Choosing the right Competitive Advantage

How many differences to promote:
Companies should aggressively promote only one benefit to the target market.
Company should develop a unique selling proposition for each brand & stick to it.
Each brand should pick an attribute & tout itself as “number one” on that attribute.
Companies should position themselves on more than one differentiator.
Companies should broaden their positioning strategies to appeal to more segments.

Which differences to promote:
Important: The difference delivers a highly valued benefit to target buyers.
Distinctive: Competitors do not offer the difference, or the company can offer it in a more distinctive way.
Superior: The difference is superior to other ways that customers might obtain the same benefit.
Communicable: The difference is communicable & visible to buyers.
Preemptive: Competitors cannot the difference easily.
Affordable: Buyers can afford to pay for the difference.
Profitable: The company can introduce the difference profitably.

Value Proposition:

SWOT ANALYSIS

A process generates information that is helpful in matching an organization or group’s goals, programs, and capacities to the social environment in which it operates. Note that in itself is only a data capture - the analysis follows.


Strengths

Positive tangible and intangible attributes, internal to an organization.They are within the organization’s control..

Weakness

Factors that are within an organization’s control that detract from its ability to attain the desired goal.Which areas might the organization improve?.

Opportunities

External attractive factors that represent the reason for an organization to exist and develop.What opportunities exist in the environment, which will propel the organization?Identify them by their “time frames”.

Threats

External factors, beyond an organization’s control, which could place the organization mission or operation at risk.The organization may benefit by having contingency plans to address them if they should occur.
Classify them by their “seriousness” and “probability of occurrence”.

Using Cell Phone while driving

WHY SHOULD YOU NOT BE TEXTING ON YOUR CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING?

THIS IS WHY...

AND ESPECIALLY THIS ...

Pass this to everyone you care abouteven those that aren't driving yet.

WAYS TO ACHIEVE IN LIFE:

* I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

* I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.

* I don't fear failure. I only fear the slowing up of the engine inside of me which is saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"

* I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.

LEADER VS MANAGER

Both a manager and a leader may know the business well. But the leader must know it better and in a different way. S/he must grasp the essential facts and the underlying forces that determine the past and present trends in the business, so that s/he can generate a vision and a strategy to bring about its future. One telling sign of a good leader is an honest attitude towards the facts, towards objective truth. A subjective leader obscures the facts for the sake of narrow self-interest, partisan interest or prejudice.

Effective leaders continually ask questions, probing all levels of the organization for information, testing their own perceptions, and rechecking the facts. They talk to their constituents. They want to know what is working and what is not. They keep an open mind for serendipity to bring them the knowledge they need to know what is true. An important source of information for this sort of leader is knowledge of the failures and mistakes that are being made in their organization.
To survive in the twenty-first century, we are going to need a new generation of leaders — leaders, not managers. The distinction is an important one. Leaders conquer the context — the turbulent, ambiguous surroundings that sometimes seem to conspire against us and will surely suffocate us if we let them — while managers surrender to it.

Leaders investigate reality, taking in the pertinent factors and analyzing them carefully. On this basis they produce visions, concepts, plans, and programs. Managers adopt the truth from others and implement it without probing for the facts that reveal reality.

There is profound difference — a chasm — between leaders and managers. A good manager does things right. A leader does the right things. Doing the right things implies a goal, a direction, an objective, a vision, a dream, a path, a reach.

Lots of people spend their lives climbing a ladder — and then they get to the top of the wrong wall. Most losing organizations are over-managed and under-led. Their managers accomplish the wrong things beautifully and efficiently. They climb the wrong wall.

Managing is about efficiency. Leading is about effectiveness. Managing is about how. Leading is about what and why. Management is about systems, controls, procedures, policies, and structure. Leadership is about trust — about people.

Leadership is about innovating and initiating. Management is about copying, about managing the status quo. Leadership is creative, adaptive, and agile. Leadership looks at the horizon, not just the bottom line.

Leaders base their vision, their appeal to others, and their integrity on reality, on the facts, on a careful estimate of the forces at play, and on the trends and contradictions. They develop the means for changing the original balance of forces so that their vision can be realized.

A leader is someone who has the capacity to create a compelling vision that takes people to a new place, and to translate that vision into action. Leaders draw other people to them by enrolling them in their vision. What leaders do is inspire people, empower them.

They pull rather than push. This "pull" style of leadership attracts and energizes people to enroll in a vision of the future. It motivates people by helping them identify with the task and the goal rather than by rewarding or punishing them.

There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important "To manage" means "to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct." "Leading" is "influencing, guiding in direction, course, action, opinion." The distinction is crucial.
Management is... Leadership is....

Coping with complexity Coping with and promoting change
Planning and Budgeting Setting a Direction
Organizing and Staffing Aligning People
Controlling and Problem Solving Motivating and Inspiring People
Effective Action Meaningful Action

Both are necessary and important.

Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing. The difference may be summarized as activities of vision and judgment — effectiveness —versus activities of mastering routines — efficiency. The chart below indicates key words that further make the distinction between the two functions:

· The manager administers; the leader innovates.
· The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
· The manager maintains; the leader develops.
· The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.
· The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
· The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
· The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
· The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
· The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.
· The manager imitates; the leader originates.
· The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
· The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
· The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

The most dramatic differences between leaders and managers are found at the extremes: poor leaders are despots, while poor managers are bureaucrats in the worst sense of the word. Whilst leadership is a human process and management is a process of resource allocation, both have their place and managers must also perform as leaders. All first-class managers turn out to have quite a lot of leadership ability.

Pricing Strategies

Should Marketers Shift Offline Budgets to Digital Marketing?

You don’t have to look much further than recent headlines and research studies below to see that many companies are losing confidence in traditional marketing and advertising.

The changing trends in information production, distribution and consumption coupled with the uncertain times we live in create an unprecedented challenge for companies to better reach and engage with customers.

Whether changes in marketing direction are motivated in response to market and industry conditions, changing consumer behaviors or the need to stay competitive and cost effective, one thing is certain: companies that don’t nail down marketing efficiencies and customer retention are in for a long, cold winter.

Green & White

Custom Development is Dead! Long Live Custom Development!!


When you talk about how best to run a software business, we tend to hear one line again and again.

“Build a product! There’s no future in custom development anymore!”

I, myself, have been guilty of recommending this course of action to quite a few people. Lately however, it got me thinking. Why is it that custom development is considered to be a track to failure, while product development is ruling the roost? Aren’t there quite a few product companies which are closing up as well, infact, even more quickly than custom development companies? A product is a risk. If you cannot find a large enough market for it, it doesn’t even justify its costs (ROI). Sometimes, you start out building a product with all the right market knowledge and even interested buyers, but by the time the first beta of the product rolls out, the market seems to have changed and your prospective leads have dried up. So many things can go wrong in the product area as well. So why?


The answer, it seems to me, comes from who you are targeting!

Competitive Advantage

Competitive advantage is a position a firm occupies against its competitors.

According to Michael Porter, the three methods for creating a sustainable competitive advantage are through

1. cost leadership
2. differentiation
3. focus.

Cost advantage occurs when a firm delivers the same services as its competitors but at a lower cost. Differentiation advantage occurs when a firm delivers greater services for the same price of its competitors. They are collectively known as positional advantages because they denote the firm's position in its industry as a leader in either superior services or cost.

Many forms of competitive advantage cannot be sustained indefinitely because the promise of economic rents invites competitors to duplicate the competitive advantage held by any one firm

Proactive vs Reactive

OK so I have been very busy and haven’t had time to blog lately but I’m back!!! I want to take a moment to talk about the difference between being proactive vs reactive and explain what I perceive are the benefits of having a proactive attitude.

One of my favorite quotes is a quote by Michael Jordan,

“Some people want it to happen, some people wish it could happen, others make it happen.”

Of course Michael Jordan wanted the ball at the end of the game, he wanted to be in a position to make things happen and win the game. I love sports related quotes because they can and do relate to everyone and every area of life, are you one those people that says I wish this or that would happen. Or are you one those people that constantly desires and wants something to happen but never does anything about it. Finally do you make things happen, instead of just wishing and wanting. We all fall into one category or another.

This is where being proactive comes into play, you must begin to think, visualize and put a plan together to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Michael Jordan did not become the greatest basketball player ever over night, as a matter of fact when he started out in youth basketball he was not very good. He came home and told his dad that he wanted to quit, and his dad said to him well Michael that’s fine quit but what did you learn today and Michael said
”I found out I hate to lose”.

So what do I do from here, how do I begin to take myself from just wishing and wanting to making things happen and can you be a Michael Jordon in your area of life? I submit that we can be the best at what we do and that we can have more success than failure if we would only plan for success. Simply put we must proactively plan to succeed and not just sit back and take whatever happens and then react to the situation.

“Setting a goal is NOT the main thing, it is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” Tom Landry

The funny thing about goals are they become the things we talk about rather than the things we do. So we talk, wish and want but we don’t proactively go about achieving our goals. Often my sales staff will tell me that the main reason for their success is luck and I am always quick to point out that it’s not luck but it’s when preparation meets opportunity. Just as Michael Jordan had to practice and prepare to take that last second shot, we must proactively plan and prepare to succeed at whatever our goal might be.

To me the difference between proactive and reactive, is not being satisfied with what might happen or could happen but turning the odds in my favor and being prepared for success.
Are you prepared for success?

MARKETING YOURSELF

do u think that a good c v is enough to etch a good job? well no. if u can not carry ur c v confidently than its useless.u may have sparking ideas but if u can not explian it convincingly than its a total waste. similarly your dressing sense also contributes a lot to ur personality and it gives a positive vibe to peopls around u. your body languge languge should also be in a way that people see u as a responsible person.

Do you have what it takes?

Do you have what it takes?

• Can you communicate your thoughts, ideas, and information clearly and concisely both in writing and verbally?
  
• Are you able to recognize problems and devise an appropriate plan of action to resolve that problem?
  
• Can you organize and interpret complex data?
  
• Are you good at generating new ideas? Can you then take and organize those ideas and communicate them verbally?
  

If you possess the qualities above then you could be a good candidate for entering and being successful in the career of marketing. Marketing offers various career opportunities, so it's easy to choose one that reflects your interest, values, and personal style.

As a marketing major you can gain experience in your chosen career by participating in an internship or volunteering in service learning and community projects. Samples of potential experiences include:

• Conducting Market Research for a Fortune 500 Company.
  
• Promoting products through development of Point-of-Purchase displays.
  
• Spending time reviewing potential cost, price, and market research for service programs.
  
• Learning how to research customer base potential using available data.
  
• Designing an advertising or promotional campaign to promote new services.
  
• Developing a marketing plan for a global business.

A few companies that offer marketing graduate trainee programs

A few companies that offer marketing graduate trainee programs include:

Mars Mars does not have a specific marketing training program for graduates. They run a cross-functional management development program, through which graduates have access to opportunities in marketing. Recruits to the program are typically given three to four assignments, the first of which may be related to their experience or studies. The remaining assignments will be in other areas, and one may be overseas. Their goal is to broaden trainees' experiences.

NestleNestle has recently changed its approach to hiring graduates. Nestle recruits in a similar fashion as to how they recruit other employee levels. Each department now recruits graduates throughout the year on an 'as-required' basis. Vacancies will be posted and advertised throughout the year.

Procter and Gamble Procter & Gamble's graduate training program recruits graduates into one of eight career tracks, including consumer and market knowledge and marketing. Consumer and market knowledge involves sophisticated and proactive market research-based work to identify business opportunities, including new product development. The marketing function involves growing the value of brands within the P&G product range. Marketing trainees will learn about advertising, PR, consumer bonding, direct marketing and project management within their first two years. The applicants are selected according to application form, a problem-solving test, interview, and site visit, where they will meet prospective managers and colleagues.

If you decide that the graduate training program route is not for you; you can still break into the field of marketing by being persistent. You will need to be willing to take on an entry-level position in most marketing agencies and work your way up. If this isn't a problem then it's time to begin your first marketing assignment, which is marketing you by developing that resume.

Obama's first 10 days



Day One: January 21

Barack Obama entered the Oval Office to find a note marked “44” written by his predecessor, George W. Bush. He then spent the day planning to push his $800 billion stimulus package in the house and senate. His first phone calls as president were made to leaders in the Arab world. He also placed limits on lobbyists and froze the salaries of White House employees making more than $100,000 a year as a gesture to stop frivolous spending in Washington.

Day Two: January 22

HIs second day was spent marking a strong departure from many of President Bush’s policies. President Obama signed an executive order stating that the prison at Guantanamo Bay would be closed within the year. He also ordered the closings of secret CIA “ghost prisons” and the cessation of advanced interrogation techniques. In addition, George Mitchell was assigned special Middle East envoy to help tackle the strife in Gaza.

Day Three: January 23

President Obama reversed a policy that restricted federal aid to be delivered to organisations that promote or provide abortions overseas. George Bush reversed Clinton’s similar policy 8 years prior. The president nominated former defence lobbyist William Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense as unmanned American drones killed 18 in a series of missile attacks on the Pakistani side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Day Four: January 24

On the first Saturday of his presidency, President Obama delivered his first radio address. In keeping with the internet strategy used during his campaign, the address was posted as an online video. He stressed the importance of his stimulus bill and the urgency at which it needed to be passed

Day Five: January 25

While Republicans voiced their opposition to his stimulus plan, the president spent the day with his family.

Day Six: January 26

President Obama allowed states like California to decide their own emissions and fuel efficiency standards. The President also gave his first television interview as president with Dubai-based al-Aribiya. He used the interview to stress to the Muslim world his empathy and diplomatic intentions.

Day Seven: January 27

President Obama met with high-ranking republicans to discuss his $800b bail-out package. They viewed it with extreme scepticism.

Day Eight: January 28

The President had his first visit to the Pentagon to speak with Defense Secretary Robert Gates about US planning in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later, he delivered another speech detailing the urgency at which the economy needs be handled-specifically through his stimulus bill. President Obama invited ten senators (five democrats, five republicans) and twelve congressmen (six democrats, six republicans) to a cocktail party to discuss the stimulus plan.

Day Nine: January 29

The president and his wife began the day by attending a class presentation at daughter Sasha’s school. He then approved an equal-pay legislation dubbed “Ledbetter’s Law.” It was the first bill he signed into law. President Bush had previously opposed the legislation. His stimulus bill passed through the house without a single republican vote.

Day Ten: January 30

At the ten day mark, President Obama created a middle class working families task force to be headed by Vice President Joe Biden. He also signed a series of pro-union executive orders. The President received help from union workers during the campaign and subsequent election, and he looked to reverse President Bush’s policies that were perceived by some as anti-union.

How to Get a Job?

Whether you're looking for your very first job, switching careers, or re-entering the job market after an extended absence, finding a job whittles down to two main tasks: understanding yourself and understanding the job market. Presuming you've already chosen a career and are currently searching for jobs, here are several ways to actually get a job.

Steps


Network.

The best companies to work for tend to rely heavily (up to 40%) on employee referrals. Make a list of all of your friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Call each one and ask them if they know of any openings that they could recommend you for. Don't be too humble or apologetic; tell them what you've been looking for, but let them know that you're flexible and that if they have any suggestions, you're open to them. This is not the time to be picky about jobs; a connection can often get your foot in the door, and you can negotiate pay or switch positions later, once you've gained experience and established your reputation.

Volunteer.

If you aren't already, start volunteering for an organization that focuses on something that you're passionate about. You may end up doing boring or easy work in the beginning, but as you stick around and demonstrate your commitment, you'll be given more responsibilities. Not only will you be helping others, but you'll also be gaining references. You should emphasize your volunteer experience on your resume, as companies that treat their employees well tend to favor candidates who help the community somehow.

Develop your personal elevator pitch.

Many structured interviews, particularly those at large companies, start with a question like "tell me about yourself." The interviewer doesn't really want you to go back to grade school and talk about your childhood. This is a specific question with a specific answer...in two minutes or so, the interviewer wants to get you to relax and loosen out your vocal cords, understand your background, your accomplishments, why you want to work at XYZ company and what your future goals are.

Prepare for a behavioral interview.

You might be asked to describe problems you've encountered in the past and how you handled them, or you'll be given a hypothetical situation and asked what you would do. They'll basically want to know how you'll perform when faced with obstacles in the position you're interviewing for. Be able to give honest, detailed examples from your past, even if the question is hypothetical (e.g. "I would contact the customer directly, based on my past experience in a different situation in which the customer was very pleased to receive a phone call from the supervisor"). You might find yourself listing facts--if so, remember that in this kind of interview, you need to tell a story. Some questions you might be asked are:
"Describe a time you had to work with someone you didn't like."
"Tell me about a time when you had to stick by a decision you had made, even though it made you very unpopular."
"Give us an example of something particularly innovative that you have done that made a difference in the workplace."
"How would you handle an employee who's consistently late?"


Tips

~ Realize that you may have to work your way up. For example, if you want to become an apparel buyer, work for a company that manufactures or sells such goods.

~ Remember you are doing some HR workers a favor when you present yourself and they do not have to go out and find workers like you. If you get a rude person, be happy you don't have to choose to work for them.

~ It's also possible that your true calling is to be self-employed or an entrepreneur, in which case your task is not so much to find and get a job, but to create a job. Most people who work for themselves, however, often started off with a "day job" that paid the bills until their preferred income source could take over.

~ Be willing to spend some time learning about the job. Observe or intern to get some experience.

How to Have Good Manners

Meat makes and clothes shapes but a manner makes a man.


In order to present a good impression to others, you need to act like you weren't raised in a barn! It is very difficult to deal with people that have no manners or have no concern for others. One of the biggest societal issues we face today is a general lack of respect for what has been taught in history in regards to human concern and compassion for those you do not know well.


"Good Manners" are indeed an increasingly archaic school of ideas and actions that display respect, care, and consideration. All humans have a basic right to help one another and feel positive about themselves and others around them. In our age of self-satisfaction, cell phone technology and instant internet gratification - it is sometimes hypothesized that we care more for our equipment and high tech gadgets than the very people they are made for.

If you don't have an etiquette resource, you should keep reading for more ideas. Consider picking up an etiquette book. There are many available. Some community colleges offer weekend lessons in etiquette and most are open to all ages. Taking a class is a great idea for teens, professionals or anyone looking to make a better impression.

If, instead, you would rather learn from real-world examples - study the positive effects of those who display good manners and how people react to and around them. It's basic common sense that everyone prefers to be treated with a reasonable amount of respect. If you nurture plants, animals, or other humans, not only will they grow and bloom - but you will as well. Outside of material goods - the basic things we all really own in life are ourselves and our actions.

Steps:
1) Think things out before you speak.
2) Don't speak loudly
3) Always respect older people.
4) Do not swear
5) Don't interrupt, cut off or override


Improve your manners when speaking.


* Never say "Yeah". It's "Yes" or preferably "Yes, please".
* It's never "Huh?" or "What?", it's "Pardon?"
* Instead of "Nah", say "No, thank you."
* Always use "May I...?" instead of "Can I?"


Manners are little rules that help us all act with respect toward one another. If you are unsure what to do in a particular situation, remember that manners strive to make everyone around you feel comfortable, and take action based on this thought.


Good manners will never go out of style, so practice having good manners. It can only help you in the long run.

Seven C’s of effective Web site design

Context: The site’s layout & design.
Content: The text, pictures, sound, & video that the website contains.
Community: The ways that the site enables user-to-user communication.
Customization: The site’s ability to tailor itself to different users or to allow users to personalize the site.
Communication: The ways the site enables site-to-users, user-to-site, or two way communication.
Connection: The degree that the site is linked to other sites.
Commerce: The site’s capabilities to enable commercial transactions.

Global marketing Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages ;
  Economies of scale in production and distribution
  Lower marketing costs
  Power and scope
  Consistency in brand image
  Ability to leverage good ideas quickly and efficiently
  Uniformity of marketing practices
  Helps to establish relationships outside of the "political arena"
  Helps to encourage ancillary industries to be set up to cater for
  the needs of the global player
• Disadvantages ;
  Differences in consumer needs, wants, and usage patterns for products
  Differences in consumer response to marketing mix elements
  Differences in brand and product development and the competitive environment
  Differences in the legal environment, some of which may conflict with those of
  the home market
  Differences in the institutions available, some of which may call for the creation
  of entirely new ones (e.g. infrastructure)
  Differences in administrative procedures
  Differences in product placement.

Public marketing

According to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2009) public marketing is the application of marketing concepts and tools to public administration. Public marketing has evolved to a self-contained discipline merging thoughts from marketing and public sector management. Against the background of contro-versial debates going along with the development of the field, marketing in the public sector has to face new challenges today. Relationships to customers, employees and other stakeholders appear to become central to the success of public sector organisations. Therefore public marketing should evolve from a shallow tool kit to a profound knowledge base for public managers.

Possible Advertising Objectives

Informative Advertising
Communicating customer value.
Telling the market about a new product.
Explaining how the product works.
Describing available services.
Building a brand & company image.

Persuasive Advertising
Building brand preferences.
Encouraging switching to your brand.
Persuading customers to purchase now.
Convincing customers to tell others about the brand.

Reminder Advertising
Maintaining customer relationships.
Reminding customers where to buy the products.
Keeping brand in customer’s minds during off season.
Reminding consumers that the product may be needed in the furure.

Strategic Marketing

On 28th January's edition of The News there was an article published written by Prof. Dr Matin A Khan. The title said "Strategic Marketing in its broader perspective." In his article the professor have a brief history how marketing was done in the past & how it was affected by the countries who had strong economies. the example of fast food chains like Pizza Hut, KFC etc was quoted.

Then coming to his main topic he explained in depth what strategy means. This was done by the help of the following sub-heading:

1-Strategy & strategic marketing
2-Strategy (noun)
3-Strategic(adjective)
4-Strategy
5-Futurology is the basis of strategic marketing-its impact on business reputation
6-Traditional marketing
7-Strategic marketing
8-Supplementory note on marketing strategy

In my view point this is a very informative piece of writing we should all read as it helps us understand the changing markets & how to deal with it.

Is Yahoo better than Google for Making Money?

Yahoo pays better per click but lower CTR. Most WebMasters think YPN is better but in reality they are more or less similar. Yahoo’s ads are less targetted than googld adsense ads. Yahoo will sometimes show only highly targeted ads (like those on their search engine). Other times, they tend to show random ads… mostly ..

competitive intelligence

A broad definition of Competitive Intelligence is the action of gathering, analyzing, and applying information about products, domain constituents, customers, and competitors for the short term and long term planning needs of an organization. Competitive Intelligence (CI) is both a process and a product. The process of collecting, storing and analyzing information about the competitive arena results in the actionable output of intelligence ascertained by the needs prescribed by an organization.
Key points of this definitions:
Competitive Intelligence is an ethical and legal business practice. (This is important as CI professionals emphasize that the discipline is not the same as industrial espionage which is both unethical and usually illegal).
The focus is on the external business environment.
There is a process involved in gathering information, converting it into intelligence and then utilizing this in business decision making. CI professionals emphasize that if the intelligence gathered is not usable (or actionable) then it is not intelligence.

Creating a Website

• 1:Open Server Admin and connect to the server.
  2:Click the triangle to the left of the server.
  3:The list of services appears.
  4:From the expanded Servers list, select Web.
  5:Click Sites, then click the Add (+) button to add a new site.
  6:In the Sites General pane, enter the fully qualified DNS name of your website in the Domain Name field.
  6:Enter the IP address and port number for the site.
  The default port number is 80. If you are using SSL, the port is 443. Make sure the number you choose is not in use by another service on the server.
  To enable your website on the server, the website must have a unique name, IP address, and port number combination.
  Enter the path to the folder you set up for this website.
  You can also click the Choose button and browse for the folder you want to use.
  8:In the Error Document field, enter the page you want to appear when a web page error occurs. (Optional) In the Administrator Email field, enter the administrator mail address.
  9:The server sends website error messages to this mail address.
  10:Click Save.

buyers behaviour

Why do customers buy? What goes on inside a customer's mind before, during and after a purchase? How do buyers choose? What are the hidden influences? How do buyers process information? Unlocking these secrets opens the door to success.
Why buy a Coca-Cola? Is it because of thirst? Why buy Levi's jeans? Is it to avoid hypothermia, or to conform to a social norm? Or do some brands offer other benefits - emotional benefits? Are there hidden reasons?
Let's look at the other side. What do the advertisers promise? That Coca Cola will quench your thirst or Levi's will keep your legs warm? Perhaps they appeal to other desires? Look at the advertisements. Try to summarise exactly what you think they are saying. This takes practice. Summarising advertisements is a skill which top marketing people develop. It may give you an insight into society, its values and aspirations; that is, if you believe that advertising reflects society.
We are not perfectly rational, sensible buyers. We do not always choose goods and services solely on price, performance and availability. The truth is that many purchases are influenced by a whole host of emotional reasons like esteem and image. Many of these non-rational reasons are hidden deep in our subconscious.

One of the most exciting elements of working within the digital space is that strategies, ideas and executions evolve and change on a near constant basis. The ability to apply strategic marketing principles in an intelligent yet fluid manner will remain a cornerstone of successful media buying. Additionally, the ability to support strategic use of buying clout with actionable learning, innovation and insight will continue to drive positive changes in media buying habits.
These habits are most obviously influenced by marketplace changes-- most notably shifts in consumer behavior and advertising opportunity. Online video has rapidly become an increasingly viable online medium and is driving meaningful extensions and opportunities well beyond the :30 spot. Understanding how advertising messages can enhance, support and integrate within emerging media, channels and content (video, search, blogging, user-generated content and gaming) will be a core focus in the weeks and months ahead.

products - product life cycle

The stages through which individual products develop over time is called commonly known as the "Product Life Cycle".

Introduction Stage:
At the Introduction (or development) Stage market size and growth is slight. it is possible that substantial research and development costs have been incurred in getting the product to this stage. In addition, marketing costs may be high in order to test the market, undergo launch promotion and set up distribution channels. It is highly unlikely that companies will make profits on products at the Introduction Stage. Products at this stage have to be carefully monitored to ensure that they start to grow. Otherwise, the best option may be to withdraw or end the product.

Growth Stage:
The Growth Stage is characterised by rapid growth in sales and profits. Profits arise due to an increase in output (economies of scale)and possibly better prices. At this stage, it is cheaper for businesses to invest in increasing their market share as well as enjoying the overall growth of the market. Accordingly, significant promotional resources are traditionally invested in products that are firmly in the Growth Stage.

Maturity Stage:
The Maturity Stage is, perhaps, the most common stage for all markets. it is in this stage that competition is most intense as companies fight to maintain their market share. Here, both marketing and finance become key activities. Marketing spend has to be monitored carefully, since any significant moves are likely to be copied by competitors. The Maturity Stage is the time when most profit is earned by the market as a whole. Any expenditure on research and development is likely to be restricted to product modification and improvement and perhaps to improve production efficiency and quality.

Decline Stage:
In the Decline Stage, the market is shrinking, reducing the overall amount of profit that can be shared amongst the remaining competitors. At this stage, great care has to be taken to manage the product carefully. It may be possible to take out some production cost, to transfer production to a cheaper facility, sell the product into other, cheaper markets. Care should be taken to control the amount of stocks of the product. Ultimately, depending on whether the product remains profitable, a company may decide to end the product.

pricing strategies - penetration pricing

Penetration pricing involves the setting of lower, rather than higher prices in order to achieve a large, if not dominant market share.
This strategy is most often used businesses wishing to enter a new market or build on a relatively small market share.
This will only be possible where demand for the product is believed to be highly elastic, i.e. demand is price-sensitive and either new buyers will be attracted, or existing buyers will buy more of the product as a result of a low price.
A successful penetration pricing strategy may lead to large sales volumes/market shares and therefore lower costs per unit. The effects of economies of both scale and experience lead to lower production costs, which justify the use of penetration pricing strategies to gain market share. Penetration strategies are often used by businesses that need to use up spare resources (e.g. factory capacity).
A penetration pricing strategy may also promote complimentary and captive products. The main product may be priced with a low mark-up to attract sales (it may even be a loss-leader). Customers are then sold accessories (which often only fit the manufacturer’s main product) which are sold at higher mark-ups.
Before implementing a penetration pricing strategy, a supplier must be certain that it has the production and distribution capabilities to meet the anticipated increase in demand.
The most obvious potential disadvantage of implementing a penetration pricing strategy is the likelihood of competing suppliers following suit by reducing their prices also, thus nullifying any advantage of the reduced price (if prices are sufficiently differentiated the impact of this disadvantage may be diminished).
A second potential disadvantage is the impact of the reduced price on the image of the offering, particularly where buyers associate price with quality.

Competitive Advantage

In today's very competitive marketplace a strategy that insures a consistent approach to offering your product or service in a way that will outsell the competition is critical. However, in concert with defining the marketing strategy you must also have a well defined methodology for the day to day process of implementing it. It is of little value to have a strategy if you lack either the resources or the expertise to implement it.In the process of creating a marketing strategy you must consider many factors. Of those many factors, some are more important than others. Because each strategy must address some unique considerations, it is not reasonable to identify 'every' important factor at a generic level. However, many are common to all marketing strategies. Some of the more critical are described below.You begin the creation of your strategy by deciding what the overall objective of your enterprise should be. In general this falls into one of four categories:
If the market is very attractive and your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry you will want to invest your best resources in support of your offering.
If the market is very attractive but your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you must concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering as a stepping stone toward this objective.
If the market is not especially attractive, but your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry then an effective marketing and sales effort for your offering will be good for generating near term profits.
If the market is not especially attractive and your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the industry you should promote this offering only if it supports a more profitable part of your business (for instance, if this segment completes a product line range) or if it absorbs some of the overhead costs of a more profitable segment. Otherwise, you should determine the most cost effective way to divest your enterprise of this offering.
Refference: http://www.businessplans.org/Market.html

Comparison of Pakistani and Indian Industry of Bikes by an Indian Author

Pakistani Bikes

Vs

Indian Bikes

I have read an article at 2wheelsindia -an Indian blog for bikers-. The Author, Satadal Payeng has researched well on the Pakistan and then post a very detailed report.

According to Satadal, "The Pakistani Motorcycle industry is at least 20 YEARS BEHIND what is being offered here in INDIA.."

What do you think about his this statement? For more detail please visit his blog and comment about his research on class blog and at2wheelsindia.

Satadal Post address is: http://www.2wheelsindia.com/2007/03/bikesmotorcycles-in-pakistan.html

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost, time or quality of what one organization does against what another organization does. The result is often a business case for making changes in order to make improvements.
Also referred to as "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking", it is a process used in management and particularly strategic management, in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice, usually within their own sector. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adopt best practice, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to challenge their practices.

Kodak Posts Loss, To Cut Up to 4,500 Jobs

Eastman Kodak posted an unexpected quarterly loss and said it would cut up to 4,500 jobs this year after suffering a dramatic decline in demand for digital cameras and commercial printing equipment.
The maker of cameras, picture frames and consumer printers and provider of commercial printing services, also unveiled another round of restructuring, aimed at cutting costs, the latest in a string of such moves dating back to at least 2003.
The results come about a year after Kodak said it had completed an expensive four-year restructuring that transformed it into a maker of digital photography products, and a developer of commercial and retail printing systems. During that restructuring, Kodak halved its workforce, which now stands at about 26,900 people.
The company said on Thursday it would reduce its workforce by between 3,500 and 4,500 positions in 2009. Kodak late in 2008 had earmarked 1,000-1,500 jobs to be cut in 2009, and on Thursday said an additional 2,000 to 3,000 jobs will be cut.
Its fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations was $137 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $215 million, or 75 cents per share. Kodak called the results preliminary because additional asset-related charges may be recorded for the period.

Excluding special items such as restructuring and legal costs, Kodak's loss was 8 cents a share, far short of analysts' expectations of a profit of 19 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue fell 24 percent to $2.43 billion. Sales of products like still and video cameras and digital picture frames fell 36 percent.
"During the last three months of the year, we experienced dramatic declines in several of our key businesses due to the slowdown in consumer spending and significantly reduced demand for capital equipment," Chief Executive Antonio Perez said in a statement.
Shares of Kodak fell over 2 percent in early morning trading from their Wednesday close of $7.07 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Resource taken from //cnbc.com

Unemployment Feared

Two years of global financial and economic meltdown could leave over 50 million more people unemployed by the end of 2009, risking social unrest.New estimates indicate that “global unemployment in 2009 could increase over 2007 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate,” the ILO states this in a statement to a news channel..We have to assume that we are now facing a global jobs crisis.” Officials were more inclined to a middle range scenario of 30 million job losses for 2007-2009.That could propel the global unemployment rate to an average of 6.5 to 7.1 as it is against the 2007 rate of 5.7 unemployment.IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn criticised the G20, saying they had made little progress in fighting the global financial crisis in all era.Last year the developed economies and European Union failed to create jobs in 2008, while unemployment picked up sharply to 6.2 per cent, ending five consecutive years of decline.But East Asia, which had the lowest regional unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent in 2007, was forecast to experience a jump to 4.5-5.5 per cent in a year.The crisis could also push another 200 million workers into extreme poverty as they eke out a living in informal, underpaid and unstable work, especially in Africa and South Asia.

Mistakes as living lessons

When you do something wrong or something doesn't quite work out the way you want, there are ways of managing it so that you learn the lesson, move on from it. There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. If you can learn to accept mistakes, shortcomings, and unwanted events as opportunities for learning, then you'll feel less stressed, you'll be more confident and self-assured, and your life experience will be more rewarding and fun.

There are ways of managing it so that you learn the lesson, move on, and grow stronger in the process.

One: Be open to making mistakes. Each of us does things that we regret. Each of us takes a wrong turn, hurts someone's feelings, or makes bad choices. But if you are open for life's lessons, you learn a lesson from each mistake, and then you move on. If you don't learn the lesson, then the mistake will repeat itself again and again in different situations.

Two: Be aware. In other words, be on the lookout for "mistakes" and for ways to better yourself. Be aware of what you are doing, of how you feel, and of how you make others feel.

Three: Accept full responsibility for yourself and your life, because this demonstrates strength, courage, and a commitment to personal excellence. When you accept full responsibility for yourself, you also accept responsibility for making things right.

Covert Advertising

Covert advertising is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them "classics," because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase futuristic cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. Bladerunner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a coca cola billboard.

Mobile billboard advertising

Mobile billboards are truck- or blimp-mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, or they can be specially-equipped cargo trucks. The billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements.
Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including:
Target advertising
One-day, and long-term campaigns
Conventions
Sporting events
Store openings and similar promotional events
Big advertisements from smaller companies
Others

Kodak posts 4Q loss, plans up to 4,500 job cuts

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Eastman Kodak says it is eliminating 3,500 to 4,500 jobs, or 14 percent to 18 percent of its payroll, as it posted a $137 million loss for the fourth quarter.
Kodak says sales and profits from both digital and film-based photography products plummeted.
The Rochester, N.Y.-based company said Thursday that its loss amounted to 51 cents a share in the last three months of the year. That compares with a year-ago profit of $215 million, or 75 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, the loss came to $21 million, or 8 cents a share.
It says sales fell 24 percent to $2.43 billion, as digital revenue fell 23 percent and traditional film-based revenue slumped 27 percent.

Dell pioneered in selling PCs directly to customers, it was a huge success, and that’s what marketing is about; creating value for customers.
In July 1996, Dell started its business through its Internet site. In a short period of time, Dell was able to capture sales of $1 million per week through internet.
The process was simple, customers logged onto the site and configured the system that best suited their needs, here comes the concept of customer satisfaction, I’ll rather call it a flexible marketing strategy, they had the option of purchasing the system using a credit card.
According to the 2002 Dell Corporation annual report, here are some highlights of Dell.com:


1. Great volumes of product sales, service and support to the Internet.
2. 500 million page visits per quarter to www.dell.com
3. According to Nielsen/ Net Ratings, during the December 2000 holiday season, www.dell.com

was the third most visited web site in USA
4. Custom Internet sites, called Premier Pages™, for various corporate and institutional

customers, allowing these customers to simplify and accelerate procurement and support

processes
5.Through these custom sites, the Company offers the customer paperless purchase orders,

approved product configurations, global pricing, real-time order tracking, purchasing history

and account team information.
6.Currently 60,000 Premier Pages worldwide
7.An online virtual account executive for its small business customers
for all domestic customers, the Company provides a spare-parts ordering system, and a virtual

help desk featuring natural-language search capabilities and direct access to technical support

data

source: www.dell.com

SOCCER VS CRICKET

SOCCER VS CRICKET

SOCCER IS the BEST



Everyone should watch and play the soccer because of the following reasons. The First reason is that it does not take too much time as compared to the cricket. Mostly people like the games which can be playing and enjoying for short time. Therefore, there are around 40 to 50 million people in the soccer ground. The Second reason is that it is full of entertaining for people. In short time period, it has a lot of action in the soccer ground so; it is not possible to go away from TV for a second. The third reason is that there are fewer chances for players to get injury in soccer game and we use hardball in cricket and it is harmful for players. There are many bowlers who have proved themselves that they are very dangerous for the batsman like Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, and Mohammad Zahid. Many people might say that in cricket twenty over match is also very entertaining for people but I believe that soccer is more entertaining, more interesting game than the cricket.

How Do Our Kidney Function

The kidneys are two, flat, bean-shaped, solid organs that are among the most important in our body. They lie on each side of the spine near the waistline. They are about ten centimeters long.

The kidneys help the body by removing unwanted substances. It is just as important for the body to be able to get rid of what it does not need and cannot use as it is for it to take in what it needs. But kidneys at the same time see that other materials are kept in the body. They also regulate the amount of water and other substances in the blood.

In the outer part of each kidney, capillaries from tine loops that make up a ball-like shape covered by a delicate membrane. In each kidney there are about 1, 500, 00 of tiny small balls, called “glomeruli”. More blood flows through the kidneys every minute than through any other organ. The glomeruli allow some of the fluid of the blood which carries the finest dissolved materials to pass through the membranes.

The fluid that passes through is called “Urine”. It is collected with in a cuplike wall which covers each glomerulus. A very delicate tube, called a “tubule”, drains the urine from the cups.

As the urine flows through the tiny tubules, the lining cells are busy exchanging materials between the blood and urine. Substances that the body needs are taken back into the blood. Much of water in tubules also returns to the blood. In this way the kidneys help to keep the body properly moist. The Kidney tubules also help regulate the acid level in the blood.

All the small tubules collect in the inner part of each kidney and open into a delicate sac, the pelvis of the kidney. The Urine then goes down two tubes, called “Ureters” that connect to the kidneys to bladder.

Where Did American Indian Come From

The first “Americans” went to America so long ago that we cannot really know as much as we would like to know about their earliest history. But this is what most authorities think happened.

About 12,000 years ago bands of hunters on foot wandered into a strange new land, following herds of elk and caribou. The land these early hunters came from was probably Siberia. They crossed over to Alaska where the continents of Asia and North America are closest together at the narrow strip of water now called Bering Strait.

For thousand of years more hunters went to North America. They did not all go at once, but went in small family groups. Although they came from the dame homeland and were originally alike, they went over a period of thousands of years and thus the groups differed in many ways. They differed in language, in appearance, in customs, in ways of making a living, and in the way they adapted themselves to life in the new land.

They all had straight, black hair and high cheekbones. They were all dark skinned, but their shadings varied. The skins of some had a reddish tinge and so these people were often called “red men.”

Who Was Lord Nelson

Horatio, Lord Nelson, was the most famous commander in the history of the British Navy. Born in 1758, he was so frail and weak in early childhood that no one expected him to live! His father was clergyman, and the family had very little money, so Horatio had to leave home when he was twelve, and join the Navy as a midshipman to make his own career. When he was twenty one, he was made captain of a frigate and, with his new
Authority; he set about reforming discipline on his ship, saying that cruelty made cowards of his men.

Nelson’s rise to fame began in 1793, when he was put in command of the Agamemnon, during the revolutionary war with France. For the next three years he repeatedly distinguished himself by his calm, bravery and judgment. It was at this period that he lost his right eye at the battle of calvi, and soon after, in the Canary Islands, he lost his right arm.

Why America Is so Called

Everybody knows that Columbus “discovered America”. Then why wasn’t it named after him?
The reason for this might be considered an accident of fate. When Columbus made his first journey, he sighted land early in the morning of October 12, 1492. Columbus went ashore, took possession in the names of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and named the land san Salvador. That land however, was not the mainland of the continent. It is what we now call Watling Island, in the Bahamas. Columbus called the natives Indians.

Columbus cruised on, looking for Japan. Instead he discovered Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic today). On March 14, 1493, Columbus returned to Spain.

On his second voyage, which started on September 24, 1493, Columbus discovered several of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. But he was still determined to find India. On his third voyage, in 1498, he discovered Trinidad and touched South America. But he thought he had found a series of islands.

Another explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, meanwhile was claiming that he had been the first to reach the mainland of South America. This was on June 16, 1497. (Many experts believe that Vespucci did not really make his voyage until 1499.)

On a trip in 1501, Vespucci sailed along the coast of South America and wrote letters saying he had found a new continent. His information was used by a German map-maker and in his maps he used the name “America” (after Amerigo Vespucci) for the new continent. And that name has been used ever since!

Pricing objectives

Pricing objectives or goals give direction to the whole pricing process. Determining what your objectives are is the first step in pricing. When deciding on pricing objectives you must consider: 1) the overall financial, marketing, and strategic objectives of the company; 2) the objectives of your product or brand; 3) consumer price elasticity and price points; and 4) the resources you have available.

Some of the more common pricing objectives are:

maximize long-run profit
maximize short-run profit
increase sales volume (quantity)
increase dollar sales
increase market share
obtain a target rate of return on investment (ROI)
obtain a target rate of return on sales
stabilize market or stabilize market price: an objective to stabilize price means that the marketing manager attempts to keep prices stable in the marketplace and to compete on non-price considerations. Stabilization of margin is basically a cost-plus approach in which the manager attempts to maintain the same margin regardless of changes in cost.
company growth
maintain price leadership

Digital Marketing – Pull vs. Push

There are 2 different forms of digital marketing, each of which has its pros and cons.

Pull
Pull digital marketing technologies involve the user having to seek out and directly grab (or pull) the content via web search. Web site/blogs and streaming media (audio and video) are good examples of this. In each of these examples, users have a specific link (URL) to view the content.
Pros:
No restrictions in terms of type of content or size as the user determines what they want.
No technology required to send the content, only to store/display it.
No regulations or opt-in process required.
Cons:
Considerable marketing effort required for users to find the message/content.
Limited tracking capabilities – only total downloads, page views, etc.
No personalization – content is received and viewed the same across all audiences

Push
Push digital marketing technologies involve both the marketer (creator of the message) as well as the recipients (the user). Email, SMS, RSS are examples of push digital marketing. In each of these examples, the marketer has to send (push) the messages to the users (subscribers) in order for the message to be received.
Pros:
Can be personalized -- messages received can be highly targeted and specific to selected criteria – like a special offer for females, 21 years old or over and living in California.
Detailed tracking and reporting – marketers can see not only how many people saw their message but also specific information about each user such as their name as well as demographic and psychographic data.
High Return on Investment (ROI) possible – if executed the right way, push messaging can help drive new revenue as well as brand reinforcement.
Cons:
Compliance issue – each push messaging technology has its own set of regulations, from minor (RSS) to heavily controlled (email and text messaging)
Requires mechanism to deliver content – the marketer has to use an application to send the message, from an email marketing system to RSS feeders.
Delivery can be blocked – if the marketer does not follow the regulations set forth by each push message type, the content can be refused or rejected before getting to the intended recipient.

failure is a way to success

• Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.
• It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
• There is no failure except in no longer trying.
• My reputation grows with every failure.
• It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.
• Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.
• The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes.

Technology & Innovation

Many people see technology as a solution to some of the problems that exist on our planet. It’s true that technology can be used for good, but with new developments come new challenges issues. The digital divide is one such issue, one that people are actively trying to overcome. Telecentres aim to bridge the digital divide by providing people access and knowledge about information technologies. A global telecentre movement is growing right now. Unfortunately, even where computer facilities are readily available, the digital divide persists—even in the world's most wealthy countries, access to the latest and most beneficial technologies is limited for those in rural areas and people with disabilities.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing the cost, time or quality of what one organization does against what another organization does. The result is often a business case for making changes in order to make improvements.
Also referred to as "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking", it is a process used in management and particularly strategic management, in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice, usually within their own sector. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adopt best practice, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to challenge their practices.

Market analysis

A Market analysis is a documented investigation of a Market that is used to inform a firm's planning activities particularly around decision of: inventory, purchase, work force expansion/contraction, facility expansion, purchases of capital equipment, promotional activities, and many other aspects of a company.
Not all managers are asked to conduct a market analysis, but all managers must make decisions using market analysis data and understand how the data was derived. So all managers need a reasonable understanding of the tools most used for making sales forecasts and analyzing markets.
A large number of market analysis techniques are related to sales forecasting, others are more general techniques for analyzing markets. The literature defines several areas in which market analysis is important. These include: sales forecasting, market research, and marketing strategy. Sales forecasting and market analysis are complementary skills that any marketing manager should possess.

Mass marketing

Mass Marketing is a market coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer.it is type of marketing (or attempting to sell through persuasion) of a product to a wide audience. The idea is to broadcast a message that will reach the largest number of people possible. Traditionally mass marketing has focused on radio, television and newspapers as the medium used to reach this broad audience. By reaching the largest audience possible exposure to the product is maximized. In theory this would directly correlate with a larger number of sales or buy in to the product.
The opposite to Niche marketing as it focuses on high sales and low prices. It aims to provide products and services that will appeal to the whole market.

Internet marketing

Internet marketing, also referred to as web marketing, online marketing, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the internet.
The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, one of which being lower costs for the distribution of information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of providing instant response and eliciting responses, is a unique quality of the medium. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to have a broader scope because it refers to digital media such as the Internet, e-mail, and wireless media; however, Internet marketing also includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management systems.
Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales. Internet marketing does not simply entail building or promoting a website, nor does it mean placing a on another website. Effective Internet marketing requires a comprehensive strategy that synergizes a given company's business model and sales goals with its website function and appearance, focusing on its target market through proper choice of advertising type, media, and design.
Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along different stages of the costumer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies. In 2008 The New York Times working with comScore published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found the potential for collecting data upward of 2,500 times on average per user per month

Marketing strategies for product software

Marketing strategies for product software assist software firms to determine the type of market analysis that is needed for decision-making. Two general strategies that are well known in the marketing discipline are:
marketing mix; and
relationship marketing.
"Marketing mix" is the typical strategy for traditional mass marketers of product software in competitive markets. Structured market research, and agility in reacting to sales, are characteristic of their product development process .An example would be Electronic Arts, with their various home computer software games, which are advertised on television and sold in many electronic stores.
"Relationship marketing",is used by product software companies who focus on long-term customer relationships (Alajoutsijarvi et al, 2000). An example of this is SAP, which offers enterprise resource planning systems, along with support (since the software is complicated to install). Maintaining customer relationships helps sell additional modules and future upgrades.
Broethers and van't Kruis explain two other strategies that are important to the growth of software firms:
a service-based strategy; and
a different marketing channels strategy.
Information about customer preferences, observations of customer reactions, and knowledge of past mistakes are important for the "service-based strategy". "Different marketing channels strategy" tries to discover non-traditional marketing channels to help increase distribution of software products to other target markets that take advantage of positional differences. "Alliance-based strategies", on the other hand, are helpful at providing knowledge exchanges, opening previously inaccessible markets (such as export markets) and an overall larger market access.
Besides helping with current strategies, market analysis can improve future planning and growth strategies that are helpful in product roadmapping decisions. It also helps discover areas where "complementary product development" and "diversification strategies" can be profitable. Complementary goods can be in the form of other software products, hardware, or services, such as consultancy, user training, and customization . The development of these goods increases the opportunities for companies in the software market .Even complementary products from other vendors can lead to an increase in the value of the original product, while reducing the time to market .
The complementary product strategy adds value by showing innovation, and creates a multiplier effect on the original product .Investing in other products and services aids in diversification, which can increase the overall customer base, and helps decrease the risks of being overly specialized .Diversification can, therefore, increase the financial health of the company. An example of this is Microsoft, which has increased the sales of its primary operating system software by offering products, such as word processing, and media player software.

RETAILING

Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store or kiosk, or by post, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy.
Shops may be on residential streets, shopping streets with few or no houses, or in a shopping center or mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing, also referred to as B2C type of e-commerce, and mail order are forms of non-shop retailing.
Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products. Sometimes this is done to obtain necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it is done as a recreational activity. Recreational shopping often involves window shopping (just looking, not buying) and browsing and does not always result in a purchase.
Retail pricing
The pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailers cost. Another common technique is suggested retail pricing. This simply involves charging the amount suggested by the manufacturer and usually printed on the product by the manufacturer.
In Western countries, retail prices are often called psychological prices or odd prices.
Often prices are fixed and displayed on signs or labels. Alternatively, there can be price discrimination for a variety of reasons, where the retailer charges higher prices to some customers and lower prices to others. For example, a customer may have to pay more if the seller determines that he or she is willing to. The retailer may conclude this due to the customer's wealth, carelessness, lack of knowledge, or eagerness to buy. Another example is the practice of discounting for youths or students.

Four Vital Legal Issues To Consider When Starting a Company

From business structure to taxes, there are numerous legal issues to address when starting a company, many of which can bring a promising start-up to a grinding halt if the proper steps are not taken. The following four issues most frequently cause problems.

Trademarks: Register your trademark. Simply reserving a domain name does not guarantee legal rights. Since interNIC does not deal with trademark disputes, federal trademarks take precedence over domain registrations. Unregistered trademarks do not hold up well; it is best to register the trademark federally. However, the PTO will not register a trademark if it is not distinctive enough.

Deals with cofounders: Document all deals with cofounders in case disputes arise at a later date.

Employees: Consider legal issues of hiring employees. The largest area of potential liability for an entrepreneur often is employment law. Employees have many legal rights that must not be neglected.

Contract liability: Establish limits of liability in contracts by limiting the maximum liability to that of the contract and by excluding consequential damages