Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Effects of Technology on Marketing Management and Products and Prices

Many marketing managers are already aware of the four Ps and how pleasing customers has become a major priority in marketing today. With increases in technology, however, customer approval is more important than ever before, and all aspects of business are rapidly advancing to conform to expectations of today's varied consumers. The internet has offered consumers the ability to not only rate a large number of products, but also easily provide their own reviews, opinions, and input into the most popular products.

The effect of this on production is that today's products are tested and engineered to be of the highest quality and also accommodate many customer needs. In terms of marketing management, it means being able to listen to the customers and not only what they like and dislike but what their needs are and how they can be met. One great example of how businesses have adapted to customers can be seen in the auto industry. Today's vehicles come standard with such things as mp3 players, navigational systems, Bluetooth capability, and even added cup holders and grocery bag hooks. Also, cars are now equipped with more added safety features than ever before.

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With the increased availability of information on a variety of different products, today's consumers are more educated than ever before, demanding products that are made from the safest materials and production methods that are safer for the environment. Increased consumer demands for hybrid vehicles and cleaner fuel alternatives have also prompted further government regulations, incentives for vehicles that benefit the environment, and also increased government funding for research into other forms of fuel.

Fuel and the price of gas in today's economy is also another aspect that has greatly influenced the auto industry, and a number of other industries as well. While sales of larger SUVs and trucks are declining, more people are interested in smaller, compact cars that offer better fuel economy. Another advantage that technology has offered auto dealers and consumers alike is price comparison shopping and referrals. Now, when a customer is looking for a new vehicle, they can go online, research certain models, compare prices, and easily get a referral to a local dealership that offers the best price. For the dealers, this has lead to increased competitiveness and greater cost cutting, as well as no haggle pricing on the part of some companies.

With more and more people turning to the internet not only to shop, but also to do product research prior to buying, price comparison is becoming increasingly important. In fact, in a recent survey, it was determined that 58 percent of online shoppers felt that all ecommerce sites should offer a price comparison service that enabled them to make the best choices on the spot. Marketing management is shifting faster than ever before, and customer input and approval is valued much more today than ever before.

The Effects of Technology on Marketing Management and Products and Prices

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Cedrick Harris 10K Per Month Attraction Marketing Blueprint - The Review

Let's start off by telling you a little bit about Cedrick Harris, just in case you didn't know who he was. Mr. Harris is a professional/expert network marketer. He is originally from Virginia and now resides in beautiful Tampa Florida. Cedric Harris's journey began back in the early 90's with Excel Communications, he did pretty well with that before moving on to the mortgage industry in 2005. The mortgage industry was very, lucrative but then the market began to change and Mr. Harris decided to pursue other avenues. He found his way back to Network Marketing again however, this time he didn't want to do all the leg work that's involved with offline marketing. So he turned to the internet and he learned all that he could about attraction marketing. And he has sponsored more reps than anyone into a system called (MLSP).

You can build a successful Network Marketing business via the internet and/or offline as well. Because of his background in direct sales he knew that he would succeed; however the internet was something new. Mr. Harris is currently one of the top income earners in his current company a leader who is now highly sought after for his network marketing knowledge and expertise. This article will focus on his newly released CD series "The 10K per Month Attraction Marketing Blueprint."

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This 8 disk CD series was released early fall 2009 and it may be available only in limited quantities. However I'm going to give you the quick rundown, about Mr. Harris and this CD series. What does it cover? This CD series is absolutely wonderful; it's packed with a collection of some of the most valuable content ever covered in an 8 disk set. The main focus is on the principles of attraction marketing, why it is important why you should utilize it and how come it's so important to stand out from the crowd. Mr. Harris discusses how to market offline utilizing drop cards to reach out to people and make an immediate impact by simply handing someone a card. Astonishing as it may sound, a premium drop card will nearly force any person who has it, to open it! This immediately puts your message in their hands, literally. The cds cover a number of precise techniques you can implement immediately using the drop cards. These offline metods should be done in addition to the online methods.

The importance of branding and learning how to stand out from the crowd is covered within the blueprint. Mr. Harris explains why it's important and why you may suffer if you don't do it.Your MLM could decide tomorrow that they are closing their doors forever, what would happen to you, and all your leads, and team members if this occurs? The 10K Attraction Marketing Blueprint challenges some of the ideas you may have about marketing. It covers list building, social media marketing, video marketing, voice mails, drop cards and the list just keeps on going and going. Learn what Cedric does that has people seeking him out even after no contact in over a year! YouTube is one of the largest networks on the planet, can you imagine getting prospects picking up the phone and calling you by simply making a video?

Many Network Marketers who have failed, do so because they failed to have a plan and they never considered personal development and time management. These two areas along with marketing training are critical to the success of a new marketer. This video series is truly one of a kind; it talks about and covers prospecting, email marketing, list building, and being persistent. See how to use Google keyword tools, learn how to prospect on an airplane without even being on the plane, among many other strategies.

See why you should spend less time watching TV, and more time learning about marketing. Another huge secret is revealed in the 10K blueprint, which is people get involved in network marketing and they don't even have a clue as to who their target market should be. You will not accomplish your goals if you have no one to market to. The information contained in this series is easily worth 10 times its retail value or more. Mr. Harris shares more topics than I can cover in one article, but if you are seeking success in your MLM business, the 10K Attraction Marketing Blueprint is a start that might just change your life forever.

Cedrick Harris 10K Per Month Attraction Marketing Blueprint - The Review

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Finding Time For Marketing! - How To Have Time To Market As Well As Deliver Your Coaching Services

Introduction

How do coaches find time to market when we are busy delivering our coaching services? My research indicates that this one of the biggest problems faced by coaches who are beginning to get clients.

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When I asked coaches, they expressed the problem like this:

o "...creating a balance between spending time selling and marketing and actually coaching."

o "Finding the time to win the business as well as deliver."

o " ...getting the 'Marketing and doing' balance right."

o "Finding the time to do everything myself (produce product, market, deliver)."

You Must Market Your Coaching Services

Of course, unless we're actively marketing, our flow of work is going to dry up. So marketing is vital - it's the lifeblood of our business. If we are not working on our marketing every waking hour while we're not actually delivering, what are we doing in business?

To paraphrase Dan Kennedy, from his book No BS Direct Marketing - "Your business is the business of marketing of your coaching practice".

So we must deliver and we must market. But how can we do both?

The EASED Process

The key is in my EASED process. EASED stands for Eliminate, Automate, Simplify, Execute and Delegate. It allows you to categorise the work you do and find more effective solutions for its completion.

What Do You Spend Your Time Doing?

First, let's see what you're actually doing. Take a look at a typical week and see where you spend your time. Write down all the major tasks you undertake. This includes your delivery of coaching services, your marketing activities and everything else that doesn't contribute to your business.
Look at your list - it's probably quite long. For each item, we're going to be asking - "Do I really need to be doing all of that?"

So let's start the EASED process with Eliminate.

Eliminate

Firstly, what can you Eliminate from your stack of work with no impact to your marketing or delivery? In this category you might find time spent watching TV, playing video games, surfing the 'net - stuff you like but that doesn't contribute to your business. Also in this category is low value activities - stuff you don't get paid for and that would have no real impact if you didn't do it.

So, once you've identified what these activities are - just stop doing them! You will probably find you will immediately have more time on your hands.

Automate

The next category is Automate. Have another look at the remaining tasks you perform. The increasing numbers of online and PC-based tools available mean that today many tasks can be automated. What are your marketing and administration tasks that you can automate? Talk to other coaches to see what systems they use.

The secret here is to find automated systems that do the work for you. Examples here might be 1shoppingcart or other autoresponders to keep in touch with your client and prospect list. It might include having an online system to take booking requests and accept client payments automatically.

As this area of technology moves fast, it pays to check often on the current position.

Simplify

Once you've Eliminated and Automated tasks, what tasks can you Simplify? How can you make what you have to do easier and have it take less time?

Simplifying means organising your resources so they're close at hand. It means reducing the standards for completion of non-essential tasks. It means making processes easier to operate and taking out non-essential activities from them.

You can simplify not only marketing and coaching delivery tasks, but also your home management activities. For example, can you use online shopping and delivery to save yourself two hours a week?

Execute

Now we come to the remaining and core activities of your business. These include tasks only you can do and tasks that could be completed by others.

Execute tasks are those you must do yourself - this naturally includes the delivery of your coaching services. But it also includes a proportion of your marketing tasks. Here, it's helpful to distinguish between content and process. You need to provide the content for your marketing - the text for your sales letters and your website content.

But others can manage the processes of marketing for you. This might include setting up your website or blog in the first place, uploading your sales pages to the internet, sending out your weekly newsletter, managing your autoresponders and making telephone calls to arrange coaching sessions or meetings.

The key is being ruthless about what do you HAVE to do. If a task is not focused around your core skills, and high-value added activities, you shouldn't be doing it.

And that leads us to the final part of the EASED model - Delegate.

Delegate

After you've gone through the Execute phase, you'll have some tasks that are candidates for delegation. These will probably include aspects of the administration of your business and aspects of the process of your marketing. They may also include elements of your home-life like childcare or cleaning.

Your potential task list may be quite long, and you know there are many tasks that you could usefully delegate. But, I also know what you're going to say next.

But I can't afford to pay staff...

No, not many start-up coaches can afford to pay full-time, permanent staff. But you don't need to do that yet. Just look at the list of tasks you had from above, and the ones that you could delegate.

Now consider these options:

o Get yourself a cleaner, order groceries online and delegate other non-business related time-consuming tasks.

o Consider getting part-time typing assistance from a temp agency or from personal contacts.

o Hire a VA - a Virtual Assistant.

o Use resources for specific tasks from http://www.elance.com .

But, But... Don't All Of These Cost Money?

Yes they do. And that's the wrong question. The right question is, if this frees me up and allows me to get one paid coaching session extra per week, what is that worth?

Let's say it costs you £15 per hour for admin support - for a VA perhaps. And let's say your coaching fees are only £80 per hour. You could pay for five hours of your admin and marketing time a week, if you got just one ongoing coaching session per week.

Now, what would five hours of marketing per week, every week give you, or get for you? Hmmmm... Just a thought...

Summary

This article has outlined my EASED process for categorising tasks in your coaching practice that can be Eliminated, Automated, Simplified, Executed by you or Delegated. What from this article could you put in place in your coaching practice this week?

Finding Time For Marketing! - How To Have Time To Market As Well As Deliver Your Coaching Services

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Affiliate Marketing Tips - How to Make Money Online Without Your Own Products

Internet marketing can be a tough challenge without the proper strategies and skills. For you to be an effective marketer, you must know the principles to follow in order to become a success. This journal consists of affiliate marketing tips which will guide you on how to become a successful online marketer.

This article saves you time and hustle by providing you with 10 affiliate marketing tips which are key essentials for positive results.

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Know the real meaning of affiliate marketing and how it can help you.

· Starting a business requires great determination but all of the effort could go into waste if a company lacks an effective program or system. The size of the corporate does not matter most; what matters is how you start and progress. First of all, you have to lay out a plan which is crucial for the business you are about to start.

Know the right market.

· Each product is designed for a specific age character, while others are meant for one sex group. Before you select a product, you must first acknowledge your target market. You should understand what they expect and how they are attracted to a similar product as yours. This gives you an idea of what to feature effectively.

Keyword research

· To be an effective marketer, you need to incorporate keyword research. This helps your clients and business associates to access your information through search engines. This is one of the key essential points for affiliate marketing. It also generates a lot of traffic for your content which contributes to growth and development. Keyword research is not only used for Search Engine Optimization, but also for linking your customers and members to your blog.

Products

· Products differ in functionality and quality. So it is important to promote a top-notch product. A brand that has made a name for itself in the market is easier to sell and advertise because the brand is already accepted by the market and you only need to make a good impression in order to sell.

Prior Contact

· This is for customers and clients who prefer to shop for products in the local market. Not everybody is keen on shopping online, which is why it is important to bond with your customers, in order to convince them of your product. This affiliate marketing tip is not only for ensuring a successful growth but a stable one as well.

Planning

· For all the affiliate marketing tips to be effective, you need a good plan on how to introduce your offer or position yourself in the marketplace. First impression is very important so do not create a negative image for your clients.

Be patient and persistent

· It takes time for a business to expand; that is why it is important for you to deliver quality standards at all times and be consistent.

Content building

· Your data should be well-managed to create an attractive interface. It should also be informal to customers and fulfill their curiosity regarding any subject.

List building

· This is a key essential for premium customers who wish to subscribe for more information. This is one of the affiliate marketing tips which will accelerate your income. The secret is that a satisfied customer will be more inclined to purchase from you again.

Generation quality traffic

· This is achieved by having a wide range of advertising agents through social networks, videos, articles and other marketing means. You will certainly generate more targeted traffic by increasing exposure to your business.

With these strategies in mind, you are guaranteed to create and implement a successful marketing plan.

Affiliate Marketing Tips - How to Make Money Online Without Your Own Products

Friday, July 6, 2012

What Actually Is Mobile Marketing?

"Mobile Marketing" is nothing but using mobile as the medium for marketing communication purposes. It can also be described as the distribution of messages through wireless networks. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) defines Mobile Marketing as, "the use of wireless media in a cross-media marketing communications program as an integrated content delivery and direct responsive vehicle." This implies that, mobile marketing includes channels with more number of media outlets and not a single marketing channel.

With a marketing practice, an organization could communicate and get hold of their clients in a relevant manner by means of a mobile device or network. An interactive wireless media provides customers with time and location sensitive, which thereby generates value for all its stakeholders. The most significant and primary factor for the success of marketing, lies in the proper integration of mobile portion with digital media elements and other traditional elements.

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Mobile Marketing is achieved by anyone of the following five means: Mobile via SMS, mobile via MMS, marketing through infrared, marketing via Bluetooth, in-game marketing and mobile web marketing. With a Short Message Service (SMS), an organization could get connected to its audience. Here they promote their business through SMS, on enabling the user to send short codes, thereby giving a response. MMS mobile marketing practice includes image slideshows, text, audio and video options. Color screened model mobiles, which are commonly available now-a-days has this feature of sending and receiving MMS messages.

With a mobile web marketing practice, a brand can advertise its web pages, which could also be used as the means for customer engagement. The marketing association has put forward certain guidelines and standards, which brings out the format for presentations and ads that a brand uses for promoting their web pages. As per those guidelines mobile content providers are supposed to sell their advertising placements via web pages.

Next is in-game marketing, where mobile games are used for engaging customers. This can also be referred as "adver gaming". In addition to casual games, it also includes richer games like interactive real-time 3D games, massive multi-player games and social networking games.

Mobile Marketing via Bluetooth offers a content management system with Bluetooth distribution function. Though Bluetooth technology enables wireless transmission for a specific distance, it has higher transfer speeds and radio-based technology which is free of cost. Another special advantage of using this Bluetooth facility is that it offers a permission based system. The last type of marketing is via infrared, which is the oldest form of mobile marketing. It includes the transfer of only a limited form of data by means of infrared.

What Actually Is Mobile Marketing?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Why Hiring a Social Media Marketing Manager is a Surefire Way to Grow Your Business!

Have you heard all the buzz about social media marketing, but aren't really sure how it can be a part of your marketing plan or how to even get started? Are you considering using this form of new media to grow your business but are overwhelmed by the technical aspects and the massive time commitment to make this strategy work?

Trust me, you are not alone! I got caught up in the wave of online marketing about four years ago...right smack dab in the middle of building my first offline business. The idea of being able to automatically generate leads that didn't cost a dime was quite alluring.

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The problem is that the people who tell you that it's so easy to generate leads and sales through social marketing don't factor in the time you have to spend learning how to use these systems and then constantly updating and maintaining multiple accounts to be successful with this strategy.

I learned that the hard way - by doing everything on my own for nearly three years. Updating profiles, adding friends, creating content, etc. etc. It got to the point where I was working 10+ hours a day just to keep up with everything...yes, I started to make sales, but shouldn't my time be more valuable than this?

Then I discovered a secret that I just have to share with you.

I was able to outsource this work to a social media marketing manager (SMMM) - which made my business grow like wildflower!

Here's how having a social media marketing manager can help you do the same:

Take care of all the technical aspects.

We all know that time is money. Hiring someone just to build all of your profiles and link them together is worth it's weight in gold. A good SMMM will take all of this off your plate and help you to develop a strategy for attracting your ideal client.

Profile management.

When you have multiple profiles (Linked In, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter) it can be a monumental task just to clean up all the junk requests and spam that comes into those accounts. Your social media marketing manager will do all of this tedious work on your behalf so you can focus your time on selling.

Audience building.

Finding the right people for you products and services is paramount in business. The best SMMM's will work with you to understand your ideal client and put together a strategy of building a following on the right social media sites to attract your best prospects.

Reputation management.

An old business saying is that a happy customer tells one person about their good experience, while an unhappy customer will tell eleven! If you are considering hiring a social media marketing manager, make certain that they will monitor what is being said about your products and services online so that if negative things are being spread, you can take immediate action!

Content creation.

The only way to succeed with social marketing is to constantly be creating content that is useful and engaging to your target audience. Your SMMM should be willing to create this content on your behalf and distribute it to your prospects. This also includes doing daily status updates on your various profiles.

Why Hiring a Social Media Marketing Manager is a Surefire Way to Grow Your Business!