looks Target ads took a strategy page from Walmart and started to focus on flashy lifestyle advertising not dry corporate commercials like “lets build something”. Solution, Home Depot needs to continue to nail home the “customer service” based advertising. It is one definitive advantage they have over everyone in the top 5. Seriously, walked through a Home Depot lately, they are all customer service with a smile? Time for Home Depot to emphasis this strategy with their brand managers and do it quickly, the spring season is almost here. PS split your campaign 2 ways garden and paint. Single campaign emphasis on customer service and specialists who really know their stuff. You already have this knowledge but clear through the corporate red tape and use it, that’s what really matters, doesn’t it?

Signed,

Brand Guy Blog

[Via http://brandguyblog.wordpress.com]

Essential elements of an elevator pitch

2010-03-10T08:43:00.000+02:00

I stumbled upon this long time ago, but couldn’t remember the exact “formula”. Found it again at Newt Barrett’s blog:

It must contain a benefit for the potential member of the audience, that is, his imaginary elevator companion.
It must contain the word you, meaning the audience.
It must contain some reference to emotion, because emotion is more engaging and memorable than intellectual information.

[Via http://mentalbursts.wordpress.com]

Education and Experience

2010-03-10T02:56:00.000+02:00

This post will cover some of the importance’s of education, what classes to take and why in this post. These suggestions will allow you to set yourself apart from the thousands of others looking to get into the great game of baseball.

Yes, it is important to get a Bachelor’s Degree in order to break into baseball. Although, I have seen people establish themselves in the game without a degree. I happen to know a fairly successful person in the business that has no more than a year or so of college. They quit school after they broke into baseball and haven’t had to look back since. Sure you can get lucky like this individual and break into the game without finishing your degree, but in 99% of the cases you need to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree. If for nothing else, so as not to leave any glaring wholes in your resume. Now a Master’s Degree, well that’s another story. I’ll touch on additional schooling a little later on.

If you are someone that didn’t realize that you wanted to break into baseball until after you graduated from college without a Sports Management Degree, well don’t fear there are still opportunities for you. I know plenty of people working in the game of baseball with an English, History, Business or Psychology Degree. If you are one of those individuals I suggest you keep an eye out for some of my future posts that may apply to you. Right now, I’d like to focus on those individuals that are not yet in college or have not finished.

As you are working on your Sports Management Degree it is just as important to pick the rest of your classes wisely. It is that minor or second major in your degree that can help set yourself apart from the other 1,000+ resumes in the stack.

I suggest that you take several computer classes and I’m not talking about Typing or Microsoft Word classes. Take Photoshop, Illustrator and/or Website Design classes as they often are an area few candidates have experience in, but all ball clubs need. There is a constant need for flyer creation, website design, print piece design, videoboard logos and whatever else may pop up during a season. Most staffs in baseball are lucky to have one or two of these talented individuals so this can be an easy way in for many.

Financial classes (Accounting, Finance, etc.) may not necessarily help you at the start of your career but could come in handy much later on. As you begin to deal with budgets and running a multi-million dollar ball club it will be helpful for you to work magic with numbers.

If your school offers a sales class(es) take it!!! It is probably safe to say that 80-90% of all people in baseball are involved in sales at some level in their position and the percentage of entry level positions that are sales-intense is even higher. This tends to be the largest disconnect between the Sports Management Programs and the teams. Universities are failing to tell the students that if you want to get into the sports industry then likely nine out 10 graduates will be starting off in sales (most likely ticket sales for that matter). Of the hundreds of interviews I’ve done over the years only a handful of students had some type of sales class, sales experience or showed interest in learning more about sales. Each one of those students instantly jumped ahead of the hundreds of other candidates for the open position.

Anyone with hopes of being a manager of personnel, I strongly suggest Psychology classes as a must. There is no doubt in my mind that I use my Psychology Degree more than I do my Sports Management Degree on a day to day basis. Psychology comes in handy whether you are managing a challenging individual, handling personnel issues or learning to understand your customers better.

Communication classes are key as well in the game of baseball. Speech classes will not only help you in front of a Community Relations visit with the local Rotary Club, but it will help with your sales skills. English and writing classes can be important even for those individuals outside of the Media Relations Department as sales staff put together proposals or management proof read things before going out.

Another area to explore that will help set you apart from other candidates is adding a second language. A second language can be extremely handy in different markets across the country. It could also be key for you as the game of baseball expands into other markets across the world. Who knows where in the world your career path could take you.

Retail classes can help you land that position within the Merchandise Department. The same goes for Food and Beverage, as more and more Minor League Clubs take over management of their own F and B Operations.

This may come as a surprise but marketing should be one of someone’s last choices for secondary classes. Not only is it on 75% of all Sports Management resumes, but I cannot tell you how many college students when asked what they want to do in baseball, respond with “Work in Marketing.” The number of baseball jobs that are solely marketing focused is so extreme. There may be one of those jobs at each of the Major League Clubs, but those jobs just do not exist at the Minor League level. That type of response instantly shuts me down in an interview because I know the candidate hasn’t done their research and likely doesn’t know much about what they are getting into. Marketing in baseball sounds like a dream job, but for the most part that position alone just doesn’t exist.

Master’s Degree in Sports Management – just not necessary…unless. For many that worked hard, diversified their experiences and have done a couple of internships already then a Master’s Degree will not make much of a difference. However, the Master’s Degree comes in quite handy for those that decided late to get into sports, have little or no internship experience or just haven’t found the break they’ve needed to get into the game. In baseball there is no pay bump for a Master’s. There is no special treatment even if you’ve done the extra schooling. You will still start off as an intern answering phones, picking up trash or making sales calls just like everyone else.

So you have decided to go to school for Sports Management, now what? Get an internship as soon as possible. I hear from college students all of the time that say, “I don’t need to get internship credits until my senior year.” If you wait until your senior year to do your internship then you are behind the ball and in a career field that is extremely competitive it makes it that much more difficult for you to break in. Do not wait until you are in your junior year, or even until after you’ve taken your first Sports Management class. Start some type of internship the second you know you want to be in the game of baseball. You cannot start too early. Some of the best interns I’ve seen were sophomores or juniors in High School. They end up having five or six years of various experiences in the business by the time they are done with college and ready to be hired. When you get your very first internship, be open to any type of position even if it is just picking up trash, answering the phones or filing paperwork. These are all opportunities for you to get your foot in the door and if you work hard then bigger and better things will come along. Keep your eyes out as I’ll cover internships and how to get your foot in the door in a future post.

I’ve tried to cover a lot in this post, but obviously can’t cover everything. Please feel free to post your own experiences here or ask questions as well. You may also reach me on Twitter @workinbaseball or by email at workinbaseball@gmail.com. I look forward to your feedback and hopefully my guidance can assist you in landing the career of your dreams.

[Via http://workinbaseballnow.com]

5 Reasons To Have Your Own Video Channel

2010-03-08T08:50:00.000+02:00

A video channel is your own space on the web where you can be creative, advertise your products and services or just express your opinions to the world. For a business; a video channel allows you to reach a global audience and you can quickly establish yourself as an expert in your industry.

Having your own video channel adds a new marketing technique to your existing campaigns. Web users can subscribe to your channel and see when you add new videos. By regularly keeping in touch with your prospects and existing clients you’ll increase your businesses reputation and win new clients.

In this article we’ll look at 5 reasons to have your own video channel. Although there really are an infinite number of reasons you should be using the power of video on the net, we’ll focus on the 5 main reasons.

1 – Gain subscribers

When running a business; the money’s in the list. If you can maintain a list of hundreds of information hungry prospects; you just need to provide them with what they want. Providers such as YouTube allow web users to subscribe to any channel at the touch of a button.

2 – Be seen as an expert

By releasing regular videos that offer quality information in your industry; you’ll set yourself as an expert. Your subscribers will likely ask you questions about the information in your videos. Answer their questions. Give full and quality answers. You’ll soon build rapport with your subscribers which will gain your respect and trust.

3 – Some people prefer watching videos to reading

A video is much more interesting and attention grabbing than an article. Besides, not all people enjoy reading. Take this article for example; if it were presented by an attractive female or male and used large words on the screen to make it easier to follow, you’d find it more exciting and you’d be less likely to browse away from the page.

4 – Save bandwidth on your website

By using websites such as YouTube to host your videos on you’ll save money on your hosting bill. Most hosting providers charge their users based on the amount of space and bandwidth they use. By uploading your videos to another website; you’ll reduce your own costs. Your visitors will also experience faster and more reliable video downloads from a specialist video hosting website.

5 – Search engine rankings

Because YouTube is owned by Google, related videos will often appear at the top of the search results. So when you type something into Google, you might see a couple of YouTube videos that are related to your search query at the top of the search results page. This is an excellent way to get more visitors to your website, since your videos can all include a link back to your website.

So, if you haven’t already started using video channels to promote your business, start doing it today. It’s a complete marketing channel on its own and you’ll see an increase in business if done properly. Start promoting your business using videos through the power of the web today!

[Via http://iotamedia.wordpress.com]

Top ten mobile marketing tips by Mark Brill

2010-03-08T02:43:00.000+02:00

Mark Brill CEO of txt4ever and chair of Mobile Marketing at the Direct Marketing Association and a regular speaker at industry events gives his top ten mobile marketing tips.

Get a response. Use SMS when you are looking for an immediate and high response rate. Whilst email is lower cost, only 25% are opened, compared to 95% of text messages. Response times to an SMS are also faster, usually within 1 hour.
Use an SMS shortcode. Including a shortcode in advertising campaigns has been shown to increase response rates. In car advertising the uplift is over 10%
Give an offer. Most marketing wisdom will tell you that an offer is important. This is particularly so with SMS, as it is such an immediate channel.
Provide a simple call to action. Many people make the mistake of having a call to action that is too complex. For example ‘register on our website’ sent in an SMS is too much. Making it simple and easy: ‘call us now’ or ‘reply to this SMS’ is likely to have the best response. The harder you make it for the customer, the fewer the responses.
Target your audience. The mobile phone is a highly personal medium, so the better you target your customers the greater the results. For example, a retail store will get the best results by promoting a specific store nearest to the mobile recipient.
Make it personal. Personalising a campaign can bring higher responses. For example, rather than offering a general discount, give the mobile user a voucher that can be redeemed.
Timing is everything. As SMS is so immediate, the time of day is crucial to the success of the campaign. Studies have shown that mobile phones are used most between noon and 6pm. Although it depends on the product, the best time to send a marketing campaign is mid-late afternoon.
Respond quickly. People’s memories are short when it comes to mobile marketing. Respond quickly once they have opted in to a mobile campaign. An auto response is essential for a shortcode, and follow up messages should be within a few days.
Gain the users trust. Make sure that you clearly identify your company, and provide an opt-out route. This is a legal requirement, but including a STOP shortcode in the SMS makes for the best practice (txt STOP to 871234).
Use a clear opt in process. Whilst it is acceptable to send either service messages or marketing messages to customers for similar products, without their prior consent (soft opt in), this is not always the best practice. Make it clear that you intend to send marketing messages, and send an SMS to ask them to opt in.

Tips Provided by Txt4ever.com Bulk SMS, Web SMS and Mobile Marketing

[Via http://axnach.wordpress.com]

Your Doorway to a Successful Marketing Promotion!

2010-03-05T08:12:00.000+02:00

Today I opened my front door to find a hanger on my door. Annoyance turned into happy surprise. Kohl’s hired someone to hang discount tags on the doors in my neighborhood and possibly every neighborhood in town. It was a coupon for $10 of a purchase of $20 or more. Good sized discount and it lured me into Kohl’s. I don’t usually shop at Kohl’s.

The clothes I like are usually in the “I’d have to be anorexic and flat-chested to fit into” sizes. (I’m a buxom not skinny gal.) And the women’s clothes my size look like stuff matronly middle-aged women would wear. On that note my mother loves buying clothes at Kohl’s. The other items they carry I can usually find cheaper somewhere else.

But Kohl’s does have great sales. Although the coupon said the purchase had to be minimum $20 the part that really got me into the store was the small print that read “off all products, including sale items and clearance items”. I thought “Wow, after I stop in at Borders I’m checking out Kohl’s.” The stores happened to be in the same shopping center where I live so it was an easy decision.

This is where many businesses cheap out and look stingy. I’ve seen numerous coupons where they put so many limits on my ability to use them I end up tossing the coupon in the recycling bin.

Afterward I only think of those businesses with amazed disgust. Why bother offering what amounts to a non-existent discount in your coupon advertisement? You’re only going to alienate customers who will go on to shop at stores that appreciate their business and reward them for it.

I really appreciated that Kohl’s offered me a discount coupon I couldn’t ignore considering I’m not a regular shopper. And with only one minor limitation besides and end date which was also generous. The offer was valid until March 14th and started on February 28th.

I didn’t want to miss the deadline so I felt compelled to go in and use the $10 discount on stuff I hadn’t planned to buy. Kohl’s does have good products and I’m more than willing to shop there when the deal is worth it.

If you’re wondering what I bought I’ll tell you. I got a cool new watch and a set of colorful eye shadows in a compact shaped like an iphone. Oh and the items I bought were sale items and I still got my $10 discount. Yippee!

End result for Kohl’s – they got a reluctant shopper in the door spending money and feeling good with their generous Door Hanger Campaign. Now I understand why my Mother loves shopping at Kohl’s. They appreciate their shoppers and reward them for coming into the store.

Are you ready to try your own Door Hanger Campaign yet? Not sure? Interestingly enough, Dan Kennedy recommends using Door Hangers as a unique promotional campaign. I wonder if someone in Kohl’s marketing department reads Dan Kennedy’s newsletter. Hmmm…if so kudos for marketing savvy.

Let me know if you decide to try your own Door Hanger campaign and the results.

[Via http://directmarketingrx.wordpress.com]

YES-TODAY!©

2010-03-05T02:40:00.000+02:00

Seize the Moment

Long ago an investor relations consulting client of mine, banker Edmond Safra, shared with me his philosophy on market changes. At the time, in the late ’70s, the markets faced uncertainty due to an OPEC oil-pricing event that affected interest rates, industry-wide prices, and a wholesale freeze in hiring coupled with downsizings. “Whether there is upward or downward movement in the markets there is money to be made. The only thing that would be a catastrophe is a static market,” Safra opined. His words have remained with me. Hiring areas may shift but activity follows the course of the change. Re-directing your attention to determining where your abilities are valued requires this awareness.

What Safra understood as a fifth-generation banker with a family legacy of lending to Ottoman Empire merchants along the trade routes of the caravans is no less true today. There are inevitable cycles to life rather than the unvarying upward straight-line graph we would seemingly prefer. What he also understood was that the way to create revenue had to change with the contours of market need. Accepting this is not always easy; integrating a bridge from past to future into your strategy takes time and patience. The process may be energizing even if frustrating and difficult; the process allows you to explore uncertainty and emerge with a plan that aligns with opportunities that are right for you in the new reality.

Markets, by their nature, are volatile and often unsure of direction. The static nature of waiting can certainly be emotionally challenging, yet the ability to create something new for your life in dramatically improved ways often comes out of originally unwelcomed and externally driven events. It is only through hindsight that we may see that these dark moments of uncertainty contain the seeds of our breakthroughs to new opportunities. These moments of change allow innovation in the markets and within your life. The outcome may be previously un-imagined yet may present you with a better-suited life and revenue stream. Income may be derived from a mix of skills which emphasize important areas of your focus which can now be integrated to revitalize you.

It is helpful in life to look forward and tap into this wisdom to find a route to satisfaction. Say YES-TODAY!©. Perhaps you will take small incremental steps in a process toward a good direction. Perhaps there will be a quantum leap via an intuitive insight or unexpected synchronicity that places you in exactly the right path.

Just as randomness can upset our standard courses, it can also bring us our own version of winning a life lottery. Finding contentment in a new way of expressing our life work energies wouldn’t be possible without the mother of all inventions: necessity. Contact Gloria Waslyn to explore new ways to look at your current situation so that you are best able to discover the ways to express your possibilities with acceptance and excitement.

[Via http://careergurunyc.wordpress.com]

Hitting the Streets

2010-03-03T08:51:00.000+02:00

When it comes to effective real estate prospecting, I keep reminding myself that although there is great value in blogging, SEO optimization and the like, there’s really no way to get around the fact that you need to be out on the pavement, meeting folks, listening to them and, where the opportunity presents itself, finding ways to serve. Oh, and along the way, you might even have a chance to help people with their real estate needs!

Part of the challenge to us fortunate, self-employed people is to avoid being too comfortable.

Homer at Home

It’s all fine and good to be able to sit around in your Homer Simpson lounge pants all day (for you ladies, that would be the Pink Bunnies) but the truth is, you need to get up early, get dressed like you were going to meet someone and start with a solid, positive routine. We seem to think that just because we can’t be seen that people can’t tell how professional or unprofessional we are. The other day I was on the phone with someone and as soon as the conversation began, I could tell that they were having a bad day (or maybe this was just the norm for them- not sure.)

In any case, you know when someone is glad to be talking with you and conversely, you can tell when they’d just as soon be playing their Nintendo. Guess what, when you’re dressed like a slob and your hair is a mess, people can tell! What I’m trying to get across is that it’s like Ricardo Montalban used to say, “When you look good, you FEEL good” and feeling good about how you are presenting yourself goes a long way toward connecting with a potential client!

[Via http://russjgordon.wordpress.com]

Diva Galore is in...

2010-03-03T02:37:00.000+02:00

Is Hot and here to Stay

The new year will continue to expand with these digital styles where the ad represents power and trendy social influence. Be ready to see this style explode in popularity. If you a large corporate board, consider going out-of-the-box with this style. Hooks well with social media and captivating audiences….

Brand Guy Blog

[Via http://brandguyblog.wordpress.com]

4 Steps for Successfully Selling Photo Prints

2010-03-01T20:50:00.000+02:00

Wedding photographers run hot and cold on whether they should offer inexpensive digital printing, or even compete in that arena. Some argue to control all printing. Others say to give images on disc to the customer. Brian Mullins of Brian Mullins Photography offers these 4 steps to successfully selling printing in the digital age. For him the clincher that works is an irresistible call to action that brings in the orders. Printing In a Digital Age, from Brian Mullins’ blog

As a wedding photographer who prints a lot of his own work, I have a lot of other photographers say they think the market is dead for it. I wanted to, hopefully, explain how the market for selling prints is not dead, just greatly different then it was 10 years ago. Digital printing, cheap digital printing, is offered at every corner store. I highly encourage my clients to use these services for exactly that – cheap prints. However, cheap prints also have little color control, little to no quality control and the materials/inks they use are just what you think they are – cheap. However, professional labs or printing your own using pigment based professional printers is a great supplement to the corner store.

I offer my wedding, portrait & commercial clients high-end printing using custom paper and pigment based inks that have an archival lifespan of 300 years. Obviously my clients photos are extremely important to me so I have gone to great lengths to learn how to print my own so I have complete control of the quality, the materials and the end product.

How has my customer response been? See a few orders below (Received in one weeks time):

(A commercial Order)

SUBTOTAL: $1,022.95

SHIPPING & HANDLING: $0.00

SALES TAX: $79.28

TOTAL: $1,102.23

(An order from a wedding guest)

SUBTOTAL: $182.05

SHIPPING & HANDLING: $6.00

SALES TAX: $14.57

TOTAL: $202.62

(A social event order)

SUBTOTAL: $349.30

SHIPPING & HANDLING: $6.00

SALES TAX: $27.54

TOTAL: $382.84

So how I do it (i.e. – the good stuff):

1 – Talk to your clients.

When talking with my current or potential clients, I find out initially if they are interested in prints from their event. This can be a casual conversation or a direct question, whatever works best with your style. I always want to discuss the difference in printing & professional finishing from a commercial lab vs your local Walgreens/Costco. They key areas I discuss are quality of the print (the professional finishing I do to ensure its quality), the additional options I can offer (paper types, inks, etc) and, most importantly, the materials used (I print my own with archival papers and inks giving me a 300 year print life).

2 – Give your client a way to order.

I use business cards with my logo on the front and instructions on how to access the images on the rear. These are then laid around at the site in different places where people can pick them up. I also keep a few on me for when people ask but I never, ever will hand a card to someone unsolicited.

3 – Have a good photocart setup.

I use Redcart but smugmug, photocart or any other solution will work. It needs to be personalized, easy to navigate with the ability to save favorites and have easy payment methods. I have a $25 minimum order amount on my cart that many labs require as well.

4 – Have a call to action!

Let me say this again.. GIVE YOUR CLIENTS & WEDDING GUESTS A REASON TO ORDER! When I first started doing this, my print sales were poor at best. A tip I read on the Digital Wedding Forum did made a HUGE difference. Offer a 25% discount within the first two weeks on all prints. I cannot stress this enough.. without this my gallery traffic was great but had very little in the way of actual orders.

None of this is rocket science and i’m sure it’s no big secret, but professional printing services is still (mostly) in the realm of professional photographers and if you are not offering this service to your clients, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to not only provide your clients professional grade prints, but a growth center of your business.

[Via http://photobiz-infocus.com]

Top Ten Easy Marketing tasks you can do now

2010-03-01T14:50:00.000+02:00

Who says scientists can not sell? Here are 10 easy marketing ideas, from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology today in our monthly Marketing Action Group of a group of people:

1. Listen to (and pay attention! Ask) your customer's problems. They are the evidence that can help them solve these problems. They also for your article, voice and electronic communications theme. Did not invent these things – listen!

2. Write your plan and next year's sales call.You have the opportunity to work with hot next week's meeting? Writing, you will use to find out Who are the decision makers in formulating the Budget, the scope of the problem and how to ask them to take further steps. If you do not know how to do this, please give me an e-mail, I will help you through their thoughts.

3. Read the article marketing. Most non-market people who could not read through the marketing approach. Painless way to maintain the momentum, however, is a new article every week to read. Start here:http://www.turningpointemarketing.com/Free_Resources/Articles.html

4. Note that your marketing message around. See if you can pick WIIFM (What's in it for me?) And calls to action (you want to do). Practice thinking like a marketing.

5. If you want to manage others and work for your customers, your employees access to interested clients. In order to maintain fresh, and to demonstrate your commitment to customers. It also shows that customers have moreYour organization, and their sole representative.

6. Copies of these articles to your employees, ask them for the next meeting staff would be willing to understand the idea, leading to this statement. Ask the people to carry out a new task. Let us at the next session. Rinse, repeat.

7. Clause 3 or 4 questions of the investigation period is too short a dialogue with your target audience in a telephone interview about their struggle … What is a wish list of things …They want from you. Do not ask whether you want to buy your things. This is a task of a relationship, rather than selling. This provides much later. Ask others to cooperate with you to get two customers or potential customers and give them a call. Compare notes and discuss the outcome.

8. Think of a small solution, you can provide solutions to important issues. Small problems or small solutions. The key is to consider small. It was so scary that your customer "sample", and can be easilyThem to take the first step.

9. Oral practice positioning statement loud. To the mirror. In the car. In the elevator. If you do not know what is your positioning statement, which is a problem. Recommend me, I'll give you a hand.

10. This visualization thing one was successful. Really – is what to do professional athletes, speakers, performers and successful people all the time. Visualization, and now it will be.

The next time, when a scientist tells me that they can not be resolved,I know better. These ideas clearly proved that theory wrong!

[Via http://samplesalonflyers.wordpress.com]

Going Local: Have to Tap into Your Own Backyard and Find Local Clients

2010-02-26T08:40:00.000+02:00

With all the talk about how BIG internet marketing and social media is for a business, we often forget that our own backyard contains plenty of hungry prospects looking for what you have to offer. The problem people come across though is where to find these people, and what backyard are they hanging out in – well if you know your market and have a good idea of who your “soul client” is the search shouldn’t be too hard.

First of all – to find local: network. Networking is an easy way to find prospects in your area. But choose wisely, you don’t want to end up at the Farmers Networking Meeting if you farmers are not your market. Find networking groups that attract your ideal client and go there. But remember, networking isn’t about selling your services it’s about building relationships.

Speak Locally. Speaking is another great way to reach the locals, if you can speak at the functions, associations, and meetings they attend or belong to you’ve just earned yourself a star position from being in front of the room. Speaking gives you instant credibility and is a sure-fire way of bringing in more clients.

Social Networking – Strategically! If local people are your buzz, be sure to use keywords that include your city and surrounding areas. Just because social networking is global, it doesn’t mean you have to be.

Partner up with key players. The fact is there are quite a few key players in every city, start hanging out where they do, initiate a conversation or a coffee meeting and see if there is a way to partner up and share in your resources. Key players are generally givers and have built a reputation on introducing others, connecting people, and growing their network. You never know, you could be offering the exact service they’ve been looking for.

These are just a few ways that you can grow your business locally, these also apply to national marketing strategies as well – but use them in ways that work best for you and your business.

Let me know what other ways you’ve found to strategically grow your local following.

[Via http://andreacostantine.wordpress.com]

5 Fantastic Facebook Fan Page Ideas to Learn From

2010-02-26T02:26:00.000+02:00

So your business is on Facebook, and brand engagement is up thanks to some savvy social media strategy. You may even be interested in further distinguishing your brand by building a custom landing page for your account.

But what kind of value does a custom Facebook Fan Page offer? What are your fans looking for on a social network that they can’t get from your business website? For some insight, let’s check out how some big-name brands have stepped up their engagement by investing a little more TLC into their Facebook presence.

via 5 Fantastic Facebook Fan Page Ideas to Learn From.

[Via http://aaearhart.wordpress.com]

What to be excited about in Fedora 13

2010-02-24T08:09:00.000+02:00

EVERYTHING!

No, the Marketing Team busted their butts [I actually was slacking off and don't think I contributed as much as I could have some I'm going to leave myself out of the celebration, there is still much work to do that I can take more credit for than I deserve ] and they have come up with a list of the coolest features that you can expect in Fedora 13 codenamed “Goddard” after “Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945), U.S. professor of physics and scientist, was a pioneer of controlled, liquid-fueled rocketry. On March 16, 1926, he became the first person in the world to build and launch a liquid-fueled rocket” -wikipedia.

If you can’t tell from the artwork and the codename we are going for a rocket/space theme.

Here are the features broken down into groups based on who will be happiest to see it.

User: auto-print-drivers, langpacks, user management, color management,

network manager improvements, nouveau.

Dev: systemtap, python debugging, python3, netbeans

Sysadmin: authconfig ui, nfs, zarafa,

bfo, btrfs

Spins: moblin, soas, design, security

Here is the full list of features and how far along we think we are on them. It’s also a good place to do some reading up if you are wondering what all that mess above means.

[Via http://numberedhumanindustries.wordpress.com]

I'm Lovin It! McDonalds Dominates Olympic Marketing Scene

2010-02-24T02:55:00.000+02:00

McDonald’s is the top sponsor for this year’s winter Games in Vancouver. Sportsfeatures.com describes how they have branded themselves as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games while opening three restaurant areas in the Olympic Villages in Vancouver and Whistler and the main press center in Vancouver.

Much of the advertising is athlete-themed while embracing a “Share the Gold” slogan with Chicken McNugget promotions. Along with the golden Chicken McNuggets, stores here in the U.S. are offering a new limited time sauce.

McDonald’s is using three new advertising campaigns specifically targeting the Olympic season. New items that have been added to the menu are the S’mores Pie and the Crème Brulee, and Crunch McFlurry. To further support the Olympic themes, Happy Meals will include interactive toys of the 2010 Winter Games mascots.

Outside of the Olympic themed advertising, McDonald’s is also continuing their Champion kids program which began at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games. This program offers children ages 6-14 from all around the world the opportunity to personally experience the Games first-hand. A panel of ten ambassadors at the Vancouver Games along with Olympic athletes judge essay entries to award the winners.

As the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games, McDonald’s focuses their advertising on supporting the Games and branding themselves through new winter themed menu items. Their Champion kids program embraces the Olympic spirit while reaching out to involve young kids all around the world.

[Via http://imcclass.wordpress.com]

How much marketing is too much? When do you become annoying?

2010-02-22T08:37:00.000+02:00

Well, that depends and there’s a few things you should consider. Statistics show that people need to hear a message anywhere from 9 to 29 times before they actually make a decision and decide to move forward. So, when marketing a particular product, service, or program has your target market seen your message that many times? Generally they don’t.

Ironically, since we are doing the marketing we feel that we are being annoying and sharing it too much, sending out too many emails, and overdoing it but in all honesty we are all busy with our lives and we don’t actually see or hear every message that comes across. Think about this, do you read every email in every detail that you get? Probably not.

I’ve had good friends who were marketing a product or program and I didn’t even know, I somehow missed their messages, invites, and updates about it. Why? Because I’m not always looking and something really has to grab my attention before I pay attention, plus, we are busy we may actually see it but within a matter of seconds we forget. This isn’t intentional or saying what you are offering isn’t important, it’s more that we just have too many things going on in that brain of ours.

There is a point when it’s too much, usually it’s too much from someone who you’d probably never do business with or don’t need what they offer. But when someone we really like and has a service that we are interested in, it’s generally not annoying. I find that when people get annoyed they probably never would have done business with you anyway.

More often than not people are marketing too little and not too much. I rarely find that someone is overdoing it in their marketing, trust me I could probably tell you to double what you are doing and you still wouldn’t be annoying to your loyal and true fans that are just waiting for you to offer something juicy and delicious so they can sign up for it, but then again you’ve got to get it in front of their radar.

[Via http://andreacostantine.wordpress.com]

Avoid These Common Marketing Pitfalls When Using Twitter

2010-02-22T02:49:00.000+02:00

Twitter has become an increasingly popular aspect of many online advertisers’ strategies; it not only provides a venue to assemble a log of devoted followers, but it also simplifies ongoing communication with them. This is effective in and of itself at driving traffic and improving sales. But unfortunately, if you don’t know what you are doing, you can not only waste time but also negatively impact your reputation. And so there are specific mistakes to avoid if you want to succeed.

The first and foremost mistake people make when marketing on Twitter is to, well, start with marketing. It might not seem such a bad idea to start off with marketing goals, but if you want to achieve results, be aware that it isn’t a good beginning. However, by developing confidence and reinforcing your connections in the beginning, you will create a loyal stream of followers. You should first get the consent of your intended audience before you attempt to sell them something later. How should you get such consent? By first becoming involved and neighborly to them on Twitter. In being active in the forum, you will have the opportunity to forge powerful bonds with people, so that after you have gained your audience’s trust, you will be able to utilize Twitter in generating additional visits on your website, creating a database, and gathering more specific sales. But your everyday activity on Twitter should be informal and friendly. Do not be too mercenary and focused on business in your tweets, and don’t turn them into uninteresting advertisements. Marketing is serious business to you, but add some spice and humor to your tweets for the sake of your readers. Illustrate your expressive side through your tweets. If you can manage to do this, you will be helping people in a fun way and they will trust you better. Be engaging and easy to deal with, that’s the secret to winning their hearts.

Twitter’s a two-way street, though. If you want the community to pay attention to you, you have to pay attention to the community. It’s only fair, after all. You should not anticipate receiving, if you do not contribute. But the good thing is, this mistake can be easily avoided. Due to the community spirit of Twitter, your participation means following others who are in your niche a well as responding personally to any and all tweets sent to you. If you only tweet “one way” and don’t respond to the tweets that others send out, you can figure that your efforts are going to see very little return. Twitter’s simple to understand. It’s a social network. Therefore you need to build a network to socialize with -to sell your products to. That means you need to fit in, make some friends, help out your community. Don’t just talk to an empty room; draw them to your words of wisdom. Then give a name to that perfect hair product from that fabulous styling tip you sent the other day. It cannot be emphasized enough. Twitter’s a community. Throw off the suit and sit down to dinner. Be a friend, and watch Twitter work for you.

[Via http://twittermarketingpower.wordpress.com]

Living the LUSH life...

2010-02-19T08:46:00.000+02:00

So, this week things started getting back to normal, after the great, but slightly disruptive weeks of the leadership module! It felt great to be back with Corrine, with our teams, and thinking about Temptation once again. As I said last week, we have definitely been stuck in a rut, and it feels wonderful to be getting back on track!

We began the day with some general feedback on the business plans, and started to fill in the NESTA worksheets which Corrine had provided for us. While discussing branding, brand image, our favourite brands etc, I thought back to the time I worked at LUSH (natural cosmetics company). I LOVED working there, and people often said that my enthusiasm for the products and the brand ethics were infectious. We all felt the same; we started to dress the same, act the same, speak the same and smell the same (if you’ve never been into LUSH, this may sound bit weird, but trust me, it’s a good thing!) You can tell which brands and businesses treat their staff well… my three favourite brands… like LUSH, Apple or Benefit: everyone is always smiling, in a genuine, friendly, rather than an ‘I’m going to stab you if you don’t buy this bath bomb’ way. People who love their job make it easier to sell their product, their service, the lifestyle on offer, to anyone.

But most importantly, LUSH got the best results from their staff because they enjoy their job. I enjoyed working there so much that I didn’t mind dressing like an Easter bunny and looking like a complete loser for a week.

But, back to business. Catherine also gave us a talk on the basics of marketing, alot of which I had covered previously on marketing modules during my BA. But it was fantastic to start thinking of how models such at the 7Ps apply to our business…

After a team meeting over lunch, and filling in the NESTA worksheets Corrine had given us, it was time to face the music – our marks for our business plan and feasibility report. I can honestly say that I am so proud of the team for the marks we achieved, to get distinction level for both pieces was fab… now let’s keep this up! It was cool to get the chance to pitch our idea to Catherine, and to chat things through with Corrine, as a group.

And so to group work…. after Corrine’s web design class, I have been focusing on making the website more user friendly. I decided that the nav bar was too cluttered, and decided to divide topics and headers up into folders, to make things look a bit more organised. I changed the layout, so that all articles are accessible through a menu on a single page…

I also got started on the ‘persona’ sections of the website… the idea being that each viewer takes a quiz to find out which of our three personas, Bing, Megs or Jonny they have most in common with. They are then directed to a specially designed page, full of content to fill their needs…

This week, we are meeting as a team, having prepared a list of issues with the business which we may want to address, things we want to achieve, and how we are going to do this. I think this will be a great way to continue our newly-found momentum, so that we can continue to get the results, and the satisfaction which we deserve.

[Via http://iamthroughthelookingglass.wordpress.com]

Should Charities Collect Donors' Cellphone Numbers?

2010-02-19T02:41:00.000+02:00

The article below is from Give and Take, the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s blogroll. The author asks an interesting questions – “should charities collect donors’ cellphone numbers?” She also asserts that nonprofits will turn off potential supporters by asking this question.

This is partially true – though I think the logic *might be* suspect. What testing has found is that the more information you request (whether as part of an online or offline donation form, or even an event registration, etc.), the fewer people you’ll have complete the process. That’s why the experts tell you to ask for name and e-mail address only for the initial registration for your online newsletter. Very few people object to filling out those two pieces of information.

Once someone has opted into your communication stream, then you need to send them a full registration request. It’s at that point that you might want to ask your donors or supporters for their cell phone numbers. And to get the full registration done, you might in fact need to offer something very interestig in return.

Where I *might* (I say might because I could very well be wrong about my assumption here) disagree with the assumption is in the thinking that specifically the cell phone number is something people won’t want to give out. That might be true right this minute – but the market is shifting – and I suspect that in the next few years cell phone numbers will be no less guarded than home phone or e-mail address are today.

So I’d say yes – you should be actively trying to secure this data (and permission to use it) from your donors and other supporters.

Should Charities Collect Donors’ Cellphone Numbers?

By Holly Hall

Are donors willing to give their cellphone numbers to charity?

Allyson Kapin, a marketing consultant, notes in Frogloop that the recent success by the American Red Cross—which raised more than $31-million through cellphone text messages after the Haitian earthquake—has many charities eager to try mobile fund raising. To do that effectively, however, charities needs to gather the cellphone numbers of potential supporters.

But doing so might be hard. Charities that require people to provide a cellphone number—when making a donation, signing a petition, or joining an event—could put off many potential supporters, she acknowledges.

Still, with a growing number of Americans giving up their land lines in favor of mobile phones, Ms. Kapin notes, organizations may find that people are increasingly willing to share their cell numbers.

During the presidential election, organizations like Rock the Vote say people under age 30 were often willing to share their cellphone numbers. And the Obama campaign told those who did that they would be the first to learn who the candidate’s running mate was.

To get people to willingly offer their cellphone numbers in the same way, Ms. Kapin writes, “nonprofits would hve to find a compelling enough hook.”

Does your organization collect cellphone numbers of donors and other constituents? If so, how have you motivated people to share this information?

[Via http://nonprofitstrategies.wordpress.com]

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. - Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare - Deals and Alliances Profile--Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research Aggregation

2010-02-17T08:54:00.000+02:00

Aastrom Biosciences (Aastrom) is a development stage regenerative medicine company, which is engaged in the development of autologous cell products for use in regenerative medicine. The company’s principal business is to develop Tissue Repair Cell (TRC) based products for use in multiple therapeutic areas including cardiac, vascular, bone and neural disorders. The company’s preclinical and clinical product development programs investigate the ability of patient-derived bone marrow stem and early progenitor cell populations to aid in regeneration of cardiac, vascular, bone and neural tissues. Aastrom is headquartered in Michigan, US

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. – Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare – Deals and Alliances Profile is an essential source for company data and information. The profile examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy as well as highlighting the company’s major recent financial deals.

Scope

- Provides key company information for business intelligence needs

- Gives information on the company’s major recent financial deals including Mergers and Acquisitions, asset transactions, PE/VC deals, equity offerings, debt offerings and partnerships.

- Data is supplemented with details on the company’s history, key executives, business description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest available company statement.

To know more about this report kindly visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Aastrom-Biosciences-Inc-Pharmaceuticals-Healthcare-Deals-and-Alliances-Profile-21457.html

[Via http://aarkstore.wordpress.com]

Connect to Your Customers

2010-02-17T02:53:00.000+02:00

Developing well written and concise messages – that connect with your customers – should drive your marketing strategy. This is particularly true for Web sites. Although the Web is a visual-driven medium, with flashy graphics, sounds, and other fancy features, success still comes down to what you say and how you say it.

However, website copy differs significantly from brochures or display ads. With only few seconds to capture and hold the reader’s attention, Web copy must be brief and to the point, but engaging enough for them want to see more. Focus first on establishing credibility. The content on your site must be crisp and intelligent. What you say should grab a visitor’s attention, pique their interest and motivate them to action. But avoid sounding like a commercial.

“Don’t make your Web site look like an ad” is rule number one of Web copywriting, says Maria Veloso, director of Web Copywriting University. We are all bombarded by ad images daily, says Veloso. The last thing we want to see on a site is another ad. Yet many small business sites seem specifically designed to look like billboards. Avoid this trap. “People go online for information,” says Veloso. “That’s why they call it the information superhighway.”

Provide help, not hype, with the feel of editorial, not advertising. Web visitors consider themselves active participants in a shared online experience, so the writing should speak to them in this way.

Even though you’re writing for an infinite number of potential readers, your copy should read like a conversation. That’s why many successful Web sites use common, everyday words, not platitudes and overused clichés. Use the second-person (“you”) to help create a personal bond with your website visitors and convey your sincere interest in helping them. The more they like, know and trust you, the more interested they’ll be in doing business with your company.

For help marketing your small business, contact Lancaster SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business. SCORE is a nonprofit association of more than 50 business experts who volunteer as mentors to emerging and existing small businesses. SCORE offers free mentoring, business plan reviews, business roundtables, and low-cost workshops.

Check out our special workshop – Marketing on the Web – scheduled for March 11, June 9 and November 4 at the SCORE Learning Center, 313 West Liberty Street, Lancaster.

Learn more at www.scorelancaster.org on the “Special Workshops” menu tab– or call us at 717-397-3092.

[Via http://scorelancaster.wordpress.com]

The Internet Is Not Killing Newspapers

2010-02-15T14:53:00.000+02:00

My first job was delivering newspapers. Today, I’m delivering a much different story. The Internet isn’t killing newspapers. News is killing newspapers. The medium is not the message. I believe our news appetite has changed and newspapers have not realized the shift in tastes.

A Pew Research Center study shows that newspaper readership has fallen from 34% in 2006 to 27% today. But even more profound is that 34% (up from 25% in 1998) of people are ”newsless” (people who get no news on a typical day). And 51% of Americans say they are now “news grazers.”

The problem is that we are now information-rich and time-poor. So our sorting skills and news-relevancy sensors are much more sharpened. We want to ”search” the information that is relevant to us and discard the rest.

So think about the last time you searched for car accidents? Did you search for bank robberies in your area? What about jury selections? Searched for the city council minutes recently? People will always need an arbiter of content, but newspapers will need to rethink news if they want to survive.

What can save newspapers? The same thing that sells any product: clear differentiation and targeted benefits.

So what are newspapers to do?

Rethink what is news. Target the audience and give it what it wants.
Strip out all that is on the Internet (such as stock listings, national sport scores, ag markets).
Become hyper-local. No national or international news unless a local hook exists.
Embrace citizen journalists. ABC ran a story about the East Coast’s winter storm. It featured Flip camera video stories from citizen journalists. The citizen stories were much more interesting than the ABC reporter’s, who obviously never got a household ready for a snowstorm.
Shorter articles. More bullets. More pictures (but not more pictures of the mayor, we all know what he looks like). More easily consumed charts and graphs.

Newspapers need to refocus on the readers. Just like any business needs to focus on its target audience. It’s time to hone the news menu for the audience’s new tastes.

[Via http://iowaadguy.wordpress.com]

new blogging to the bank

2010-02-15T02:17:00.000+02:00

The Most Powerful Blogging System for the internet, has donated $ 1107692 a few hours per week!

First, we talk about the author …

Who is Rob Benwell? He made a name for himself with a fantastic success with his blog and now a wonderful partner, just like the other “gurus” and “Big Player”.

Its a very successful blogger, more than 1 million U.S. dollars from Google AdSense and affiliate commissions, depending within the profits and revenues.

Well, how did he? Is it probable all this hype and filling …

While blogging for the bank in 2010 a fraud or scam?

He said that one of his profits, he has shown he CLICKBANK.com, a seller of digital items. It also makes use of affiliate marketing inside results.

Well, if he uses in his blog, affiliate earnings, I think, in any case, it can be achievable for 1 million U.S. dollars in U.S. blogs.

No doubt. This number of visitors and amount of solutions that may be sold on the website addresses, it isn’t impossible for huge amounts over short periods.

Click here to visit the official website

So what is the heart of blogging to the bank in 2010?

It showed as 1 Weblog earned a lot more than $ 20K and how you too.

Includes 5 “top secret” methods to win a niche blogs.

His plan for success in blogging! Step-by-Step

So he built his weblog empire from scratch and how to copy.

Easy measures and procedures to blogs instantly!

How could-2, 1 in 1 Million site visitors to his blog (a must! In each niche)

How to install a climate of trust and credibility to your weblog.

His Ultimate recommend that save additional time, money and effort in blogs.

So what’s the negative part?

To be honest, Blogging to the Bank in 2010 by Rob brought numerous new companies and subsidiaries of large amounts of dollars with money, but we can still improve after that mastering SEO and get tons of targeted traffic.

Individuals with set lists and websites with tons of site visitors not see. But for a beginner, like most ISPs, this is their lifeblood is fuel to continue.

Without targeted traffic or internet, you get no clicks or sales ….

The truth is, I began to win via on-line blogs. And Rob Benwell is like the story, it started with no experience and no way in line to succeed.

I know the importance of transport and how your earnings.You must realize and influence to do as soon as you succeed online. So I learned the hard way ….

Suddenly, my web site for search engines and I have many visitors during the night. But here’s what you should recognize.

Blogging inside future, you’ve no night wealth, or perhaps in a Mon But if done well and wisely, you’ve a cash cow for the coming years.

reviewed by Best Clickbank Product Reviews

[Via http://nenenghikmatika.wordpress.com]

electronica 2010 - wireless & fireside chat!

2010-02-12T08:29:00.000+02:00

No country organises trade exhibitions like Germany. The names of many of their cities are synonomous with various aspects of industry because they organise THE trade fair of a particular field. Today is the turn of Munich, the beautiful capital of Bavaria and the industry is Electronics.

Energy efficiency, environmental compatibility, cost reduction and flexibility are just some of the challenges facing the electronics industry today. At electronica 2010, the global electronics industry will demonstrate how it will rise to these challenges in the following months and years. The show will be held at the New Munich Trade Fair Center (D) from November 9 to 12, 2010. Over a period of four days, the exhibition halls will once again be the place where companies meet at the world’s most important trade fair for electronics.

Automotive with the main theme of electromobility, displays and e-signage or digital signage, embedded systems with hardware and software, medical electronics, MEMS, photovoltaics and renewable energies are just some of the topics that will dominate this year’s trade fair.

It is to cover the entire spectrum of technologies, products and solutions of the electronics industry: from semiconductors, sensors, measuring and testing, electronics design, passive components, power supply, PCBs and other non-mounted circuit carriers through to EMS.

hybridica 2010 (development and manufacture of hybrid components), will be staged alongside electronica 2010 with close synergy effects and will present the latest developments and production processes regarding hybrid components.

Automotive – the future of markets and technologies in the trade fair, forum and conference

With a 3-pillar concept including the trade fair itself, the automotive forum and the electronica automotive conference, electronica 2010 will feature a wide range of automotive information.

The key topics of the electronica automotive conference on November 8 and 9, 2010 will be electromobility, driver assistance, communication and global growth markets. The first day will be dominated by strategy lectures by leading managers in the semiconductor, supply and automotive industries. The second day will be reserved for pioneering technology developments and will be aimed, in particular, at technical executives.

Wireless Congress – wireless applications as a driving-force for research and development

The conference program on the following days will be devoted to the topic of wireless. The “Wireless Congress 2010: Systems & Applications“ will clearly illustrate the special importance of wireless applications as a driving-force for research and development in the electronics industry.

CEO Round Table and Munich Electronics Summit – top-level networks

Top executives will exchange ideas and opinions during the CEO Round Table, a public podium discussion, during electronica 2010. The CEO Round Table will again be one of the highlights of electronica 2010.

electronica is directed at business leaders from large international enterprises through the new event “Munich Electronics Summit“. An exclusive fireside discussion has been created solely for this group of persons and will be an opportunity for CEOs and managing directors to informally exchange ideas and network with one another.

Forum program – geared towards the needs of the industry

The talks during electronica 2010 will be spread over a total of five forums: the automotive forum, the embedded forum, the e-signage forum, the electronica forum and the ZVEI forum.

Technical talks and discussions will be the focal points of the application-oriented forums. The electronica forum and ZVEI forum will concentrate on general technology topics and other applications such as MEMS, medical electronics, wireless, organic electronics, photovoltaics and renewable energies.

Trade Fair Success Initiative – optimum use of the trade fair budget

The aim of the new exhibitor service is to continually increase the positive effects for companies through attendance at a trade fair. The service package includes a trade fair-related program of workshops, online training courses, IT-based work tools and numerous services to help exhibitors prepare, implement and follow up their participation in a trade fair.

A large number of services from the Trade Fair Success Initiative are offered free of charge in order to ensure maximum success for all trade fair participants through optimum support.

[Via http://instrumentsignpost.wordpress.com]

Do you make the logo or does the logo make you?

2010-02-12T02:53:00.000+02:00

When starting a business everyone puts time and sweat into their logo. Show your logo to 100 people and you are going to get 100 different opinions. I agree that a logo is important since its going to be an extension in your marketing efforts. But all that time you put into your logo and design should be 100x more when servicing your client.

I can have an amazing looking logo but if my clients are not satisfied the logo is not going to do anything for me. Spend time on it but do not believe the hype of the logo making your business successful. Getting new business just because they thought the logo was amazing. Always remember: you make the logo, it never makes you!

[Via http://themindslave.wordpress.com]

Tenaska, Inc. - Power - Deals and Alliances Profile--Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research Aggregation

2010-02-10T08:55:00.000+02:00

Tenaska, Inc. (Tenaska) is an independent power producing company engaged in the development, ownership and operation of non utility electric generation and cogeneration plants in the United States. The company is also involved in marketing of natural gas, electric power and biofuels. In addition, the company also provides energy risk management services. Further, Tenaska is also involved in asset acquisition, fuel supply, gas transportation systems and electric transmission development. The company has developed about 9,000 megawatts (MW) of generation facilities in 15 domestic and international projects.

Tenaska, Inc. – Power – Deals and Alliances Profile is an essential source for company data and information. The profile examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy as well as highlighting the company’s major recent financial deals.

To know more about this report kindly visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Tenaska-Inc-Power-Deals-and-Alliances-Profile-21054.html

[Via http://aarkstores.wordpress.com]

Managing your wine brand message in a wired world

2010-02-10T02:46:00.000+02:00

“Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” … Mitchell Kapor

One of the strategic issues currently under discussion in wine marketing meetings is how to address the fact that winery CMOs and brand managers face significant points of friction in our wired world. A wired world where a winery’s brand message is often modified by users across the universe of sites including mobile apps, marketing agents, ecommerce portals, bricks & mortar retailers with an ecommerce presence, blogs, forums and social networks. The same passion that you put into the production of your wines is mirrored in the story inherent in your wine brand. However, user-generated content often retells this story in a way that obfuscates your unique, value added proposition that differentiates your wine products in a crowded and increasingly difficult market. This all too common outcome is not unlike the results achieved in the traditional dinner party game of ‘Telephone’, where a short story is whispered into the ear of the person next to you, and repeated through a chain of individuals until the final person in the chain is asked to then tell the story, often to the laughs of all involved. The facts have been so modified, having passed through the filter of each person, that the final story bears no resemblance to the original tale. But the act of having your winery’s product information modified in this manner is no laughing matter and tends to diminish brand identity, and will effectively erode brand image and value. But just how can a winery effectively standardize their brand message and brand image across this vast, fragmented information cloud without imposing an onerous work load and cumbersome time management restraints on staff?

The unintended consequences of Moore’s Law

The simple idea, in the late 1960’s, of migrating from germanium, or the by then the more common germanium/silicon mix as the primary material for solid state electronics, to silicon as the base material for integrated circuit design was the genesis of a movement that had significant unintended outcomes. By 1965 Gordon E. Moore at the time head of research at Fairchild Semiconductor and later co-founder in 1968 of Intel, predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. This was likely based not only on his own observations but on earlier predictions including the pioneering work of Douglas Engelbart the co-inventor of the computer mouse. Moore’s paper was the foundation document used by the semiconductor industry as the targeting platform for future planning, research and business development. Caltech professor, Carver Mead coined the term ‘Moore’s Law‘ in the early 1970’s. Moore’s Law has driven innovation in ways never foreseen by these early Silicon Valley bootstrappers, from the exponential development of processing speed and memory capacity to new miniaturization technologies, impacting the development and the worldwide use of digital tools by both businesses and consumers. This rapid development of technology made possible by the research of the post WW II generation of scientist has led to the development of tools and products that reach and impact our lives daily, and not only in obvious ways. Integrated circuits are in our cars, our toasters our washing machines and refrigerators. Integrated circuits enable the technology that heat our home or allow municipalities to efficiently deliver utilities to end users. So many ways, that we now accept these developments without much fanfare or notice. They just are.

Old school goes new school

When I was in college in Morgantown, the campus was wired to an IBM 360 computer. As a student who wanted to make use of the computers, I had to take courses in the then evolving computer coding languages of BASIC, Fortran and COBAL. The WVU Computer Center’s IBM 360 was in a building a block square and 6 stories high. I now can hold that computing capacity in my hand, no longer waiting 24 hours for a 10 lb report printed on a daisy wheel printer, but I’m now able to receive instant feedback to an inquiry or a search. I can go down the wine aisle at JV’s in Napa and using an iPhone wine app take a picture of the UPC or the label, and get immediate information on that specific wine, 1-2-3, just like that. Smaller, faster, better seems to be the mantra driven by robust competition between large and emerging technology companies. We’ve been climbing this graph of technological development that has colored and shaped the current wine marketing landscape. One of the developments that has come on the scene is the development of user generated content. Starting out with FTPs then BBSs which evolved into forums, then migrating to usenet, and then through a variety of ISP pipes such as Netscape, AOL, MSN and Yahoo. A movement that gained traction with the development of broadband availability and use, was topic specific blogging using services such as Blogger, WordPress or Tumblr. In 2006 Twitter introduced microblogging to the world, basically taking old school instant messaging meant to be used within a small group of friends or utilized as a business communications tool in lieu of e-mail and making it available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. Facebook emerged as a college based IM service that allowed friends to communicate on a closed circuit basis. That was your dad’s Facebook. Facebook is now a marketing powerhouse platform for individuals and brands.

Modern wine communication modalities

As an example of how brand communications have evolved, on January 28, 2010, I took part in an online multi-media wine tasting experience featuring Walter Bressia who is a winemaker of note in Mendoza, Argentina. The tasting was a live, real-time online event with feeds on Twitter, USTREAM, and GoToMeeting. Invitations were initiated through the Vines of Mendoza Facebook Fan Page. The event included a number of wine and wine business bloggers who actively participated in the tasting of three of Walter Bressia’s wines. Conversations occurred between the tasters and the winemaker, and between each other. It was fun, informative, and a best practices use of technology. But, this wasn’t my first online interaction with winemakers. On Earth Day 2009, I was engaged in a beta test with Lisa Mattson and Wilson Daniels with Nigel Greening of Felton Road who was in his home office in Wanaka, NZ and Bernard Lacroute of WillaKenzie who was in his winery office in Yamhill, OR. So an online connection and conversation on sustainable faming practices occurred between St. Helena, Sonoma, Wanaka, NZ and Yamhill, OR took place, and a personal connection was forged between the winemakers and a wine business writer halfway around the world from each other.

The Wine Directory

A constant comment that I get from winery clients or winery friends is the amount of misinformation concerning their brands that they find in online searches. The old saying of garbage-in – garbage-out has never been truer. Incomplete or misconstrued information plagues the wine industry. And this has been exacerbated with the proliferation of consumer and ecommerce generated input. Real and false information alike is replicated in the blink of an eye. The methods of communication between brand owners and brand users has changed. Consumers now have access to tools that empower their input, and help create and influence brand discourse. The idea of brand while still evolving, is still based on a set of attributes promised by you the brand owner to the end user. This is a basic concept that may be lost in an age of instant consumer input. But the fact remains that you are the brand owner, and an inherent attribute of ownership is your responsibility to factually shape the conversation concerning base information, also known as data, for you brand and products. This has been addressed by the team at Cruvee with OwnIt, changing the way your wine is viewed online. And now, 9 weeks into the launch and adoption cycle, of OwnIt, as a member of the Cruvee Board of Advisors I had a chance last week to sit with the Cruvee team to do a dry run through the release of the Wine Directory. In explaining the Wine Directory, Cruvee CEO Evan Cover said “ the directory is intended to show you how your products and your winery are visually represented online. If your information is accurate here it will be accurate across all of our partner sites and applications. This means controlling your brand’s image with millions of customers visiting the biggest social networks, tons of mobile applications, online retailers and more.”

In conclusion

Registering your brand and inputing information into the OwnIt database, which is free other than the allocation of time to correctly input your wine brand and brand product data. James Jory, Cruvee VP of Technology sees OwnIt and the Wine Directory as “the chance to eliminate the Balkinization of your wine brand data within the online community.” This is a solution with a low barrier to entry that enables you the brand owner to control your winery’s product information facts. The idea of passively sitting by and letting others define any brand is a notion that is anathema to me, and it should also be unacceptable to you the brand owner. So, step up, sign-in and take control of your wineco’s brand information, and OwnIt!

[Via http://thinkwinemarketing.wordpress.com]

What is wrong with this ad from Google?

2010-02-08T08:55:00.000+02:00

Google played their ad ‘Parisian Love’ on Superbopwl 2010.

There many things that I don’t like about the ad; but my gripe is:

Google makes its money from ads – and not once do they show how this particular search experience uses the ads. If I was advertising on Google I would be reminded about how people really use search – and question the importance of ’sponsored links’ – their main revenue stream.

I have selcted some posts about the ad to appear below -

Get the Word Out - the Right Word

2010-02-08T02:51:00.000+02:00

All businesses strive to break through to consumers or prospects with advertising. How great is it to be a “household name”, for all the right reasons?

What does your advertising say about you or your company? Is it relaying the right message?

Watching Superbowl 44, like many others, I look forward to the newest commercials. They are often fun, creative and….expensive! And everyone talks about them the next day. Certified Guerrilla Marketing expert and co-author, Al Lautenslager, is always sought after on the DAY after — the Monday after the Super Bowl. Why? Everyone wants to hear what got a ‘10′ and who the failures were.

But why is an ad a failure? Does it drive customers to your website, door or phone? Does it turn prospects off, offending them or insulting their intelligence? Did you chose the best avenue — the medium you picked was visible to and visited by many?

What do you remember of those $2.5 million-per-30-second bits of entertainment? Was it the house constructed with beer cans? The violin-playing beavers? The Motorola phone photo-snapping bathtub occupant, the dog-collar-swapping-Dorito-eating pet, or the straight shooting movie trailers?

Some sensed a theme of testosterone vs. estrogen.

Lois Martin/LoisMarketing.com found the ‘manly man commercials’ for Dodge Charger and Dove Body wash very entertaining. Tweeting comments on Twitter during the game (or maybe not!!), she noted that the men at her gathering did some chest thumping, retreating to the patio for a beer and a cigar after some of those.

I think the economic downturn was reflected in decrease spending on wardrobe. Budget allocation decreases were noted in the attire, or lack of it, in both Career Builder and Dockers ads.

As for the Coca-Cola ad with the sleepwalking dude who went overcame danger just to get their product; this strongly conveyed that “gotta have it” message.

Whether you portray your product or service as something that people cannot live without, or show what sets you apart from the competition, it’s important now more than ever to GET THE WORD out about your biz. Besides, with so many budget cuts, less competition is out there. Like the Superbowl time slots, prices can come down and be more affordable (!?!!).

Shout it from the mountaintops! And let others shout for you, too! Leads groups and referral organizations entice membership because of the fact that fellow members refer business to you. Other groups, like chambers of commerce, also refer business through website listings, phone call inquiry responses, electronic newsletters and ADS! Whether it’s a banner ad, ‘physical’ flyer stuffed into a mailing or your name on a sponsor sign, consider your options, be creative and relay the right message!

[Via http://carolstream.wordpress.com]

FPL Group, Inc. - Alternative Energy - Deals and Alliances Profile--Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research Aggregation

2010-02-05T08:54:00.000+02:00

FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group) is one of the leading utility and gas company. The company provides electricity and other related products and services in the US. The group principally operates through its two subsidiaries namely, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. FPL is one of the largest electric utility companies in the U.S. supplying power to more than 8.7 million customers and is also the leading utility in energy conservation programs. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is the leading producer of electricity using clean and renewable fuels such as wind power and solar power. FPL Group also provides fiber optic products though its subsidiary, FPL FiberNet.

FPL Group, Inc. – Alternative Energy – Deals and Alliances Profile is an essential source for company data and information. The profile examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy as well as highlighting the company’s major recent financial deals.

Scope

- Provides key company information for business intelligence needs

- Gives information on the company’s major recent financial deals including Mergers and Acquisitions, asset transactions, PE/VC deals, equity offerings, debt offerings and partnerships.

- Data is supplemented with details on the company’s history, key executives, business description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest available company statement.

To know more about this report kindly visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/FPL-Group-Inc-Alternative-Energy-Deals-and-Alliances-Profile-16216.html

[Via http://aarkstores.wordpress.com]

Friends

2010-02-05T02:39:00.000+02:00

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[Via http://anatlymi.wordpress.com]

Apakah Dymium XOX?

2010-02-03T08:44:00.000+02:00

Dymium XOX adalah perkhidmatan prabayar terkini yang baru sahaja dilancarkan pada 15 Januari 2010.

Produk Prabayar Dymium XOX

Apakah keunikannya berbanding yang lain?

Merupakan perkhidmatan telekomunikasi terkini dengan pakej yang terendah, di samping mampu menjana pendapatan pasif!

Caj yang sangat berbaloi dengan nilai wang anda sehingga penjimatan 50%!
Penjanaan pendapatan pasif yang berterusan!

Tahukah anda, kebanyakan daripada kita tidak mengetahui pun kadar caj yang dikenakan oleh syarikat telekomunikasi (telco)?

Berapakah kadar caj panggilan 1 minit, 1 SMS?
Adakah telco kita menggunakan blok masa 60 saat / 30 saat?
Berapakah penggunaan anda sebulan, biasanya lebih RM100?

. Perbandingan Caj Perkhidmatan

Sila kaji dan bandingkan!

Perbandingan Kadar Caj Telco Lain dengan Dymium XOX

Penjimatan sehingga 50% untuk tempoh masa yang sama!

Bayangkan sekiranya selama ini jumlah topup atau bil anda sebulan adalah RM 150, anda mampu berjimat sehingga RM 80 sebulan sahaja dengan DymiumXOX.

Malah masih mendapat liputan talian meluas dan terbaik kerana kerjasama antara DymiumXOX-TM Celcom.

..dan juga penjanaan pendapatan pasif, hanya dengan berkongsi pengalaman anda bersama rakan-rakan anda =)

Di Mana Dymium XOX Boleh Didapati?

Ianya baru sahaja dilancarkan pada 15 Januari 2010 lepas dengan strategi pemasaran hebat!

Kebiasaannya, syarikat-syarikat telekomunikasi (telco) gergasi di Malaysia berbelanja antara RM100 juta – RM 300 juta setahun untuk tujuan pemasaran; iklan dan sebagainya.

Begitu banyak peruntukan untuk pemasaran, tahukah anda bahawa sebagai pengguna, kitalah yang membayarnya?

Sememangnya peruntukan pemasaran tinggi, tapi pastinya keuntungannya jauh lebih tinggi!

Pernahkah kita terfikir jika mereka berkongsi keuntungan dengan kita? Mana mungkin!

Dymium XOX ini adalah satu peluang di mana peruntukan pemasaran mereka diagihkan kepada semua agen pemasarannya dan berterusan! =)

..jangan lupa, kita pada masa yang sama mampu berjimat sehingga 50%!

Bagaimana Boleh Mendapat Pendapatan Pasif Tersebut?

Ideanya agak mudah; “Adakah setelah berjimat sehingga 50% kos perkhidmatan telefon anda, anda tidak menggunakannya untuk bulan-bulan seterusnya?”

Mana mungkin! Mesti topup baru dan guna berterusan! =)

Secara ringkas, caranya:

1 – Sila beli Pakej Starter Pack DymiumXOX bernilai RM150 (Tempoh terhad, harga normal RM188.80).

Starter Pack Dymium XOX bernilai RM88.80 (3G kad SIM, pra-isi kredit sebanyak RM85).
Gelang Magnetik E-Dymium bernilai RM100 (dahulu RM275).
1 Akaun perniagaan Dymium XOX.

Kad SIM Dymium XOX

2- Gunakan sehingga anda berpuas hati..paling kurang, anda sendiri telah berjimat!

3- Nak lebih berbaloi, berkongsilah pengalaman dengan rakan-rakan secara ikhlas untuk kebaikan bersama, ajak mereka membeli Starter Pack DymiumXOX seperti anda juga.

4- Ikut seperti pelan pemasaran di bawah.

. Pelan Pemasaran Inovatif Dymium XOX

Telco baru + Pelan pemasaran inovatif = Unik & Potensi hebat! (‘Blue Ocean’) =)

..ada rasa seperti menjual gula, garam, tepung, minyak dan lain-lain; suatu keperluan dan semua orang gunakan!

. Pemasaran Inovatif!

Pemahaman mudah:

Bonus Royalti Dymium XOX

Secara kasar, adakah anda nampak potensinya? =)

Walaupun terhad kepada 6 level ke bawah untuk royalti anda, sebenarnya penjanaan pendapatan pasif anda adalah tiada had kerana tiada had level ke kiri-kanan anda!

Dan sedia menolong rakan-rakan yang telah diperkenalkan anda untuk mencapai tahap yang sama; anda lebih berjaya jika rakan anda berjaya!

Oleh itu, tunggu apa lagi?

Semua info ini disertakan dengan bukti kajian oleh laman-laman web yang boleh dipercayai kesahihannya. Hubungi kami jika mahukan lebih penjelasan, kami sedia membantu anda. =)

Jom sertai kami:

Sila buat bayaran terlebih dulu ke akaun MOHD HUSNUL HADI BIN KAMARUDIN; CIMB 1217 00165 37053 / Maybank 1621 0682 8141, sila tambah RM 3 (semua berjumlah RM153) jika hendak melalui penghantaran pos.
Kemudian, daftar talian DymiumXOX anda melalui borang ini.

Jika Sudah Terlalu Fleksibel Ini,Bagaimana Mahu Bermula?

Langkah pertama yang mudah ialah:

Bonus Royalti Level 1 – Dymium XOX

Risaukah anda tentang bilangan rakan yang perlu diperkenalkan itu? 10 orang, ‘ramainya’! =P

Berapakah ahli keluarga anda yang menggunakan telefon bimbit?
Berapakah rakan tempat kerja anda yang menggunakan telefon bimbit?
Berapakah sanak-saudara anda yang menggunakan telefon bimbit?
Berapakah jiran tetangga anda yang menggunakan telefon bimbit?

Pastinya soalan-soalan di atas sukar dijawab, bagaimana pula sebaliknya..“Berapakah … yang TIDAK menggunakan telefon bimbit?”

Pasti lebih mudah dijawab,bukan? =)

Seterusnya, bantu rakan-rakan anda mencapai langkah pertama yang sungguh mudah ini!

. Apakah Saiz Potensi Pasaran Anda?

Mengikut laporan oleh MCMC, bilangan pengguna telefon bimbit di Malaysia pada Mac 2007 adalah lebih 18 juta pengguna:

MCMC-Laporan Pendaftaran Prabayar di Malaysia 2007

Malah sehingga suku ke-3 tahun 2009, Malaysia mempunyai pengguna telefon bimbit kira-kira 29 juta pengguna dengan 22 juta adalah pengguna prabayar. Bilangan ini sentiasa bertambah dari setahun ke setahun!

..bukan setakat di Malaysia sahaja, DymiumXOX juga mempunyai perancangan perkhidmatan di luar negara!

Berminat?

Sila buat bayaran terlebih dulu ke akaun MOHD HUSNUL HADI BIN KAMARUDIN; CIMB 1217 00165 37053 / Maybank 1621 0682 8141, dan sila tambah RM 3 (semua berjumlah RM153) jika hendak melalui penghantaran pos.
Kemudian, daftar talian DymiumXOX anda melalui borang ini.

Siapakah di Sebalik Dymium XOX? Sistem: XOX Com Sdn Bhd

XOX Com Sdn Bhd adalah syarikat telekomunikasi yang menawarkan perkhidmatan talian mudah alih yang inovatif dengan caj yang sangat kompetitif.

Bekerjasama dengan Celcom bagi menyediakan rangkaian talian terbaik dan meluas.
Menggunakan talian 010 oleh Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

The Star, 16 Sept 2008: From left: XOX Com Sdn Bhd president Ng Kok Heng, XOX chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi, Celcom (M) Bhd CEO Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly and Celcom COO, new business Chee Pok Jin at the signing ceremony between Celcom and XOX on Monday. . Pemasaran: E-Dymium Network Sdn Bhd

E-Dymium Network Sdn Bhd pula adalah syarikat pemasaran tempatan yang telah berjaya mendapat pengiktirafan tempat pertama dalam kategori Organisasi Jualan Langsung pada bulan Ogos 2009 lepas.

E-Dymium Network – 1st Place GEKO Award 2009 1st Place GEKO Award 2009 – CEO of E-Dymium Network Sdn Bhd

Berikut pula adalah pendaftaran syarikat untuk lesen jualan langsung di Malaysia:

Lesen Jualan Langsung E-Dymium Network Sdn Bhd

.terus setia bersama kami, segala info akan diberitahu kelak =)

Work or Network?

Terima kasih! =)

Info lanjut, sila hubungi:

Hadi Kamarudin

Agen Pemasaran Dymium XOX (ID XOX 0000 1385)

Email: dymiumxox.net@gmail.com

010-318 5 182 / 013-2084 394

Facebook.com/hadikamarudin

Twitter.com/hadikamarudin

Agen Pemasaran Dymium XOX oleh E-Dymium Network Sdn Bhd

Laman Web Rasmi Dymium XOX

[Via http://dymiumxoxnet.wordpress.com]

Quit Counting. Social Media Isn't About The Numbers ...

2010-02-03T02:52:00.000+02:00

Or fans.

Or followers.

Or friends.

Confused? Many people are. Most of us have been programmed to think that everything in life is about the numbers. How many minutes you’ve used. How much you weigh. How many screen hours your kids view each day. How many units you’ve sold. How much money you’ve made.

The world is abuzz about social media. Every day we see more and more posts about the top 5, 4, 10 things to do in social media to be successful. Those lists continue to grow each day as people and marketers beta test social media. We’ve begun to think less about everything you should do and more about the huge mistakes you should avoid. There is not a comprehensive list of surefire methods for social media anymore than there is a guarantee it will be profitable for you. But, we will be sharing some tips about some mistakes everyone should avoid.

It doesn’t matter the medium for your message. The response is the same. Was that worth my time to read and digest the message? Mainly, was it worth the inconvenience? This response doesn’t change with social media. Getting someone on a social media network to “opt in” to hear your marketing message is half the battle. Don’t think that this gives you the right to blast that marketing message to people whenever you want. If this is your approach to social media marketing, expect your followers and fans to opt out.

The ideal scenario is to establish a forum in which people are willing to exchange their time and attention for marketing messages with value. Just because traditional media is “dying” doesn’t mean that this dynamic is changed with the ever evolving “new media.”

Traditional and paid media can be leveraged to generate more fans and followers. Look at a number of recent TV ads that are driving traffic to their facebook pages rather than to a product or even a website. But, the question is what do you do with that individual once they have become your fan? A fan does not guarantee any future marketing opportunities, but it does provide a highly superior tool for data collection and demographic insights for future communication. Given the appropriate combination and environment, marketers can mix in marketing messaging among other content. But don’t misinterpret social media as the new soapbox for marketing or as a “free media.” Social media has value. Social media has benefit. But, benefit will always mean costs.

Just as with high quality traditional media, social media marketing results should yield a person’s undivided attention and give marketers the ability to deliver a marketing message to its full extent. If you are looking to drive fans or followers through social media, remember what value and benefit you are bringing to them. What will motivate them to opt in and continue to listen to your message? Just consider your junk email box or unidentified calls to your cell phone. Don’t end up in the unanswered call log or in the junk feeds folder. Make sure that your tweets and fan page are giving something back to your fans. If your content and your message through social media networks don’t motivate interactions, it won’t motivate your fans and followers to do much else. Most of all, don’t end up wondering why you are exhausting all of your time and resources on social networking and no one is talking back.

Written by: Sara Paxton, managing partner, CTO, and Social Media Officer of Evans Media Group, Kansas City’s Social Media Agency, a boutique agency located in Overland Park, KS that specializes in traditional marketing, social media marketing, online marketing, and public relations.

[Via http://evansmediagroup.wordpress.com]

Mitsubishi Corporation - Alternative Energy - Deals and Alliances Profile--Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research Aggregation

2010-02-01T08:54:00.000+02:00

Mitsubishi Corporation (Mitsubishi) is one of the largest general trading companies in Japan. The company operates through its seven business groups which include the Business Innovation Group, the Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group, the Energy Business Group; the Metals Group; Machinery Group; the Chemicals Group and Living Essentials Group. Mitsubishi has presence in more than 80 countries round the globe. It is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan

Mitsubishi Corporation – Alternative Energy – Deals and Alliances Profile is an essential source for company data and information. The profile examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy as well as highlighting the company’s major recent financial deals.

Scope

To know more about this report kindly visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Mitsubishi-Corporation-Alternative-Energy-Deals-and-Alliances-Profile-15730.html

[Via http://aarkstore.wordpress.com]

Update: Unleash your future with Volara

2010-02-01T02:54:00.000+02:00

It’s your time to Flourish™

Yesterday, we had an exciting full day session at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas, TX. Vollara Founder, Chairman, and CEO Joseph P. Urso unveiled our Medical and Strategic Advisory Board, and the rest of the competitive business strategy details behind Vollara including:

Products that cut new paths to health ™
Field support tools that go beyond everything else
Compensation that rewards every step you take ™
A global commitment and strategy
People and a culture that are welcoming, nourishing and generous

The audience was blown away – most attendees couldn’t wait to get back home to spread the news about Vollara and start driving their organizations to their best year ever!

Go to www.joinvollara.com to view highlights from Saturday’s event.

Unleash your Future ™

[Via http://joinvollara.wordpress.com]

2010 Worldwide Grocery Stores Industry Report -Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-01-29T08:44:00.000+02:00

HTML clipboard

The Grocery Stores Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including supermarkets, markets, grocers, convenience stores, delicatessens and chain stores.

Table of Contents :

1-Argentina

2-Australia

3-Austria

4-Belgium

5-Brazil

6-Canada

7-Chile

8-China

9-Colombia

10-Czech Rep

11-Denmark

12-Egypt

13-Finland

14-France

15-Germany

16-Greece

17-Hungary

18-India

19-Indonesia

20-Iran

21-Ireland

22-Israel

23-Italy

24-Japan

25-Malaysia

26-Mexico

27-Netherlands

28-New Zealand

29-Norway

30-Pakistan

31-Phillipines

32-Poland

33-Portugal

34-Russia

35-Saudi Arabia

36-Singapore

37-South Africa

38-South Korea

39-Spain

40-Sweden

41-Switzerland

42-Taiwan

43-Thailand

44-Turkey

45-United Kingdom

46-United States

47-Venezuela

48-Appendix: Definitions & Terms

For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Grocery-Stores-Industry-Report-35284.html

PH.NO. 919272852585

[Via http://aarkstore.wordpress.com]

Say what you mean.

2010-01-29T02:43:00.000+02:00

From 101 reasons to stop writing

I had the pleasure of hearing Barry Mike speak this week during my monthly IABC luncheon. Virtually everything he discussed was relevant to my line of work, and anyone who has a job in PR, marketing, IMC, social media — or any ther profession having to do with communication. Of all his pearls of wisdom, one really stuck with me. He said, “People need meaning. Everything communicates.”

How dead on is that statement? Clients and publics like to be in the loop, information is everything. Our days are filled with questions and searching for answers. “How’s the stock doing? Why is she wearing that? What is he NOT saying? You KNOW what they’re up to (wink, wink)!”

As a professional we should encourage our clients or organizations to tell their side of the story, as regular people, we should do the same. Some might disagree, maybe they don’t want to stick their neck out, or would rather the issue just went away — but the truth of the matter is, if you don’t tell your side of the story, somebody else will.

Look at Tiger Woods and Mark McGwire — hate to pick on those two — but they were mum on their issues for so long that the media, mistresses and Jose Canseco’s of the world told their story for them. I’m not saying one source is more credible than the other, but how much would it have meant to their brand AND their publics if they’d just spoke sooner.

Sometimes not saying anything is really saying a whole mouthful. In this day of social media, online news and the need for instant gratification, it’s almost impossible to control a message, but at least we can still speak our piece. If we don’t, someone else will, and they’ll probably mean it.

What do you think?

[Via http://silvasq3.wordpress.com]

What's Behind the Rise of Content Marketing?

2010-01-27T08:15:00.000+02:00

Over the last 7 months I’ve been very focused in my research on the dynamics of how B2B marketing is changing — particularly the increasing importance of developing buyer-centered marketing strategies and programs. (In fact, this week I’m speaking at a B2B Magazine event in London about new ways to drive B2B e-mail marketing programs based on behavioral/implicit factors, versus standard demographics.)

The broader evolution of B2B marketing has been accompanied by new challenges and opportunities, and in some cases these have driven the emergence of completely new marketing disciplines.

Content marketing is just such a discipline. Whereas marketing content has always been with us, I submit that modern content marketing is something altogether new — an evolutionary approach to engaging buyers with buying-stage-relevant information and a response to several rapidly-changing B2B marketing dynamics.

What has led to this emergence? And what are the implications for this new discipline?

There are a lot of moving pieces, and this post will detail some of the key dynamics. Yet it’s important to couch these dynamics in the macro environment of the shift in power from buyer to seller. You’ve probably heard me tell this story before: First, the Internet changed the nature of buyers’ access to information, which changed the nature of their relationship with B2B vendors. Second, this evolution led to a new Web 2.0 phase, where B2B buyers “… use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations,” as explained by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff in Groundswell. This shifted power away from vendors, toward buyers. Third, B2B marketing organizations — responding to this power shift — began fighting back — leveraging the same Groundswell approach and technologies to engage with buyers when and where the buyer now prefers, with information that is of relevance at that moment in time — which is where we are today.

Successful B2B marketing has become anticipatory and serendipitous, rather than forced and interruptive, and it focuses on the information needs of the buyer at each stage of his/her buying process, while being aware of the channels and peers buyers will turn to for insights and advice.

It is in this environment that the new discipline of content marketing has emerged.

How has marketing content changed, and what is content marketing?

Given this environment, your marketing content today must do much more than merely incite awareness or interest on the part of the buyer; rather, it must put the buyer at the center. C. Edward Brice, SVP of Worldwide Marketing for Lumension, commented on this in a recent interview on the Savvy B2B Marketing blog:

[C]ompanies have to engage differently with prospects. They have to stop focusing on the sales cycle and instead focus on the buying cycle. This ultimately means that companies need to understand prospects and customers to a greater extent, including how that individual wants to buy and what information they need at particular points in the buying cycle.

It is in this context that ‘content’ has taken on a new meaning. Content represents critical information, conveyed on specific topics, delivered via specific channels and in specific voices that align to specific phases of the buying cycle. What is interesting is that this type of interaction is what you might have once thought of as dialogue with the sales person — except in this context it is dialogue being managed by a marketer (and intermediated by the Groundswell community). Fortunately, the scope and sophistication of platforms now available to marketing organizations — particularly the coupling of CRM and marketing automation — enable us to power this pattern of mass one-to-one marketing in a scalable and efficient fashion … we just need engaging content … right?

So marketing content is no longer tactical; thus, ‘content marketing’ has emerged as a new strategic art in the battle to drive buyer-centric marketing. Content is no longer the static prose of taglines and brochures; rather, it is the connective tissue of a new era of ‘bottoms-up’ B2B marketing … and powers buyer dialogue.

For a specific definition, content marketing guru Joe Pulizzi (Twitter: @juntajoe) offers in this blog post: “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

While content’s role has increased in importance with the emergence of content marketing, at the same time it has become a major challenge for many B2B marketers — especially when it comes to powering their marketing automation campaigns. In fact, in the recent “2010 E-mail Marketing Benchmark Report” from MarketingSherpa, content relevancy was named as the number-one challenge for e-mail marketers — especially B2B marketers. (See graphic below; used with permission.)

Source: MarketingSherpa; click to enlarge

What are the key dynamics shaping the new discipline of ‘content marketing?’

It’s clear that content marketing has emerged as both a major new opportunity and challenge for B2B marketers. So what does this mean for B2B marketing organizations, and how do they respond? To answer this question, I think it’s first important to dig into the specific dynamics that are shaping the current evolution of content marketing.

Based on my research, here’s what I believe is supported by current, defensible data and the opinions of thought leaders focused on this topic:

> Buyer education is increasingly self-directed and conducted online, via a variety of digital channels: This is the logical outcome of the evolution described above and was a key point of synthesis from my previous Propelling Brands post on how the B2B buyer is changing. In that post, I pointed to a growing body of research — mostly from Enquiro, author of The Buyersphere Project; MarketingSherpa, author of their annual B2B ‘Benchmarking Report; and analyst firm Forrester — indicating that the nature of B2B buyers is in fact shifting in this Web 2.0 environment. B2B buyers are more than ever preferring to conduct much of their buying process on their own, and “B2B buyers are increasingly turning to online sources, earlier in their process, to research purchases before ever calling a ‘live’ sales rep,” as I noted in that post. Essentially, buyer education is occurring via Internet-delivered content — on blogs, on Web sites, via social media and via traditional e-mail, but sans a sales person.

Since then I’ve continued to find data points that support this observation. Most recently, I was reviewing research by the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA — which puts out some great studies — BTW). Their report, “How Customers Choose Solution Providers,” published this past September, looks at the nature of B2B buying decisions within IT organizations. According to this report, nearly two-thirds of buyers conduct their own research and then contact the vendor, not vice versa. (See graphic below; used with permission.)

Source: ITSMA; click to enlarge

> Purchase decisions incorporate more peer input than ever — increasingly accessed via digital means and led by the buyer: The Groundswell has had a two-part impact on how decisions are made. First, content and insights from peers are leveraged more than ever, and second, that collaborative decision-making process has become requisite for any major B2B purchase.

C. Edward Brice, cited above, commented on this in his Savvy B2B Marketing blog interview:

Today with the Internet and Web 2.0, friction is practically non-existent. Word of mouth flows freely. People are extremely informed because information is available anywhere. For example, according to TechTarget/Google research, the primary source of information about products and services is someone’s peers and colleagues. People place more trust in those sources than in the company itself.

This is echoed in the ITSMA buyer research. It shows that peer influence far outweighs other information sources, and social media increasingly represents merely another channel for accessing the insights of industry peers (also noted in the previous ITSMA chart ). (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: ITSMA; click to enlarge

Gone are the days when a sales person, working with a single buyer, could solely influence a sale. Today, a vendor must contend with the ’savvy B2B buying unit,’ as I like to refer to it. This is evident in data from MarketingSherpa’s “2010 E-mail Marketing Benchmark Report.” No B2B purchase is made without the input of others, and the larger the purchase, the larger the group evaluating the decision. (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: MarketingSherpa; click to enlarge

The ITSMA research also notes that B2B buyers increasingly leverage social media content as a virtual proxy for direct peer input, and it points out that a significant proportion of B2B buyers are actually leveraging this type of insight in their decision-making. (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: ITSMA; click to enlarge

Meanwhile, the volume and proportion of user-generated content to the total Internet marketplace continues to grow. A year ago, eMarketer predicted that the number of US user-generated content creators would grow from 82.5 million in 2008 to 114.5 million in 2013, and that the proportion of total Internet users participating in user generated content would grow over that same period from 42.8% to 51.8%.

> Traditional media venues have lost their power and are declining in numbers: The indicators are everywhere that the Groundswell has had a tandem impact on traditional media outlets. If people are shifting where they consume buying-oriented information, and preferring to leverage new outlets and peer insights, then something’s got to give — and it has been traditional media for the last decade. A September report by UNITY: Journalists of Color noted that 35,885 journalism jobs had been lost over the previous 12 months (via the PDNPulse blog).

This trend has been dramatic in business and industry publications. American Business Media reported in December 2009, “Total b-to-b spending after the first three quarters of 2009 (tradeshows, print, digital) was $15.1 billion, reflecting a decline of 19.3% versus the same period in 2008.”

Given shrinking traditional venues, B2B marketers have subsequently been forced to figure out how — more than ever — they can ‘go direct’ to buyers. This was made clear in a recent report released by the Custom Publishing Council:

Marketers poured more money into branded content in 2009 than ever before … . [The study] showed that total spending on branded content was over $1.8 million per company … . Even allowing for the addition of new categories, 2009 spending was double that of 2008 and the highest amount since the CPC began conducting the survey in 2003.

The most significant data point in the CPC report was the increasing proportion of marketing dollars being spent on content being created directly by B2B vendor organizations. “Of the average overall marketing, advertising and communications budgets, branded content accounted for 32% of funds. This is the greatest ever proportion of overall funds dedicated to branded content. The previous high was in 2007, with 27%.” (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: CPC; click to enlarge

This shift mirrors data MarketingProfs published about a year ago — when we were already beginning to see signs that B2B marketers were shifting their media mix to vendor-produced content. In the study, “B2B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategies and Spending,” corporate Web sites and e-mail — both vendor produced content — were expected to play an increasing role (with blogs trailing not that far behind). (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: MarketingProfs; click to enlarge

We also have seen further evidence of this in MarketingProfs’ most recent study, “The State of Social Media Marketing,” that cites online content as the leading paid tactic B2B marketers are leveraging today. (See graphic; used with permission.)

Source: MarketingProfs; click to enlarge

> The new yardstick for content value is whether (and how) it provides a buyer with leverage to move his/her buying process forward — i.e., it must be measured more from the buyer’s needs than from the vendor’s needs: “Think of today’s marketing mantra as, ‘Tell, don’t sell,’” comment the folks at Media Logic in a blog post last September. “The key to successful lead generation in this market is engagement. If we can get our best prospects to converse with us, chances are we’ll be able to get them to identify themselves and move them to close.” This means meaningful content that makes the point of engaging buyers with the questions and issues the buyer has on his/her mind. (And — BTW — when you know the content a buyer is consuming you also have insight into where (s)he is in the buying process, which I’ll touch on below, and this helps you even better segment and target your content.)

This correlates to the data noted previously from the CPC. Their research shows the number one reason a company would engage in producing its own content is to ‘educate [potential] customers’ — cited by 54% of marketers as their primary purpose, and nearly twice the proportion of any other response.

Producing ‘good content’ thus means covering the full range of the buying process — not only syncing with buyers once they’ve raised their hands and indicated their interest, but also further upstream as they are framing up how they might approach their purchase. Chris Koch (Twitter: @ckochster) of ITSMA explained this in a post on his blog:

Marketers are engaging with buyers too late in the game. Long before they begin thinking about buying anything, customers are trying to sense the next issue or problem that they will face in their businesses. They are conducting research, looking for thought leadership, talking to people, and looking for examples that will help them clarify their next move. Marketers need to get involved at this stage–long before a buyer approaches them with an RFP.

These people are not leads. They are researchers looking for content. This requires that marketers become educators and facilitators, actively helping customers articulate a need they may not have known they had. Not until the buyer has identified a need and wishes to make a purchase can marketing move into lead generation mode.

Of course, many marketers do some form of demand generation today. But to take advantage of the epiphany phase, marketers take those efforts to a higher level.

Producing ‘good content’ also means covering the full range of buyers’ interests — i.e., every question they might have before engaging with a sales person. C. Edward Brice offered a thought-provoking insight into this reality in his Savvy B2B Marketing blog interview:

Competitive comparisons are some of the most heavily searched terms. Most companies didn’t grow up in the Web 2.0 world and because of that, competitive comparisons make them nervous. But buyers are searching for that content in their buying process. Either someone else gives it to them or you can. There’s a way to compare yourself to the competition in a professional manner, without disparaging those other options.

> Modern digital marketing and communication platforms enable us to connect the dots — so we can both target content delivered and observe buyer’s consumption of content in a one-to-one fashion: This is the last piece in the equation and the ‘qualitative’ dynamic among my other data-centric dynamics. It also is the new key to connecting content marketing to both efficient sales conversions and increased customer lifetime value. The other factors speak to changes in the world external to B2B marketers, but as I noted earlier, marketers are increasingly leveraging the same Groundswell technologies to connect the dots and succeed in the new era of Buyer 2.0.

To be clear, there is a critical symbiosis between marketing automation and content marketing. One cannot live without the other. “Marketers agree that ‘content is paramount’ to feeding the demand management process, for initial prospect acquisition and for nurturing buyers through the purchase process,” comments Laura Ramos of Forrester in the Silverpop-sponsored research paper, “How Managing Leads Pays Off In A Stronger, More Qualified Pipeline.” I also detailed this reality in a recent post on the Silverpop Demand Generation blog that examined, “Content: The Dirty Underbelly of B2B Marketing Automation.”

On the flip side, marketing automation platforms also allow us to keep track of content viewed and downloaded and map that back to a specific prospect and their ultimate purchase decision. Observing aggregated actions help us to identify the critical paths pursued by specific buyer personas — i.e., the common paths of engagement with our promotional resources — and this helps us to better tune the information we develop and the channels we leverage for delivering content marketing. “There is no substitute for studying buyer behavior in good B2B marketing,” also notes Ramos in her paper.

The results of behavioral data in response to content consumption are significant. They help us better score and route leads by understanding where a buyer is in the buying cycle: “By tracking a customer’s engagement with content, we actually have a very good idea of their position in the sales cycle,” comments Blake Hinkley in a post on the Marketing Lab blog. Hinckley refers to this as ‘passive profiling,’ and notes it is a better picture of a buyer than the information offered on registration forms.

The nuances of mapping content against the buying cycle — and using it to assess the maturity of a prospect in his/her buying cycle — also helps us rationalize choices about how we track and assess the use of content. For instance, when should you require registration to access your content? Michele Linn (Twitter: @michelelinn) tackled this in a post on the Savvy B2B Marketing blog, titled “Lose Control”: “My third ‘ah ha’ moment came this week when I read a fabulous post from Chris Koch that made the point that we should consider someone’s place in the buying cycle when deciding if we should require registration and determining how much information we need.”

How can B2B marketers be successful with content marketing?

I hope that my analysis of the dynamics that are shaping the direction of content marketing helps you get your head around this (r)evolution. At any rate, understanding these factors is helpful in understanding the advice that many out there are offering on smart content marketing strategies. There is so much more to cover, but I think the key is to be grounded in what is really going on — which is critical to making smart choices about your own strategies and tactics.

For next steps, I’d first recommend following some of the content marketing experts out there — i.e., the good ones. In addition to the thought leaders and research I’ve cited above, I also follow Ardath Albee (Twitter: @ardath421); Valeria Maltoni (Twitter: @conversationage); and Stephanie Tilton (Twitter: @stephanietilton). (And for more on ‘B2B marketing 2.0 luminaries to follow in 2010, check out this Propelling Brands post.) These are all smart people with great insights.

Second, I’ll follow up this post with another one (either here, on Demand Generation or on the MarketingProfs Daily Fix — or maybe all three — to be linked here). My follow-up post will provide some thoughts about how to get in the ‘content marketing mindset.’ So stay tuned …

What do you think?

Did I hit all of the major factors shaping the direction of content marketing? Please add your thoughts on what is driving this (r)evolution.

[Via http://propellingbrands.wordpress.com]

Berry Blue Haiku Call for Submissions

2010-01-27T02:46:00.000+02:00

Berry Blue Haiku is a quarterly digital magazine focusing on haiku for kids of all ages. Each issue, will include contests, articles, lessons, as well as puzzles with haiku/senryu related-fun. The first issue will be published in June 2010.

They are open to all types of haiku: traditional with a seasonal word (kigo), modern, human haiku (often called senryu), or fun haiku.

They would also like to see articles on writing haiku/senryu; on their history; or on haiku masters such as Basho, Chiyo-ni, Issa, Shiki, and Buson, etc.

Nonfiction word length:

Up to 5 years: 50 – 150 words

6-11 year olds: 150 – 500 words

12 and up: 500 – 1,000 words

Payment: Three favorite haiku will each receive $10.00, payable by PayPal ONLY.

Articles/lessons/crafts up to 500 words: $5.00

Articles/lessons/crafts over 500 words: $10.00

Rights: Non-Exclusive Worldwide Electronic Rights for one year from publication date.

Berry Blue Haiku Author Guidelines

Berry Blue Haiku Illustrator Guidelines

Click here to add Advice from a Caterpillar to your RSS reader.

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Is Your Marketing Hurting Your Business

2010-01-25T08:43:00.000+02:00

Are you struggling to find a consistent marketing plan that feeds your spirit and authentically expresses who you are? I know the feeling; marketing is often the hardest part of our businesses but yet the most critical.

I’m writing to let you know about a FREE call I am hosting on Tuesday, February 9th on Powerful, Authentic, & Easy Strategies to Put More Soul Into Your Marketing, So You Can Serve More, Profit More, and Be More!”

In this free call I’ll share with you some of the major shifts in turning points that dramatically changed my marketing and increased my results. With only a few simple changes in both mindset and perspective I quickly began to grow my business and it happened rapidly.

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Join me on Tuesday, February 9th at 4pm EST, 2pm MST, 1pm PST for a free call that will change the way you market your business.

[Via http://andreacostantine.wordpress.com]

BMW Vs. Audi Billboard Wars

2010-01-25T02:40:00.000+02:00

Comparative advertising can be a double edged sword, as Audi surely must have found out after putting up its outdoor work in Santa Monica last year. I was reminded of this ad work during a recent sweetgreen brainstorming session. Here is the press release about it:

Juggernaut Advertising, an independent advertising agency headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, has initiated a tactical outdoor marketing campaign on behalf of BMW of Santa Monica. The campaign is in response to Audi’s current billboards challenging BMW with the headline “Your move, BMW.”Juggernaut Advertising’s creative work features the BMW M3 with the headline “Checkmate.” and is positioned prominently within the same sightline to westbound traffic as the Audi ad. Juggernaut approached BMW of Santa Monica after identifying a unique and immediate geographical opportunity along the highly trafficked Santa Monica Blvd. corridor between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

“When we heard the idea, we loved it and couldn’t resist going forward,” says Del Montell, Jr. of Santa Monica BMW.

My favorite aspect of the work is that it was opportunistic and NOT done by BMW’s agency of record. It should also serve as a reminder of the power of smaller nimble ad agencies who are simply closer locally to the client and the customers. Check out a photo below.

[Via http://philmoldavski.wordpress.com]

Poetry

2010-01-22T08:33:00.000+02:00

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[Via http://yjejfafi.wordpress.com]

Differentiating With Customer Service

2010-01-22T02:21:00.000+02:00

As more products essentially become commodities, service has become a viable means for increasing revenue and profit margins for companies in these industries. Use a service strategy to your advantage.

Big companies often struggle to develop great relationships with their customers. Too many levels of authority, employees unauthorized to make decisions, arbitrary policies preventing customer-facing employees from advocating for the customer, and limited access to direct customer feedback often handcuff the big guys from delivering great service and developing good relationships with their customers.

This spells opportunity for agile companies!

One of the reasons I enjoy working with small companies is knowing exactly who stands behind the company and its policies. This tends to build a more responsive organization and it’s good marketing. If your a small business, use your size to your advantage. Develop relationships with your customers and provide the best service possible. Develop a culture for customer service through training and service programs that empower your employees.

Great customer service can differentiate your business from others and improve your bottom line. Embrace a culture of customer service and develop relationships with clients that make them want to be your customer for life.

[Via http://sharris.wordpress.com]

Generation Lead

2010-01-20T08:34:00.000+02:00

A solid lead generation strategy is a must have for any business.

If you want to generate more leads from your existing webpage there are millions of potential levers you can pull to increase lead flow. While a lead is a lead, it is always important to generate a quality lead.

Time and time again marketers are seeing huge gains by re-working their webpages to ensure their value proposition is consise. Want better leads? Make your landing pages more concise. Visitors don’t have time to figure out what you are offering.

Feel free to browse our other tips on lead generation in a segment we call “Lead Generation 101″.

[Via http://techmarketers.wordpress.com]

7 principles for direct marketing success

2010-01-20T02:31:00.000+02:00

7 principles for direct marketing success:

Establish your objective before you start
1. Keep it simple
2. Don’t make customer choose
3. Generally one theme per promotion is best
Target the right audience and market segments
1. This will help you integrate your marketing with the sales department.
Write copy to show what your product will do for the prospect
1. Focus on the customer. They buy benefits, not features. Talk about how they will feel when they buy your product
Make it easy for your prospect to respond
1. Give as many methods to respond that you can; email, fax, web registration, phone, mail with return postage paid envelope
Think campaign, not 1-shot
1. Frequency is important in mail. Research shows that if no connection has been made after a mailing, send a follow up piece 2-4 weeks after the initial piece. This will raise the response rate by 50%.
Research and test every year
1. If you have done the research, you have not done testing and vise versa. You have to do both to understand what your success is.
Develop measurement system to determine return on investment
1. Do not measure just on CPM (cost per 1000), CPC (cost per click), or CPI (cost per inquiry) instead use conversion to sales, cost per order, contribution to overhead/profit and lifetime value

[Via http://itsthefuturemarketing.wordpress.com]

นักเรียน Airfares Discount - วิธีการเลือกนักศึกษา Best Discount Airfares

2010-01-18T08:40:00.000+02:00

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[Via http://dailyhotdeals.wordpress.com]

Continue Your Education With Your IPOD

2010-01-18T02:44:00.000+02:00

Unless you are in high school, take the music off your iPod or iPhone and download the hours of educational podcasts on the iStore. You want to know about Social Media Marketing, it’s there. Do you want to know what a Harvard Professor thinks about the changes in consumers buying habits, it’s there and it doesn’t cost a dime! Log in to the iStore and go to the business category. Zig Ziglar even has a huge number of podcast s available that are yours to download for free.

This may not be earth shattering news to most of you, because you knew this information was available. The question isn’t whether you knew about it, the question is if you are using it! Knowledge is the difference between those that live the life they want and those that have to accept the life they have.

[Via http://jeffsmithbooks.wordpress.com]

Incentives to Become an Affiliate Marketing Associate

2010-01-15T08:47:00.000+02:00

If you find that you are unhappy with your current employment or you simply need to find a way to make more cash, you don’t have to look any further than the Internet. Thankfully, this advanced technology has made it much easier for those individuals who want more. Working from your computer is now easy and you will find it can be quite profitable. The following are just a few incentives you will receive when you become an affiliate marketing associate:

Work At Your Own Home

Perhaps the best thing about becoming an affiliate marketing associate is that you get to do the work from your own home. If still working a fulltime job outside the home, this means less time away from your family and you won’t feel as if you are depriving yourself from quality time. While it can often be difficult to work at home fulltime, you will find that it is much more pleasant to work for yourself than for someone who may not appreciate you as much as they should.

Work At Your Own Pace

Another incentive to work from home as an affiliate is that you get to work at your own pace. Whether you want to work just a few hours a week or you want to make it a fulltime career, you have the option to do so. No one is going to be standing over your shoulder watching what you do and making sure you are putting in the hours. You are the boss and the pace you choose to set is your decision alone.

You Get To Choose What You Sell

Another great aspect of becoming an affiliate marketing associate is that you get to choose what you sell. Just because you become an affiliate in a business does not mean you have to market all of their products. You get to pick what you want to advertise and, as long as you follow their particular guidelines in advertising, you will not have any issues with that business.

The reasons to become an affiliate are many. You will find there are a variety of opportunities for you to make the extra money you need or even make it a fulltime career for yourself. Not only will you find the work to be fulfilling, you’ll find it can be quite profitable, as well.

Visit http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info and check out the site. I want you to prove to yourself that you are not just a talker and are genuinely driven to earn money online. You’ll find a special surprise for you at http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info which will turbocharge your online earnings.

Claim your Free E-book here and earn money by giving it away!

[Via http://bethanlewis.wordpress.com]

Why Wait?

2010-01-15T02:19:00.000+02:00

I realize I think differently from others. This fact became clearer to me this week when discussing writing-related topics with another writer. The conversation centered around my OWP (other writing persona). And the conversation turned to the topics of publicity, promotion and marketing.

The way I see it. There are many ways to market yourself as a writer. And Bria Quinlan (an awesome person and someone I consider a friend) had a post about the Writing Career Mindset last week. That post plus the conversation with Author X I realized that my writer mindset, demeanor, attitude was different than others. And realistically, I knew that but this was a “ah ha moment” so to speak.

Anyway, during the conversation with Author X the topics of “waiting” and “success” came up. Specifically, waiting until they were famous/successful to do something. Whether it be building and maintaining a blog or website, joining twitter, donating a free story, putting up a serial read on their website, submitting a story to a charity anthology where all royalties go to a specific charity.

And it got me to thinking, which my dad has told me is a dangerous thing. Why wait?

Why wait for some mystical point where “success” is bestowed upon you? Who defines if you are a successful? How will I know when I am a success? Will I know it if I see it, get to that point?

Isn’t it about reputation, building a reader base, building a name for yourself as an author, getting your name out there?

There are plenty of reason to wait. And I know how real life can get in the way, stop you, make you pause. I’ve been dealing with real life for a while now. And sometimes real life sucks. But one thing what I’ve had to deal with, am going through right now in my personal life, has taught me is to why wait.

If I waited for some magical “ok you can do it now” then I wouldn’t do anything. My thinking is do it now because if I waited I would still be stuck in the same place I was. I don’t like being stuck. I prefer to move forward. It is me who defines successful for myself not someone else, not something else. And I will admit for years the thing that was holding me back the most was me.

In many ways I am more successful as a writer than I was last year. I have more focus, a better attitude and a better mindset. I have defined, realistic and smart goals. I know where I want to go with my writing, what I want to accomplish and how. I have a career business plan.

And I do make a small bit of money with OWP. I have sold short stories, novellas and poetry. I have even self published a book of poetry. To some just the act of selling is a success. For others it’s submitting (a story). And for others still it’s a numbers game either monetary or quantity books sold to readers.

Success if a personal thing. Each person has to define it for themselves. Would I meet other’s standards? Probably not. Do I care? No. And that is another kind of success right there. Not letting others perception of me, hinder me.

But it goes back to - why wait? What are you waiting for? What is your definition of success?

[Via http://danieford.com]

How to Not Fail at Your Affiliate Home Business

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000+02:00

While affiliate marketing can be one of the easiest businesses to get started, as well as one with low start up costs, it is often more difficult to make a success with it. The reasons are many. However, with a little time and patience, you can learn how to not fail at your affiliate home business.

First of all, an affiliate home business takes time to become successful. One of the reasons that you can fail with your business is to give up on it too soon. We all wish we could become a success overnight, but it is rare for that to happen. Instead, sit down and set some goals for your business and keep them realistic.

Another great downfall is to consider this as a hobby. You should realize that this is an actual business and it must be treated as such. If not, you are not going to put the required time in it to make it work for you. Instead, you’ll end up earning pocket change when you could be earning a fulltime income.

Those who are new to the business must also take the time to continue their learning. While the concept of this business is a relatively easy one to understand, there is much more to learn. Take some online classes on some of the various marketing techniques and learn how to implement them in your business. Those who don’t spend time learning more about the business will find themselves unable to reach the goals they have set for themselves.

As long as you continue to learn, treat your affiliate home business as a business, and give it the time it needs to succeed, your business has a great chance of succeeding. Make sure you choose your products wisely and understand that you need to spend enough time on your marketing and you may actually be astonished at the results you get.

Visit http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info and check out the site. Iwant you to prove to yourself that you are not just a talker and are genuinely driven to earn money online. You’ll find a special surprise for you at http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info which will turbocharge your online earnings.

Get you Free E-book here and earn money by giving it away!

[Via http://bethanlewis.wordpress.com]

Marketing Defined - Changing How You Advertise Your Business

2010-01-13T02:48:00.000+02:00

Marketing a product or service can be confusing. I know. I’m a marketing consultant.

I am constantly amazed how many prospective customers I talk to are confused about how they should market their business. While marketing may seem easy, it’s actually complicated.

The confusion starts with the definition of marketing. Various professionals in the industry will insist marketing is that part of your business plan that involves getting your product to the market on a continuous basis. Supply meeting the demand. Others argue it’s selling your product or service. Some say it’s advertising your business.

See where the uncertainty comes in?

Marketing is your brand and all the nuances of developing and building that perception, maintaining it, and living up to the standards it implies. Advertising is part of marketing. Public, shareholder, and media relations are part of marketing. Customer service is part of marketing. You, your employees, and your customers are instrumental in marketing your business. That’s why the most effective method of marketing your business is by word of mouth.

There is confusion spawned by the “marketing professionals” who call on business owners and insist that advertising on the radio station they represent is essential to growing their client base. Their station is “Number one in the market.” The TV station they represent has the top-rated evening news program in the market. Your customers will be unable to find you if you place less than a full-page ad in the telephone directory they represent. These sales representatives are honest. Their radio station may be #1 in the market for the teenage market listening to hard rock. Their TV station may be the only station broadcasting their evening news at 10, 9 central. Their phone directory may require a full-page ad because the only one they print is the small, portable version for your car.

Marketing is everything about your business, from you and your passion for what you’re doing to how your customers feel when they have your product in their hand or after they’ve received the benefits of the service you provided them. Plus the full spectrum of what’s between those ends.

You can change how you reach your customers and get your message through to them. I’d like to show you how you can market your business, effectively, employing word of mouth strategies in advertising and every other aspect of marketing your products and services. I’m happy to share my years of experience demonstrating that you can change the way you advertise your business … and get a return on your investment.

[Via http://tra8mark.wordpress.com]

How to Get Started in Home Computer Jobs

2010-01-11T08:50:00.000+02:00

When traditional employment is not right for you, you may find yourself frustrated by the options. What you may not realize, however, is that there are many options for you right at home. The Internet has made it possible for many individuals to seek out opportunities in working at home and you will find that many of these jobs are quite simple to get started. The following are just a few ways that you can get started in home computer jobs:

Data Entry Services

With advanced typing skills, you can provide your data entry services to a wide variety of business. In fact, many individuals often have home computer jobs in this area and make fulltime pay working part time hours. All you need to do to get started is start applying for some of the various data entry jobs you can find online in some of the job boards. However, beware of the businesses who want you to pay a fee to get started. Many of these are scams who are simply trying to take your money.

Affiliate Marketing

Another great way to get started in home computer jobs is with affiliate marketing. While you will spend the largest portion of your time advertising different products, you will find that it doesn’t cost anything to get started and you will earn a commission on anything that sells from your advertisement on the Internet. While you do not need your own website, you will find that it would be beneficial to your sales.

Freelancing

Whether you are a writer or a photographer, you will find there are many different freelancing opportunities online. With some of these websites, you just have to be accepted as a member, after showing them the work you can produce. Once you are accepted, you just need to upload the work you have available to sell. Keep in mind, it’s always a great idea to do some marketing on your work so that others will know where to find your services.

Visit http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info and check out the site. Iwant you to prove to yourself that you are not just a talker and are genuinely driven to earn money online. You’ll find a special surprise for you at http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info which will turbocharge your online earnings.

Get you Free E-book here and earn money by giving it away!

[Via http://bethanlewis.wordpress.com]

Playoffs... over

2010-01-11T02:09:00.000+02:00

It has recently become very evident that I will have little free time this quarter. Between working on my core classes and my recently invigorated summer internship search, this might be my busiest quarter of the year. I guess for the benefit of my MBA degree, the Bengals lost in the playoffs yesterday to the NY Jets. There is no doubt that with my team out of the playoffs, I will now have significantly more time available each week. Gone are the days of spending endless hours on espn.com to get the most up-to-date information on my team, gone are the Sundays of spending four hours watching the game and then several additional hours either too happy or depressed to do any work.

I was actually at the Bengals game this Sunday with my dad and brothers. The 1 degree wind chill was not nearly as bad as losing. I’m still upset about the loss, but eventually I will adapt to life without football. Hopefully I do this sooner rather than later, especially since I have an important phone interview with a recruiter from Cardinal Health on Tuesday. I will be speaking with her about their summer marketing internship and hopefully I can make a positive impression.

-Joseph

republished from https://fisher.osu.edu/blogs/gradlife/author/fahrendorf_3/

[Via http://josephfahrendorf.wordpress.com]

Getting Your Online Business Started is Easy, But It Will Take Time

2010-01-08T08:46:00.000+02:00

Are you wondering what it takes to get your own online business up and running? While there are a lot of Internet businesses, if everyone knew how easy it was, there could be a lot more. The fact is, starting your own business on the Internet is one of the easiest businesses to get started. This, of course, doesn’t mean that it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of varying skills, but it is often easier to get a business started up on the Internet than it is to get a traditional one started.

If you are going to start an online business to sell products, there are many things you can do to get your business off to a smooth start. First, you need to decide whether or not you are going to create your website or hire someone to do it for you. If you are unsure of html and web design, a professional will be able to set up a site for you that will suit all of your needs. Another thing to consider with your website is using a merchant account in order for you to collect payments on orders, as well as some type of software to help with your inventory.

Of course, you must determine where you are going to get the products to sell, as well. If you do not own a product of your own, you will find many places to secure products. Those who have the money to invest in a product may want to work with product wholesalers. This will allow you to purchase the product at wholesale and choose the price you are going to sell them. However, if you don’t have the money to invest, you may want to choose to go through a drop shipping company or become an affiliate associate to another company. Each will allow you to sell their products and you will earn a commission.

The most difficult aspect of starting your own online business is giving it the time to become successful. Success is not going to happen for you as quick as you might think. Every business takes time to start earning money. If you are willing to put the time into it, you will be sure to find that running your own business on the Internet is not only fulfilling, but profitable, as well.

Visit http://www.onlinebusinessauthority.info for one of the best affiliate programs available.

Get you Free E-book here and earn money by giving it away!

[Via http://bethanlewis.wordpress.com]

Anyone can calculate what a cost is, but no one knows what a cost ought to be

2010-01-08T02:52:00.000+02:00

This is a direct quote from Henry Ford’s, My Life and Work (now out of copyright). This shows his remarkable thought process on marketing and price based costing. You do not determine what your costs are and then determine the price (like tacking on a margin). You find what the market will buy for different price points and produce the units at costs that are profitable.

Our policy is to reduce the price, extend the operations, and improve the article. You will notice that the reduction of price comes first. We have never considered any costs as fixed. Therefore we first reduce the price to a point where we believe more sales will result. Then we go ahead and try to make the price. We do not bother about the costs. The new price forces the costs down. The more usual way is to take the costs and then determine the price, and although that method may be scientific in the narrow sense, it is not scientific in the broad sense, because what earthly use is it to know the cost if it tells you you cannot manufacture at a price at which the article can be sold? But more to the point is the fact that, although one may calculate what a cost is, and of course all of our costs are carefully calculated, no one knows what a cost ought to be. One of the ways of discovering what a cost ought to be is to name a price so low as to force everybody in the place to the highest point of efficiency. The low price makes everybody dig for profits. We make more discoveries concerning manufacturing and selling under this forced method than by any method of leisurely investigation.

[Via http://iterativepath.wordpress.com]

Best Free Website Promotion and Getting Targeted Traffic

2010-01-06T08:34:00.000+02:00

dating script.

When doing interrnet business secret to attainment has always been how to generate traffic. Not only directing traffic, but also making sure that the traffic is targeted. I should prefer to witnessed people spend a ration of money and mores in website rise without success and hence the reason for this article. The trivial you anger it right in inteernet marketing then makking means online will be a frequent a leave in the park.

Social networking websites like Ning, Yuwie, Tagged and the have turned people into overnight millionaires. We human beinngs are social creatures each looking to interact with other people. Online business owners have taaken advantage this aspect to make available their house links these public networking sites.

One feature of marketing on these popular networking sites is be conscientious not to annoy other users. The prudent fear to do is to post your vocation links after a certain period of time sooner than doing it very single minnute. By posting business link every minute people will start asssuming that your vinculum is a spam. When sending messages your connections, it is intelligent to first introduce yourself in front of talking about task programs.

Creating a accord with your connections on networking websites increases the chances of them reading your messages. To get less ill responses join groups where you have common interests and share your affair ideas. The same attitude should also apply here, introduce yourself to the dispose first, charter out them remember you are and then tell them what you do. In withal, online business groups guarantee you connection to a specific people.

There are different internet marketing strategiies but one that currently stands out online networking.

[Via http://allaboutsocialnetworking.wordpress.com]

Why You Should Choose Attraction Marketing?

2010-01-06T02:50:00.000+02:00

To begin with, attraction marketing is a way of selling, however one that offers more personalized approach in such way as to build trust from the possible buyer, investor, or business owner. While old-style marketing technique, sales agents are constant and ever selling to the possible buyer, attraction marketing enable the buyer to come into the sale on their own. This is the most successful method in my opinion.

How attraction marketing works? This is simply because it overcomes the forced sale and enables the prospect to want to buy. For an instance, your favorite store at the mall, in most case they have the size and style you are looking for. They have enough stocks, clean, well light and comfortable to be in. There are also service personnel available to help but they are not helping you t overcome your objections to styles or sizes. You can select what works for you. How this thing works? Even if you do not buy from the store today, chances are good experience was a positive one. Because of this, you will go back in their store next time.

The difference of this from old-style selling is that attraction marketing concentrates on creating a customer who will come back. There are definitely lots of people who do like buying and are willing to do so, but they don’t want to feel pressured into a sale.

So, how to fit in? Yes this is a god plan, but how do you get attraction marketing to work for you? You can find lots of answer to this question online as well as learning what you have to offer them.

Article writing: This will help people searching for your product or service to find it easily online.

Video: You can use this for demonstration or for teaching something.

Creating blog and network: This is to build loyal base readers who trust you and are willing to buy from you since they trusted you.

Squidoo: use this site and alike to help you get links from people who are already interested in the subject.

Social networking tools: This will help people to find you and get to know you.

Of course, you also need to be interesting, distinctive, and even unpredictable. You should stand out in a crowd so that prospects can find you and will learn to trust in what you say.

So, if you’re the type of person who’s not into selling, this type of marketing method is the one you should try. –Aymen of Arbitrage Conspiracy

[Via http://marketattraction.wordpress.com]

College Holiday Card Dos & Dont's

2010-01-04T08:25:00.000+02:00

Now that most of the holiday decorations have been put away, and tomorrow, many of you will be going back to work after a short winter break, I thought it might be interesting to look at two very similar, yet very different holidays cards I received this December.

You see, although I am in love with Emerson College I did not start my college career there (I ended up at Emerson almost by accident, different story for a different day.) My first few semesters after high school were spent at the small rural school in New Hampshire. Although I left this school, I somehow never left their mailing list and still receive mail from them quite often.

The mailings I get from my old school, and Emerson typically do not coincide… however this december I got a holiday card from both. Boy, are they drastically different. Lets critique each.

Emerson College’s Holiday Card

The front of the card could use some work, but overall its good. I personally would have chosen a different photo. In my opinion the photo on Emerson’s card is busy and highlights skating in the Boston Common… which Emerson has nothing to do with. I don’t even think many Emerson students go skating on the Common, I like skating, I live in Beacon Hill & go to Emerson and

I have never even gone skating on the Common!

The inside of the card is nice with a message from Emerson’s President Jackie Liebergott.

Overall, I’d say this card is quite nice. It is to the point and features a nice seriffed font that conjures up a holiday feel.

New England College’s Card

Although you can not see it in this photo, the image on the front of the card from New England College is distorted. It looks as if they took a 75dpi imagine and blew it up far too large.

There is no branding on the front of the card at all, the only hint that it is from New England College is the fact that this is one of their buildings hiding behind a snow-covered tree.

The inside of the card is really where New England College fails with their holiday card. The text, as you can see here, is just a plea for money. Not ONLY is it a plea for money but they make the assumption that NEC is in my thoughts this holiday season. Sorry, but during the holidays I am thinking about my family and friends, not about the school that I transfered away from.

They continue to sign the card in inconsistent signatures, and include a P.S. about how my gift will be tax deductible.

This card might as well be that one friend who only calls you when they need a favor that they will never return.

The Bottom Line Is…

Know your audience and known what is appropriate. Don’t just send out mailings asking everyone for donations. I think its safe to say that hardly anyone under the age of 25, especially students, are going to donate to a private college.

Remember your timing! Students and parents are about to shell out another huge sum of money for the spring semester! Do you really think they want to make a “donation” right now?

If you are going to beg for money, do not go begging students and parents around the holidays. Its poor timing!

Emerson’s card is a great example of what a holiday card should be. Its pretty much on-brand, and to the point. You want to wish families, students and friends of the college a happy holiday season.

Before sending out something like this, thing who you are sending it to and what the message will mean to them.

[Via http://mkarolian.wordpress.com]

What they don’t tell you

2010-01-04T02:48:00.000+02:00

It’s easy to get caught up in the brilliant stories of startups going viral to gain awareness, and the simplicity and usability of certain websites turning into large revenue streams. How cool the actual product is, the fact that the founders just built it and the rest just happened. This is the veritable entrepreneurial myth.

Here’s a few things to think about:

How many sales and business development people do you think Google has? Answer = around 5000. And we all thought their non human automated adwords system did it all.

What investment has Twitter made in Public Relations? You think Oprah and Obama just happened upon it? No they were pitched to heavily with a large investment in leading PR firms.

How many Youtube videos were posted by company created accounts? Answer = Hundreds of thousands.

Who seeds the quirky auction items on ebay? Answer = ebay started the game very early on and let the media know.

Everything is not as it seems. Push marketing is alive wand well, just the tactics have changed. It feels very organic and community driven, but the often the community is created by it’s founders and leaders. Nothing wrong with that, it is the job of entrepreneurs to invent said communities. But it makes for better business articles to talk of such things occurring naturally, so the real story is rarely told.

The question for startups is – what tactics can we employ to garner the same momentum?

[Via http://startupblog.wordpress.com]

An open letter to HBR team

2010-01-01T14:19:00.000+02:00

To,

India Today Group and the HBR team

Extremely sad and shocked at the increase of the price of HBR from Rs.500 to Rs.750! Not sure why this suddenly increase in price. Is it cos of the new design or because it is a double issue or it is New Year?

What is the point in making the new design more accessible to reading when you are making the magazine less accessible for people to buy?

As long as the price was at Rs.500 I used to eagerly wait for the magazine to come out. Cos Rs.500 for me was an opportunity cost in financial planning. Rs.500 was a sacrifice I made for a movie outing with my finance. I used to think – even if I missed a movie with her, that’s fine! I get to read HBR management stuff. She understood.

Now, I can’t give her that reason. I can’t tell her that I sacrificed my time with her for a book which cost Rs.750.

What about the rest of us? What about new managers climbing the corporate ladder who may not have big salary but have big dreams and want to learn management ideas and thoughts from icons of HBR but cant because of the increase in price. Others may get access to HBR cos their HR would be good enough to buy it for them in office. Student’s studying MBA may get access to it from the coll library.

So what happens to the rest of us? Are we to be denied the pleasure of reading HBR?

The Entrepreneur (India edition) is Rs.100. that makes sense. That makes big sense to buy. And the content is good. Not as classy as HBR but good nonetheless.

So here is my big question: Why on earth did you guys raise the price back to Rs. 750?

If you are charging HBR print edition so much, why not give free online access to your articles and archives?

You know what is even more sad? Me not buying HBR won’t make any difference to you. It won’t cause a dent in your brand, sales or the policy you follow.

But hopefully there ought to be more ppl like me out there who will read this blog, nod their head and voice out their concerns as well… That may probably be a wake up call for you guys to rethink your pricing strategy in India.

[Via http://spartanvikas.wordpress.com]

Social Media 2010

2010-01-01T08:41:00.000+02:00

As we wind down 2009, I have had a few moments to think about where we are going with this whole enterprise social media, online communities, social marketing, etc. So, here are some “true-isms” for 2010:

1. Marketing via Social Media is becoming mainstream. Most of it is ad hoc and mediocre, but there are some notable exceptions and that list is growing. Finding less people saying “why” and more people saying “how”.

2. Innovators are starting to change the rules. When you see a market disruption, the early indicators are the ability to gain market share at low cost by disrupting the status quo. Doesn’t mean that twitter is your end all strategy, but you are finding companies that are leveraging multiple web 2.0, social, community applications to streamline the way they do business; either gaining new customers or efficiencies in servicing the ones that they have.

3. Customer Experience is becoming transparent – if your service sux or is barely mediocre, you need to be concerned. Social media is optimized better that static websites. This means the ANGRY blogger who writes a scathing review of their poor customer experience will get ranked higher than all of the money you just spent on broadcasting to the market.

4. Social Marketing is a “downhill” spend versus some alternative marketing channels that are “uphill” – Means that you get the snowball effect from a $1 spent in social marketing because you get the target audience, influencers, and search benefits. Alternatively, if you are having to spend dollars at trade shows, etc. you have to spend to counter the social marketing of your competitors, it is to a limited audience, and it is gone once you spend it.

5. Social Marketing doesn’t work if you apply a traditional marketing approach to the social networks. You cannot just message and broadcast your advertising or PR messaging on social networks and expect people to engage. The analogy is word-of-mouth marketing in the offline world. Do you hire a street team and then have them drive up and down the block with speakers blanketing the neighborhood with a speech? You laugh at the analogy, but that is exactly what many “interactive” major brands are doing online.

6. Social Media, Marketing, etc will extend from the public networks into the enterprise. We are having conversations with partners and CIOs around business intelligence, lead generation and tracking, customer experience management, enterprise application integration into internal communities, information architecture, employee engagement, organizational productivity gains, integration of external and internal communities, contact center integration, supply chain enabled applications, business process integration, corporate governance and compliance, MBOs, cross-functional alignment, ROI, etc.

7. Social Media is following the same path into the organization that the original “website” did… in the process became web applications, processes, ecommerce, etc. The original web solved a problem for people in aggregating and distributing information. Social Media solves the opposite problem in that it helps people with context and filtering.

8. The “Social Enterprise” is growing up. The last three years have seen pockets of cottage industry level “consultants”… but, everyone claimed to be a social media consultant. Saw the same thing in mid-90’s as everyone was a web consultant, but the difference by the end of the decade was that the real consultants figured out how to map back to business strategy and tie the web to business objectives, ROI, and core business issues. The real consultants figured out that they needed standardized, repeatable methodologies that were scalable across the enterprise (and enterprises) and transferable to their clients. The applications they developed focused on “big” problems and the size required sophistication and strategic understanding. 2010 will be the breakout year for many consulting organizations as they move from tactical point applications to enterprise solutions.

9. Organizations that have embraced the new collaborative economy and all of the challenges and opportunities in 2010 will face hurdles in converting to the social enterprise, but the smart ones will understand that the risks are too high. Smaller companies, non market leaders are looking for an edge or opening to exploit and grab market share or enter new markets. In a down economy, you have to leverage what you have better. The larger companies that cannot adjust can find that market share is a trailing indicator of performance (how we did) versus social media which is a leading indicator (what people think).

10. From 1989 to 1999, 62 of the top 100 companies on the Fortune 100 list changed. 62 came off and 62 new ones entered the list. If you think about it, 62 of the top, most respected market leaders got caught from behind and eclipsed in one decade with the selective use of a new technology and widespread business process reengineering. 62 of those CEOs and other executives probably said, “web?”, not going to affect our business. I wonder how many of them retired early…. I wonder how many of the top companies and executives will still be on the list in 2020…

[Via http://mysocialmediastrategy.wordpress.com]

Social Media Optimization & US President Election

2009-12-30T08:42:00.000+02:00

Mr. Barack Obama was not only the first Black American to become the president of United States, but also the first social media president. Anyone who has noticed the way how he used the web to his advantage would agree with this statement. Social media is so powerful??, can it take a person to winning podium?? Let us see…

Mr. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the favorite candidates for the presidential post. Before contesting the election, Barack Obama led an ordinary life as a citizen of the U.S, while Hillary Clinton had been the First Lady of America. She was a known face and had made her impression on a number of American citizens through public appearances as the First Lady. These aspects of her personality and her familiarity as a public figure was indeed a huge advantage and Mr. Obama was faced with the challenge of drawing public attention and winning their hearts. He used the web to do this and it was indeed very well received.

Apart from having an official website and canvassing online like other candidates did, he harnessed the power of social media and used it as a platform to share, communicate and connect to people. This not only gave him a wider scope to be visible, but also offered him a medium to connect to people and converse with the common. He used blogs, Twitter, MySpace and Facebook to propagate and reach out to people. This created trust in the minds of people and gave them a chance to learn the prospective development Obama as a president could make. The communication was two way, winning people’s heart to great deal.

The Stats go like “ Since February 2007, Mr. Goodstein, who is the External Online Director for “Obama For America“, has helped attract nearly two million supporters on MySpace, about 6.5 million supporters on Facebook, and 1.7 million supporters on Twitter. This strategy of using social networking tools worked well, enabling the Obama campaign to out-maneuver Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which was enjoying the support of the institutional base of the Democratic Party.“

There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again. If you are selling products/services or just publishing content for ad revenue, social media marketing is a potent method that will make your site profitable over time.

NIk!

[Via http://infozoneinc.wordpress.com]

Why New Year Greetings are Better than Christmas Cards

2009-12-30T02:47:00.000+02:00

Savvy B2B companies stand out with differentiated communications

Did you notice a change in the assortment of “holiday” and “Christmas” greetings you received this year? No doubt you saw many more electronic greetings, as did I. How did these electronic greetings differentiate their sender? Did you see any stand-outs?

For me, there was only one e-greeting that stood out from the pack, and it wasn’t even a card sent specifically to me! It was, in fact, a card by Eloqua that had gone viral: http://holidays.eloqua.com/index.html.

Chances are your organization doesn’t have the budget for a production at the level of Eloqua’s. So how do you stand out in the sea of holiday greetings? Send a New Year communication instead!

Here are 3 reasons I believe New Year greetings are much more appropriate in the B2B setting:

Reason #1: It’s About Business Going Forward

Christmas and holiday greetings are considered year-end communications. In essence, they’re a company’s last-ditch effort to communicate with a customer before the year ends. Wouldn’t you much rather be perceived as forward looking? What better way to enforce a “thank you for your business, now let’s do more” message than to say it upon the New Year?

Reason #2: Everyone Has a New Year

In today’s global marketplace your holiday message will reach people who celebrate the “holiday season” in a myriad of ways—or even not at all. But everyone has a New Year! Around the world the calendar year begins on January 1, which makes it a universal holiday that will leave your message little room for social error.

Reason #3: Being Last Will Make You First

At the end of the year the chances that your message will reach the recipient are small. Even if your greeting is opened, it will be opened by someone who is preoccupied with all they have to do before they can dodge out the door for their year-end vacation. And by the time your customer returns from his/her vacation, your holiday greeting is long forgotten. On the other hand, business goes back to full swing the first business week of the New Year, meaning that your customer will more than likely be in the office and freshly focused. Wouldn’t you rather communicate with that person?

Bottom line: there is a virtual sea of competitors battling for your customers’ mindshare, so it’s imperative to stand out amongst the crowd. In my opinion there is no better way than to communicate a business-centric message at the opportune time; otherwise, you risk having your message fall by the wayside.

[Via http://staceyholleran.wordpress.com]

Why doesn’t my website show up in Google or other search engines?

2009-12-28T08:46:00.000+02:00

This is probably the question I get asked most from people who have put up websites and then sat back waiting for the world to find them.

“Why doesn’t my website show up in Google or other search engines?“

As much as we might like to think otherwise, the world is not looking for you specifically. If they were, they could just type your web address i.e. briancurrin.com directly into the address bar of their favourite browser and up would pop your website.

What people on the internet are looking for is solutions to their problems, and if your website offers the right solution, then it needs to appear on the first page of search results.

For example, I would like to have music people (musicians, studios, labels, shops) who live in Cape Town, and who are looking for help with online marketing, find me.

Search “online music marketing cape town” on Google and see the results.

And then search on Bing, another popular search engine.

Or Yahoo.

And try searching for “marketing south african music on the web“

If you are into Tourism, try searching “online tourism marketing cape town“.

Or Fashion, online fashion marketing cape town

So who are you talking to about your online marketing?

Contact me on brian@currin.co.za

http://briancurrin.com

High Definition Denver

2009-12-28T02:50:00.000+02:00

High Definition Video Denver

VS Video Productions a Denver based video company with over 18 years of experience offers our clients uncompressed high quality High Definition video production services at a reasonable price. We utilize the Panasonic HVX-300 P2 High Definition camera. This camera has a variety of options, being able to shoot in 1080,720 in AVC intra and DVCPRO HD codecs and can also shoot in DVCPRO standard. The camera allows us to quickly transfer your footage from P2 cards directly to the editing system, thus saving our clients many hours of digitizing footage before you can start the editing process. To find out more information call us at:

303 671-7308. Visit us at http://www.vsvideoproductions.com

[Via http://vsvp1262.wordpress.com]

This is also called Marketing

2009-12-25T08:13:00.000+02:00

I had been to Spencer’s one fine Sunday, two weeks back. Two men were blocking almost every person trying to enter into Spencer’s. And they were distributing some forms for filling it up.

When I tried to walk past them, S called out to me with forms in his hand. I looked at him questioningly.

Fill up these forms and get a free gift from Spencer’s – S told me, as that was what that sales man had told him.

I was hesitant. If Spencer’s is giving a free gift to all the customers, they’ll do it inside, where you bill the things.

But S was insistent and put a pen and a form in my hand. They only need our name and phone number was his argument – it won’t take a lot of time to fill.

I am again against giving my phone number to Tom, Dick and Harry on the road. And there was no indication on the form, that its Spencer’s who are doing this free gift promotion. No Company Name was printed on the form. Why does S take it so easily ?????

So, we filled up two forms, one in my name and one in S’s name, but I wrote S’s number on both the forms.

After a fortnight, yday, one man called up.

“Sir, you filled up a form sometime back at Spencer’s. Remember ????? Congratulations, Sir !!!! You have been shortlisted among the top 20 winners. And I am very happy to inform you, that you have got gifts, not one, not two but three. They are Kitchen set worth 5000/-, One week stay at Munnar and a One Night stay at a Beach Resort on the outskirts of Chennai. Can you come over to our Office by 5pm today and collect your gifts ?????? “

Now, I am sitting stunned listening to all these. Who on this earth will give three free gifts, to the top 20 shortlisted winners, just for filling up a form ????? What do they want from us ???????

Then, when I checked out their Office Address, I found that they are a Holiday Resort Company, trying to sell the holiday shares to people. They make a few people attend a meeting and talk and talk and mesmerize the crowd into buying holiday shares.

And when we didn’t turn up at the meeting, at the scheduled time, they kept on calling us. Even after politely refusing the gift offer and clearly telling them that we cannot attend the meeting, the calls continued.

Then my Dad told me that he had attended one such meeting and Thank God, he got some urgent call, he left half-way through. Only if you buy the holiday shares, you’ll get all those free gifts, was explained later in the meeting, I believe.

It’s such a cheap marketing initiative, is my opinion.

[Via http://umsreflections.wordpress.com]

People and Systems

2009-12-25T02:28:00.000+02:00

While startups are constantly creating and tweaking their systems and processes within their own organization, most larger organizations are entrenched with them. Whether you operate within a large company or you are selling to them, learning about the people who influence/make decisions and understanding how to address the constraints the systems and processes of their organization place on them is crucial to a successful selling process.

In simplistic terms, there are two buckets you need to become more familiar with, people and systems.

People address: hierarchy, influence, decision making, early adopters, and subject matter experts.

Systems address: hardware, software, procedures, and necessary steps to get sign-off for sales.

Together, these buckets help you identify the who and how to move your agenda forward. Perhaps even more importantly, if you understand an organization’s people and systems and you can develop a sales map that will identify potential roadblocks and lead you to replicable workarounds resulting in a more efficient sales process.

Plus, you can incorporate common findings from the sales mapping process into your product and service offerings to better serve your customer’s needs. Now that’s a win if I’ve ever heard one. I’d recommend you learn the people and systems in your product and sales process landscape to improve your hit rate and reduce your sales cycle time line.

Did you like this post? Please consider subscribing to the RSS feed.

[Via http://sharris.wordpress.com]

Email Marketing Budgets to Rise in 2010

2009-12-23T08:48:00.000+02:00

Four out of 10 marketers reported that their email budgets in 2010 would increase, and nearly half (47%) said their budgets would stay the same, according to a survey of 300 email marketers by SilverPop – despite the fact that nearly nine out of 10 (88%) said the recession continues, and three-quarters said it’s hurt their business.

Marketers, however, will be refining strategies and goals in response to the ongoing tight economic times. While the majority (52%) expect to focus on increasing customer loyalty, 51% of marketers expect to drive incremental revenue with their email program – a number that increases to 65% among companies with larger email budgets.

Signs of Success

Email open and click rates experienced year-over-year increases in Q309 vs. Q308 as the industry headed into the traditionally busy holiday season, according to a separate report – the latest email benchmark report from Epsilon.

Epsilon’s Q309 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks study revealed that email open rates increased from 19.8% in Q308 to 22.0% in Q309 (an 11% increase), while 12 of the 16 industries Epsilon tracks had an increase in open rates over Q308.

Click rates were 6.2%, an increase of 5.1% from the same time last year (5.9%), the analysis found.

Additional Q3 findings:

The average volume per client increased 7.5% from Q308. The non-bounce rate dropped slightly from Q209 (93.5% compared with 94.1%), but was virtually unchanged from Q308 (93.6%).
Six of the 16 industries measured saw an increase in all three metrics – opens, clicks and non-bounce rate – compared with last year.
The retail landscape improved greatly compared with Q308. Of the four retail subcategories, 11 of the 12 metrics increased compared with Q3 of last year.
Emails from financial services companies continued to enjoy the highest open rates among industries measured. Though click rates were down vs. Q308, emails from consumer products companies enjoyed the highest click rates in Q309 among industries measured.

“As we enter the holiday season, a time when email volumes increase substantially, it is extremely important that email marketers incorporate best practices to break through the clutter,” said Kevin Mabley, SVP of strategic & analytic consulting at Epsilon (via Marketing Charts).

“Timely, relevant offers that reflect customer preferences and behavior will drive the most opens, clicks and conversions. In addition, marketers should consider strategies that incorporate triggers and transactional messaging as part of the purchase cycle.” Mabley added that email marketers who remain focused on a data-driven email marketing strategy continue to outperform the rest of the pack.

Source: http://www.marketingvox.com/email-marketing-budgets-to-rise-in-2010-045829/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mv&utm_medium=textlink

[Via http://tanericten.wordpress.com]

One Play Wonder

2009-12-23T02:13:00.000+02:00

Imagine if a professional football team had only one offensive play. That play was highly successful the first time they used it; worked like a charm. Short screen pass to the right. Then, over and over and over again, they used that same pass for every play, every game.

Opposing teams would know exactly what to do to defend the play. No surprises. No anticipation. There’s three words to describe this one play wonder…boring, lifeless, ineffective.

The same philosophy applies to your entrepreneurial efforts. Are you a one play wonder?

Do you rely on a single method of marketing and selling because you had great results once?

Have you forged a badge-of-honor because you’ve “always done it like this before?” After all, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Do your clients yawn at your “canned” approach to marketing and CRM?

My point is: if you’re using only direct mail…try building your social media network too. If you’re spending hours a day managing your social media network…try outsourcing that task to a freelance site like www.guru.com, www.elance.com. or www.odesk.com and make a few cold calls.

If you only rely on cold calling to market yourself, mix it up and try a combination of cold calling and direct mail. If you use the same tired sales letter for every mailing, supercharge it for more power. If necessary, hire a copywriter to kick it up a notch. If you are used to sending snail mail sales letters, create or re-design a dynamic website or homepage to draw a larger audience.

Can your competition “read” your same ‘ol marketing plays and beat you to the client?

Remember the no surprises, no anticipation reaction of the opposing team mentioned above? That’s what your clients and competition experience when your approach to marketing and CRM is a one play wonder.

Add some spice and variety to your marketing and CRM! You’ll not only see an increase in your client base, you’ll punt your competition to the other side of the field.

[Via http://winningproof.wordpress.com]

Guu Restaurant... a perfect example of successful word-of-mouth advertising

2009-12-21T08:16:00.000+02:00

My friend Sepi recently took me and my fiance Ben to a japanese bar called Guu on the corner of Robson and Bidwell. It’s a place that you could easily miss at a blink of an eye, and so if it weren’t for Sepi, I would never have found this place.

I walk in the door, expecting to enter a quiet, spaceous and zen-like restaurant just like most high-end sushi places are in downtown Vancouver and hence was very surprised to walk into a small crowded room full of loud diners, and even louder staff. It took me a good minute to realize that what was going on… Apparently, the staff would scream hello, goodbye and thank you in japanese to patrons walking in and out of the place. And later on, I discovered that they scream orders in unison as well. I felt like I was in a street market back in Asia. Hmmmm, feels like home.

Sepi was already seated by the bar across the open kitchen, and so we took the seats beside her. I take one quick look at the menu and realize that I wasn’t familiar with a single thing on it. Neither did Ben. Like a kung fu master eager to teach her eager students, Sepi calls on our server and starts picking tapas for the three of us to share – salmon carpaccio, beef carpaccio, calamari, these heavenly squid balls, grilled sea-salted pork cheeks, prawns, a hotpot dish, and all these other extremely tasty things. I do not remember all their names, or even how to pronounce them, but they were all delicious. I’ve never enjoyed so much garlic in my entire life.

The atmosphere made the food taste even more authentic. The screaming, the loud music, the lack of elbow room, the friendly staff (who are mostly Japanese speakers) and the happy patrons made me feel like I was actually in Japan, not that I have been there, but now I definitely want to make a trip there. I could tell that the people around me were regulars to this place. They loved the staff so much, that they buy them a sapporo or two and the staff happily swallow it down after screaming what I believe to be “Cheers” in japanese. I was so into my food that I barely noticed the pile of people standing in the little waiting area, and overflowing out into the street, waiting in the cold to eat in a small place like this one.

I later checked Guu online and found that the website wasn’t awesome, and there seemed to be no advertising going on about this place. Makes me realize that a restaurant – or any business for that matter – can be really successful, even without a huge marketing budget. If you’re good, you’re good. If your clients love you, they talk about you – and word of mouth is the cheapest and most effective method of marketing there is.

I’m definitely coming back here again and again. I should have to make sure I come in before rush hour. Thank you, Sepi, for introducing me to one of Vancouver’s many secrets.

[Via http://meowgarita.wordpress.com]

Understanding your Transmitter / Receiver make-up.

2009-12-21T02:43:00.000+02:00

Here’s a fantastic presentation that you must check out, if you haven’t already! Its the Social Media Study for 2009 By People from Cossette.

While the presentation talks about a lot of great statistics, I had one key take-away from it. If you’re looking to figure out whether nows the right time for your organization to get serious about social media – you may want to start by trying to understand your Transmitter/Receive make-up (refer to slide 31). As the slide indicates, there will be 2 types of Transmitters and 2 types of Receivers. On the Transmitter side, you might want to involve people from your organization, people from external agencies that work closely with you or even certain customers. By figuring out who falls into what category, you might be able to get a better sense of the kind of content you will be capable of producing. The same goes on the Receiver side as well. However, you may not always be able to find clear data. In many industries, social media adoption has been so slow that one can’t base decisions on existing patterns. So, in cases like that you might have to rely on your gut feeling as well…but at least you’ll be able to set better expectations and hopefully meet them one step at a time.

Social Media Study 2009 by People from Cossette View more presentations from Impact Research.

[Via http://interpretivist.wordpress.com]

Lead Generation A Case Study

2009-12-18T08:30:00.000+02:00

About two years back, one of the leading software companies in India wanted to generate leads for its software services business. Their target market unlike any company in India was the US Market where dollars glitter.

This was the time when I was looking out for a Job change and through one of the Job Portal’s I got connect with this gentleman. I joined them in their sales team without studying their bank balance. The very first day I got to see their balance sheet just to realize that they were running under huge loss for the last couple of years. Even their website was a junk. Every prospect that I talked to complained about the website and never came back.

I escalated this to the management and after a couple of discussions they came back and told me to implement a lead generation process. From a long term perspective I suggested an In-House team to generate leads, and one of my colleagues who had an upper hand suggested to outsource the lead generation process to a third party organization who charged about $1200 per month per person. We identified two different organizations where they decided to execute two separate lead generation campaigns on different verticals.

That makes it $ 2400 per month per person. Both the organizations promised 6 qualified leads a month. Having been in the industry for some time it actually sounded crap to me. I still sticked on to my suggestion of hiring In-house team for lead generation, because having been in the Industry the definition of a qualified lead could vary depending on organization to organization. Having defining the qualified leads for these vendors, they failed to deliver a quality lead which was expected. 3 months Pilot project and that was the end of the story. The website of the organization was still not revamped from where it all started.

The CEO really failed to see the bigger picture. At times of the Internet where in SEO/SEM play a big role in lead generation, this organization did not even consider a suggestion from an employee to revamp the website for good. Call it ego or lack of intelligence I am not sure. Soon I left the organization because I knew things where not working. Later they fired about 100 people. The 200 plus team reduced to about 100.

Today that organization has been sold off to a different company at much lower price than what it’s worth off.

Being a CEO:

Running an organization with 200 employees just does not mean running an organization. It also means running 200 different families who are depended on this organization. It also means touching the hearts of 200 different families.

Being a CEO is just not easy. It’s not all about being the CEO. It’s also about making a difference to the society.

PS: ServoSell is a group of independent Marketing & Software Consultants, helping small and large businesses grow. ServoSell enables you to forget your “Marketing-Operational” issues and helps you focus on your core competencies, Strategies and Sales.

[Via http://ajeeshvenugopalan.wordpress.com]

New Contact Info

2009-12-18T02:23:00.000+02:00

Hey Everyone,

Our new website will located at www.effectuateinc.com. Look for the official launch to take place in early January!

Meanwhile, we have new contact information. Brian can be reached at Brian (at) effectuateinc.com (brian@effectuateinc.com) and Albert can be reached at Albert (at) effectuateinc.com (albert@effectuateinc.com). General e-mails can be sent to info (at) effectuateinc.com (info@effectuateinc.com).

Happy (almost) Friday!

-Brian

[Via http://effectuate.wordpress.com]

Presenting the Chevy Volt Dancers

2009-12-16T14:39:00.000+02:00

How quickly dreams can become nightmares.

Just a few days after the engineering team behind the Chevrolet Volt triumphantly rolled out the production version of its much-anticipated car for journalists to test, the folks in marketing [who should probably be fired or publicly flogged] followed it up with folk music, break dancing, and what looks like a few rejects from a 1986 high school production of the “Pirates of Penzance”.

Click here for VIDEO of the Chevy Volt Dancers

Word that General Motors had commissioned a theme song for the car called “Chevy Volt and Me” first turned up last week on gm-volt.com, an independent blog dedicated to the development of the car.

With lyrics that include lines such as “what will get us out of first gear? A better EV. Not that that’s a big idea(r)”, the milquetoast tune seemed anathema to the high-tech, next-gen image GM has been crafting for the car up to this point.

Now there’s the video.

Although it looks more like a “Saturday Night Live” skit, the dance routine that was performed on the Volt display at the Los Angeles Auto Show is all too real. Captured by a visitor who uploaded the video to YouTube, three females wearing puffy shirts and the aforementioned break dancer, who also plays air guitar, shake just about everything on their bodies for the duration of the song. Often out of sync. Reportedly, the cringe-inducing interpretation of an electric-powered future took place every hour during the ten days of the show.

When asked about it during a web chat with journalists on Monday, GM’s newly-minted head of marketing, Susan Docherty said she hadn’t “yet seen the Chevrolet Volt song and dance but it sounds like I need to spend some time tonight on the web viewing this.” [Duh! How does this get past the HEAD of marketing?]

She’s not the only one.

Source: FoxNews.com

[Via http://joetheflow.wordpress.com]

Nearly Free Workshop

2009-12-16T02:49:00.000+02:00

Kim Brand & Jeff Bowe speak at Business Ownership Initiative:

Sales & Marketing 2010 (and Beyond)

“How I wasted over $200,000 and three years on

ineffective marketing schemes and inept sales strategies

and why you don’t have to.” Kim Brand, Co-Presenter.

“You can learn selling the hard way which is having

hundreds of prospects telling you no without telling

you why or you can learn it the easy way which is to

have someone give you the tactics and strategies that

lead to yes now. It’s your choice.” Jeff Bowe, Co-Presenter.

What: Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) presents Sales & Marketing 2010 (and Beyond).

This four hour seminar will be conducted over two days and will be co-presented by Kim Brand, Serial Entrepreneur and President of Computer Experts and File Engine and Jeff Bowe, Chief Sales Strategist at ACTUM Group, a leading sales training and sales management company.

When: January 27-28th, 5:30-7:30PM each day.

Where: 4755 Kingsway Dr., Suite 314. (Near 46th & Keystone)

Why: You won’t get a better ‘reality check’ than to hear us talk about real world sales and marketing problems and solutions for small businesses from the perspective of an entrepreneur and sales pro.

Special Bonus: BOI normally charges $20 for this class…that’s cheap! But everyone that attends will receive a $20 discount coupon from Computer Experts – your net cost is zero and your upside potential is huge and a free chapter from Jeff’s book, Get INFOCUS Get Cash!

You need to call now to register: (317) 917-3266 ext. 100.

Space is limited, call today

[Via http://infocusselling.wordpress.com]

The Secret Of Get More Sales Online With These 7 Steps

2009-12-14T08:45:00.000+02:00

The process of marketing involves earning for the business by identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of the customer. The conventional methods of dealing with potential and existing clients have been completely modernized by online marketing. The Internet provides marketing professionals with a whole new set of ideas. Nowadays, the Internet is being widely used. Many geographical locations are now under the broadband network. Tools that are part of Web 2.0 ensure that customers experience the true power of the broadband technology, giving them a great multimedia experience. You will gain a deeper understanding about website marketing by checking out that resource.

You must first recognize the market you would like to center your efforts on to succeed at online marketing. Considering the type of goods or services you wish to sell to your targeted market, try to understand the make-up of your probable customers. While taking note of the make-up of your targeted market, you may be in a position to re-work your product and services to conform to the newly understood needs.

There are numerous techniques to get visitors to the website. You can have your own blog. Free publication of your articles on leading websites is another option you have. Other options include paid advertising and online press releases.

A frequently updated website that is professionally designed and having appropriate content is essential to keep the visitors interested. Leading the visitor to the inner pages entails designing an appropriate home page for the website. To facilitate search engine optimization, place your keyword phrases strategically on the important pages of your site. You will find that further information on internet marketing agency is on that site.

It is a good idea to know your visitors’ preference before taking them to the ensuing pages. However, this needs to be done very subtly, lest you drive away your visitors. The user must be provided with information in relation to your products so that he is persuaded to make a purchase.

Educate the visitor about how your products and services are better than those of your competitors. Explain how your products and services are of high perceived value and low perceived risk. Content that signifies your good standing in the market must be prominently displayed on the site. Customer appreciation is a real boon in this regard.

Compelling offers must be broadcasted prominently on the site so as to induce the visitors to buy your product. Visitors must be given the choice to select their preferred mode of payment along with the facility of multiple communication channels to reach you. The user may not buy the product during the first visit, but you can always have a system of pursuing the matter till you get a response.

Preferably, your website must have a database working in the background. The database application will be useful to maintain the records of all your business deals. The website must contain a control panel which would help you in understanding each transaction and attend to those which need immediate attention. The control panel will present you with an outline of the past data that is relevant enough to make your decisions with regard to your business.

[Via http://internetmarketin1992.wordpress.com]

Never Halt Your Marketing!

2009-12-14T02:31:00.000+02:00

Greetings everyone,

An IDEAL rule of marketing is NEVER halt your marketing.

This is what I have been adamant about for years and have declared it shameful to even think about, so now the question is, “How to re-crank your marketing plan?”

A positive attitude of PRESS and move forward are very much needed. The following, details the challenges to overcome in a marketing plan and creative plan to combat when marketing is halted.

Challenge 1:

Your audience forgets you fast! Without being in the eye of your audience daily, you won’t be remembered. The point of marketing and advertising is for people to know about you and your services.

Challenge 2:

Understanding that you will have missed opportunities because you are not in the game. If you are not playing in the game, there is no opportunity to win.

Challenge 3:

Your competition is picking up YOUR missed opportunities. The competition is creating relationships with potential clients or customers and in this economy establishing those relationships are marketing gold.

Challenge 4:

Starting over. You can’t start a business without marketing and you can’t maintain a business without it. Without marketing there is no business. The time and money spent to gain share of MIND is wasted. Once you stop marketing you have lost share of mind and really must start over.

When developing your marketing plan knowing these basic challenges will help structure your marketing campaign to succeed after you have halted your marketing.

There will be many posts sharing how to overcome being out of the eye of your audience, so sign up to receive blog updates.

It is always a Blessing to Share, Dream a World

Lisa Henry

Marketing Coach, I Got Ideas!

[Via http://sweethorn.wordpress.com]

How Eben Pagan Turns Your Bad Habit Into A Philanthropic Act

2009-12-11T04:13:00.000+02:00

This morning I rolled in a few minutes late to Eben Pagan’s latest live event: “Master Maps of Success” with Wyatt Woodsmall, Ph.D and Eben Pagan and was relieved that the five minutes I spent this morning painting my toenails red didn’t make me $20 poorer.

You see, Eben has created a “game” for people like me who suffer from habitual lateness. The game is that three minutes before the seminar begins in the morning, or when returning from breaks and lunch break, he cranks up “Lets Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas. That’s when the fun begins. By “fun” I don’t mean that at the sound of will. i. am’s voice breaking out with: “and the bass keeps runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’…” the seminarians are triggered to spontaneously join in an ecstatic hard-core hip hop dance frenzy. By “fun” I mean that ten seconds before zero, the whole room begins a collective countdown as people fumble furiously to reach their seats by the time the clock strikes zero. There’s a large glass bowl by the entrance to the room and whoever is still standing at the moment the clock reaches zero must return to the bowl and forfeit $20. Eben then donates all the money in the bowl to Charity: Water, Scott Harrison’s non-profit devoted to providing fresh water to villages in Africa.

The amazing thing is that my $20 goes to providing an actual human fresh water for twenty years. I mean, my entire $20. Charity: Water gets private funding for administrative costs, so when you donate $20, the entire $20 is spent on building a well so that women and children no longer have to trek for hours to the nearest sewer-posing-as-a-valid-source-of-drinking-water to fetch water, then carry 80 pounds of water back home in vile, chemical ridden fuel cans just so they can be supplied with enough water to survive. Your $20 goes towards fulfilling someone’s most basic needs so that they can be free to engage in more productive activities. Like, say, learning how to read and write.

I must admit, I’ve “donated” quite a bit of money to Charity: Water from being late at Eben Pagan’s events. Has Eben Pagan transformed my bad habit into an act of goodwill and philanthropy? Well…

This morning the conference began a few minutes late, allowing me the grace period to arrive “on time.” I’ll donate to Charity: Water anyways.

Today I am grateful to the remarkable people out there in the world like Eben Pagan and Scott Harrison who have devoted themselves to the service of improving and evolving the condition of our planet.

1 in 8 people on the planet don't have access to safe, clean drinking water

[Via http://whyimgrateful.wordpress.com]

Are You Remarkable?

2009-12-11T02:51:00.000+02:00

Becky Shankle (@ecomod) is thinking out of the box… the IKEA box to be more specific.

Becky is the founder and lead designer at eco-modernism. In addition to designing and installing custom kitchens and baths in the Raleigh, NC region, she has launched an innovative IKEA kitchen services. By promoting her firm as IKEA specialists, she differentiates eco-mod from the dozens of other kitchen designers in her region. She’s a Purple Cow. She’s remarkable. She has found a way to inspire people to “remark” about her firm (here I am writing about her… so it worked).

How can you transform your firm to be more remarkable?

Learn more about Becky and eco-modernism at her website, her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Share this Post

[Via http://markrlepage.wordpress.com]

Shiny Horny People...

2009-12-09T08:15:00.000+02:00

Apparently, this detergent ad from the States had feminists frothing at the mouth (See what I did there?). Something about it being sexist and even encouraging rape or some such. Anyway, the ad has been pulled. Here’s what all the brouhaha is over:

I don’t see it but then I am technically a rapist according to Marilyn French (No. I didn’t hyperlink it. Google her, dammit. Do something for yourself for a change. Sheesh) by virtue of my Y-chromosome and my heterosexuality.

At any rate, I think this ad would have been funnier if it was a guy in the shower instead. And the bubbles were voiced by women.

Wait. Does that statement make me sexist?

[Via http://phr0g.wordpress.com]

Are Social Networking Personas Useful as Market Research Data?

2009-12-09T02:35:00.000+02:00

CHALLENGE:

Marketers are increasingly using behavioral targeting and harvesting information on individuals found on the internet, such as Facebook and MySpace. But are social media participants creating false personas in cyberspace and are marketers creating invalid strategies due to their reliance on these data? Are marketers basing strategies on imagined personas? A study comparing Facebook personas with their real-world authors found a strong correlation between impressions created by personas and their real-world counterparts. Personas who were liked, were also liked in the real-world.

HOW THEY RESEARCHED IT:

Professors at the psychology department of Tufts University conducted the study comparing Facebook personas to real-life counterparts using 37 undergraduate volunteers. Undergrads were individually paired with one of six confederates in a four-minute “get-to-know-you” meeting. The confederates rated the undergraduate subjects on a number of dimensions related to likability. Undergraduates from another university viewed videos of the meetings and coded specific cues about the subjects’, non-verbal expressivity. Undergraduate subjects’ Facebook page was accessed by the researchers with the permission of the undergraduate subjects. Undergrads from a private university then rated the undergraduate subjects based on his or her Facebook page in terms of likability, and these ratings were combined to reveal a final “Facebook liking” score.

WHAT HAPPENED?:

Results from the survey indicate that impressions made through social media are similar to those attained through real-life interaction. The correlation between confederate liking and Facebook liking was statistically significant, and males and females were perceived similarly across all variables. Positive first impressions based on Facebook correlate to increased webpage expressivity and likewise positive first impression based on dynamic behavior correlate to increased non-verbal expressivity. In accordance with previous research the study finds no evidence of a linear relationship between self-disclosure and impressions of liking with relation to face-to-face interaction or personal web pages respectively. Other concluding evidence finds that online behavior is similar to that of personal interaction, for example people who disclose personal information and are expressive in face-to-face interactions tend to display the same traits on web pages. An interesting caveat of the study is that self-disclosure and expressivity are unrelated to one another, both online and in dynamic interactions. Overall concluding evidence shows that while there is some divergence between online and real-life personas, for the most part the two are very highly correlated.

WHY MANAGERS SHOULD CARE:

Marketers in today’s technologically driven business environment rely increasingly heavily on social media to provide a glimpse of what consumers want. The issue of whether or not social media accurately portrays consumer personalities is therefore an important concern for anyone using the Web to glean information about the consumer market. For marketers this study reveals positive news: searching Facebook sites is not for nothing. Nearly all Gen Y consumers update information on at least one social networking site, and older consumers are increasingly joining the trend. A high correlation between real-life and online personalities means that marketers can use the social networking sites to gather lifestyle information from consumers who may otherwise be unwilling to share, or instead of using costly and time consuming methods primary data collection methods. Social networking sites should not be the sole source of consumer research as there is some differential between dynamic interaction and online personas.

CAN YOU HELP?

Comment back by sharing how you have implemented data gained from social networking sites to improve marketing and promotional strategies. Does this study make you feel like you can rely on Facebook profiles or do you think more research is needed before you will rely on social website data? If you have been relying on social website profiles, have these profiles been efficacious?

From Max Weisbuch, Zorana Ivcevic, and Nalini Ambady “On being liked on the web and in the ‘‘real world”: Consistency in first impressions across personal webpages and spontaneous behavior,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (2009) 573–576

[Via http://omura.wordpress.com]

A whole other to do!

2009-12-07T08:30:00.000+02:00

So, seeing as it’s my last week of school before finals, I am training for a new job, and I just have so many affairs to get into order, here goes nothing!

School:

- Exhibit review

- Marketing questions 21 and 22

- Marketing plan project

- Da Vinci notebook: 15 pieces

- Written analysis: 3 to 5 pages

- Artwork packet

- Anthropology project one

- Anthropology extra credit

- Anthropology test three: Dec. 11

–Fill out study guide

- Anthropology final

–Compile all study guides

-Art History final

–Fill out study guide

- Return The Hobbit

- Science Fiction/Fantasy final paper

Errands:

- Call lawyer

- Call hospital

- Call Shear Success

- Call Cefcu

- Parking services

- Mail everything

- Call camera repair place

- Pick up hangers, garbage bags, LED lights (blue 2)

- Tanning

Training:

- Study for bus/passenger endorsement

- Go request paper receipt/actual permit

- Make appointment for TB test

This is my life right now, LOL. Everyone wish me luck, because I am pretty sure that I am going to pass out from the stress of it all. BUT, after next week I will be free from school with what I believe will be amazing grades. Also, I will start behind the wheel training. Christmas is coming up. Austin is staying with me for a while, which is nice.Woo!

[Via http://bohemianraps0dy.wordpress.com]

Are the best products developed with a practical purpose in mind?

2009-12-07T02:00:00.000+02:00

Lately I’ve been getting quite a few questions about Google Wave: what do I think about it, how do I see it being used, will it replace email and how, and many more.

for the record, I love the idea of Google Wave. While I might not be the biggest fan of the hype surrounding it or the seemingly counter-productive release strategy (why Google chose to release a closed system product that relies on social interactions through a scarcity model I’ll never quite understand), I do think the concept behind the product is great. Being able to centrally track all the different branches that inevitable clutter the “reply to all” landscape of an all-inclusive email chain is very appealing. Giving latecomers to the party the ability to run the tape back and step through the instant-replay in a way that can make sense of the fractal-ness is a very good thing.

The real challenge of Wave

And while I love the idea of Wave, I fear that it is a technology that is woefully ahead of its time. The biggest problem with Wave, at least to my way of thinking, is not in the functionality, the implementation or the execution. The biggest problem with Wave will come with its adoption.

By positioning it as an quasi-email replacement, the Wave team will end up facing what Seth Godin describes in his blog “Can’t Top This” – they’ll find themselves trying to prove that what they’re selling does email better than email. They’ll find themselves trying to prove that even though their system isn’t totally integrated into the mobile experience, its better than email. They’ll find themselves trying to prove that even though their product isn’t hooked into newsletters, email notifications (Facebook, flickr, etc), its better than email. And even if they’re not going to position their product against all the many uses of email to which we’ve all grown so accustomed, they’ll have to show us how passing around that PowerPoint deck for team review by Wave is different than passing around that PowerPoint deck for team review via email.

The business case

More and more these days it seems that many product discussions begin and end with the business case. Even in better economic times, it was increasingly imprudent to pursue a product without a clear constituency in mind. This, of course, is an incredibly good thing: having these discussions early and often force us both to set clear goals and objectives for the product as well as clearly define the feature sets and use cases we’d like to pursue. Continuously asking “what’s the business case?” is, in short, a good thing.

The flipside: scientific discovery

In a previous life I spent quite a bit of time in science research. And while nearly every grant written in basic science research will tie the work back to key understandings in major disease processes, much of the work (on the academic side, at least) is devised and carried out without a clear commercial/medical/practical objective in mind.

I’ll never forget the day I sat in a seminar given by my advisor, listening to an M.D. asking the oft-repeated $1M question of “What does this mean for my patients?” My advisor, a man who had heard that question a few too many times for his liking, went on to make what I thought was a very important distinction, albeit in a not-so-eloquent way: “What does it mean for your patients? I don’t know what it means for your patients. But then again, I don’t know that I care what it means for your patients either. I care about the science, someone else will care about how it relates to the patients.”

The X-Ray. Penicillin. The electron. All of them things that were discovered and studied without the slightest idea as to their practical application or commercialization potential. But in the end, all three went on to do quite well from both a societal and commercial standpoint.

Are we crowding out discovery, or simply “outsourcing” it?

There must be, of course, a balance between discovery and commercialization. We must be able to go off on exploratory flights of fancy to wherever the wind may take us while at the same time remembering that we do have bills to pay. Where is that balance, and can we find both within the same organization?

Current models in technology and medicine suggest that its not possible for both to peacefully coexist under the same roof. In pharma, for example, much of the development pipeline is being filled by acquisition rather than “organic growth.” Risk profiles, economics, operations and culture all net out to a partnership between startups (academic or otherwise) dealing in discovery and larger companies dealing in commercialization. Other areas of medicine follow similar models, as does much of Silicon Valley.

What’s next?

I’m not saying that keeping the business case in mind is necessarily a bad thing, nor am I saying that discovery for its own sake is bad. The point of this post is to wonder whether there’s some way for the two to gracefully coexist in the New World Order.

[Via http://notanmd.wordpress.com]

Advent Marketing Results

2009-12-04T08:00:00.000+02:00

This company has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Advent Marketing Results

Cruzen street 2320

TN 37211 Nashville (United States)

More information about Advent Marketing Results …

An overview of the available activities for Advent Marketing Results …

Marketing

[Via http://expopedia.wordpress.com]

Product Marketing is NOT Marketing Communications

2009-12-04T02:41:00.000+02:00

While we know that Product Management is a listening (or inbound communications) role and that Product Marketing is a talking (our outbound communications) role, it is not very surprising that some folks confuse Product Marketing with Marketing Communications.

In a B2B setting, Product Marketing talks about products – and does so in a strategic way, addressing five important, strategic questions:

What products will be offered (i.e., the breadth and depth of the product line)?
Who will be the target customers (i.e., the boundaries of the market segments to be served)?
How will the products reach those (i.e., the distribution channel)?
At what price should the products be offered?
How will customers be introduced to the products (i.e., advertising)?

These strategic answers plus product features and benefits must be handed over to marketing communications folks. The tactics of writing, graphic design, coordination with the printer and enforcement of the trademarks or usage of the logos all fall within the realm of the marketing communications people. They understand proper grammar, journalistic writing styles, color palettes and font choices.

If you are a product marketing manager with control issues, you will still want final review of all marketing communications creations to ensure they “get it” and that they properly address the information provided to them.

Looking from the outside in, since many product marketing managers cannot draw, spell or discern colors, some tasks are best left to the professionals.

[Via http://outsideinview.com]

Design the Right Calendar for the Right Occasion

2009-12-02T08:16:00.000+02:00

Even if you have an appointment calendar on your computer or mobile phone, it is nice to have a print calendar that you can hang on your wall or bulletin board. Paper calendars not only look nice, they are easy to use; all you have to do is grab a pen and write down what you need to remember. There is no waiting for the computer to boot up, nor is it necessary to remember to charge it. Below are several types of calendars and ideas for designing them to fit several occasions and purposes so that recipients can benefit from your gift.

Count Down to the Big Day

Count down calendars can be fun to send out for a variety of reasons. You can send them to members of a wedding party, the caterer, photographer, and florist. Or send them to target customers to count down to your store grand opening. They can be made in postcard size, four by six inches, and mailed to everyone very inexpensively. Put an attractive picture to one side, and then add the necessary months on the other; start with today and end with the important date in a super sized typeface. Then people can pin the card to a bulletin board or stick it to their fridge with a magnet, and they will know exactly when the big day is.

Christmas Photo Calendars

You can also send a print calendar with Christmas photos on each one. They can be done in postcard size and feature an attractive Christmas themed picture of your family on one side, and a calendar for the month of December on the other. You could also highlight the days you will be visiting. You can also send them as promotional gifts to customers and place dates of your big sales on the calendar.

Appointment Reminder Calendars

Business owners can give out a print calendar in business card size as appointment reminders. A really attractive way to design your business card is to put a photo of you in your place of business on the front, covering about one-third of the card. Then to the side put your logo, name, slogan, and phone number. On the back of the card print a line for the client’s name and have calendars for three months on the bottom. You can then circle the client’s dates. That way clients can keep their cards in their wallets as a reminder.

Monthly Reminders

If you host monthly meetings for a group like a book club or a dinner club, you can order calendars in postcard size to send out to members. Just feature an attractive photo on the front, and print a twelve month calendar on the back with the meeting dates highlighted. For the front of the card, choose one image that relates to your group, and make it cover half to two thirds of the card. Make the image in light colors, and then print the name of your group in black ink to make it stand out.

There are so many ways to creatively use a print calendar, both for personal and business use. Just be sure to use a professional online printing company for top-notch results sure to impress everyone on your mailing list!

[Via http://adcreative.wordpress.com]

How to Avoid Dumb Mistakes in China

2009-12-02T02:49:00.000+02:00

What a powerful, practical learning lesson: “Three Dumb Things Foreign Companies Do In China.”

1. Failing to localize your advertising.

2. Trying to be trendy.

3. Not making things big.

Chinese like things big. They are proud to have the world’s largest airport, the biggest building under one roof, the tallest hotel (pictured) and even the world’s longest laundry chute (at the Park Hyatt in Shanghai). Chinese tend to equate bigger with better. They don’t feel respected and won’t buy if a brand has a tiny store that doesn’t stock the newest season’s products. They know from the Internet and from traveling abroad what exists in other markets, and they want brands to have as big a presence in China as elsewhere.

Hint on what works:

Companies that convey the message that their brands can be trusted — and also that they can meet the needs of local consumers.

Read all about it here.

Posted by: Laurel Delaney

[Via http://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org]

White Papers - How to und what for

2009-11-30T08:42:00.000+02:00

Wenn Werbung der Erstinfomation und dem Call-for-Action Prinzip dient, woher kommt dann nachhaltige und sachliche Information? White papers sind hier wichtig für gute lösungsorientierte Informationsmöglichkeit. Sie sind effektive Kommunikationsmittel, die nach der Erstinformation und werblichen Kommunikation den Part der wertvollen, vertiefenden, nützlichen Information übernehmen.

“Geben und nehmen” der Grundgedanke der White Papers: 1. Geben – Unternehmen und Konzerne können ihrer Zielgruppe(n) etwas Nützliches anbieten: Problemlösungen, Hintergründe, Innovationseinblicke. In kurzer knapper Form (10-30 Seiten) können diese Einblicke knapp und effektiv vermittelt werden. 2. Nehmen – Im Gegenzug können ebendiese Konzerne mit verstärktem Interesse und Wissen rechnen.

In Abgrenzung zu werblichen Kommunikationsmitteln wie Anzeigen, Broschüren, Flyern und Prospekten ist bei White Papers jegliche werbliche Ansprache absolut tabu. Sachlich, informativ und lösungsorientiert ist ihr Tenor vergleichbar mit einem Magazin im populärwissenschaftlichen Bereich.

White Papers bringen glaubwürdige Information auf den Punkt – sie richten sich damit eindeutig an Stake Holder und Entscheidungsträger. Wichtig ist hier im Auge zu behalten, dass Entscheidungsträger zwischen 3-5x jährlich mit White Papers “angesprochen” werden sollten. Um komplexe Inhalte übersichtlich darzustellen, hier einige wesentliche Punkte:

Ein schlichtes und ansprechendes Layout ist Grundvoraussetzung.
White papers sind sinnvollerweise mit Informationsgrafiken (bitte hierbei nicht sparen!) und
einer guten Strukturierung zu verfassen.
Kernaussagen mussen rasch erfassbar dargestellt werden, um sicherzustellen, dass beim “Überfliegen” eines Dokuments alle relevanten Punkte schnell erfasst werden können.
keine werblichen Floskeln und Aussagen.
Bei Bereitstellung im Onlinebereich ist außerdem auf Webfriendly writing zu achten (SEO – Search Engine Optimization)

White papers geniessen – richtig gemacht – eine Reihe von Vorteilen, die speziell heute – in der verstärkten Online Kommunikation – gut einsetzbar sind:

Gute Referenzierbarkeit
viral stärkere Verteilung als bei one-to-one Weitergabe
leichtere Quellenrecherche
breiter Einsatz: Web, Newsletter, Blogs, Podcasts, Unternehmenspräsentationen, Messen und Fachtagungen, …
hohe Akzeptanz bei den Zielgruppen durch relevante und nachvollziehbare Autoren
Imagesteigerung durch sachlich wertvolle Inhalte
nahezu keine oder jedenfalls geringe Publikationskosten

[Via http://brienchen.wordpress.com]

G: for Geico

2009-11-30T02:49:00.000+02:00

Since their initiation, I’ve had a real problem with the Geico caveman commercials, and now that I’m an active participant of marketing and publicity classes, I dislike the commercials even more and are confused as to why they’ve been so popular with the Geico marketing team.

The commercial is less than informative and I really don’t see how cavemen have anything to do with saving on car insurance. If I had never heard of Geico before, I’d be hard-pressed to glean any sort of important information from the commercial. The commercial barely mentions what Geico does as a company and to be honest, the cavemen seem unprofessional and silly. I’d much rather be a customer of Allstate or Progressive, which provide commercials that are full of pertinent information and help explain the company’s vision and mission statement.

[Via http://theabcsofmylife.wordpress.com]

In The Mirror Lies The Smoking Gun

2009-11-27T08:49:00.000+02:00

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a habit of looking at issues that We the People blame on Them (you know who “They” are) and suggesting that “They” are the ones that you – and I – shave with every morning.

That’s probably how come there are so few of you regular readers. And there will probably be even fewer of you after this post. But I’ll risk it. Because Jeff Masters of the Weather Underground website (I’ve mentioned him here before) has written, I think, the second most important bit of Internet information on human interaction with planet Earth that there is.

(This is number 1. It’s a video series, it’s long, and it’s a fairly standard university-style lecture without fancy bells or whistles. But watch it, all eight parts, and pay attention. It’s every bit as true today as when it was first presented, a decade ago. Do not view the comments unless you have a hard head and a strong stomach – they are prima facie evidence that our species deserves nothing more than to go straight to Hell, without passing “Go”, without collecting $200.)

Masters writes, in his blog entry, which is about equal parts book review and his own distilled scientific judgment, about “manufactured doubt” – the industry that spreads disinformation about scientific evidence, when that evidence threatens the profitability of corporations whose products put humanity at risk. He documents the role that the “manufactured doubt” industry played in delaying or derailing efforts to limit the damage created by tobacco products, asbestos, and various toxic industrial chemicals including the chlorofluorocarbons responsible for the destruction of atmospheric ozone.

And, most recently, its attempts to safeguard the profits of the fossil fuel industries by debunking the evidence for anthropogenic global warming.

Masters gives details about the “bag of tricks” that the practitioners of “manufactured doubt” use to achieve their ends. Including the disparaging of peer-reviewed science and, at both the professional and personal levels, of the scientists who produce that science – impugning, among other things, that the scientists are “just another bunch of hired guns” whose findings are for sale to the highest bidder.

A disparaging that’s easy for the “manufactured doubters” and their corporate sponsors to do, since so many people with scientific credentials (some fairly substantial) are prepared to be just this type of hired gun. But what else to expect, Jerry, when jobs in, and funds for, non-corporate research are so scarce (thanks in part to these very same “manufactured doubt” campaigns), and the opportunities for selling out are so lucrative, amounting to a doubling or even more of the standard academic salary?

Now, all this reads like a diatribe against corporate moguls, doesn’t it? But then, Masters flashes the mirror. He states:

I believe that for the most part, the corporations involved have little choice under the law but to protect their profits by pursuing Manufactured Doubt campaigns … The law makes a company’s board of directors legally liable for “breach of fiduciary responsibility” if they knowingly manage a company in a way that reduces profits. Shareholders can and have sued companies for being overly socially responsible …

He cites the sad case of Henry Ford, who:

… was successfully sued by stockholders in 1919 for raising the minimum wage of his workers to $5 per day. The courts declared that, while Ford’s humanitarian sentiments about his employees were nice, his business existed to make profits for its stockholders (emphasis added).

This, dear readers, is not the revelation of a global corporate-mogul conspiracy against the “common man”. Much as those who see their own profit opportunities in such rabble-rousing would have you think otherwise.

This is your 401k telling the corporate moguls what they must do.

Masters did not end his post with any cosmic conclusions. He is, after all, a scientist, and as a scientist (rather than a propagandist such as are the “manufactured doubt” generators), he offers conclusions cautiously, and only those supported by evidence, as much and as rigorously-tested as is to hand at the time of writing. Besides, Masters has a large blog, and probably is wary of doing any more damage to his readership – and his company – than a post of this sort risks already.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Amoeba, on the other hand, has a small blog, and therefore little to risk. So I write what my conclusion is, on the basis of this evidence – and take some comfort that the message is the same that scientist and science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov set down in his Bathroom Law:

The goal of preserving a planet suitable for human habitation, and the goal of preserving the individual liberty of humans living on this planet, are incompossible

[Via http://ocquill.wordpress.com]

Finita la pausa da Stumbleupon! Credo che qualcuno se ne sia già accorto

2009-11-27T02:08:00.000+02:00

così festeggio assieme a voi il mio rientro su SU, permettemi il giuoco di parole ;D

che dir… se non che questo post è sponsorizzato da niente di meno che: suorbernardina!

P.S.

vi ricordo che Gekissimo regala un ingresso gratis al convegno GT:

http://www.geekissimo.com/2009/11/23/geekissimo-ti-regala-lingresso-al-convegno-gt/

[Via http://lascatoladipandora.wordpress.com]