Introduction to marketing

One of the greatest needs of managers of business is to understand and develop marketing programs for their products and services. Business success is based on the ability to build a growing body of satisfied customers. Modern marketing programs are built around the "marketing concept," which directs managers to focus their efforts on identifying and satisfying customer needs - at a profit. 

Read More

Companies Should Emulate Rock Stars and Turn Customers into Fans

You can see fans of Abercrombie and Fitch evangelizing by wearing clothing with the company logo. Instead of paying people to advertise, Abercrombie, like other companies such as Nike, have their fans doing the advertising for them. The key is to build passion for the brand. “Companies have to take concepts like passion and ask what they mean in a business setting,” Blackwell insists. “Everybody understands feeling passion for a favorite band. But how do you develop passion for a product?”

In order for companies to develop passion for their brands, they have to use some very business-like strategies, such as using Customer Relationship Management software that helps tracks customer’s needs. Successful brands are committed to serving customers, finding ways to meet their customers’ needs and building a lasting relationship.

The goal for both bands and brands is to develop a strong emotional connection with their fans. It may seem strange, but customers can build emotional attachments to the most unlikely of products -- such as cheese. “Velveeta is a brand of cheese that has very loyal fans," says Blackwell. "It doesn’t appeal to everybody, but those who like it buy it over and over again.”

Velveeta is similar to a rock star who may be looked down upon by some observers but who has a very dedicated and loyal fan base -- Neil Diamond. “Neil Diamond is the Velveeta cheese of the world of rock and roll,” Blackwell says. “Like Velveeta, he has capitalized on his place in American culture, reaping the financial rewards of doing something well and sticking with it.”

Building an emotional connection between a company and its customers begins at the top. Chief executive officers who spend all their time in the office won’t be very effective. Instead, Blackwell says they need to spend time with their fans -- something that Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart did to perfection.

In the book, Blackwell compares the success of Walton to that of the rock band Kiss. Both used simple, effective strategies to relate to their middle-America fans. Walton, like Kiss, spent time getting to know fans and was dedicated to serving them.

"When you understand your fans like Kiss and Walton did, you know what appeals to them and you concentrate your efforts on those fans," Blackwell says. “Not everyone is a fan of any particular band, and that’s OK. And not everyone is going to be a fan of Wal-Mart. That’s market segmentation and knowing who your core fans are. You have to make sure you target your efforts to the right people.”

Read More

10 Ways to Push Your Company Forward by Doing It Backwards

There are times when getting it right means doing it wrong. Yes, flat out going against the accepted wisdom. For example, some investors wait to buy stocks until the market tanks. Others follow a strategy of purchasing only out-of favor market segments.

Then, there's sales. Most sales techniques aim at "capturing" customers by identifying what appear to be the "likely buyers" and then go after them in the most persuasive manner. Others seek to get lucky through cold calling, particularly when business is slow or they are new to selling.

More?1-10

Read More

Internet, Automation Great Tools for Salespeople

I am sure of one thing, however. The Internet, specifically, and computers in general, can be powerful tools in the hands of a capable salesperson, and those salespeople who take the initiative to become automation-enabled will find themselves growing in importance to their customers and in value to their companies. Rather then wait fearfully for an answer to appear, the wisest course for the professional salesperson is to proactively make computerization work for him or her..

Read More

Forget Nonsense Talk About Ethics, Honesty and Character: It's About Business

The disloyalty deed

The problem isn't bad, dishonest or greedy people. It's not about putting the brakes on acquisitiveness or isolating some defective moral gene. The bedrock issue is totally different: All of these executives exhibited a total disregard for their companies. No matter what position of responsibility they held, their actions were identical: they were disloyal to their employers.

It's striking that in many cases it was the founders of these corporations who did the most damage. They willfully destroyed what they created. If those who perpetrated such wholesale destruction are faulted, it should be for disloyalty. This may seem dated at a time when loyalty has all but disappeared. And that's the problem.

Many look upon those who spend their entire working lives in one or two companies as wimpish or even stupid. Just hearing about some old timer who worked for IBM for 40 years must seem quaint.

The destructiveness of disloyalty

While waiting for a plane in what was then National Airport in Washington, D.C., a business executive was intrigued by the candid conversations of the corporate types waiting for their flights. He reports sitting across from a man with a Macintosh computer case at his feet. He told a fellow traveler that he worked for the now-defunct Digital Equipment Corp. Recognizing the bright little apple, the person asked, "Why do you use a Mac computer when you work for DEC?"

The questioner was clearly confused and even slightly aghast at what she perceived to be a not so inconsequential breech of loyalty. "I don't like DEC computers," shot back the man, without even a twinge of embarrassment.

The issue is not whether GM employees should be expected to drive GM products or DEC employees to use DEC computers. At the same time, the honor code works in certain colleges not because the students are more ethical than those attending other institutions or are afraid of getting caught. It works because there is a high regard for the institution.

Damaging the corporation is no different from injuring the family, the college, the team, or even the country. The devastating flaw is disloyalty.

Implications for action

The loyalty issue has practical implications for every business. Here are a few possibilities:

Read More

Building Long-Term Relationships Through Exceptional Customer Service

Do these people not wear watches or do they just not know how to tell time? It's almost six o'clock and I just had a girl go into the dressing room with an outfit!" was the comment I overheard a sales associate make as I was quickly dressing in a stall at a fine department store one Sunday afternoon.

I could make an endless list of customer service areas that I feel companies should take a closer look at. But to keep things short, here is my list of Top 5 tips for creating exceptional service:
Pay attention to details. Always remember that first impressions are very important. A customer will "size up" a company within 3 to 10 seconds of walking in or calling. Make those first crucial seconds count by having a positive, friendly, inviting attitude that says, "I truly care about you and your needs." Competition is so stiff that people will go elsewhere if they are not treated like first-class customers.

Give customers more than they've paid for. Find ways to add extra value to your products and services to stay ahead of your competition. Providing a percent-off coupon on their next purchase, sending a small token as a thank-you gift, extending your service warranty or even providing an after-dinner mint (it amazes me the number of restaurants that don't provide this or say "We just ran out. Sorry!") are just a few ways to let customers know that you value their business.
More Details contacts omoleja@gmail.com

Read More

Advertising: It all Begins with You

What is it about you, your company, your products or services that others need to know? What sets you apart from your competition? In other words, why would a potential client do business with you as opposed to the guy across the street?

Periodically, all successful businessmen and women stop to answer these questions as they carefully evaluate their businesses. It is crucial not only for you to know the answers to these questions, but for others to understand them as well.

We're all familiar with the old saying, "Advertising is a process, not an event." The validity of this statement stems from the thought that advertising is an ongoing process that begins with you in order to see business success.

When I think about advertising, I'm reminded that people do business with people. It's a basic game of relationship building that takes time to develop and grow. People will hold you accountable for what you promise them.

He was a national consultant helping a specific group of organizations improve in the areas of communication and attitudes in the workplace. To put it mildly, everything about this guy was directly opposed to what he was trying to teach others.

After spending a few less-than-desirable moments with this overtly negative gentleman, every ounce of credibility he had with me disappeared. I thought surely an expert in communication skills would know the extreme importance of a first impression (research shows that a person usually forms an initial perception within 3 to 10 seconds of meeting you) and that body language speaks louder than words.
As you well know, this sort of thing is not an isolated event. Stories like this occur every day. Like it or not, believe it or not, you are the greatest form of advertisement for your company.

Read More

Customer Service and Return on Investment

Whether you buy property, invests in mutual funds or makes improvements in a business, when one spends money, return on investment (ROI) is paramount.

This is also true when it comes to improving customer service. Companies that value long-term, high margin and high lifetime customer value relationships realize that building customer retention and loyalty directly affects the bottom line.

Read More

How To Stay Up When Sales Go Down

This is the advice a life insurance salesperson was given. His manager says a salesperson can't be active and depressed at the same time. Another sales executive counsels salespeople to "go see more people."While such suggestions are well meaning, they are uninformed at best and just plain wrong at worst. Whether the times are good or bad, the issue in sales is not just seeing people -- it's connecting with the right customers, those who want to see and do business with you.

Read More

Eight Ways to Evaluate Results from Company Marketing Program

Getting something for nothing seems to be a universal human desire that extends

into the business arena. For example, company owners and managers are often

heard to ask, "What should we expect to get out of our marketing program? How

will our dollar investment translate into increased sales?

Although the questions seem appropriate, they are dead wrong when it comes to

marketing. The job of a company's marketing program is not to increase sales --or even to make sales. If this seems harsh, it's meant to be.

There's far too much confusion about what marketing should accomplish.

Marketing has one objective: to create customers.

OMOLEBLESSWORD BUSINESS CONSULTANCY +2348034529084

Read More

Building Long-Term Relationships Through Exceptional Customer Service

I could make an endless list of customer service areas that I feel companies should take a closer look at. But to keep things short, here is my list of Top 5 tips for creating exceptional service.

More details?

Read More

How do you increase your company's market share?

Satisfaction does not equate to market share. Satisfaction is an emotion; another word for it is happiness. If a customer is satisfied, he is happy; if dissatisfied, he is unhappy. The satisfaction paradigm is predicated on the assumed linkage between happiness and loyalty, a linkage that can be deceptively reassuring. For example, several prominent enterprises (AT&T and Cadillac) have found that while their satisfaction scores were increasing, they were in fact losing market share. Satisfaction is not a good predictor of performance and being able to link a strategic measure such as satisfaction or value to performance is paramount.
FOR MORE CALL OMOLEBLESSWORD CONSULTANCY ON +2348034529084.
KNOWLEDGE ELEVATES SEEK IT.

Read More