by: Janice Jenkins
After you wake up in the morning, you go to the kitchen for breakfast. You look in the cupboard at the many varieties of cereal, all with different ingredients and packaging. That is when you realize that all products you will use this morning- shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toiletries- are created to meet your needs. Product planning and packaging are part of marketing.
You wonder what happened last night with your favorite sports team. You check the newspaper; it is filled with national and local retail advertising, and with inserts of some newsletter printing and some discount coupons. One ad in particular catches your attention like some idea on the cheap newsletters you have read. So, you ask a few friends to go to the mall with you after school.
Advertising is part of marketing. At the mall, scores of enticing store window displays encourage you to enter. Some of the stores are having sales featuring price reductions of 20-50 percent. Displays and promotional techniques are part of marketing.
In the mall store you entered, you are greeted by a sales associate who is ready to assist you with your purchase decisions and handed out some newsletters to you. Personal selling is part of marketing, too, as are all the retail stores that help to distribute manufacturer’s products.
All the marketing activities you see daily can be classified into different functions of marketing. These functions are the categories that make up the wheel’s outer rim. Those functions help us appreciate the wide scope of activities involved in marketing.
Marketing is purchasing. Purchasing is buying goods and services for a business operation. For example, shirt manufacturers buy cloth and thread to make their products. Apparel retailers buy the finished shirts for resale in their stores.
Marketing is selling. Selling is providing customers with goods and services that they want to buy. This includes selling in the retail market to the final consumer of the product. It also includes selling in the industrial market where products are purchased for use in the business operations.
Marketing is pricing. Pricing means deciding how much to charge for goods and services produced. Most pricing decisions take competition into consideration, as well as how much a customer is willing to pay for the product or service rendered.
Marketing is product planning. Product planning involves all the decisions a business makes in the production and sale of its goods and services. Which products to carry is a major decision. Other decisions involve product packaging, labeling, and branding.
Marketing is marketing information. Marketing information management is the process of getting the marketing information needed to make sound business decisions. The basis for this process is marketing research. Did you ever complete a restaurant questionnaire that asked you to rate the service you received? If so, you have participated in a marketing research. Companies conduct marketing research to learn more about their customers, products and promotions.
Marketing is promotion. Promotion is any form of communication used to inform, persuade, or remind people about a business’s products. Promotion is also used to improve a firm’s public image. The TV and radio commercials you see and hear are forms of promotions called advertising.
Marketing is financing. Financing is getting the money needed to finance the operation of a business. Business owners may request a bank loan in order to start a new business. Financing also includes decisions regarding offering credit to customers.
These are just some of the many functions of marketing you need to know as an entrepreneur.
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November 30, 2010
Online Marketing Articles - Keys to Writing Good Headlines
Daiv Russell
Nearly all Internet marketing consultants concur – One of the critical elements to effective Internet marketing is with the use of articles. You realize you need to capitalize on the potential of Internet marketing using articles, but how important is the headline? What's the most effective way to write headlines to stand above the rest?
All the Internet marketing gurus concur on this – One of the critical elements to successful Internet marketing is via article marketing.
Now that you realize you have to harness the potential of Internet marketing using articles, you have to try your hand at writing articles to please three, exceptionally unique targets with one article.
Three audiences of article marketing Here are the three audiences of article marketing and how to write great headlines for each:
Readers - Ultimately, these are the folks who will decide that they are attracted to what you do sufficiently to come to your site. You should write a headline that will attract your audience to actually read your article in the first place. You have to attract the reader to read further into your article and actually pay attention to your message. 80% of readers will read your headline, but only 20% will dig in to your article. How effectively your headline is written will determine the reader’s next step. Readers can see your article headline on social networking hangouts like Del.icio.us and Digg, as links in an instant message from a school chum, and in their Google results. If your headline does not make them want to read your article, you simply won’t get readership, even if you have the best message or product in the world. You could offer the cure to AIDS, but with a bad headline no one will learn about it.
Search Engines - Yahoo and the like believe that the page title is the key on-page indicator of the content of the page. Coming in second place is the use of the heading tag. When your article is published, publishers have a tendency to make either or both the title and H1 tag the same as your article title. So, having words in your article title which are important to those searching for information increase your chances of showing up in search engine results. You want your keywords in the headline and as near the start as reasonable to still satisfy the other two audiences.
Publishers - One of the keys to article marketing is the viral mass-publication process. This is why article marketing is so powerful. One well-written article can get published on 5,000 pages around the planet in just a few weeks. These folks choose whether your article is featured on their site, newsletter, blog, etc.They are a pesky combination of both readers and the likes the Google. They want to believe your article will attract search engine clicks but also make their readers happy. But, if they can’t find your article since the the misworded headline doesn’t come back in their Google results, or the headline doesn’t attract them in to take a look at your article – you miss the boat. One could say that publishers can make or break an article’s success and by pleasing the other two audiences you can make them happy as well.
Writing Great Headlines for All Three
This article's title was written particularly to provide an example of how to meet the needs these three audiences. As you can see, the first three words of the article headline are search engine fodder - they are a combination of two highly sought phrases, and those words are the very first in the headline. The first words also tell you what you will learn when you read the article. The last part entrances you and draws you further in. It introduces something of interest that will provide what you’re hoping to gain or learn about. It makes you ask yourself, "I wonder what lesson I can take away from this article…" and so you keep reading, just as you did. Armed with this information, you can now write good article headlines that get noticed, get published, and get people coming to your web site. Get out there, get writing, and cash in.
Article Tags:
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
Nearly all Internet marketing consultants concur – One of the critical elements to effective Internet marketing is with the use of articles. You realize you need to capitalize on the potential of Internet marketing using articles, but how important is the headline? What's the most effective way to write headlines to stand above the rest?
All the Internet marketing gurus concur on this – One of the critical elements to successful Internet marketing is via article marketing.
Now that you realize you have to harness the potential of Internet marketing using articles, you have to try your hand at writing articles to please three, exceptionally unique targets with one article.
Three audiences of article marketing Here are the three audiences of article marketing and how to write great headlines for each:
Readers - Ultimately, these are the folks who will decide that they are attracted to what you do sufficiently to come to your site. You should write a headline that will attract your audience to actually read your article in the first place. You have to attract the reader to read further into your article and actually pay attention to your message. 80% of readers will read your headline, but only 20% will dig in to your article. How effectively your headline is written will determine the reader’s next step. Readers can see your article headline on social networking hangouts like Del.icio.us and Digg, as links in an instant message from a school chum, and in their Google results. If your headline does not make them want to read your article, you simply won’t get readership, even if you have the best message or product in the world. You could offer the cure to AIDS, but with a bad headline no one will learn about it.
Search Engines - Yahoo and the like believe that the page title is the key on-page indicator of the content of the page. Coming in second place is the use of the heading tag. When your article is published, publishers have a tendency to make either or both the title and H1 tag the same as your article title. So, having words in your article title which are important to those searching for information increase your chances of showing up in search engine results. You want your keywords in the headline and as near the start as reasonable to still satisfy the other two audiences.
Publishers - One of the keys to article marketing is the viral mass-publication process. This is why article marketing is so powerful. One well-written article can get published on 5,000 pages around the planet in just a few weeks. These folks choose whether your article is featured on their site, newsletter, blog, etc.They are a pesky combination of both readers and the likes the Google. They want to believe your article will attract search engine clicks but also make their readers happy. But, if they can’t find your article since the the misworded headline doesn’t come back in their Google results, or the headline doesn’t attract them in to take a look at your article – you miss the boat. One could say that publishers can make or break an article’s success and by pleasing the other two audiences you can make them happy as well.
Writing Great Headlines for All Three
This article's title was written particularly to provide an example of how to meet the needs these three audiences. As you can see, the first three words of the article headline are search engine fodder - they are a combination of two highly sought phrases, and those words are the very first in the headline. The first words also tell you what you will learn when you read the article. The last part entrances you and draws you further in. It introduces something of interest that will provide what you’re hoping to gain or learn about. It makes you ask yourself, "I wonder what lesson I can take away from this article…" and so you keep reading, just as you did. Armed with this information, you can now write good article headlines that get noticed, get published, and get people coming to your web site. Get out there, get writing, and cash in.
Article Tags:
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
November 22, 2010
Having the Drive To Make Money Online
By Matt Bacak
If you have the commitment and dedication, you can make money online. Having drive and persistence is critical if you want to succeed in making money on the internet. You can’t take no for an answer. If you do hear a “no”, you have to ask yourself, how can I get around this “no”. How can I make this happen? By having the belief in yourself to make it happen, it can happen, as long as you’re using the right tools, techniques and strategies to make it happen. You also have to be willing to keep your mind open to new ideas that will allow you to make even more money.
I’ve often heard people outside of North America question whether or not it’s possible to make a nice living online. I tell them it is possible. Even if English is not your mother tongue, it is very possible to make a very nice living online. Actually, I have a friend right now that can’t speak a lick of English. I looked at his account and he’s making $80,000 a month! The guy can’t speak English very well, but he can write quite well in English. He actually writes his own sales page copy. And he just hired a voice-over person to do his voice-overs for his videos. Now if that isn’t determination, I don’t know what is. You have to believe in yourself. That’s how to make things possible.
Having the drive to start and run a business is very important in online marketing. Even if you don’t have great English-speaking skills, who cares! That is just going to have to be something that you’re going to have to outsource. If you need articles written, outsource it. If you need videos made, outsource that too. Just make it happen! Actually, I had a guy that was totally blind and he was just making remarkable money online. In six months, he made over half a million dollars — something ridiculous like that. And he was totally blind! Here’s what he did. He would look at the skills that he was not good at and he would outsource those things. If you’ve got great goals and great enthusiasm, that will help you to succeed. You’ve got to be persistent. If you have the fever to succeed online you will. You just need to make it happen and do whatever it takes.
There are many strategies to making money on the internet, but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is the most profitable way to make money on the internet. When you build a list of hot and hungry prospects you control your future. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Bacak
http://EzineArticles.com/?Having-the-Drive-To-Make-Money-Online&id=5245249
November 11, 2010
More Is Still Better
Authored By: Martha D. Killian
Actually, I’m not talking about the word ‘more’ as having it in terms of quantity and quality. I am actually talking about the concepts of marketing, be it postcard printing or tv commercials, and being more than what is considered as the standard.
As any marketer knows, there are four Ps in marketing – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These four Ps of marketing are the major concepts of what marketing should be. They are the base and the foundation that any marketer or business owner should use to put together an effective and successful marketing campaign in their print postcards or door hangers for example.
To recap, the first P is the Product. Product means the very item or thing that you are selling to your target audience. It can also be a service which you offer your target market.
Price refers to the rate at which the product or service is being sold. It may come from different factors. You can use the competition, market share, cost of materials, the identity of the product, as well as the value perceived by the customers to determine the price. Your competitor’s price is also very important as it tells you how much you can apply to your own product especially if you have the same item being offered.
Place indicates the area or location where your product or service can be purchased by your customers. It is also known as the “distribution channel”. Promotion, on the other hand, is the manner by which you make your product or service known by the general public. This is actually where you put your marketing efforts to action.
But along the way, marketers felt a need to add to the four Ps. Many feel it’s not enough anymore. The four Ps have been revamped, reorganized, and made use of to provide new concepts to make better and more effective marketing campaigns. As the four Ps were not enough anymore, additional concepts were now introduced based not only on the product but on the services as well.
Hence, the creation of the extra two Ps – People and Performance.
People refer to the customers of the business, both the target and the present. It also includes how these people think and make their buying decisions, as well as the segments found in the market, which provides for a more focused and well-thought of marketing campaign that targets the most attractive sector of the market.
Finally, there’s P for Performance. This refers to the overall performance of the business itself – the financial and strategic goals, and whether they can be achieved or not.
All in all, the new six Ps tries to improve on the previous concepts. With extra ideas to use, marketers are expected to have better results in their marketing efforts.
More tips and information’s on how to effectively market your business by postcards can be found at online print postcards.
About Author:
Martha Killian has been writing articles online for about 2 years now in a printing company. You can also check out this website for more information about this article: online printing services.
Article Source:http://www.freearticlesinc.com/view_article-id-26891-at-More-Is-Still-Better.html
Actually, I’m not talking about the word ‘more’ as having it in terms of quantity and quality. I am actually talking about the concepts of marketing, be it postcard printing or tv commercials, and being more than what is considered as the standard.
As any marketer knows, there are four Ps in marketing – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These four Ps of marketing are the major concepts of what marketing should be. They are the base and the foundation that any marketer or business owner should use to put together an effective and successful marketing campaign in their print postcards or door hangers for example.
To recap, the first P is the Product. Product means the very item or thing that you are selling to your target audience. It can also be a service which you offer your target market.
Price refers to the rate at which the product or service is being sold. It may come from different factors. You can use the competition, market share, cost of materials, the identity of the product, as well as the value perceived by the customers to determine the price. Your competitor’s price is also very important as it tells you how much you can apply to your own product especially if you have the same item being offered.
Place indicates the area or location where your product or service can be purchased by your customers. It is also known as the “distribution channel”. Promotion, on the other hand, is the manner by which you make your product or service known by the general public. This is actually where you put your marketing efforts to action.
But along the way, marketers felt a need to add to the four Ps. Many feel it’s not enough anymore. The four Ps have been revamped, reorganized, and made use of to provide new concepts to make better and more effective marketing campaigns. As the four Ps were not enough anymore, additional concepts were now introduced based not only on the product but on the services as well.
Hence, the creation of the extra two Ps – People and Performance.
People refer to the customers of the business, both the target and the present. It also includes how these people think and make their buying decisions, as well as the segments found in the market, which provides for a more focused and well-thought of marketing campaign that targets the most attractive sector of the market.
Finally, there’s P for Performance. This refers to the overall performance of the business itself – the financial and strategic goals, and whether they can be achieved or not.
All in all, the new six Ps tries to improve on the previous concepts. With extra ideas to use, marketers are expected to have better results in their marketing efforts.
More tips and information’s on how to effectively market your business by postcards can be found at online print postcards.
About Author:
Martha Killian has been writing articles online for about 2 years now in a printing company. You can also check out this website for more information about this article: online printing services.
Article Source:http://www.freearticlesinc.com/view_article-id-26891-at-More-Is-Still-Better.html
November 09, 2010
Increase Your Site Ranking With The Help Of Social Bookmarking Service
Authored By: abhinav sidana
In order to get a website noticed by the target audience and to keep it alive and within sight, the services of a social bookmarking service may be engaged. The function of such a service is to link sites within forums, blogs, message boards etc. on a social networking website. There are innumerable web directories spanning the internet these days. Only an experienced and professional team as one engaged by a book marking site can identify the best directories to submit your site. It takes only a few days or at the most a week for links to your site to appear in all major search engines.
The bookmarking sites allow you to use keywords that are used as tags to the websites. These tagged websites become visible to millions of users and thereby become a vital link in the internet social circle. The links developed are permanent and strictly one-way thereby cancelling the need for any reciprocal links. Most social bookmarking services provide 24 hours customer support to answer any queries you have. You can also view all the sites picked out for their high PR in which your links have been submitted to. A number of such sites have cropped up lately making prices charged, affordable and competitive.
Most bookmarking sites insist on a registration process that requires you to create an account and give all relevant details including keywords pertaining to the context. This job does call for some amount of patience because registering in one bookmarking site is not enough. You should select a few from the scores of worthwhile sites available. The URL's relating to each page should be furnished. This could indeed be quite a tedious task to execute but the end result will be worthwhile.
A reliable social bookmarking service will provide you with multiple links for unrelated sites according to the norms laid down. You can either submit the URL of the home page of your website or any other page, or in case you have multiple pages to promote, you'll need to order for a campaign for each of the URL's. On doing this, you will be provided with a comprehensive list of URL's where you can locate your links.
About Author:
Social bookmarking service is one of the most important steps in optimizing your website for maximum visibility. Click here to see a recommended Social bookmarking service
Article Source:http://www.freearticlesinc.com/view_article-id-25320-at-Increase-Your-Site-Ranking-With-The-Help-Of-Social-Bookmarking-Service.html
In order to get a website noticed by the target audience and to keep it alive and within sight, the services of a social bookmarking service may be engaged. The function of such a service is to link sites within forums, blogs, message boards etc. on a social networking website. There are innumerable web directories spanning the internet these days. Only an experienced and professional team as one engaged by a book marking site can identify the best directories to submit your site. It takes only a few days or at the most a week for links to your site to appear in all major search engines.
The bookmarking sites allow you to use keywords that are used as tags to the websites. These tagged websites become visible to millions of users and thereby become a vital link in the internet social circle. The links developed are permanent and strictly one-way thereby cancelling the need for any reciprocal links. Most social bookmarking services provide 24 hours customer support to answer any queries you have. You can also view all the sites picked out for their high PR in which your links have been submitted to. A number of such sites have cropped up lately making prices charged, affordable and competitive.
Most bookmarking sites insist on a registration process that requires you to create an account and give all relevant details including keywords pertaining to the context. This job does call for some amount of patience because registering in one bookmarking site is not enough. You should select a few from the scores of worthwhile sites available. The URL's relating to each page should be furnished. This could indeed be quite a tedious task to execute but the end result will be worthwhile.
A reliable social bookmarking service will provide you with multiple links for unrelated sites according to the norms laid down. You can either submit the URL of the home page of your website or any other page, or in case you have multiple pages to promote, you'll need to order for a campaign for each of the URL's. On doing this, you will be provided with a comprehensive list of URL's where you can locate your links.
About Author:
Social bookmarking service is one of the most important steps in optimizing your website for maximum visibility. Click here to see a recommended Social bookmarking service
Article Source:http://www.freearticlesinc.com/view_article-id-25320-at-Increase-Your-Site-Ranking-With-The-Help-Of-Social-Bookmarking-Service.html
Ways to Get your Business Moving
by: Brent Durell
If you suddenly felt your business slowing down, you have to act fast before it is too late. You see, if you do not address the situation immediately, you will be losing income which will be harder for you to make your money roll. If you think you are going through a trough, do not wait until it is too late - invest in a good marketing program that is guaranteed to: 1) Stop the slowdown, and 2) Bring in the sales in the coming days.
If you are looking for a quick way to get your business moving, the key is to finding the people who have already started the buying process. What you have to do is zero in on the segment of the population who are actively looking for what you have to offer. How do you do that? Well, there are many fast and affordable ways to get to your customers who are in the buying process. Here are some ways to get to your target population:
1. Advertise Online. A lot of successful local businesses use online marketing campaigns to increase sales. As the years go by, the use of the Internet has grown exponentially. The Internet offers tremendous opportunity to get your product noticed by using paid search. After all, nearly 85 per cent of all Internet users perform online searches. If people are looking for a specific product or service, they will just search for the product; and if you have paid advertisement, your product or business will show up in the search results. For instance, if your customers are looking for personalized brochures and catalogs for example, your printing company, as well as the printing reviews of your print provider should show up in the search results.
The next challenge is how to show up near the top of the search results because as you may well know, people rarely go down the page or go the other result pages. The strategy here is to advertise using paid search on popular search engines like Google. This will make sure that your business or your products will appear near the top of the search results and receive maximum attention from prospects that are looking for a particular product or service like a professional and credible printing company for example.
2. Makeover your Website. Since we are talking about the Internet, let us talk about your website. If your website has not been reviewed for quite a while, this might be the opportunity to revisit your website and perhaps it needs a makeover. By equipping your website for search engine optimization, your site will go up in the ranking in search results. As stated previously, what you want to do is for your website to show up near the top, if not the top, of the result pages.
3. Give online Yellow Pages a try. By putting your business in an online Yellow Pages, you increase the chances that people who are looking for a particular product or service will chance upon your product. It is like making your presence felt in all available channels. This will cover all aspects of your online marketing strategy. You would definitely want to seize all available online opportunity.
If the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You do not wait for sales to pick up because it might not or it might take a bit more time. You have to be proactive and find ways to jump start your business. What you want to do is to build sales fast through the placement of effective advertising on effective platforms such as the Internet.
If you suddenly felt your business slowing down, you have to act fast before it is too late. You see, if you do not address the situation immediately, you will be losing income which will be harder for you to make your money roll. If you think you are going through a trough, do not wait until it is too late - invest in a good marketing program that is guaranteed to: 1) Stop the slowdown, and 2) Bring in the sales in the coming days.
If you are looking for a quick way to get your business moving, the key is to finding the people who have already started the buying process. What you have to do is zero in on the segment of the population who are actively looking for what you have to offer. How do you do that? Well, there are many fast and affordable ways to get to your customers who are in the buying process. Here are some ways to get to your target population:
1. Advertise Online. A lot of successful local businesses use online marketing campaigns to increase sales. As the years go by, the use of the Internet has grown exponentially. The Internet offers tremendous opportunity to get your product noticed by using paid search. After all, nearly 85 per cent of all Internet users perform online searches. If people are looking for a specific product or service, they will just search for the product; and if you have paid advertisement, your product or business will show up in the search results. For instance, if your customers are looking for personalized brochures and catalogs for example, your printing company, as well as the printing reviews of your print provider should show up in the search results.
The next challenge is how to show up near the top of the search results because as you may well know, people rarely go down the page or go the other result pages. The strategy here is to advertise using paid search on popular search engines like Google. This will make sure that your business or your products will appear near the top of the search results and receive maximum attention from prospects that are looking for a particular product or service like a professional and credible printing company for example.
2. Makeover your Website. Since we are talking about the Internet, let us talk about your website. If your website has not been reviewed for quite a while, this might be the opportunity to revisit your website and perhaps it needs a makeover. By equipping your website for search engine optimization, your site will go up in the ranking in search results. As stated previously, what you want to do is for your website to show up near the top, if not the top, of the result pages.
3. Give online Yellow Pages a try. By putting your business in an online Yellow Pages, you increase the chances that people who are looking for a particular product or service will chance upon your product. It is like making your presence felt in all available channels. This will cover all aspects of your online marketing strategy. You would definitely want to seize all available online opportunity.
If the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You do not wait for sales to pick up because it might not or it might take a bit more time. You have to be proactive and find ways to jump start your business. What you want to do is to build sales fast through the placement of effective advertising on effective platforms such as the Internet.
November 05, 2010
The Customer is Not Always Right
by: Rebel Brown
I was chatting with Marc Rudov, the WhiteNoise Doctor, last week about clients we have known. In case you don't know, I've been on a Rebel Rant lately about the ridiculous customer service attitudes, or rather lack of customer service, we've all experienced.
Marc reminded me of an important caveat to the “customer is always right” rule. We've both had clients who were abusive, obnoxious and downright unruly - refusing to listen, attacking us and our suggestions - all because in reality, they didn't want to change. They wanted to appear progressive to their boards or venture investors, but in reality - they were hanging onto gravity with all their might.
Such customers are not "always right". In fact they are usually just plain wrong! So there is a flip side to bad customer service - when the customer is wrong.
How can you tell when you should say "Enough is Enough" concerning a customer?
Customers are wrong when:
* They are abusive, nasty, angry or worse, for no reason other than fear of change. That's rude.
* They attack any and every idea you offer - even when you mirror their own ideas back to them. That's just plain cantankerous.
* They refuse to work with you in good faith to help solve their problem, preferring to complain. That's stubborn.
* They fib about their situation - either to protect themselves or to attack you. That's out of integrity.
* They play the passive/aggressive game, agreeing to a solution then changing their minds and wanting more or different responses from you, again and again and again. That's being a PITA.
My thanks to Marc for reminding me of yet another status quo belief whose time has come. The customer is not aways right.
Yes, customers deserve the best support you can provide. When customers are professional and fair - they deserve the best.
But when customers step across the lines above, it's time to take a hard look at whether you really want to be a business partner with them.
Ask yourself - what are your chances of success with this customer. Will they be, or are they, really profitable? If the answer is “slim to none”, move on!
I was chatting with Marc Rudov, the WhiteNoise Doctor, last week about clients we have known. In case you don't know, I've been on a Rebel Rant lately about the ridiculous customer service attitudes, or rather lack of customer service, we've all experienced.
Marc reminded me of an important caveat to the “customer is always right” rule. We've both had clients who were abusive, obnoxious and downright unruly - refusing to listen, attacking us and our suggestions - all because in reality, they didn't want to change. They wanted to appear progressive to their boards or venture investors, but in reality - they were hanging onto gravity with all their might.
Such customers are not "always right". In fact they are usually just plain wrong! So there is a flip side to bad customer service - when the customer is wrong.
How can you tell when you should say "Enough is Enough" concerning a customer?
Customers are wrong when:
* They are abusive, nasty, angry or worse, for no reason other than fear of change. That's rude.
* They attack any and every idea you offer - even when you mirror their own ideas back to them. That's just plain cantankerous.
* They refuse to work with you in good faith to help solve their problem, preferring to complain. That's stubborn.
* They fib about their situation - either to protect themselves or to attack you. That's out of integrity.
* They play the passive/aggressive game, agreeing to a solution then changing their minds and wanting more or different responses from you, again and again and again. That's being a PITA.
My thanks to Marc for reminding me of yet another status quo belief whose time has come. The customer is not aways right.
Yes, customers deserve the best support you can provide. When customers are professional and fair - they deserve the best.
But when customers step across the lines above, it's time to take a hard look at whether you really want to be a business partner with them.
Ask yourself - what are your chances of success with this customer. Will they be, or are they, really profitable? If the answer is “slim to none”, move on!
November 04, 2010
Main Benefits Of Article Marketing
by: Frank Breinling
If you are interested in making money online you cannot do so without first of all attracting a suitable level of traffic to your website. As there are now more than one hundred million web pages live on the net, the difficulty of acquiring a high visitor level is great. There are a number of concepts you could try out that should boost your site's presence. By learning about the benefits of article marketing you may discover that this is the option best for you.
Article marketing is a concept whereby articles that contain relevant or related information to your website are posted in directories. These then have back links to your site so that interested viewers can be directed your way. It sounds like a simple concept and it is, but it is also one that offers huge potential.
An important consideration in any marketing campaign is the cost. If you were to use traditional mediums for marketing, such as TV and newsprint, you may find that the expense that would be incurred is prohibitive. With article marketing there would be no issue. Most online directories allow you to submit information free of charge.
Any expert in internet marketing would know that the key is often the search engines. When most of us go online it is the search engines that are our first point of call, in fact millions of us set the homepage on our browsers as or favorite search engine.
If you submit information to an article directory, the web page is likely to receive a high placement in all the popular search engines. This is because the way the directories are set up suits most search-bots. Before you know it you can by receiving a huge amount of redirected traffic.
Another important factor is that you can submit information to an article directory three hundred and sixty five days of the year and twenty four hours a day. You do not need to wait for suitable business hours. This flexibility is an important benefit as you can choose a conveniently time to put together and upload your information.
Links are the arteries of the online world. They take web surfers from one page to another. The more links you have on the net, the greater amount of traffic that will be directed to your site. If you compose interesting articles you may find that other website owners would be interested in using the information on their sites and blogs. By increasing the number of links to your pages you can quickly increase your online visibility.
A lot of people go online in search of information and advice. If you put together articles that are helpful then these will attract a lot of information. You may not feel like placing "how to" lists on your own web pages, by adding such information to an online directory you can catch the interest of surfers who can then be directed to your own site and turned into paying customers.
If you are interested in making money online you cannot do so without first of all attracting a suitable level of traffic to your website. As there are now more than one hundred million web pages live on the net, the difficulty of acquiring a high visitor level is great. There are a number of concepts you could try out that should boost your site's presence. By learning about the benefits of article marketing you may discover that this is the option best for you.
Article marketing is a concept whereby articles that contain relevant or related information to your website are posted in directories. These then have back links to your site so that interested viewers can be directed your way. It sounds like a simple concept and it is, but it is also one that offers huge potential.
An important consideration in any marketing campaign is the cost. If you were to use traditional mediums for marketing, such as TV and newsprint, you may find that the expense that would be incurred is prohibitive. With article marketing there would be no issue. Most online directories allow you to submit information free of charge.
Any expert in internet marketing would know that the key is often the search engines. When most of us go online it is the search engines that are our first point of call, in fact millions of us set the homepage on our browsers as or favorite search engine.
If you submit information to an article directory, the web page is likely to receive a high placement in all the popular search engines. This is because the way the directories are set up suits most search-bots. Before you know it you can by receiving a huge amount of redirected traffic.
Another important factor is that you can submit information to an article directory three hundred and sixty five days of the year and twenty four hours a day. You do not need to wait for suitable business hours. This flexibility is an important benefit as you can choose a conveniently time to put together and upload your information.
Links are the arteries of the online world. They take web surfers from one page to another. The more links you have on the net, the greater amount of traffic that will be directed to your site. If you compose interesting articles you may find that other website owners would be interested in using the information on their sites and blogs. By increasing the number of links to your pages you can quickly increase your online visibility.
A lot of people go online in search of information and advice. If you put together articles that are helpful then these will attract a lot of information. You may not feel like placing "how to" lists on your own web pages, by adding such information to an online directory you can catch the interest of surfers who can then be directed to your own site and turned into paying customers.
November 03, 2010
7 Keys to Having a Positive Mental Attitude
By Nancy Friedman, The Telephone Doctor
There's an old joke about a little girl who always had such a great attitude. She was always so happy and upbeat. Her brother was just the opposite. One holiday, just to aggravate her and test her, her mean brother gave her a box filled with horse manure. He was tired of his sister always having such a positive attitude. He thought surely this would ‘fix' her. Christmas day, when she opened the box and saw the manure she exclaimed, "Whoopee...where's the pony?"
Ok, Ok... maybe you had to be there; but what a great attitude! The topic of our monthly email for May is ATTITUDE. Taken from our new Telephone Doctor video program "The 7 Keys to a Positive Mental Attitude." We'll list some of the ways you can have a positive mental attitude despite the challenges life may bring you.
Why do some people have such a great attitude and others a negative one? Well, we wondered the same thing; and through our research, we found 7 ‘keys' that those with a positive mental attitude all share. See how you rate:
Good luck. And remember, as long as you're going to do the job, you might as well do it with a smile!
There's an old joke about a little girl who always had such a great attitude. She was always so happy and upbeat. Her brother was just the opposite. One holiday, just to aggravate her and test her, her mean brother gave her a box filled with horse manure. He was tired of his sister always having such a positive attitude. He thought surely this would ‘fix' her. Christmas day, when she opened the box and saw the manure she exclaimed, "Whoopee...where's the pony?"
Ok, Ok... maybe you had to be there; but what a great attitude! The topic of our monthly email for May is ATTITUDE. Taken from our new Telephone Doctor video program "The 7 Keys to a Positive Mental Attitude." We'll list some of the ways you can have a positive mental attitude despite the challenges life may bring you.
Why do some people have such a great attitude and others a negative one? Well, we wondered the same thing; and through our research, we found 7 ‘keys' that those with a positive mental attitude all share. See how you rate:
- KEY #1: Choose your attitude in advance - When you wake up...you have a choice. You can be in a good mood or a bad mood. You also choose your attitude. You can wake up and mutter to yourself "this is gonna be a cruddy day" or you can tell yourself "this is gonna be a great day!" That immediate choice is the start of a great attitude. You've already decided it's going to be a good one. KEY #2: Visualize success - What this means is picture yourself having a successful day. Runners in the Boston Marathon picture themselves crossing the finish line. Maybe not in first place, but still finishing the 26-mile race. Self-visualization is a key factor in having a positive mental attitude. Will it work 100% of the time? I wish it would. However, by visualizing your success, you'll be able to have a better handle on what does happen. And a better chance of making it happen. Key #3: Demonstrate humor, energy and enthusiasm - We call these three items the MAGIC ingredients. Because without each one, creating a positive mental attitude will be very difficult. First, HUMOR. There is normally humor in every situation. Finding it is the KEY. Sometimes you'll need to stretch and dig a little deeper to find the humor in a situation. But once you do, you'll feel so much better. The ENERGY we talk about is important because without some "energy" in your attitude, you'll be dragging along behind everyone. Energy is closely related to the third ingredient...and that is ENTHUSIASM. My father used to tell me "Nancy, enthusiasm is contagious; let's start an epidemic." KEY #4: Resist negative influences - It's a fact. When we have a negative experience with a company, we'll tell more people about it than if we have a good experience with the same company. And many times, when you hear that someplace wasn't very good, you'll believe the person who told you and choose not to do business with that company. However, you may only be hearing HALF the story. Check things out for yourself. Especially if the negativity involves a person you work with or know. I bet we've all heard negative things about someone we didn't know and then when we had the opportunity to meet them ourselves, we find that they're not as bad as someone had alluded to. In fact they might be nice. But you need to be the judge. Take negativity out of your life. Steer clear of those who drag you down and say negative things all the time. Being around other positive people is a good start. KEY #5: Be a WHATEVER-IT-TAKES person - This "KEY" means be a problem solver. Life is going to put obstacles in front of all of us. How we go around those obstacles is the KEY factor. There's normally a good answer to every problem put in front of us. Dale Carnegie said it best. Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that can happen here?" And move up from that. KEY #6: Embrace change...expect it and accept it - Some people are very good at handling change...and some resist it a lot. We had a fun saying at our house - I can still hear my father saying it: "Nancy, the next time you change your mind...get a good one." The major KEY to handling CHANGE is to accept it. Deal with it. In most cases there's little we can do to stop it. Key #7: Be grateful for what you have - I'm not sure this KEY needs to be explained. So many people have so much. And yet those same people are often the ones that constantly complain. Why wait for some life altering experience to be grateful for all you have? Be grateful, NOW...before something bad happens and makes you aware.
Good luck. And remember, as long as you're going to do the job, you might as well do it with a smile!
November 02, 2010
Reputation Management: How to Manage Your Reputation Online
If you've ever Googled your name, you know how important managing your reputation online can be. Each day, thousands of individuals are searching online for information about others simply by searching on Google or other leading search engines. With information being so readily available, managing your reputation is more important than ever.
How to Manage Your Reputation Online
Fortunately, managing your reputation online isn't all that difficult, but it does take work. Here are 7 basic steps you can take to ensure that your reputation doesn't become negatively impacted by what's being said about you online.
1. See where you stand. Start your reputation management initiative by Googling your name. Try it with quotes and with out (first and last name together). Look through each of your results on page one and page two of Google. Are there any there are are negative or you wish to remove?
2. Set up a Google alert. Visit Google and set up an alert for your name. After setting up the alert Google will send you and email to confirm that you wish to receive the updates. Accept the alert and each time your name is published to the Web, you'll know about it.
3. Contact website owners for name removal. If there are sites that include your name and commentary that is less than desirable, contact the appropriate websites requesting that the information be removed. More often than not, website owners will agree to remove your name and/or inappropriate information.
4. Purchase a domain with your name. Add sites and webpages associated with your name and watch negative search results get pushed lower on Google rankings. Visit GoDaddy or another provider of website URLs and hosting, and purchase a domain that contains your name. Even if your name is rather common, experiment with variations until your name can be established in the form of a dot com. Once you own a domain, publish a webpage with your personal profile.
5. Start a blog under your name. Blogger is a great tool for setting up your own blog which can be used to publish information about yourself. Popular blog sites are often picked up by Google and you can control the content. Be sure to sign up for Technorati after your blog has been published. Submit your blog for review and its popularity will increase, improving search rankings and continuing to push down negative search results.
6. Free press release. Use free-press-release.com or a similar free press release site to publish favorable information about your and your reputation. This form of reputation management is easy and costs nothing. Be sure to use your name throughout the release and in the release title.
7. Author articles in your field. Publish article relative to a particular topic or area in which you've done some work or have experience. Use article distribution serivces to build online references to your content. Make sure your articles contain an about the author section that links back to your main website.
There are a variety of strategies you can use to manage online references about you, your family, or others that need to manage their reputation online. Other online sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and Squidoo, offer ample opportunity to deliver favorable search results that can push unfavorable results down in search engine rankings. The key is to start today - proactively manage your reputation and put yourself in a favorable light.
About the Author
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and founder of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 13 years of marketing experience and has appeared on the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Michael is also the author of SEO Made Simple: Strategies for Dominating the World's Largest Search Engine and The Webmasters Book of Secrets: Improve Search Engine Rankings.
©2008 MarketingScoop.
How to Manage Your Reputation Online
Fortunately, managing your reputation online isn't all that difficult, but it does take work. Here are 7 basic steps you can take to ensure that your reputation doesn't become negatively impacted by what's being said about you online.
1. See where you stand. Start your reputation management initiative by Googling your name. Try it with quotes and with out (first and last name together). Look through each of your results on page one and page two of Google. Are there any there are are negative or you wish to remove?
2. Set up a Google alert. Visit Google and set up an alert for your name. After setting up the alert Google will send you and email to confirm that you wish to receive the updates. Accept the alert and each time your name is published to the Web, you'll know about it.
3. Contact website owners for name removal. If there are sites that include your name and commentary that is less than desirable, contact the appropriate websites requesting that the information be removed. More often than not, website owners will agree to remove your name and/or inappropriate information.
4. Purchase a domain with your name. Add sites and webpages associated with your name and watch negative search results get pushed lower on Google rankings. Visit GoDaddy or another provider of website URLs and hosting, and purchase a domain that contains your name. Even if your name is rather common, experiment with variations until your name can be established in the form of a dot com. Once you own a domain, publish a webpage with your personal profile.
5. Start a blog under your name. Blogger is a great tool for setting up your own blog which can be used to publish information about yourself. Popular blog sites are often picked up by Google and you can control the content. Be sure to sign up for Technorati after your blog has been published. Submit your blog for review and its popularity will increase, improving search rankings and continuing to push down negative search results.
6. Free press release. Use free-press-release.com or a similar free press release site to publish favorable information about your and your reputation. This form of reputation management is easy and costs nothing. Be sure to use your name throughout the release and in the release title.
7. Author articles in your field. Publish article relative to a particular topic or area in which you've done some work or have experience. Use article distribution serivces to build online references to your content. Make sure your articles contain an about the author section that links back to your main website.
There are a variety of strategies you can use to manage online references about you, your family, or others that need to manage their reputation online. Other online sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and Squidoo, offer ample opportunity to deliver favorable search results that can push unfavorable results down in search engine rankings. The key is to start today - proactively manage your reputation and put yourself in a favorable light.
About the Author
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and founder of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 13 years of marketing experience and has appeared on the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Michael is also the author of SEO Made Simple: Strategies for Dominating the World's Largest Search Engine and The Webmasters Book of Secrets: Improve Search Engine Rankings.
©2008 MarketingScoop.
Start Your Own Blog In 3 Easy Steps
By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*
Blogging is a great way to reach your audience, share your thoughts, and even help you with your Internet marketing. I’ve been blogging for nearly 3 years and continue to enjoy the benefits of not only communicating with an audience, but engaging in meaningful dialog. Starting a blog is easy to do and pays huge dividends.
There are a number of free services available that offer free blog services. Sites like Blogger and WordPress only require a brief registration and set up. Once you determine a theme for your blog and a template, you’re ready to begin posting. Posts are entries you make on your blog that are published instantly.
Some bloggers post comments to their blog each and every day, others once a week. Regardless of how frequently you post to your blog, content can be focused on a specific theme or random topics. The most popular blogs focus on a specific niche and provide valuable information, content, and commentary that encourage interaction with blog followers.
Sign up for a blog service. Begin development of your blog by signing up for Blogger or WordPress. Once you have an account, you can quickly set up your blog. Consider the goal of your blog and what type of commitment you are willing to make. Start small and be consistent.
Determine how you will monetize your blog. If you want to use your blog to generate revenue, there are a few techniques you can apply depending on which platform you’re using. One of the most popular methods of monetizing your blog is with the help of Google Adsense. This is a popular option and very easy to add to your blog. Not only does it generate a small amount of revenue for you on a weekly basis, but it also provides relevant links based on your posts.
Another great way to monetize your blog is through paid links. The concept of offering paid links is pretty straight forward. You create a section of you blog that lists recommended sites. In this list, you only place links that people have paid you to post. There are some tools you can use to automate this process. I simply add a link to a post that says, “How to post your link” with directions and a pass through to a Paypal page. You can set up a single time payment or subscription, allowing would be advertisers the opportunity to purchase a link on your blog monthly or for a longer period of time.
Many individuals are monetizing their blogs by using pay per post or other blogging network. Essentially, advertisers search for bloggers who are willing to write a post to promote their product and services or brand. You can sign up for one of these networks quite easily and be contacted when advertisers feel that your blog would be ideal for distributing a message. You write a blog post and get paid for doing so.
One thing to keep in mind is that the success of you blog is based on a number of factors. I believe that having a targeted blog that offers original content is ideal. You will build a large following. This is essential because most of the monetization methods are based on having enough traffic to make your blog appealing to advertisers as well as blog readers.
http://marketingscoop.com/startblogging.htm
Blogging is a great way to reach your audience, share your thoughts, and even help you with your Internet marketing. I’ve been blogging for nearly 3 years and continue to enjoy the benefits of not only communicating with an audience, but engaging in meaningful dialog. Starting a blog is easy to do and pays huge dividends.
There are a number of free services available that offer free blog services. Sites like Blogger and WordPress only require a brief registration and set up. Once you determine a theme for your blog and a template, you’re ready to begin posting. Posts are entries you make on your blog that are published instantly.
Some bloggers post comments to their blog each and every day, others once a week. Regardless of how frequently you post to your blog, content can be focused on a specific theme or random topics. The most popular blogs focus on a specific niche and provide valuable information, content, and commentary that encourage interaction with blog followers.
Sign up for a blog service. Begin development of your blog by signing up for Blogger or WordPress. Once you have an account, you can quickly set up your blog. Consider the goal of your blog and what type of commitment you are willing to make. Start small and be consistent.
Determine how you will monetize your blog. If you want to use your blog to generate revenue, there are a few techniques you can apply depending on which platform you’re using. One of the most popular methods of monetizing your blog is with the help of Google Adsense. This is a popular option and very easy to add to your blog. Not only does it generate a small amount of revenue for you on a weekly basis, but it also provides relevant links based on your posts.
Another great way to monetize your blog is through paid links. The concept of offering paid links is pretty straight forward. You create a section of you blog that lists recommended sites. In this list, you only place links that people have paid you to post. There are some tools you can use to automate this process. I simply add a link to a post that says, “How to post your link” with directions and a pass through to a Paypal page. You can set up a single time payment or subscription, allowing would be advertisers the opportunity to purchase a link on your blog monthly or for a longer period of time.
Many individuals are monetizing their blogs by using pay per post or other blogging network. Essentially, advertisers search for bloggers who are willing to write a post to promote their product and services or brand. You can sign up for one of these networks quite easily and be contacted when advertisers feel that your blog would be ideal for distributing a message. You write a blog post and get paid for doing so.
One thing to keep in mind is that the success of you blog is based on a number of factors. I believe that having a targeted blog that offers original content is ideal. You will build a large following. This is essential because most of the monetization methods are based on having enough traffic to make your blog appealing to advertisers as well as blog readers.
http://marketingscoop.com/startblogging.htm
October 29, 2010
Boost Your Rankings with SEO
Increase your search engine rankings with these SEO basics.
This article is for 'Newbie SEO' people to understand more about search engine optimization.
Boost your ranking on search engines with accurate, clear and relevant content. For the Newbie, 'SEO' Search Engine Optimization advertising is an online advertising model whereby the advertiser creates pages to be indexed by search engines. Then, Search Engine Submission is the next step to ensure your pages are indexed by the search engines.
I am confident your search engine positioning will increase with some research like a keyword assessment by targeting your most popular and least competitive keywords.
Supply (Competitiveness) - the number of sites which a search engine (e.g. Altavista, Google, etc.) displays when you search for that keyword using exact match search, that is with "quotes" surrounding the term. Rather than those web sites returned when entering the phrase only partially, that is without quotes.
Demand (Popularity) - The demand figured is the number of views in a month for that particular phrase as calculated by the Overture Suggestion Tool.
Pick Your Target Keywords
How do you think people will search for your web page? The words you imagine them typing into the search box are your target keywords.
For example, say you have a page devoted to marine engines. Anytime someone types "marine engines," you want your page to be in the top ten results. Then those are your target keywords for that page.
Each page in your web site will have different target keywords that reflect the page's content. For example, say you have another page about the history of engines. Then "engine history" might be your keywords for that page.
Your target keywords should always be at least two or more words long. Usually, too many sites will be relevant for a single word, such as "engines." This "competition" means your odds of success are lower. Don't waste your time fighting the odds. Pick phrases of two or more words, and you'll have a better shot at success.
Position Your Keywords
Make sure your target keywords appear in the crucial locations on your web pages. The page's HTML title tag is most important. Failure to put target keywords in the title tag is the main reason why perfectly relevant web pages may be poorly ranked. More about the title tag can be found on the How HTML Meta Tags Work page.Search engines also like pages where keywords appear "high" on the page, as described more fully on the Search Engine Ranking page. To accommodate them, use your target keywords for your page headline, if possible. Have them also appear in the first paragraphs of your web page.
Have Relevant Content
Changing your page titles is not necessarily going to help your page do well for your target keywords if the page has nothing to do with the topic. Your keywords need to be reflected in the page's content.In particular, that means you need HTML text on your page. Sometimes sites present large sections of copy via graphics. It looks pretty, but search engines can't read those graphics. That means they miss out on text that might make your site more relevant. Some of the search engines will index ALT text and comment information. But to be safe, use HTML text whenever possible. Some of your human visitors will appreciate it, also.
Be sure that your HTML text is "visible." Some designers try to spam search engines by repeating keywords in a tiny font or in the same color at the background color to make the text invisible to browsers. Search engines are catching on to these and other tricks. Expect that if the text is not visible in a browser, then it may not be indexed by a search engine.
Avoid Search Engine Stumbling Blocks
Some search engines see the web the way someone using a very old browser might. They may not read image maps. They may not read frames. You need to anticipate these problems, or a search engine may not index any or all your web pages.Have HTML links
Often, designers create only image map links from the home page to inside pages. A search engine that can't follow these links won't be able to get "inside" the site. Unfortunately, the most descriptive, relevant pages are often inside pages rather than the home page.Solve this problem by adding some HTML hyperlinks to the home page that lead to major inside pages or sections of your web site. This is something that will help some of your human visitors, also. Put them down at the bottom of the page. The search engine will find them and follow them.
Also consider making a site map page with text links to everything in your web site. You can submit this page, which will help the search engines locate pages within your web site.
Finally, be sure you do a good job of linking internally between your pages. If you naturally point to different pages from within your site, you increase the odds that search engines will follow links and find more of your web site.
Frames can kill
Some of the major search engines cannot follow frame links. Make sure there is an alternative method for them to enter and index your site, either through meta tags or smart design.Build Links
Every major search engine uses link analysis as part of their ranking algorithms. This is done because its very difficult for webmasters to "fake" good links, in the way they might try to spam search engines by manipulating the words on their web pages. As a result, link analysis gives search engines a useful means of determining which pages are good for particular topics.Just Say No To Search Engine Spamming
For one thing, spamming doesn't always work with search engines. It can also backfire. Search engines may detect your spamming attempt and penalize or ban your page from their listings.Also, search engine spamming attempts usually center around being top ranked for extremely popular keywords. You can try and fight that battle against other sites, but then be prepared to spend a lot of time each week, if not each day, defending your ranking. That effort usually would be better spent on networking and alternative forms of publicity.
If those practical reasons aren't enough, how about some ethical ones? The content of most web pages ought to be enough for search engines to determine relevancy without webmasters having to resort to repeating keywords for no reason other than to try and "beat" other web pages. The stakes will simply keep rising, and users will also begin to hate sites that undertake these measures.
Consider search engine spamming against spam mail. No one likes spam mail, and sites that use spam mail services often face a backlash from those on the receiving end. Sites that spam search engines degrade the value of search engine listings. As the problem grows, these sites may face the same backlash that spam mail generates.
Submit Your Key Pages
Most search engines will index the other pages from your web site by following links from a page you submit to them. But sometimes they miss, so it's good to submit the top two or three pages that best summarize your web site.Don't trust the submission process to automated programs and services. Some of them are excellent, but the major search engines are too important. There aren't that many, so submit manually, so that you can see if there are any problems reported.
Also, don't bother submitting more than the top two or three pages. It doesn't speed up the process. Submitting alternative pages is only insurance. In case the search engine has trouble reaching one of the pages, you've covered yourself by giving it another page from which to begin its crawl of your site.
Be patient. It can take up to a month to two months for your "non-submitted" pages to appear in a search engine, and some search engines may not list every page from your site.
Verify And Maintain Your Listing
Check on your pages and ensure they get listed, in the ways described on the Check URL page. Once your pages are listed in a search engine, monitor your listing every week or two to ensure that your search engine optimization strategy is working. Strange things happen. Pages disappear from catalogs. Links go screwy. Watch for trouble, and resubmit if you spot anything in error.http://www.marketingscoop.com/boost-rankings-seo.htm
How To Get More Website Traffic
When You Write Articles Want to get more website traffic and more prospects now? When you write articles, you will attract more attention and get more website traffic, online publicity and profits.
BUT, if you want to write articles that get read and keep your audience coming back for more, you must follow my basic rules of writing for an online audience. If you are used to writing articles for print publications, be sure to read these rules. The online consumer is different than the print consumer.
7 Article Writing Tips to Ensure Your Targeted Audience Reads What You Write & Buys What You Are Selling:
1. Use conversational copy. Talk to your readers. Use words that people know. Absolutely, do not use jargon. It is boring. You will lose your audience's attention immediately. So, use words that people are familiar with and can connect to. Write like you talk and let your personality and experience shine through. You will make a better connection with your readers.
2.Go active. Words have power. Find specific active verbs to paint your copy. This will make your article exciting and lively. Action verbs are more engaging and will move the reader along. And, by using action verbs, you will automatically reduce the number of words it will take to get your message across. For example, "John loves Mary" is stronger than "Mary is loved by John."
3. Make your copy benefit oriented. Honestly, your readers don't care how many awards you have won. They don't care how many degrees you have or how many books you have written. All they care about is how you can help them solve their problems. So include a strong benefit in your article title. Include benefits in your article. And add benefits to your "About the Author" section.
4. Connect with your readers' emotions. We all want to feel smarter, richer, happier and thinner. Use these emotions to connect with your reader. For example, "Do you feel paralyzed every time you have to go shopping? Do you hate trying on clothes? Does stepping in front of that three way mirror strike fear inside you? Here are my 7 top tips to help you lose weight now..."
5. Keep sentences and paragraphs short. When your readers see articles with long sentences, long paragraphs and no bullet points or sub-headings, they will automatically skip that article. Here's why? - Large chunks of information scare them. - It overwhelms them. - It takes too much time and effort to read that article. And that's the psychology of most readers online. So make your sentences and paragraphs short. If your sentences are longer than 20 words, cut them up into two sentences. You can also add lists and bullet points. And, use subheadings that will attract readers when they scan articles, just like I have done with this article.
6. Front-load your point. When you make readers wade through paragraph after paragraph of unrelated anecdotes before you get to your point, you've lost your audience's attention. Yes, Mark Twain pulled that stunt all the time. But, your name is not Mark Twain. You want to tease your readers with bits of information they need to know. This way they'll stick around to the end. They'll then want to click on the link in your "About the Author" section and buy your products or services.
7. Simplify. Worried you're not using the right words? Use simpler words. Worried that your sentences are not clear? Make simpler sentences. Worried that people won't see your point? Make your point simpler. Make things simpler and your writing problems will vanish. That's why every newspaper in the world is written so a sixth grader can understand. I'm not telling you to boil everything down to "see spot run" simplicity. But, if you can't make people understand what you write, it's not because the world is filled with morons. It's because your messages are not clear.
These are just some of the tips found in my Complete A to Z Article Marketing System at http://www.BroadcastYourArticles.com This easy system has helped hundreds of people just like you get articles get read from top to bottom. Follow my article writing advice and you will get more online publicity, website traffic and profits!
About the Author
Article Marketing Expert Eric Gruber has helped of thousands of experts just like you boost traffic, get more leads and increase sales. Go to http://www.BroadcastYourArticles.com and let Your Article Marketing Expert take you by the hand & teach you step-by-step, how to write your way to profits!
Marketing Innovation: How to Improve Marketing ROI
By Michael Fleischner | Internet Marketing Expert, Marketing Secrets*
There are a number of basic marketing fundamentals that everyone needs to know in order to generate attention, interest, desire and action among prospects. But to be successful in today’s competitive environment, you need more than a basic understanding of a traditional AIDA model and the 4 P’s (product, place, price, promotion).
A number of years ago, I discovered a marketing methodology made popular by Michael Gerber. For those of you who have never heard of him, you can still find his books on Amazon or your local bookstore. Mr. Gerber referred to this marketing methodology as the E-myth which was comprised of: innovation, quantification, orchestration, and documentation.
This methodology is the key behind major marketing successes like McDonalds, the Four Seasons, and many other well-known brands. Let me explain his methodology and illustrate how it can be applied to your business to deliver significant ROI.
Whether you’re Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Apple computer, or Tommy Hilfiger, innovation is baked into the sale, marketing, and product development process. To illustrate, let’s take a look at your run-of-the-mill retail clothing store. When you enter the store, what’s the first thing the sales rep says to you? You guessed it, “How can I help you”?
An example of applying innovation would be to have that same sales representative open with a new greeting, something like, “Hello, is it your first time visiting our store?”. If yes, there’s a perfect opportunity to discuss what makes you unique, how to navigate the store, and so on. If no, the same holds true… “Welcome back. Were you successful in finding what you needed upon your last visit? What can I help you with today?”
Regardless of the actual questions used, the example of innovation in a sales/marketing sense gives you the ability to try something new. This ‘something’ can take a variety of different formats, but most importantly it iis something that can move you towards a greater ROI. Especially if you understand the next step which is quantification.
The most successful marketing programs are always working to improve their return on investment (ROI). The key is to measure each independent element that could possibly influence your result.
Using our example of the retail establishment, you wouldn’t want to ask all of your sales reps to start using a new pitch AND change their dress code. Doing so might dilute your ability to measure the effectiveness of a new sales script. Additionally, you wouldn’t want to change other store elements like the music or store layout at the same time – doing so would make accurate measurement next to impossible.
Now that you’ve tried something new and measured its effectiveness, you’re ready for the third component, orchestration.
All sales and marketing personnel should be utilizing and implementing the latest innovation in all they do. This methodology now becomes your control. Your next innovation is only effective if it produces better results than your control.
Improving your process of orchestration is also extremely important. The faster you implement your innovation across the business – in a consistent fashion, the better your results become. Walmart is a master of this. If there is an innovation in one store, it is quickly shared and implemented with all store managers across the U.S. The result is innovation on a massive scale which has a direct and positive influence on ROI.
As new personnel come into your business, you want to make sure that the innovations and enhancements you’ve made to your sales and marketing practices are fully implemented. The best way to do this is to not expect an employee to memorize a 700 page employee instruction manual. Rather, they should become familiar with your way of doing business - which needs to be documented in a simple, easily understandable format.
You know you’re at a company that does this well when you hear things like, that’s “the Walmart way” or “This is how we do it here”. It’s those companies that create living documentation that is easily understood and implemented that excel.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to enhance your marketing program, or create one from scratch, keep this methodology in mind: innovation, quantification, orchestration, documentation. This process will ensure constant growth and improvement in your marketing results.
Don’t just take my word for it, look at most major brands or category leaders. Under the hood, you’ll find systems for innovation, ways of testing, measuring, implementing, and documenting in a seemingly effortless fashion.
* Michael Fleischner is a Internet marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details, marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.
There are a number of basic marketing fundamentals that everyone needs to know in order to generate attention, interest, desire and action among prospects. But to be successful in today’s competitive environment, you need more than a basic understanding of a traditional AIDA model and the 4 P’s (product, place, price, promotion).
A number of years ago, I discovered a marketing methodology made popular by Michael Gerber. For those of you who have never heard of him, you can still find his books on Amazon or your local bookstore. Mr. Gerber referred to this marketing methodology as the E-myth which was comprised of: innovation, quantification, orchestration, and documentation.
This methodology is the key behind major marketing successes like McDonalds, the Four Seasons, and many other well-known brands. Let me explain his methodology and illustrate how it can be applied to your business to deliver significant ROI.
Innovation
If you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll get the same results – if you’re lucky. Most often, those who excel in any market are the innovators, those who are continually trying new things, creating new methods of doing business, or standing for something unique.Whether you’re Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Apple computer, or Tommy Hilfiger, innovation is baked into the sale, marketing, and product development process. To illustrate, let’s take a look at your run-of-the-mill retail clothing store. When you enter the store, what’s the first thing the sales rep says to you? You guessed it, “How can I help you”?
An example of applying innovation would be to have that same sales representative open with a new greeting, something like, “Hello, is it your first time visiting our store?”. If yes, there’s a perfect opportunity to discuss what makes you unique, how to navigate the store, and so on. If no, the same holds true… “Welcome back. Were you successful in finding what you needed upon your last visit? What can I help you with today?”
Regardless of the actual questions used, the example of innovation in a sales/marketing sense gives you the ability to try something new. This ‘something’ can take a variety of different formats, but most importantly it iis something that can move you towards a greater ROI. Especially if you understand the next step which is quantification.
Quantification
With each innovation, an action is taken – a product sampled, research conducted, a new sales pitch or value proposition delivered. To be truly effective with your marketing you must measure your results.The most successful marketing programs are always working to improve their return on investment (ROI). The key is to measure each independent element that could possibly influence your result.
Using our example of the retail establishment, you wouldn’t want to ask all of your sales reps to start using a new pitch AND change their dress code. Doing so might dilute your ability to measure the effectiveness of a new sales script. Additionally, you wouldn’t want to change other store elements like the music or store layout at the same time – doing so would make accurate measurement next to impossible.
Now that you’ve tried something new and measured its effectiveness, you’re ready for the third component, orchestration.
Orchestration
After trying something innovative, and measuring the result, you now know what works and what doesn’t. The key is to keep innovating in small ways, continually testing and evaluating the results. Once you have your successes identified, you need to roll them out in a systemic fashion.All sales and marketing personnel should be utilizing and implementing the latest innovation in all they do. This methodology now becomes your control. Your next innovation is only effective if it produces better results than your control.
Improving your process of orchestration is also extremely important. The faster you implement your innovation across the business – in a consistent fashion, the better your results become. Walmart is a master of this. If there is an innovation in one store, it is quickly shared and implemented with all store managers across the U.S. The result is innovation on a massive scale which has a direct and positive influence on ROI.
Documentation
The top innovators do this last step extremely well. Documentation doesn’t mean creating reams of manuals that are esoteric or difficult to navigate. Rather, documentation is the development of a guide, procedure, or system that allows consistent implementation of the innovations you develop.As new personnel come into your business, you want to make sure that the innovations and enhancements you’ve made to your sales and marketing practices are fully implemented. The best way to do this is to not expect an employee to memorize a 700 page employee instruction manual. Rather, they should become familiar with your way of doing business - which needs to be documented in a simple, easily understandable format.
You know you’re at a company that does this well when you hear things like, that’s “the Walmart way” or “This is how we do it here”. It’s those companies that create living documentation that is easily understood and implemented that excel.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to enhance your marketing program, or create one from scratch, keep this methodology in mind: innovation, quantification, orchestration, documentation. This process will ensure constant growth and improvement in your marketing results.
Don’t just take my word for it, look at most major brands or category leaders. Under the hood, you’ll find systems for innovation, ways of testing, measuring, implementing, and documenting in a seemingly effortless fashion.
* Michael Fleischner is a Internet marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details, marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.
October 21, 2010
Article Marketing Will Amplify Targeted Potential Customers
by SHARON DAWKINS
Article marketing has many advantages which might include lead generation, creating more traffic, along with establishing yourself as an expert or authority in the niche. Readers of your articles may wish to visit your website if your article is helpful. As your articles get approved it will create a new inbound link to your web site, that will improve your search engine position which is a necessary tool for doing business on the World Wide Web. Marketing with articles is a true and tested system for boosting your link popularity and utilized by top SEO companies.
It is best to write on topics that are closely related to your Internet site business niche, while making sure that the article provides great relevant content for the reader, and not just a sales page. Every article that you write will need a resource box section which will contain profits info consisting of one or two links which include your keyword anchor text and these lead to your website.
Many Internet sites have incredible products and services and purchases program, however you need traffic which is aimed at your specific niche or product. Targeted traffic will lead to more sales.
What also makes article marketing a chosen method is that it is very affordable yet highly effective. If you love writing, it will not cost you anything. Most article web directories are free to submit. Many people desire to hire professionals however to do this tedious work for them. Frequently they pay for this article and the article submission services, or they write the article and just pay for the submissions. Typically, you can get a great article written and submitted to hundreds of sites at under $25. When you consider that you could receive a large number of inbound links aimed at your website and then match it up with to ppc ads, or banner advertising, it makes sense to use this tactic.
Not merely will your article be seen on this article directory once approved, but 100s of other sites may find your article useful as well as place it on their website.
By making keyword rich and seo optimized articles, article marketing can be a very effective method to boost your Internet search engine position which often will result in much more targeted visitors to your site. To be productive in your search engine optimization strategy article marketing must be part of your comprehensive goal. Article submission services and article marketing needs to be a definite part of online strategy, even before asking for link exchanges, buying of text links or banner ads.
Article marketing has many advantages which might include lead generation, creating more traffic, along with establishing yourself as an expert or authority in the niche. Readers of your articles may wish to visit your website if your article is helpful. As your articles get approved it will create a new inbound link to your web site, that will improve your search engine position which is a necessary tool for doing business on the World Wide Web. Marketing with articles is a true and tested system for boosting your link popularity and utilized by top SEO companies.
It is best to write on topics that are closely related to your Internet site business niche, while making sure that the article provides great relevant content for the reader, and not just a sales page. Every article that you write will need a resource box section which will contain profits info consisting of one or two links which include your keyword anchor text and these lead to your website.
Many Internet sites have incredible products and services and purchases program, however you need traffic which is aimed at your specific niche or product. Targeted traffic will lead to more sales.
What also makes article marketing a chosen method is that it is very affordable yet highly effective. If you love writing, it will not cost you anything. Most article web directories are free to submit. Many people desire to hire professionals however to do this tedious work for them. Frequently they pay for this article and the article submission services, or they write the article and just pay for the submissions. Typically, you can get a great article written and submitted to hundreds of sites at under $25. When you consider that you could receive a large number of inbound links aimed at your website and then match it up with to ppc ads, or banner advertising, it makes sense to use this tactic.
Not merely will your article be seen on this article directory once approved, but 100s of other sites may find your article useful as well as place it on their website.
By making keyword rich and seo optimized articles, article marketing can be a very effective method to boost your Internet search engine position which often will result in much more targeted visitors to your site. To be productive in your search engine optimization strategy article marketing must be part of your comprehensive goal. Article submission services and article marketing needs to be a definite part of online strategy, even before asking for link exchanges, buying of text links or banner ads.
Labels:
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Targeted traffic
Effective Adwords Marketing Management
by WILLY OGHINAN
Google adwords marketing promotion is one of the most effective and quickest internet marketing media to connect your online services to prospective customers within a short time of launch. The program sign up is easy, enabling you to broadcast your website on sponsored search results list at your own dictates without too much effort at all.
Adwords marketing success without doubt requires some forms of technical skills that will put you on the right track and increase your returns on investment. This article will examine and discuss a crucial management technique that will not only give your website more visibility but also bring in more prospects with qualified tendencies.
Keyword Search Volume VS Commercial Intention Value
You will need to master the dynamics of keywords or key phrases to survive the harsh realities of Google adwords marketing platform. Keywords selection is the brain box behind adwords marketing operations. Get your keyword wrong, then your investment returns is ruined. Keyword selection stage is the Bermuda Triangle of adwords marketing platform.
Most Adwords marketers busied themselves so much with keywords that have high search volume at the detriment of commercial intention tendencies. Highly search keywords that have no iota of commercial value are disasters to adwords marketers in more ways than one. Firstly, it forces your bids upwards arbitrarily and secondly, it erodes you budget quicker than it can convert. The missing link is that you should always look out for the commercial intention of a keyword rather than the search volume.
There are mainly three forms of keywords: (1) “Navigational keywords” which indicate that the performed search is aimed at a specific website like “Yahoo.com”. (2) “Informational keyword” Which is aimed at searching for information like “Digital Camera” (3) “Transactional Keyword” which has the intention of real time transaction like “Nikon DX40 Camera”. Commercial intent of a keyword can be detected from the inquisitiveness of the keyword.
If you would want to revamp and re-engineer your Google adwords account management, then you will need to retool and narrow down your keywords to specific rather than more of wild card keywords that signify nothing. A great tool that you can find handy to test your keyword commercial viability can be found at “http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx.” . In summary, targeted keywords with probable commercial intent does not always have high search volume as compared to wild card keywords. But they are more converting, more budget friendly with huge returns on investment. Happy Google Adwords marketing.
Google adwords marketing promotion is one of the most effective and quickest internet marketing media to connect your online services to prospective customers within a short time of launch. The program sign up is easy, enabling you to broadcast your website on sponsored search results list at your own dictates without too much effort at all.
Adwords marketing success without doubt requires some forms of technical skills that will put you on the right track and increase your returns on investment. This article will examine and discuss a crucial management technique that will not only give your website more visibility but also bring in more prospects with qualified tendencies.
Keyword Search Volume VS Commercial Intention Value
You will need to master the dynamics of keywords or key phrases to survive the harsh realities of Google adwords marketing platform. Keywords selection is the brain box behind adwords marketing operations. Get your keyword wrong, then your investment returns is ruined. Keyword selection stage is the Bermuda Triangle of adwords marketing platform.
Most Adwords marketers busied themselves so much with keywords that have high search volume at the detriment of commercial intention tendencies. Highly search keywords that have no iota of commercial value are disasters to adwords marketers in more ways than one. Firstly, it forces your bids upwards arbitrarily and secondly, it erodes you budget quicker than it can convert. The missing link is that you should always look out for the commercial intention of a keyword rather than the search volume.
There are mainly three forms of keywords: (1) “Navigational keywords” which indicate that the performed search is aimed at a specific website like “Yahoo.com”. (2) “Informational keyword” Which is aimed at searching for information like “Digital Camera” (3) “Transactional Keyword” which has the intention of real time transaction like “Nikon DX40 Camera”. Commercial intent of a keyword can be detected from the inquisitiveness of the keyword.
If you would want to revamp and re-engineer your Google adwords account management, then you will need to retool and narrow down your keywords to specific rather than more of wild card keywords that signify nothing. A great tool that you can find handy to test your keyword commercial viability can be found at “http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx.” . In summary, targeted keywords with probable commercial intent does not always have high search volume as compared to wild card keywords. But they are more converting, more budget friendly with huge returns on investment. Happy Google Adwords marketing.
An Outline For Starting A Work At Home Web Site Business
by REED TIERI
Starting a work at home web site business has many great advantages. Working at home does require great discipline and a solid work ethic. Many are unable to run a business while working from home because they get distracted and cannot accomplish the goals required daily. For those who can handle these obstacles and want the independence as well as rewards for being self employed then a web site business would be a great business model to be involved with.
There are many stages to starting a work at home web site business. Finding a top quality web sist hosting service for online business will help ease the burden as well as the learning curve. It is best to learn the ins and outs of building a web site and maintain a web site on your own. This will cut down the expenses of having to hire others to do the work. Designing and maintain a web site is actually much easier than one might think. With the right host, they will have all the tools to make every aspect of building a running a web site business a snap, all the way from the ground up. A good online business hosting service should have an easy to use and customizable site builder with templates, domain registration, marketing tools such as keyword research, site map integration, site blog tools, e-zine creator and depending on the business model an easy to use the shopping cart system.
A Work At Home Web Site Business Plan
Every business needs a plan and online is no different. A business plan requires basic research and brainstorming. The best place to start for a plan is areas you know about from past jobs, hobbies or education. Come up with business ideas based on what you know and love. Go further by researching the best ideas you come up with, The best online marketers consider keyword searches for any business plan they have. Business ideas with tons of different keywords and high search volume means great demand for the business idea. A great web site hosting service will have a keyword research tool, learn how to use it in order to come up with profitable web site concepts as well as profitable content for web pages.
Marketing And Promotion
A great hosting service, well researched business concept and a solid plan based on research are the beginnings for a success with starting a work at home web site business. No matter how well these factors have been accomplished a web site needs constant attention and work. Most big money makers with web sites use the search engines as the place to build and grow their business.
Search engines provide the best traffic for a web site business. The traffic is extremely targeted thanks to keywords, can grow in an ongoing basis and constantly provides new as well as return visitors. Oh, did I mention that the traffic was free as well? In order to do well with the search engines you need to create the best content for your theme around keywords. Each page needs to be optimized around the keyword, a simple technique to learn. Search engines also like web sites with link popularity, that means pages need to get links from other web sites pointing into them. In short, add new pages based on keywords daily and get links from quality and related pages pointing to your pages.
Starting a work at home web site can actually be fun. Whether looking for part time income or a full time pursuit as a webmaster it can be accomplished. Start by finding a great hosting service and then come up with business ideas that will work based on keyword demand. Watch at what others are doing, and what you can do better. Continue to produce the best and the most relevant content for your web site theme and for your visitors. Spend some time after including a new page to find a few links for the page and the free search engine traffic as well as income will start to trickle in.
http://www.amazines.com/view_author.cfm?authorid=12446&#AuthorArticles
Starting a work at home web site business has many great advantages. Working at home does require great discipline and a solid work ethic. Many are unable to run a business while working from home because they get distracted and cannot accomplish the goals required daily. For those who can handle these obstacles and want the independence as well as rewards for being self employed then a web site business would be a great business model to be involved with.
There are many stages to starting a work at home web site business. Finding a top quality web sist hosting service for online business will help ease the burden as well as the learning curve. It is best to learn the ins and outs of building a web site and maintain a web site on your own. This will cut down the expenses of having to hire others to do the work. Designing and maintain a web site is actually much easier than one might think. With the right host, they will have all the tools to make every aspect of building a running a web site business a snap, all the way from the ground up. A good online business hosting service should have an easy to use and customizable site builder with templates, domain registration, marketing tools such as keyword research, site map integration, site blog tools, e-zine creator and depending on the business model an easy to use the shopping cart system.
A Work At Home Web Site Business Plan
Every business needs a plan and online is no different. A business plan requires basic research and brainstorming. The best place to start for a plan is areas you know about from past jobs, hobbies or education. Come up with business ideas based on what you know and love. Go further by researching the best ideas you come up with, The best online marketers consider keyword searches for any business plan they have. Business ideas with tons of different keywords and high search volume means great demand for the business idea. A great web site hosting service will have a keyword research tool, learn how to use it in order to come up with profitable web site concepts as well as profitable content for web pages.
Marketing And Promotion
A great hosting service, well researched business concept and a solid plan based on research are the beginnings for a success with starting a work at home web site business. No matter how well these factors have been accomplished a web site needs constant attention and work. Most big money makers with web sites use the search engines as the place to build and grow their business.
Search engines provide the best traffic for a web site business. The traffic is extremely targeted thanks to keywords, can grow in an ongoing basis and constantly provides new as well as return visitors. Oh, did I mention that the traffic was free as well? In order to do well with the search engines you need to create the best content for your theme around keywords. Each page needs to be optimized around the keyword, a simple technique to learn. Search engines also like web sites with link popularity, that means pages need to get links from other web sites pointing into them. In short, add new pages based on keywords daily and get links from quality and related pages pointing to your pages.
Starting a work at home web site can actually be fun. Whether looking for part time income or a full time pursuit as a webmaster it can be accomplished. Start by finding a great hosting service and then come up with business ideas that will work based on keyword demand. Watch at what others are doing, and what you can do better. Continue to produce the best and the most relevant content for your web site theme and for your visitors. Spend some time after including a new page to find a few links for the page and the free search engine traffic as well as income will start to trickle in.
http://www.amazines.com/view_author.cfm?authorid=12446&#AuthorArticles
Labels:
Business Plan,
website business,
Work At Home
October 20, 2010
Customer Service Can Differentiate a Company in a Competitive Environment
Author: Michael Wolf
Customer service is a lot more than just giving service. That may sound odd at first, but customer service is not just an act of doing something a customer has requested. True service is a marketing strategy which can differentiate a company in a competitive environment. It is a way to create quality within the company which leads to new customers and higher customer retention.
When you talk about customer service, it may be tempting to focus primarily only on what has been defined in your company manual. As a manager, you teach your staff the procedures and then spend your time insuring they are followed. The problem is this is not quality service which necessarily benefits the customer or the company.
You can think of it in this manner. Your manual may dictate when a customer can return a product and how the staff is to handle the request. But simply processing the return of the product does not necessarily tell you why the customer wants to return it, how the product could be enhanced so the customer would not want to return it, nor whether the customer was satisfied with the return process.
In a successful company, customer service is much more than a set of actions. It is a focus on the customer and what the customer wants in the way of service. In other words, the customer defines customer service. This looks at customer service from the viewpoint of the customer and not from management. Customer service desires should flow upward to the company and then downward as a management response to customer needs.
Service Brands a Company
Branding a company is a process whereby the company name, image, products, and service are differentiated in the minds of existing and potential customers. Many people choose a business based on brand recognition because they have found reliability and quality in what the company has to offer on all levels from product offerings to customer service.
High quality customer service enhances company branding. It is amazing how many businesses lose customers because one employee in the call centre was having a bad day and failed to give good service. It is also amazing how often companies fail to gather critical information from customers which can be used to enhance current service levels. The customer does not forget when treated poorly or made to feel as if needs are not important, and in fact will share their experience and feelings with friends and family. In their minds the brand becomes associated with poor customer service even if the product is of the highest quality.
In a competitive environment, providing true customer service can be the defining strategy which differentiates the company. True or high quality customer service is a lot more than just implementing procedures. Customer service training teaches staff how to listen to customers, extract the customer’s real needs during contact, convert those needs into management information for decision making purposes, and implement service tactics which meet those needs. It is an ongoing cycle that begins and ends with the customer.
Quality Customer Relationships
Businesses need an influx of new customers on a regular basis and high customer retention in order to be successful. In the best of times it is customer service which often becomes the deciding factor when someone is trying to decide between one company and its competitors. In difficult economic times, offering quality customer service can actually be the company feature which leads to its very survival.
Excellent customer service includes the following.
* Creates a customer sense of ownership in or commitment to the company
* Inspires confidence in the company, its products, and its ability to meet customer needs
* Identifies customer needs or requirements
* Reflects company commitment to meeting customer needs
Through business training, company staff can learn how to integrate the concepts of exceptional customer service within the business structure. This training can lead to more satisfied customers, improved branding, and a company better able to differentiate itself in a highly competitive environment.
In other words, customer service creates customer relationships so people return again and again.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/online-education-articles/customer-service-can-differentiate-a-company-in-a-competitive-environment-925259.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #925259)
Customer service is a lot more than just giving service. That may sound odd at first, but customer service is not just an act of doing something a customer has requested. True service is a marketing strategy which can differentiate a company in a competitive environment. It is a way to create quality within the company which leads to new customers and higher customer retention.
When you talk about customer service, it may be tempting to focus primarily only on what has been defined in your company manual. As a manager, you teach your staff the procedures and then spend your time insuring they are followed. The problem is this is not quality service which necessarily benefits the customer or the company.
You can think of it in this manner. Your manual may dictate when a customer can return a product and how the staff is to handle the request. But simply processing the return of the product does not necessarily tell you why the customer wants to return it, how the product could be enhanced so the customer would not want to return it, nor whether the customer was satisfied with the return process.
In a successful company, customer service is much more than a set of actions. It is a focus on the customer and what the customer wants in the way of service. In other words, the customer defines customer service. This looks at customer service from the viewpoint of the customer and not from management. Customer service desires should flow upward to the company and then downward as a management response to customer needs.
Service Brands a Company
Branding a company is a process whereby the company name, image, products, and service are differentiated in the minds of existing and potential customers. Many people choose a business based on brand recognition because they have found reliability and quality in what the company has to offer on all levels from product offerings to customer service.
High quality customer service enhances company branding. It is amazing how many businesses lose customers because one employee in the call centre was having a bad day and failed to give good service. It is also amazing how often companies fail to gather critical information from customers which can be used to enhance current service levels. The customer does not forget when treated poorly or made to feel as if needs are not important, and in fact will share their experience and feelings with friends and family. In their minds the brand becomes associated with poor customer service even if the product is of the highest quality.
In a competitive environment, providing true customer service can be the defining strategy which differentiates the company. True or high quality customer service is a lot more than just implementing procedures. Customer service training teaches staff how to listen to customers, extract the customer’s real needs during contact, convert those needs into management information for decision making purposes, and implement service tactics which meet those needs. It is an ongoing cycle that begins and ends with the customer.
Quality Customer Relationships
Businesses need an influx of new customers on a regular basis and high customer retention in order to be successful. In the best of times it is customer service which often becomes the deciding factor when someone is trying to decide between one company and its competitors. In difficult economic times, offering quality customer service can actually be the company feature which leads to its very survival.
Excellent customer service includes the following.
* Creates a customer sense of ownership in or commitment to the company
* Inspires confidence in the company, its products, and its ability to meet customer needs
* Identifies customer needs or requirements
* Reflects company commitment to meeting customer needs
Through business training, company staff can learn how to integrate the concepts of exceptional customer service within the business structure. This training can lead to more satisfied customers, improved branding, and a company better able to differentiate itself in a highly competitive environment.
In other words, customer service creates customer relationships so people return again and again.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/online-education-articles/customer-service-can-differentiate-a-company-in-a-competitive-environment-925259.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #925259)
Labels:
company branding,
Customer Service
Why we should take customer service more seriously
Author: Sue Barrett
I propose that customer service is an assertive act, a proactive role that has an incredible impact on the attraction and retention of customers. It represents the ‘front door', the daily face of a business, ideally setting the scene for productive, healthy relationships. I propose that customer service can often be a much harder, more gruelling role than selling; dealing with the many variables that confront a business, sorting out problems, providing advice, answering technical/distribution/supply questions, coordinating and liaising with various departments, contacting suppliers and, dealing with crises; all the while being polite, friendly, effective and efficient on a consistent daily basis.
The types of people who perform customer service best are people who are interested in people, like regular interpersonal communication, value being part of a team, like organising and sorting things out, get real enjoyment and satisfaction from helping people get what they need, and are resilient, calm and thick skinned whilst being sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. Who do you know that is like that?
Why then is customer service often seen as a lesser role, a ‘servant's' role, a role where you are required to put up with abuse and bad behaviour, and a role where you are expected to put up with things most other people would not tolerate? Why do many customer service people feel they have to suffer in silence?
I am in the midst of working on a Customer Service Excellence program roll out with a well respected and innovative manufacturing company in the building industry sector. They take being ‘excellent' very seriously and as such are ensuring their customer service team are well trained in skill as well as the ethics and vision of a customer focused, quality business. As part of our work, we discuss how to deal with rude and angry customers. It was revealed by some of the female customer service staff, on our initial program, that some of the customers (male) were making inappropriate comments of a sexual nature over the phone to them and this was causing them distress – rightly so. The management team (all male except for one female) who were also on the initial program were shocked at the news, and all agreed that their staff should never have to put up with this or any other type of abusive behaviour.
Asked why they hadn't spoken up previously about these incidents, the female staff stated that they were worried that if they stood up for themselves and told the customers concerned to stop, then they might lose their business. Credit to these staff for putting the business first however, it should never have to be at the expense of their dignity or professional behaviour. Management were adamant that this type of behaviour, abusive language or threats from customers or anyone should not be tolerated under any circumstances and if it did happen again the staff were advised to report it immediately to their manager.
We need to make sure that all our staff are safe – free from abuse, bullying and other inappropriate behaviour. I too often see customer service being undervalued by businesses and trivialised as fluffy, or being nice and ‘the customer is always right' stuff. It is far from that. It's a tough job. It saddens me that people, especially women, do not think they can say something when inappropriate and abusive behaviour surfaces. A recent newspaper article put paid to the issue that bullying was due to low self esteem, instead it stated that research found that bullies had an over inflated view of themselves and thus set about demonstrating this in various ways including bullying.
Perhaps we should be able to give our people, especially customer service staff, training and coaching in how to address bullying and other challenging behaviour alongside the more traditional customer service skills training. And then, back this up by a code of conduct; a charter on how we deliver customer service and what we stand for.
I defy any senior manager to sit in the chairs or stand in the shoes of their customer service staff and handle that role for a week and see how they fair. The program on channel 10, Undercover Boss, gives us a glimpse of senior executives taking on the roles of their staff, often service staff in the front line. They are usually shocked at how hard these roles actually are and realise that without their customer service staff they do not have a business. Whether your staff are servicing customers via the telephone or in a restaurant or over the counter, we need to make sure that we back them, keep them safe and help them be at their best, and that includes having the skills and the right to address inappropriate and abusive behaviour without the fear of losing one's job.
Customer service is the back bone of any business, driving home our values, messages, vision and the state of our relationships with each other and our customer community. Let's take customer service seriously.
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/why-we-should-take-customer-service-more-seriously-3268410.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #3268410)
I propose that customer service is an assertive act, a proactive role that has an incredible impact on the attraction and retention of customers. It represents the ‘front door', the daily face of a business, ideally setting the scene for productive, healthy relationships. I propose that customer service can often be a much harder, more gruelling role than selling; dealing with the many variables that confront a business, sorting out problems, providing advice, answering technical/distribution/supply questions, coordinating and liaising with various departments, contacting suppliers and, dealing with crises; all the while being polite, friendly, effective and efficient on a consistent daily basis.
The types of people who perform customer service best are people who are interested in people, like regular interpersonal communication, value being part of a team, like organising and sorting things out, get real enjoyment and satisfaction from helping people get what they need, and are resilient, calm and thick skinned whilst being sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. Who do you know that is like that?
Why then is customer service often seen as a lesser role, a ‘servant's' role, a role where you are required to put up with abuse and bad behaviour, and a role where you are expected to put up with things most other people would not tolerate? Why do many customer service people feel they have to suffer in silence?
I am in the midst of working on a Customer Service Excellence program roll out with a well respected and innovative manufacturing company in the building industry sector. They take being ‘excellent' very seriously and as such are ensuring their customer service team are well trained in skill as well as the ethics and vision of a customer focused, quality business. As part of our work, we discuss how to deal with rude and angry customers. It was revealed by some of the female customer service staff, on our initial program, that some of the customers (male) were making inappropriate comments of a sexual nature over the phone to them and this was causing them distress – rightly so. The management team (all male except for one female) who were also on the initial program were shocked at the news, and all agreed that their staff should never have to put up with this or any other type of abusive behaviour.
Asked why they hadn't spoken up previously about these incidents, the female staff stated that they were worried that if they stood up for themselves and told the customers concerned to stop, then they might lose their business. Credit to these staff for putting the business first however, it should never have to be at the expense of their dignity or professional behaviour. Management were adamant that this type of behaviour, abusive language or threats from customers or anyone should not be tolerated under any circumstances and if it did happen again the staff were advised to report it immediately to their manager.
We need to make sure that all our staff are safe – free from abuse, bullying and other inappropriate behaviour. I too often see customer service being undervalued by businesses and trivialised as fluffy, or being nice and ‘the customer is always right' stuff. It is far from that. It's a tough job. It saddens me that people, especially women, do not think they can say something when inappropriate and abusive behaviour surfaces. A recent newspaper article put paid to the issue that bullying was due to low self esteem, instead it stated that research found that bullies had an over inflated view of themselves and thus set about demonstrating this in various ways including bullying.
Perhaps we should be able to give our people, especially customer service staff, training and coaching in how to address bullying and other challenging behaviour alongside the more traditional customer service skills training. And then, back this up by a code of conduct; a charter on how we deliver customer service and what we stand for.
I defy any senior manager to sit in the chairs or stand in the shoes of their customer service staff and handle that role for a week and see how they fair. The program on channel 10, Undercover Boss, gives us a glimpse of senior executives taking on the roles of their staff, often service staff in the front line. They are usually shocked at how hard these roles actually are and realise that without their customer service staff they do not have a business. Whether your staff are servicing customers via the telephone or in a restaurant or over the counter, we need to make sure that we back them, keep them safe and help them be at their best, and that includes having the skills and the right to address inappropriate and abusive behaviour without the fear of losing one's job.
Customer service is the back bone of any business, driving home our values, messages, vision and the state of our relationships with each other and our customer community. Let's take customer service seriously.
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/why-we-should-take-customer-service-more-seriously-3268410.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #3268410)
Labels:
Customer Service,
Excellence
Six Keys to Creating “wow” Customer Service Experiences
Author: Robert L Moment
Customers of every kind of business imaginable these days bemoan the state of customer service. While the global economy and the Internet have given businesses the opportunity to serve more clients than ever before, the trend has also given way to impersonal, lackluster customer service. It’s unfortunate that most businesses today don’t realize that they are regularly losing valuable customers if they don’t focus on providing an exceptional customer service experience.
In most businesses, once a customer begins dealing with the customer service department, he or she is already in a negative mindset. The best customer service representatives aren’t those that simply neutralize the problem. Outstanding customer service representatives take a negative and turn it into a positive that ensures the customer is not only happy, but is convinced he or she has had an outstanding experience – the Wow Factor – that he would not have gotten with any other company.
The key ingredients of the Wow experience are:
• Seamless Service
• Trustworthy Service
• Attentiveness
• Resourcefulness
• Courtesy
• Pro-active Service
Seamless Service means providing everything the customer needs, not just what is required to meet the minimum standards. It’s about making sure that they don’t have to wait and wonder. Customers will appreciate a smooth, seamless process for addressing their needs. If there are several steps needed to take care of their concerns, keep them in the loop – update them by email or with a quick phone call so that they know you are working on the situation and progress is being made. By keeping them abreast of what is going on, you are letting them know you haven’t forgotten about them and that you understand their concerns – reassurance and communication are powerful customer service tools.
Trustworthy Service is essential to retaining customers. Promising a customer anything and delivering nothing is the surest way to not only lose a customer, but get the kind of “word of mouth” bad press that can ruin you. Under promise and over deliver – If you promise a satisfactory solution and then go the extra mile to not only satisfy the customer, but gain their appreciation and “Wow” them, you will get word of mouth that will bring new customers to you.
Attentive Service means paying attention during and after the initial contact. How many times have you contacted customer service and been subjected to an obviously scripted response from the customer service representative? Does it give you the feeling they aren’t really listening, but just trying to get to the end of their canned presentation?
Attentiveness should run through every customer service experience, from listening carefully to the customer’s concerns to following up after the exchange is over to make sure their needs have been met. Listening isn’t just about hearing – it is about understanding what is really being said. The words are just the beginning –what about the customer’s tone of voice? Her mood? Is she disappointed, angry or frustrated? Keying in to the customer’s mood and responding appropriately is essential, and it means not following a script.
Resourcefulness means finding solutions when there appear to be none. Many companies have iron-clad policies that must be followed whenever a problem arises; however, sometimes a customer won’t be satisfied by the “company line” approach. Resourceful customer service representatives know that there is always a way to move beyond the standard procedures in order to make a customer happy. Resourcefulness involves finding a solution when a solution isn’t apparent. This may mean moving up the chain of command before the customer demands to talk to your superior. Companies with excellent customer service also give their representatives some leeway so that they can come up with creative solutions on their own. When a customer senses that you are going beyond the norm to help them, they will feel valued and respected.
Courtesy is a commodity that is becoming rarer every day. It takes so little to be polite but it is becoming a lost art. Say please when you ask a customer a question, thank them for their information and take your time talking to them. Nothing makes a customer feel more devalued than being treated like a number. Use the person’s name, make requests rather than demands and know when to apologize. When something goes wrong for a customer, they want to hear that you understand their frustration and that you are genuinely sorry that they are being inconvenienced. It takes nothing to say, “I’m so sorry you aren’t satisfied and I hope we can do something to correct this.”
Pro-Active Service means not waiting for the customer to come up with a solution that you simply follow through on. A pro-active customer service representative anticipates the needs of the customer and follows through. Don’t wait for the customer to ask you what you are willing to do – anticipate the question and answer it before they can ask. If they call and say they aren’t satisfied, apologize and immediately suggest some solutions. Customers want you to take the lead – acknowledge their unhappiness, offer a solution or solutions and explain to them how you are going to follow through. Pro-Active service means taking the lead, which will reassure your customers that you know what you are doing and that you will follow through.
If you keep these six keys in mind – seamless service, trustworthiness, attentiveness, resourcefulness ,courtesy and pro-active service – you will be able to offer every customer the Wow Customer Service Experience that inspires loyalty and keeps customers coming back for more.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/six-keys-to-creating-wow-customer-service-experiences-229765.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #229765)
Customers of every kind of business imaginable these days bemoan the state of customer service. While the global economy and the Internet have given businesses the opportunity to serve more clients than ever before, the trend has also given way to impersonal, lackluster customer service. It’s unfortunate that most businesses today don’t realize that they are regularly losing valuable customers if they don’t focus on providing an exceptional customer service experience.
In most businesses, once a customer begins dealing with the customer service department, he or she is already in a negative mindset. The best customer service representatives aren’t those that simply neutralize the problem. Outstanding customer service representatives take a negative and turn it into a positive that ensures the customer is not only happy, but is convinced he or she has had an outstanding experience – the Wow Factor – that he would not have gotten with any other company.
The key ingredients of the Wow experience are:
• Seamless Service
• Trustworthy Service
• Attentiveness
• Resourcefulness
• Courtesy
• Pro-active Service
Seamless Service means providing everything the customer needs, not just what is required to meet the minimum standards. It’s about making sure that they don’t have to wait and wonder. Customers will appreciate a smooth, seamless process for addressing their needs. If there are several steps needed to take care of their concerns, keep them in the loop – update them by email or with a quick phone call so that they know you are working on the situation and progress is being made. By keeping them abreast of what is going on, you are letting them know you haven’t forgotten about them and that you understand their concerns – reassurance and communication are powerful customer service tools.
Trustworthy Service is essential to retaining customers. Promising a customer anything and delivering nothing is the surest way to not only lose a customer, but get the kind of “word of mouth” bad press that can ruin you. Under promise and over deliver – If you promise a satisfactory solution and then go the extra mile to not only satisfy the customer, but gain their appreciation and “Wow” them, you will get word of mouth that will bring new customers to you.
Attentive Service means paying attention during and after the initial contact. How many times have you contacted customer service and been subjected to an obviously scripted response from the customer service representative? Does it give you the feeling they aren’t really listening, but just trying to get to the end of their canned presentation?
Attentiveness should run through every customer service experience, from listening carefully to the customer’s concerns to following up after the exchange is over to make sure their needs have been met. Listening isn’t just about hearing – it is about understanding what is really being said. The words are just the beginning –what about the customer’s tone of voice? Her mood? Is she disappointed, angry or frustrated? Keying in to the customer’s mood and responding appropriately is essential, and it means not following a script.
Resourcefulness means finding solutions when there appear to be none. Many companies have iron-clad policies that must be followed whenever a problem arises; however, sometimes a customer won’t be satisfied by the “company line” approach. Resourceful customer service representatives know that there is always a way to move beyond the standard procedures in order to make a customer happy. Resourcefulness involves finding a solution when a solution isn’t apparent. This may mean moving up the chain of command before the customer demands to talk to your superior. Companies with excellent customer service also give their representatives some leeway so that they can come up with creative solutions on their own. When a customer senses that you are going beyond the norm to help them, they will feel valued and respected.
Courtesy is a commodity that is becoming rarer every day. It takes so little to be polite but it is becoming a lost art. Say please when you ask a customer a question, thank them for their information and take your time talking to them. Nothing makes a customer feel more devalued than being treated like a number. Use the person’s name, make requests rather than demands and know when to apologize. When something goes wrong for a customer, they want to hear that you understand their frustration and that you are genuinely sorry that they are being inconvenienced. It takes nothing to say, “I’m so sorry you aren’t satisfied and I hope we can do something to correct this.”
Pro-Active Service means not waiting for the customer to come up with a solution that you simply follow through on. A pro-active customer service representative anticipates the needs of the customer and follows through. Don’t wait for the customer to ask you what you are willing to do – anticipate the question and answer it before they can ask. If they call and say they aren’t satisfied, apologize and immediately suggest some solutions. Customers want you to take the lead – acknowledge their unhappiness, offer a solution or solutions and explain to them how you are going to follow through. Pro-Active service means taking the lead, which will reassure your customers that you know what you are doing and that you will follow through.
If you keep these six keys in mind – seamless service, trustworthiness, attentiveness, resourcefulness ,courtesy and pro-active service – you will be able to offer every customer the Wow Customer Service Experience that inspires loyalty and keeps customers coming back for more.
Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/six-keys-to-creating-wow-customer-service-experiences-229765.html"
(ArticlesBase SC #229765)
7 Myths That Will Destroy Your Marketing Campaign
Autor: cosmogirl
What common myths keep authors from getting media attention?
Myth #1: A good news release is all you need to get "ink" The days of the "one size fits all" news releases are gone. Now it's all about customizing and knowing what the media target you're pitching is looking for. Making one release isn't a bad idea, but use it as a starting point, not the final message.
Myth #2: Mention your book every chance you get
The surest way to kill an interview (and your chances of getting asked back) is when you mention your book over and over. When you say things like: "as I wrote in my book," you'll cheapen your message and make it look too sales-like. Viewers hate being sold. Give them solid information and they'll buy your book because they'll want to know more. Just talk about your book naturally and if you're excited about what you wrote, readers will be excited too.
Myth #3: You must answer every question the media asks you Despite all your research and expertise, you can't expect to know everything. If you don't know an answer, don't lie or speculate. It's much better to say: "You know I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm happy to look into it and get back to you," than to make up a story that will make you (and the reporter) look bad.
Myth #4: You can use advertising dollars to influence media interviews If you're trying to get some airtime or print placement, do not ever allude to buying ad space in order to get them to commit to an interview. This is a completely unethical thing to do; conversely, if someone is trying to get you to buy an ad in order to be considered for their publication or program, run for the hills.
Myth #5: Use big, complicated words; they'll make you sound savvy It's unfortunate, but the "dumbing down of America" is a necessary trend and one you shouldn't overlook. Do not use complicated industry jargon to impress your audience (unless you're speaking to industry experts), you will only confuse them and alienate the person interviewing you.
Myth #6: Emotion is a bad thing
Marketing fact: People buy on emotion. Whether it's happy, sad, or angry. Make them feel something and you'll send them straight to your web site to buy your book. Now I'm not suggesting that you fall apart on camera, but emotion is a good thing. Look human! If it's a subject that you're passionate about, look passionate! If it's a terrible thing you went through that you're writing about, let your audience "feel" that emotion right along with you!
Myth #7: You should never even consider doing an interview without media training Don't get me wrong, media training is a great thing, but media training without the proper interview prep work can lead to a disaster. For example, don't assume because you're media trained that you can survive any interview without researching the show or publication. Even worse, don't put all your focus on your media training and then forget to update your data to support your interview.
Source: Free Articles
What common myths keep authors from getting media attention?
Myth #1: A good news release is all you need to get "ink" The days of the "one size fits all" news releases are gone. Now it's all about customizing and knowing what the media target you're pitching is looking for. Making one release isn't a bad idea, but use it as a starting point, not the final message.
Myth #2: Mention your book every chance you get
The surest way to kill an interview (and your chances of getting asked back) is when you mention your book over and over. When you say things like: "as I wrote in my book," you'll cheapen your message and make it look too sales-like. Viewers hate being sold. Give them solid information and they'll buy your book because they'll want to know more. Just talk about your book naturally and if you're excited about what you wrote, readers will be excited too.
Myth #3: You must answer every question the media asks you Despite all your research and expertise, you can't expect to know everything. If you don't know an answer, don't lie or speculate. It's much better to say: "You know I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm happy to look into it and get back to you," than to make up a story that will make you (and the reporter) look bad.
Myth #4: You can use advertising dollars to influence media interviews If you're trying to get some airtime or print placement, do not ever allude to buying ad space in order to get them to commit to an interview. This is a completely unethical thing to do; conversely, if someone is trying to get you to buy an ad in order to be considered for their publication or program, run for the hills.
Myth #5: Use big, complicated words; they'll make you sound savvy It's unfortunate, but the "dumbing down of America" is a necessary trend and one you shouldn't overlook. Do not use complicated industry jargon to impress your audience (unless you're speaking to industry experts), you will only confuse them and alienate the person interviewing you.
Myth #6: Emotion is a bad thing
Marketing fact: People buy on emotion. Whether it's happy, sad, or angry. Make them feel something and you'll send them straight to your web site to buy your book. Now I'm not suggesting that you fall apart on camera, but emotion is a good thing. Look human! If it's a subject that you're passionate about, look passionate! If it's a terrible thing you went through that you're writing about, let your audience "feel" that emotion right along with you!
Myth #7: You should never even consider doing an interview without media training Don't get me wrong, media training is a great thing, but media training without the proper interview prep work can lead to a disaster. For example, don't assume because you're media trained that you can survive any interview without researching the show or publication. Even worse, don't put all your focus on your media training and then forget to update your data to support your interview.
Source: Free Articles
Labels:
common myths,
Marketing Campaign,
news release
The Science Behind Psychological Marketing Tactics
Autor: Daiv
Abraham Maslow presented a theory that ordinates wants and desires in a comprehensive, consecutive, arrangement. According to Maslow, a person's desires develop from the lower order desires, such as feeling safe, to the higher order desires, such as a sense of belonging and feeling loved. After these desires are developed and fulfilled, a person begins to desire esteem and self-actualization. The higher order wants only begin to develop after the lower order wants, like the physiological needs for food and shelter, are satisfied.
When we understand that markets, as a whole, with common human emotional tendencies, act like individuals whom that market represents, we can examine markets and trends in the same way we would examine an individual. The most appealing aspect of Maslow's theory of needs is that it can be applied by proxy to an entire market.
It's not that complicated to trace how these requirements tend to play themselves out in a small number of technologies with obstacles such as the primary advances in communications. These requirements convey themselves in aggregate across all persons within the market. When there is an assortment of an official body that expresses the will of the people, the requirements can be assessed and reviewed on a most-needed basis. In an elected government, an individual's wants and desires can be pinpointed openly, or by proxy in a democracy by electing somebody who almost reflects their views.
Maslow's hierarchy states that the need for survival is the most fundamental need for all humans. As a result, branches of society which are entrusted with the authority to ensure this survival through physical means are allotted the lion's share of tax money. This applies to such branches of society as the military and fire defenses where the activities engaged in by members of that group ensure the continuation of basic survival.
If you go further into the Hierarchy of needs, you will notice that after the biological needs are met the next need is safety. This is when an individual's fight or flight will emerge. If you're looking at it from a marketing prospective, during the cold weather a commercial for jackets is the most appropriate. Timing is everything in the marketing aspect of this level. The next level describes relationships as brand recognition.
A person is more likely to purchase a jacket from a company that they've had superior experiences from and as long as you're doing an ad for a reputed company then that part of the job is completed for you. If not, this is where the marketing player comes into play. The job of a good marketing group is to promote sales to new clientele and make new sales from existing clients. Starting off in a fresh company, this is where the artist desires to communicate the marketing team's ideas visually in order to please this third need.
Good, efficient visuals build a sense of belonging and communication with the buyer. Belonging moves beyond our basic needs to live and beyond our need for safety. Belonging moves to the area where we choose what we love based on our feelings and our previous associations with a product or service and this is what a company's marketing machine is trying to link to.
Source: Free Articles
Abraham Maslow presented a theory that ordinates wants and desires in a comprehensive, consecutive, arrangement. According to Maslow, a person's desires develop from the lower order desires, such as feeling safe, to the higher order desires, such as a sense of belonging and feeling loved. After these desires are developed and fulfilled, a person begins to desire esteem and self-actualization. The higher order wants only begin to develop after the lower order wants, like the physiological needs for food and shelter, are satisfied.
When we understand that markets, as a whole, with common human emotional tendencies, act like individuals whom that market represents, we can examine markets and trends in the same way we would examine an individual. The most appealing aspect of Maslow's theory of needs is that it can be applied by proxy to an entire market.
It's not that complicated to trace how these requirements tend to play themselves out in a small number of technologies with obstacles such as the primary advances in communications. These requirements convey themselves in aggregate across all persons within the market. When there is an assortment of an official body that expresses the will of the people, the requirements can be assessed and reviewed on a most-needed basis. In an elected government, an individual's wants and desires can be pinpointed openly, or by proxy in a democracy by electing somebody who almost reflects their views.
Maslow's hierarchy states that the need for survival is the most fundamental need for all humans. As a result, branches of society which are entrusted with the authority to ensure this survival through physical means are allotted the lion's share of tax money. This applies to such branches of society as the military and fire defenses where the activities engaged in by members of that group ensure the continuation of basic survival.
If you go further into the Hierarchy of needs, you will notice that after the biological needs are met the next need is safety. This is when an individual's fight or flight will emerge. If you're looking at it from a marketing prospective, during the cold weather a commercial for jackets is the most appropriate. Timing is everything in the marketing aspect of this level. The next level describes relationships as brand recognition.
A person is more likely to purchase a jacket from a company that they've had superior experiences from and as long as you're doing an ad for a reputed company then that part of the job is completed for you. If not, this is where the marketing player comes into play. The job of a good marketing group is to promote sales to new clientele and make new sales from existing clients. Starting off in a fresh company, this is where the artist desires to communicate the marketing team's ideas visually in order to please this third need.
Good, efficient visuals build a sense of belonging and communication with the buyer. Belonging moves beyond our basic needs to live and beyond our need for safety. Belonging moves to the area where we choose what we love based on our feelings and our previous associations with a product or service and this is what a company's marketing machine is trying to link to.
Source: Free Articles
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