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Answer Upon - Fast Forwarding Your Business
China already leads the world in the number of Internet users as well as Internet usage, with over 800,000 new Internet users coming online every week. You'd think that a country with so much Internet usage would have a big effect on the web. Well, they do, but for US users, we don't often notice their presence unless we go searching for it. Here's what's out there on the Chinese information superhighway:PortalsJust like other countries, Chinese users tend to use portals to find what they're looking for. Yahoo's Chinese portal is rated as the 6th most popular Chinese site. The #1 site for Chinese users is a portal called Baidu.com, a Chinese language search engine that also offers multimedia content to its users. Next on the list is QQ.com, a portal similar to Yahoo with a popular free email service attached. Sina.com.cn is next on the list, then we have Sohu.com and 163.com. Each portal has a similar setup to traditional portals like Yahoo and MSN, where updated news is offered, plus stock information and tickers, email services, entertainment information, shopping, music, communities and message boards as well as the usual serving of ads, including ads for the Chinese version of eBay. Chines
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to crea
Marketing a product or services has become one of the key aspects to survive in the world of business. In order to make your business run successfully, you need to make people aware of your services. Precisely, marketing will enable large audience to know about the products or a service which has been launched. Today, there are various mediums available in the market for the purpose of marketing. Some of these mediums can be posters, car magnets, pamphlets, television, newspapers, magazines, banners, internet and many more. Any of these means can prove useful for your business but it is better to choose cost-effective and easiest which you feel will prove successful for your business. A car magnet is one of the best and easiest possible mediums to popularize your products and services as they are cheaper and can be found easily.Now a days, car magnets are much used for the businesses as it can be put on any vehicle and hence the purpose of business can be solved as wherever the vehicle goes, the product or services will be advertised. People will notice the advertisement and hence the product will become familiar among the people. In this way, your business will get popularity and you may happen to m
WHAT IS A BRAND?
Your brand is more than just the logo on your letterhead and business cards or your business name. It is your corporate identity. An effective brand tells the world who you are, what you do and how you do it, while at the same time establishing your relevance to and credibility with your prospective customers.
Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its customers. If your brand has a high perceived value, you enjoy many advantages over your competition, especially when it comes to pricing. Why do you think people are prepared to pay stupid money for items of clothing with the initials "CK" on them? Perceived value. Perceived value as a result of very effective brand promotion resulting in very high brand awareness.
Now, I'm not saying we all need to rush out and start creating brands that are going to be recognized the world over. Most of us simply don't have the time or other resources necessary. What I am suggesting, however, is that it is possible for your brand to dominate your niche.
WHY DO I NEED TO CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
=> Differentiation
We touched on this in the previous section when we looked at what a brand is and how it can be used to increase the perceived value of your products and services. The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your competition. New websites are a dime a dozen. So are home-based businesses. You need to constantly be looking for ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Your brand can do that for you.
=> More Effective, Efficient Marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.
Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50% of your time with a new prospect explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You can spend 100% of your time focusing on sales rather than educating your prospects about your business
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to creat
Archie is our little adopted Terrier dog I rescued a few years ago. Archie goes to the groomer every few months.Last week, it was time once again and I wanted to find a new groomer, closer to home. (NOTE: The groomer I was going to was a commodity that I felt I could easily replace with someone closer).One day I spotted a a banner that said "Arms Full of Love, Grooming." They were close by and it appeared they were new in business.On the window they advertised, a fun environment, all natural products, and overall gave a nice impression. Of course, I went in.I told them I was very happy to see we had such a great new groomer in the area.The woman behind the counter said they had been in the shopping center for 10 years, they just moved to a larger space. They were right next to the vet (she pointed out the window to a big sign that said "GROOMER" that was about 500 feet away)Honestly, I never even noticed that sign; even though it was right next to a food store we go to all the time.Why? How did I miss that BIG GROOMER sign?Because I was looking for Arms Full of Love. A groomer who cared about my pet, one who thought enough to use all natural products.
Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its customers. If your brand has a high perceived value, you enjoy many advantages over your competition, especially when it comes to pricing. Why do you think people are prepared to pay stupid money for items of clothing with the initials "CK" on them? Perceived value. Perceived value as a result of very effective brand promotion resulting in very high brand awareness.
Now, I'm not saying we all need to rush out and start creating brands that are going to be recognized the world over. Most of us simply don't have the time or other resources necessary. What I am suggesting, however, is that it is possible for your brand to dominate your niche.
WHY DO I NEED TO CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
=> Differentiation
We touched on this in the previous section when we looked at what a brand is and how it can be used to increase the perceived value of your products and services. The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your competition. New websites are a dime a dozen. So are home-based businesses. You need to constantly be looking for ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Your brand can do that for you.
=> More Effective, Efficient Marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.
Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50% of your time with a new prospect explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You can spend 100% of your time focusing on sales rather than educating your prospects about your business
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to crea
Several states have small business government grants. These are not offered by the federal government but a number of state-run development agencies provide free government grants. The states that offer these are Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Utah. Other states provide financing through loans with incentives to those who want to start a small business rather than free government grants.Instead of money the government will give free advice and training to those who want to make their business grow. The United States Government's Small Business Administration (SBA) is where the free government grants originate from. Since fifty percent of the labor force comes from the twenty five million small businesses in the United States and that contributes more than half contributes to more than half of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), there isn't much question why the government is interested in the quandary of the small businessman.The free government grants come with free counseling, training, and technical assistance. The Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) have full and part time staff that will get help from the private sector to give the business whatever help t
Now, I'm not saying we all need to rush out and start creating brands that are going to be recognized the world over. Most of us simply don't have the time or other resources necessary. What I am suggesting, however, is that it is possible for your brand to dominate your niche.
WHY DO I NEED TO CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
=> Differentiation
We touched on this in the previous section when we looked at what a brand is and how it can be used to increase the perceived value of your products and services. The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your competition. New websites are a dime a dozen. So are home-based businesses. You need to constantly be looking for ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Your brand can do that for you.
=> More Effective, Efficient Marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.
Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50% of your time with a new prospect explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You can spend 100% of your time focusing on sales rather than educating your prospects about your business
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to crea
How to Give Good Sonic Personality©We live in an age of metrics. Traditional and new media advertising agencies often substitute metrics for understanding. Mathematical models create the appearance of scientific analysis, when in fact they are often manipulated to support a preselected agenda. We all know data can be massaged to conform to almost any conclusion. Besides, most small owner-managed companies can't afford the expense of these agency-driven number crunching solutions. The real question is, do these metrics actually help us connect to our customers, who just happen to be people?Emotions Win Over RationalityAfter all, we are dealing with people, and people react to information on both a rational and an emotional level. If everyone bought goods and services based on a strictly rational basis, we would all be driving Smart Cars and wearing Old Navy jeans. People make decisions based on a perception of reality, rather than a rational analysis. Without getting too metaphysical, in business there is no reality, only perception. We believe what we think is true, or what is presented to us as true. Information is colored by who and how, the message is de
=> More Effective, Efficient Marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that's a sales force of one - you) more effective and efficient.
Imagine if you didn't have to spend the first 50% of your time with a new prospect explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You can spend 100% of your time focusing on sales rather than educating your prospects about your business
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to crea
Water is big business? No, it is a huge business. The business of water and droughts is alive and well. Currently we see pipeline for water being build, retention basins, damns, Desalination Plants and water rights being bought up by billionaires. In my professional life, I was involved with the car washing industry and we always kept up on droughts, water restrictions and water supplies. I can remember not to long ago when California car washes battled consumer backlash to price increases of up to five dollars by Oct. of 2000, due to water. Soon everyone was worried that water rationing might cause another tripling affect if increased water prices occurred.States such as Texas are having people buy up water rights and talking about a sliding scale of $800 per acre-foot and El Paso at $1400 per acre-foot to deliver the water by pump. In the May 26 of 2001 issue of the Economist there was an article called “Pay up or dry up” talking about the problem in Texas as populations increase, business booms and water drying up. T. Boone Pickens is no dummy either having been caught buying up water rights and agreeing to buy water now at a predetermined price in the future from those water rights owners who do
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing your brand to your target market automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you're advertising your brand, you're indirectly also marketing your products and services.
HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?
OK, so you're convinced you need to create your own brand. Where on earth do you start?
We saw earlier that your brand needs to say who you are, what you do and how you do it. It needs to do all these things at the same time as establishing your relevance to and building credibilty with your prospective customers. Needless to say, it is absolutely essential, if you are to build your own brand, that *you yourself* have a firm grasp of who you are, what you do and how you do it. If not, you're going to have the devil's own time getting that message across to anyone else, let alone establishing your relevance and credibility.
=> Write A Mission Statement
So, let's start by creating a mission statement. What is the mission of your business? Obviously you're in business to make a profit. But making a profit is a byproduct of a successful business. Focus instead on how you choose to achieve that profit. What are your core values?
A good place to begin thinking about your mission is to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Put yourself in their target market. Let's say your business is web hosting. If you're in the market for a web host, what things are important to you? Different people will be looking for different benefits but you can bet that they want their website to be accessible to site visitors so reliability will be high on their list. Price is also likely to be high on the list as is 24/7 technical support. What about add-on features such as unlimited email aliases, cgi support and what-not? These things will be highly important to some and less important to others. So focus on the benefits that are likely to be highly relevant to the majority of your target market. Let's settle for our purposes on reliability, price and technical support.
Your mission statement might read something like this: "I strive to earn a fair return on my investment of time and money by providing affordable webhosting with guaranteed 99% uptime and 24/7 telephone technical support". That's a pretty general statement and if you decide to focus on a particular niche of the webhosting market, such as small business, you may want to more narrowly focus on that group in your mission statement.Now that you've written your mission statement, you can begin thinking about creating a brand that reinforces and supports your mission. So, getting back to the fu
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