Tag: marketing

A June 23, 2005 news release from the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, states that home computer owners are slightly more likely to be business owners than non-computer owners. This report reveals that technology and computing has become an inseparable ingredient in the business world today.

The Computer Trend – A Brief History

The last two decades have marked an enormous increase in the number of home computers. With it, computer owners have invariably taken to entrepreneurship in many varied fields. Thanks to the growth of technology, computers and the Internet, new methods have been developed for processing everyday business activities easily. Without the advent of technology, routine tasks would otherwise have taken and enormous amount of time and specialization. Undoubtedly, the computer represents the top technology development in the last century as it relates to businesses today, both large and small. Advances in the field of technology have created a vast number of business opportunities.

Some Statistics

In 2003, the U.S. Small Business Administration produced a report/survey that established conclusively that more than 75% of small businesses owned computers and had heavily invested in new technology. Let us try to understand what the computers mean to businesses and how they contribute to increase their productivity.

USE OF COMPUTERS IN BUSINESSES

The fundamental reasons for the popularity of computers with small businesses are their efficiency, speed, low procurement cost and more than anything else, capability to handle multiple tasks with little chance for error.

Office Routines: Almost invariably, businesses loaded with the burden of increasing workloads and the pressures of being lean and mean, fall back upon technology for most of their administrative tasks. This work includes, among others, bookkeeping, inventory managing and email. The advent of the Internet has also substantially contributed in bringing down the costs of communication and marketing. In a nutshell, technology has reduced the overall cost of business operations.

New Business Opportunities: The explosion of Internet and e-commerce has opened up a plethora of opportunities for all types of businesses. New management methodologies, such as Six Sigma are easier to implement due to statistical software. Also, companies are able to train their own employees using in-house Six Sigma software programs, and as a result, save money on labor costs.

It is now possible to have many business functions operate on autopilot. This has opened up new opportunities for software development companies and business consultants. Another business trend that has opened up as a result of advancing technology is outsourcing. It is now possible for a company in America to have its data entry and customer service centers in overseas countries such as the UK. In this way, companies can service their customers 24/7.

Indispensable Components of Small Businesses

It is difficult to think of a situation where businesses can do without technology and computers today. It is extremely difficult to say whether businesses depend on computers or computers created business opportunities.

Software Specific To Small Businesses

Certain powerful, yet simple software has come to the rescue of small businesses in reducing their tasks and opening up new channels. Simple applications like spreadsheets and word processing helps them maintain accounts, finances and keep track of correspondence. These applications allow the users to customize reports and other functions to suit their particular business.

Drawbacks

Both men and women in business have adapted successfully to new technology. But the SBA report cites the general decline in skill levels of people, which may eventually result in an overall reduction of income levels. It seems that people get used to technology doing all the work and tend to neglect their skill development. It is up to individual companies to make sure that their employees are still able to do crucial tasks without the assistance of computers, if necessary.

Source by Tony Jacowski

Promotion strategies come in wide variety. There are television and radio advertisements, parties, events, and many more. But one of the things that a company must take into consideration when doing promotions is the cost at hand for the plan.

Events eat all the money in the budget as well as advertisements on TV or radio. Unlike other promotions, promotional items are what you need to do direct marketing to your consumers. One of the items you can make use of that are cost effective are promotional badges.

Badges, also called patches, are wearable stuff made from metal, plastic, leather, textile, rubber, or other materials. Badges are commonly added accessories attached to clothing, bags, footwear, vehicles, or to home appliances like the refrigerator.

Four General Categories of Promotional Badges

Badges generally have four categories:

1. Enamel badges have colors made of glass-based or synthetic polymer enamel, which are filled at the base of the badge. Enamel badges are available in a wide range of metallic and translucent finish.
2. Name badges are usually used in exhibits, events, or presentations because of the identity that the badge has. Name badges provide the best opportunity for your company or organization to be identified by the people. Well-designed, neat, and sensible promotional badges greatly help in establishing your company image. Corporate graphics or your company logo can also be engraved on the name badge.
3. Flashing button badges are trendy button or pin badges made of LED, which allows it to flash in the dark. Flashing button badges come in multicolor finishes to give that stylish feature.
4. Custom metal badges are perfect if you want to have your own way of having the badge as effective as possible when it comes to direct marketing.

Why Choose Promotional Badges

Badges are perfect for your direct marketing approach, since they are wearable, with funky style, convenient, and less expensive. The media industry, for example, benefits from promotional badges for its promotions in records and releases and concert tours. Civic and charity institutions also utilize badges for mass appeal through inscribing their slogans on the badges, since these badges have great mass appeal and have those attention-getting designs. You can also take advantage of events where you can use these badges as giveaways.

In addition, these badges can be personalized according to your campaign or slogan or the message that your company wants to convey. As promotional badges have still a long way to go before being out of fashion, your company badge, may it be large button badges or small ones, will be getting through your target market with your message.

Source by Douglas Gregory

There are a number of restaurants that start business but without undertaking proper marketing strategies. For restaurant branding a professional campaign is required. Only word of mouth about the restaurant service, the quality of food and its ambiance is not enough. For promoting a restaurant business you need proper marketing to increase restaurant sales.

A marketing strategy is also required if you are planning to open a pub. Advertising is always not sufficient for building the reputation of your business. Restaurant marketing, bar and pub marketing are necessary to set up your business and it should not be taken as any redundant activity.

Different marketing techniques, marketing ideas, public relations, media relations, and creative designs are required to build a brand image for your restaurant, pub and bars. You also need to have proper local marketing, Internet marketing and marketing budget.

For restaurant and bar marketing different new marketing ideas are to be adopted. For building brand image and brand loyalty of your eatery, promotions are required inside as well as outside the business venue.

To build the image of your restaurant inside the business venue and for better sales you should take marketing advice from expert, maintain customer database and give emphasis on in-house branding.

For restaurant marketing outside your business venue, you need proper media relations, arrange corporate events, regular product launch and Internet marketing. Adopting sound and effective restaurant and pub marketing strategies, your business will draw more customers.

Giving out discount coupons, discount codes and special offers are surely to bring customers to your restaurant and bars. There are a many people who collect the discount coupons from Sunday newspaper and use them the next time they visit an eatery. This way they can save on their food bills and you get regular visitors.

Promotional discounts are very effective to draw new customers and it is your restaurant service that will tend them to come to your eatery on a regular basis. Competitions and games to win free meals and drinks can also be arranged which are also part of effective promotion for your restaurant.

Source by Guy Holmes

Social networking websites has touched so many lives and has now become an important way of communication, linking many friends from coast to coast with a simple click of a button.  These simple websites can really help a lot in earning additional income for any business.

A great way for a business to monitor their popularity in various social networking sites is by joining these sites themselves, a good example for this UPrinting. The online printing giant has joined these social media networks not only to promote and check their status in the site but also to touch base and react with customers, both new and old.  

Social networks can also be used as a benchmark for the popularity and the social relevance of a product, service, establishment or business. These sites usually play host to several comments both good and bad about the company or the service. In a business setting, it is important for business owners and managers to know where they went wrong or where they went right with their products or services.  

Social networking sites are also a great place to host or sponsor events to gauge the awareness of people on a certain product or service.  On some sites such as twitter, people are able to voice out their opinion on how well or how poor a service is or how good or bad a product that they have purchased is.

Businesses that have not yet tried using social networking sites or services are bound to miss on a lot of potential business deals as well as potential clients.

There are a lot of things a social networking site can do for any kind of business. All an owner or manager has to do is to use his or her imagination.

Source by Earl Maghirang

Relationship Marketing is targeted at building stronger and long lasting relationships with clients and other companies. The business is done with a strategic orientation, where the relationship is improved with existing customers rather than finding new customers. It is meant to cater to the needs of individual customers. Its major part involves studying the need of the customer and how it changes in different circumstances.

Relationship marketing applies techniques like marketing, sales, customer care and communication. The relationship is not only enhanced but its life period is increased by these strategies. And as the customer realizes the value of relationship, they are drawn closer. This marketing not only focuses on building relationship and attracting customers to their products and services but also how to retain them.

A raw form of Marketing came into existence in the 1960s. But, organizations were still facing difficulty in selling products, so a system was developed to sell low cost goods to larger group of customer. Leonard Berry and Jag Sheth originated this marketing, in 1982. It was started in B2B markets and industries, which involved long term contracts for many years.  Over the period of time, various marketing strategies were improved and relationship marketing was one of them.

Relationship marketing is applicable where the customers have many options in the market for the same product or service and the customer is entitled to make a selection decision. In such a kind of market, businesses try to maintain their clients by providing comparatively better products and good service and hence, achieving customer loyalty. And once it is achieved it becomes difficult for competitors to do well in the market. The customer turnover wasn’t paid attention on as the main attention was on customer satisfaction. This kind of marketing was initially named as defensive marketing. Offensive marketing is the marketing strategy where not only new customers are attracted, but also the sales are stepped up by increasing the purchase frequency. This kind of marketing concentrates on freeing dissatisfied customers and acquiring new customers.

According to a research, the cost of retaining an old customer is only ten percent of the cost of getting a new customer, which makes sense to not to run around to get new customers in relationship marketing. And according to another research done by cross-sectional analysis, says that, a five percent improvement in customer retention is responsible for twenty-five to eighty-five percent of the profit. Usually high cost is incurred when getting new customers, so if sufficient number of existing customers is retained, there will be no need of acquiring new customers.

Once the customer trust is gained his chances of switching to other company becomes relatively less, he buys goods in bulk, he buys other supplementary goods and he starts neglecting average price variation. This maintains the unit sales volume and there is an increase in dollar-sales volume. The existing customers will be like a living advertisement. If he is satisfied with the company he will recommend it to his friends and acquaintances.

Since the existing customers are familiar with the process, it will take less time and money to educate them about the procedures putting fewer burdens on employees also and making them feel more satisfied with their jobs. The customers are divided into groups based on their loyalty. This procedure is known as relationship ladder of customer loyalty. The groups in ascending order are prospects, customer, client, supporter, advocate and partner.

Due to the advancement in computers and Internet, software has been developed to facilitate customer relationship management. With the help of this software the tastes, activities, preferences, and complaints of customers are tracked. Almost all the companies have this software in their marketing strategy, which benefits the customer as well as the company.

Thus the main aim of relationship marketing is to construct and maintain relationship with committed clients who are meant to bring profit to the company. The other benefits achieved are confidence building and social benefits.

Source by Steve Johnson