5 Branding Myths Debunked

Myth 1: Offering a consistent and great product will produce a successful business. Is the quality of your product or service important? Of course it is, but it has very little to do with how successful your new or established business will become. The truth is that some very profitable, successful brands offer a marginal product while some failing businesses offer amazing products. The success of your brand venture is dependent on much more than just the quality of your product. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that creating the perfect product or service will have the world beating a path to your door. Your superior product or service will make you proud, but it won't make you money by itself.

Myth 2: The more you spend on advertising, the more profitable you will become. You'll hear this mantra from every advertising salesperson out there. Unfortunately, constant repetition gives this myth credibility. If you do anything in business just because it's what everyone else is doing, you're in big trouble. Many current brands spend huge amounts of money on their monthly advertising budget; most of this money is wasted on ineffective ads. There are much smarter ways to build a brand. Don't get me wrong; there is a place for advertising in branding--but it's brand maintenance, not brand building. Advertising lacks the credibility that building a brand requires.

Myth 3: Word-of-mouth and referrals will make you a successful, profitable business. This myth is the major cause of failure for underfunded startup brands. I've heard many new business owners say that they don't spend a penny on advertising or any other branding method because they're waiting for "word-of-mouth" to kick in and build their brand. Years ago this was possible; in a small industry without a lot of brand competition or mass messaging, it didn't take long for word to spread. Those days are over, though. With a different customer attitude and the many options available to the consumer, waiting for word-of-mouth to build their brands leads many businesses to shuttered doors. It's a great way to increase business over time, but it isn't something to base your business plan and success on. It isn't proactive, and it simply doesn't work in today's competitive climate. It's wishful thinking, not a realistic business plan.

Myth 4: You need to possess a wide range of skills to become a successful entrepreneur and brand. I've met many personable, skilled, well-organized, business-minded individuals who failed to create a profitable brand. If you're great with people, a real motivator, good at accounting and a hard worker, sure, you'll have an advantage. But the truth is that even if you have none of those skills or attributes, you can still be an extremely successful entrepreneur. There's one brand-building skill that most businesses don't even consider. If you master this skill and make it your No. 1 priority, you can launch as many successful brands as you wish. Here it is: daily marketing. Notice I didn't just say marketing, I said daily marketing. I've never met a business owner who made this task his or her No. 1 priority and didn't succeed.

Myth 5: The costs to brand your business (including advertising, PR, marketing and social media), are enormous. So many people believe this myth that it's practically written in stone. Yes, many new brands fail because they lack funding. But you don't need to spend a fortune to launch or grow a successful brand. I started my agency with no capital, using all of the tools available on social networks and through online and print media. You should focus on marketing to larger markets online and build your credibility through media features and placements.

Use Gifts to Reinforce Your Alliances

Whether it's the holiday season or any other time of year, the purpose of giving gifts to clients, business partners or customers is always the same. In short, gifts serve as both a thank-you (showing recipients that you truly appreciate and value them) and a brand-building tool. But with the sheer volume of gifts and promotional items that people receive from businesses increasing every year, how do you cut through the tchotchke clutter and choose a memorable gift that gets you noticed and reinforces your relationship?

Here are five ways you can reinforce your marketing messages with gifts and show the recipients that they are important to you in more ways than just a sale:

1. Useful
The gifts you give should be useful. Don't just add to the pile of company pens that get lost in the back of your clients' desk drawers. Instead, choose gift items that your clients will actually use ... frequently. If your client works in dark or cramped spaces he'll probably appreciate a high quality flashlight over those mouse pads you passed around last year. Don't be afraid to contact a promotional items company and ask for help in selecting gifts. They're knowledgeable in new and popular items and can steer you in the right direction.

2. Meaningful
Choose a gift that will appeal to an aspect of the recipient's life that you know about through your relationship-building efforts. For example, if you know your client spends a lot of time coaching his daughter's soccer team, select a gift that he can use on the field. This type of specialized attention can go a lot further than a logo-imprinted ruler.

3. Helpful
Everyone likes to receive gifts that can help them make their lives or jobs easier. Why not give a business book or informational material related to your client's field? Imagine a client's reaction to receiving a book about effective DIY marketing options, especially coming from a marketing firm! That sort of selfless honesty is sure to bring your business some appreciation and make a lasting impression.

4. Social
Gifts don't have to be tangible items to help you communicate your marketing messages. Sometimes a social gift works quite nicely. For example, if your client likes sports, give him tickets to a popular sporting event. Take him to dinner before the event, and while you certainly can talk a bit of business, even if you don't you're still building your relationship. You can even take this gift idea a step further by inviting spouses or guests to join you so you can delve even further into your relationship by getting to know the important people in your client's lives. In one fell swoop you've given your client a great gift and given yourself a networking opportunity.

5. Fun
Sometimes it works to give gifts that are just plain entertaining. Sharing a laugh goes a long way to solidifying a relationship and keeping you in the other person's mind. Stay tasteful and professional, but don't be afraid to have a bit of fun.
No matter what gifts you give to communicate your marketing messages and generate future recall among your clients, business partners and customers, remember that a gift that helps you further your relationship with the recipient is the most powerful choice. If the gift you're considering giving to your client isn't useful, meaningful, helpful, social or fun, then you might want to reconsider.

Link:www.entrepreneur.com

Retaining your existing customers

Your sales come from two groups of customers: new customers and existing customers. It can cost you five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to maintain an existing customer relationship. And it might cost sixteen times as much to bring the new customer to the same level of profitability as the lost customer. So for you customer retention is more important than customer attraction.

How do you make this happen? The first step is to ensure your entire organization is customer-focused, not just your sales staff and customer service people. Everyone needs to be striving for high customer satisfaction – engineers, shipping and receiving, kitchen help, mechanics, bus boys, maintenance staff, delivery people, everyone. Everybody is involved with taking care of the customer in some way; engineers need to be designing with the customer in mind, employees responsible for shipping need to ensure products arrive in perfect condition, maintenance staff create a clean, attractive environment for customers. You would be hard pressed to find a job that is not linked to the customer somehow.

And remember, if you’re not taking care of the customer someone else will.
Here are a few suggestions on how to retain your existing customers:

1.Resolve customer complaints immediately. The customer is always right. If the food is too salty, the service took too long, the music’s too loud or not loud enough, a product is out of stock, bathroom isn’t clean enough, etc., make sure the problem is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction before they leave. An unhappy customer is not likely to be a repeat customer, and more importantly likely to complain to anyone who will listen.
2.Solicit customer feedback. Who better to tell you how to improve your customer service than your customers? And don’t be cheap – offer a good incentive for your customers’ information. Make it as simple as possible for your customers by using pre-printed feedback cards, online feedback forms, a 1-800 number, etc. Thank them for their feedback and follow up with them if possible to let them know you’ve implemented their suggestion.
3.Offer a 100% money-back guarantee. This advertises to your customer you are serious about customer satisfaction. If they return something in a less than desirable condition to resell or they don’t have a receipt offer them store credit on your loyalty card. This ensures you don’t lose the sale and you keep your customers happy.
4.Be a philanthropist. Support your local National Public Radio station during their next pledge drive, sponsor an animal or exhibit at your local zoo, make donations to local PTA’s for school equipment and supplies, or any other charity of your choice. Or better yet, let your customers pick the charity. You get advertising for your company, and a worthy charity receives a donation. A definite win-win for everyone.
Make sure you have a good business website. I’m going to write a separate article on this topic because of how important I feel a good business website is for any company. And in this age of $4/month webhosting, WordPress, Joomla, Xoop, Twitter, RSS, and CPanel, there is really no excuse for not having an excellent web presence for your company. All for a fraction of the cost of a Yellow Pages.

Link:MBAbrief.com

Five ways to measure customer satisfaction

1. Ask them. Duh, you say. But I can’t remember the last time someone asked me seriously about how satisfied I was with their service or product. And I don’t mean the token “So how is/was everything?” you get from the cashier or assistant manager. When you’re checking out isn’t exactly the time to be divulging all the pros and cons of the establishment. Plus “everything” is a pretty broad term. Try something a little more specific, like “What do you think of our selection of ____?” or “Is there anything we can do to better serve you next time?”.

2. Create your own mystery shoppers. Why not catch somebody while they’re shopping, standing in line, waiting to be served, etc., and ask them specific questions with the promise of a coupon or a freebie when they’re done? If you get somebody before their consumer experience you’ll get a lot better feedback because they’ll be actively looking for an answer. Give them an assignment like “How long did it take you to find what you were looking for?” and ask them about their experience when they’re done.

3. Bribes are always good. Sure, some businesses ask me to call their 1-800 customer satisfaction hotlines for a chance to win $1,000 and a date with Salma Hayek, which is great and all but the fact is I never call. It’s partly due to apathy, laziness on my (and their) part, and partly because I don’t feel like I’ll get anything out of it. Sure, a date with Salma Hayek would be nice (OK, I made that part up) but it seems like the higher the number the less likely I am to win, and $1,000 seems to me to be on the high side.

4. Make it easy for customers to complain. Don’t think you’re getting a sense of customer satisfaction by reviewing customer complaints because most people don’t go to the trouble of formalizing a complaint. 95% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain, and many quit being customers. Make it as easy as possible to solicit feedback from customers by putting comment forms at every table in a restaurant (with something besides crayons to write with), keep comment forms near the rest rooms, put a 1-800 number, email address, or website for comments on every receipt, etc. The more quickly you can respond to their complaints the more likely you are to hang on to them as a customer. If you can’t resolve a problem on the spot ask for the customer’s contact info and offer to let them know when their problem is resolved.

5.Count repeat customers. It’s not too far of a stretch to say that a satisfied customer is more likely to be a repeat customer, so come up with a way to track repeat customers. This could be as simple as a punch card where the nth something is free to a full-fledged loyalty card that offers cash discounts and tracks customer purchases.
The main goal here is to keep your employees focused on the customer. If I wander into a shop with a 20-something employee who makes me feel like a nuisance for cutting in on his texting time I’m probably not going back anytime soon if I can help it. To train your employees on the importance of the customer you could do like L.L. Bean and prominently display this poster in your employee areas

Link:MBAbriefs.com

Retaining customers vs acquiring new customers

Most marketing theory and practice focuses on attracting new customers rather than on retaining existing ones, pre selling and selling rather than caring for the customer after the sale.
Don’t make this common mistake because acquiring new customers can cost five times more than the costs involved in satisfying and retaining current customers.
The key to customer retention is customer satisfaction because a highly satisfied customer:
- Stays loyal longer
- Buys more as you introduce new products and services
- Is more likely to tell their friends and family about your business
- Pays less attention to competing brands and advertising
- Is less price sensitive
- Offers product or service ideas to improve your business
- Costs less to serve than new customers.

TAILORING THE PRODUCT

Merchandise that is generally similar in style or design, but may vary in such elements as size, price, and quality is collectively known as a product line. Most marketers believe that product lines must be closely correlated with consumer needs and wants.

Firms tend to change product items and lines after a period of time to gain a competitive advantage, to respond to changes in the economic climate, or to increase sales by encouraging consumers to buy a new model. For example, if the economy weakens, a manufacturer might use cheaper parts to make a product more affordable. Sometimes, however, manufacturers will alter the style rather than the quality of the item. Hemlines on dresses, for example, might go up or down, or the appearance or functionality of an automobile might be altered. The practice of changing the appearance of goods or introducing inferior parts or poor workmanship in order to motivate consumers to replace products is known as planned obsolescence. Some people object that this practice leads to waste or can be unethical. Manufacturers reply that consumers are conditioned to expect such changes and welcome the variety they offer, or they deny that poor quality was intentional.

The popularity of all products eventually wanes. In fact, successful products go through what is called a product life cycle, which describes the course of a product’s sales from its introduction and growth through maturity and decline. Some fad products such as Beanie Babies go through all four stages in a very short period. For others, such as phonograph records, the stages extend over decades.

MARKETING RESEARCH

Marketing research helps businesses identify consumer needs and wants so a company can develop and promote products more successfully. Such research also provides the information upon which important advertising and marketing decisions are based.
There are two types of research: qualitative and quantitative. To gain a general impression of the market, consumers, or the product, companies generally start with qualitative research. This approach asks open-ended rather than yes or no questions in order to enable people to explain their thoughts, feelings, or beliefs in detail. One of the most common qualitative research techniques is the focus group in which a moderator leads a discussion among a small group of consumers who are typical of the target market. The discussion usually involves a particular product, service, or marketing situation. Focus groups can yield insights into consumer perceptions and attitudes, but the findings cannot be applied to the whole market, because the sample size is too small. Focus group results, then, are suggestive rather than definitive.
The insights generated by a focus group are often explored further through quantitative research, which provides reliable, hard statistics. This type of research uses closed-ended questions, enabling the researcher to determine the exact percentage of people who answered yes or no to a question or who selected answer a, b, c, or d on a questionnaire. One of the most common quantitative research techniques is the survey in which researchers sample the opinions of a large group of people. If the sample group is large enough and is representative of a particular group, such as executives who use cell phones, statisticians consider the findings statistically valid, which means that if all consumers in that particular category could be surveyed, the findings would still be the same. This means that quantitative findings are conclusive in a way that qualitative findings cannot be.

PRICING THE PRODUCT

The two basic components that affect product pricing are costs of manufacture and competition in selling. It is unprofitable to sell a product below the manufacturer’s production costs and unfeasible to sell it at a price higher than that at which comparable merchandise is being offered. Other variables also affect pricing. Company policy may require a minimum profit on new product lines or a specified return on investments, or discounts may be offered on purchases in quantity.Attempts to maintain resale prices were facilitated for many years in the different parts of the world but in most countries these laws have been nullified,thereby prohibiting manufacturers from controlling the prices set by wholesalers and retailers. Such control can still be maintained if the manufacturers wish to market directly through their own outlets, but this is seldom feasible except for the largest manufacturers.Attempts have also been made, generally at government insistence, to maintain product-price competition in order to minimize the danger small businesses.

Direct selling

When advertising reaches mass audience or personal direct selling it becomes very expensive but also very effective.Because direct selling has become expensive the use of sale staff has also changed.Simple trascation are completed by clerks,salepeople are only used when product is very complex and requires cetain amount of explaination.Personal selling involves much more than convincing a customer of the products benefits.Persuasion is part of job but the most important is problem solving.Because the selling process has become more complex the training of a salepeople has become very important.Now all the big companies provide training to thier salepeople about matters such as company history,presention,selling skills,use of company products and the most important about customers.Moreover because sale staff has become such important factor on selling process companies provide ongoing training to them.With increasingly complex business problems companies now even use sales teams.

proactivity

Today i am writing about a experience that i had today in light of my title.I am not from Lahore so i share a flat with my brother and a friend in Model town .For few days we were having some problems there so we decided to change are flat.For this purpose we were on mission today.Mission of finding one.But things were not going according to plan.From one state agent shop to another one but same answer we have no flat for students and bechelor's.I felt sick.I was disappointed and happenings had effect on me so simply i reacted to events in way that was totally against the book and from what i have learned.But all is not gloomy as we went in to last agent he gave us hope.so i have learned great deal from todays expericence that i should never be disappointed and should always try like writer in 7 habits righytly,pointed out that i have the rihht to chose my response to things but there ruslt is not in my hand.Being proactive can help a lot so if have lost hope and not have been proactive i would not succedded in my task.

FORCES AFFECTING MODERN MARKETING

Of all the forces affecting modern marketing, perhaps none is more important than globalization. Since the 1980s, technological advances such as global telephone and computer networks have reduced geographic and even cultural distance. As a result, companies can now buy supplies and produce and sell goods in countries far from their home offices. Products conceived in one country are now being manufactured and then sold in many others. For example, Sony (Japan), Nestlé (Switzerland), Bic (France), and Volkswagen (Germany) have become household words around the world.

Although being able to market goods far from home presents corporations with many new opportunities, it also means they face new competition. Local companies that never even considered international competition now find foreign competitors stocked on shelves right alongside their own products. Some economists argue that local companies should be protected from such competition through legislation that regulates the flow of goods through trade barriers and other measures. Others oppose such regulation, arguing that it only raises prices for consumers. See also Free Trade.

Globalization, however, is only one force changing the way companies market their products or services. Another involves changes in the very interests and desires of consumers themselves. Consumers today are more sophisticated than those of past generations. They attend school for a much longer period of time; they are exposed to newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, radio, television, and travel; and they have much greater interaction with other people. Their demands are more exacting, and their taste changes more volatile. Markets tend to be segmented as each group calls for products suited to its particular tastes. “Positioning” the product—that is, determining the exact segment of the population that is likely to buy a product, and then developing a marketing campaign to enhance the product’s image to fit that particular segment—requires great care and planning. This type of campaign is known as target marketing.

Competition also has sharply intensified, as the number of firms engaged in producing similar products has increased. Each firm tries to differentiate its products from those of its competitors. Profit margins, meaning the profit percentages made by a business per dollar of sales, are constantly being lessened. Although costs continue to rise, competition tends to keep prices down. The result is a narrowing spread between costs and selling prices. An increase in a business’s sales volume is necessary to maintain or raise profit.

Another force affecting modern marketing is the influence of the consumer rights or consumer protection movement. This movement insists on safe, reputable, and reliable products and services. Both consumer groups and government agencies have intensified their scrutiny of products, challenging such diverse elements as product design, length and legitimacy of warranty, and promotional tactics. Warranty and guarantee practices, in particular, have been closely examined. New legislation has generally defined and extended the manufacturer’s responsibility for product performance.
Environmental concerns have also affected product design and marketing, especially as the expense of product modification has increased the retail cost. Such forces, which have added to the friction between producer and consumer, must be understood by the marketer and integrated into a sound marketing program.

Even the way a firm handles itself in public life—that is, how it reacts to social and political issues—has become significant. No longer may a corporation cloak its internal decisions as private affairs. The public’s dissatisfaction with the actions and attitudes of a firm has sometimes led to a reduction in sales; conversely, consumer enthusiasm, generated by a firm’s intentional establishment of a good public image or public relations, has led to increased sales.
link:microsoft encarta

DISTRIBUTING THE PRODUCTS

Some products are marketed most effectively by direct sale from manufacturer to consumer. Among these are durable equipment such as computers, office equipment, industrial machinery and supplies, and consumer specialties such as vacuum cleaners and life insurance. The direct marketing of products such as cosmetics and household needs is very important. Formerly common “door to door products,” these are now usually sold by the more sophisticated “house party” technique.

Many types of products and services now use direct mail catalogs or have a presence on the World Wide Web. Because many people are extremely busy, they may find it simpler to shop in their leisure hours at home by using catalogs or visiting Web sites. Comparison shopping is also made easier, because both catalogs and e-commerce sites generally contain extensive product information. For retailers, catalogs and the Web make it possible to do business far beyond their usual trading area and with a minimum of overhead. More than 95 percent of the leading 1,000 companies in the United States sell products over the Internet.

Television is a potent tool in direct marketing because it facilitates the demonstration of products in use. Direct sale of all kinds of goods to the public via home-shopping clubs broadcasting on cable television channels is gaining in popularity. Some companies also use telephone marketing, called telemarketing, a technique used in selling to businesses as well as to consumers. Most consumer products, however, move from the manufacturer through agents to wholesalers and then to retailers, ultimately reaching the consumer. Determining how products should move through wholesale and retail organizations is another major marketing decision.

Wholesalers distribute goods in large quantities, usually to retailers, for resale. Some retail businesses have grown so large, however, that they have found it more profitable to bypass the wholesaler and deal directly with the manufacturers or their agents. Wholesalers first responded to this trend by changing their operations to move goods more quickly to large retailers and at lower prices. Small retailers fought back through cooperative wholesaling, the voluntary banding together of independent retailers to market a product. The result has been a trend toward a much closer, interlocking relationship between wholesaler and independent retailer.

Retailing has undergone even more changes than wholesaling. Intensive preselling by manufacturers and the development of minimum-service operations, such as self-service in department stores, have drastically changed the retailer’s way of doing business. Supermarkets and discount stores have become commonplace not only for groceries but for products as diversified as medicines and gardening equipment. More recently, warehouse retailing has become a major means of retailing higher-priced consumer goods such as furniture, appliances, and electronic equipment. The emphasis is on generating store traffic, speeding up the transaction, and rapidly expanding the sales volume. Chain stores—groups of stores with one owner—and cooperative groups have also proliferated. Special types of retailing, such as vending machines and convenience stores, have also developed to fill multiple needs. See Retailing.

Transporting and warehousing merchandise are also technically within the scope of marketing. Products are often moved several times as they go from producer to consumer. Products are carried by rail, truck, ship, airplane, and pipeline. Efficient traffic management determines the best method and timetable of shipment for any particular product.
link:microsoft encarta

Service , Marketing and Building Relationship

Marketing efforts once focused primarily on the selling of manufactured products such as cars and aspirin. But today the service industries have grown more important to the economy than the manufacturing sector. Services, unlike products, are intangible and involve a deed, a performance, or an effort that cannot be physically possessed. Currently, more people are employed in the provision of services than in the manufacture of products, and this area shows every indication of expanding even further. In fact, more than eight in ten U.S. workers labor in such service areas as transportation, retail, health care, entertainment, and education. In the United States alone, service industries now account for more than 70 percent of the gross national product (GNP, the total of all goods and services produced by a country) and are expected to provide 90 percent of all new jobs by 2012.

Services, like products, require marketing. Usually, service marketing parallels product marketing with the exception of physical handling. Services must be planned and developed carefully to meet consumer demand. For example, in the field of temporary personnel, a service that continues to increase in monetary value, studies are made to determine the types of employee skills needed in various geographical locations and fields of business. Because services are more difficult to sell than physical products, promotional campaigns for services must be even more aggressive than those for physical commodities.


In the past, most advertising and promotional efforts were developed to acquire new customers. But today, more and more advertising and promotional efforts are designed to retain current customers and to increase the amount of money they spend with the company. Consumers see so much advertising that they have learned to ignore much of it. As a result, it has become more difficult to attract new customers. Servicing existing customers, however, is easier and less expensive. In fact, it is estimated that acquiring a new customer costs five to eight times as much as keeping an existing one.

To retain current customers, some companies develop loyalty programs such as the frequent flyer programs used by many airlines. A marketer may also seek to retain customers by learning a customer’s individual interests and then tailoring services to meet them. Amazon.com, for example, keeps a database of the types of books customers have ordered in the past and then recommends new books to them based on their past selections. Such programs help companies retain customers not only by providing a useful service, but also by making customers feel appreciated. This is known as relationship building.
link:microsoft encarta