some tips of international business

Some Tips on International Business Marketing

T J Madigan

Are you planning of economically expanding outside the borders of your native land? Are you thrilled to spread the word about your products and services to a bigger audience? If your answer is a yes then here are international business marketing tips for you.

It is a borne fact that talking about international business marketing is fiscally risky especially that you are like diving into the realm of uncertainty where there are diverse cultures that have to be coped up with. However, a simple step will make a lot of difference. If there is no firm decision to simply do it then nothing will absolutely happen. Take on these friendly advices and in the long run, you will be surprised where you are.

Talk to your clients

It really makes a whole lot of difference when you personally converse with your clients. It is there that you can launch stronger ties where you can also discover what are those you need to improve. Ideally, it is performed by treating them somewhere as long as it would not be inside your office because tendency is, it can restrict them to open up and on your end, you would not be able to achieve your goal. Simply get in touch with about 5 to 10 people by sending them a letter. When you get a favorable response, make an appointment and ask value- based questions such as the challenges they are facing and solutions for recovery. Send a thank you letter a day after to express your gratitude. The thing here is that, you are able to gather substantial data necessary international business marketing.

Creative marketing campaigns

Ingenuity always sells. International business marketing will constantly require you to strive for innovation, this is because novelty attracts. It does not have to be a high- cost production commercial just to capture potential individuals. Think out of the box as others will say it. It does not matter what your other competitors will critique as long as you will reap the objectives of your action. The secret behind is that you understand perfectly what you are aiming for and not just for the sake of doing it. When those are done, it is high- time to get publicity. Contact the media for a press conference. If possible, hire a public relations officer to have those accomplished without a hassle on your part.

Leverage existing relationships

Make a list of all those that you know. Prioritize them into either A, B or C- A is for the advocates, B is for the budding supporters and C is for those you can hardly get in touch with. Send them an e-mail of everything that you have prepared so that when you will call them, you just have to ask them for numbers of those that they are acquainted with. This is one of the mediums for international business marketing that is cost- effective and high- impact. Remember just not to be seen as a spammer.

tatical uses of marketing

Paul Rivera

Like any outsourcing decision, retaining outside telemarketing services should be subject to cost/benefit analysis. Evaluating the costs may be a complex process in some cases, but it is at least a quantifiable side of the equation. Less readily quantifiable are the benefits.

While ultimately the goal is that some benefits can be quantified in terms of sales results, it is useful to recognize that there may be additional, tactical benefits to
be gained by outsourcing telemarketing. Only when these broader implications are understood can a full cost/ benefit analysis take place.

The goal of this white paper is to provide a framework for telemarketing outsourcing decisions. By detailing some of the broader, tactical benefits of retaining outside telemarketing services, this paper will both provide a template for fully-realized cost/benefit analysis, and suggest criteria for selection of a telemarketing company.

Comparing Costs and Benefits of Telemarketing Options
Comparing the cost side of in-house vs. outsourced telemarketing operations is relatively straightforward. In particular, where a company has a history of in-house telemarketing operations, there is an established budget which can be compared against outside telemarketing quotes. Even where there is no existing internal operation as a basis for comparison, a pro-forma budget can be formulated for comparison against telemarketing quotes.

It is on the benefits side of the cost/benefits analysis that things get a little trickier. First of all, sales results are notoriously hard to project whenever a change in personnel and methodology is involved. Second of all, while sales results are the main goal, there are also significant benefits to outsourcing telemarketing that are not so easily quantified. Indeed, although sales results are likely to be paramount in the ultimate evaluation of the success of the program, because of the uncertainty of sales projections at the start, the less tangible benefits of outsourcing should be viewed as key criteria for the initial decision.

This is why a full understanding of those benefits is so important to the cost/benefit decision. A review of ten tactical uses of telemarketing services can help shed light on those broader potential benefits.

Ten Tactical Uses of Telemarketing Services
The list below highlights ten tactical uses of telemarketing services. While any one company is not likely to be able to take advantage of all ten at one time, it is important to recognize all ten so that each management team can decide on the uses best suited to their needs and opportunities, and choose a telemarketing company accordingly.

1. Lower barriers to entry. For a start-up, assembling a telemarketing team would represent an extremely costly upfront investment in personnel and technology. Perhaps even worse, the time this would take could take away a key advantage small companies have, which is nimbleness in pursuing emerging opportunities. Being able to outsource telemarketing reduces this barrier to entry.

2. Scale up sales staff at peak times. Sales for many products and services are seasonal. Trying to expand and contract an in-house telemarketing staff to conform with those seasons is not practical- qualified temporary workers can be hard to find, and doing so would mean regularly consuming time building the team back up. With outsourced telemarketing services, sales resources can be ramped up and scaled back down at any time.

3. Leverage in-house sales staff by setting appointments. Sometimes, the argument may be that a given type of sales close is too complex to be handled by an outsourced telemarketing team. If a close requires a highly-specialized sales force, it may be all the more reason to leverage their time by using outside telemarketing to do preliminary prospect screens and set appointments.

4. Free management to focus on core competencies. Another way outside telemarketing can leverage in-house expertise is by freeing a portion of management time to focus on core competencies. Outsourcing the telemarketing department means one less group to oversee, and one less set of personnel issues to handle.

5. Limit fixed costs to improve ROI. Besides leveraging expertise, outsourcing telemarketing can provide financial leverage by converting a fixed cost into a variable cost. While personnel cost savings may be offset by fees for telemarketing services, the sunk costs of real estate and technology investment can be avoided by outsourcing.

6. Call attention to other marketing media. Mailers are more effective when accompanied by timely telephone follow-up, and telemarketing campaigns can also be used to drive traffic to special web site features. Since all marketing initiatives have a limited shelf life, being able to deploy concentrated resources to call timely attention to new initiatives is a clear advantage of outsourcing.

7. Test new tactics. Having access to an expandable sales resource in the form of an outside telemarketing company allows a firm to run parallel sales campaigns to test new tactics. Different value propositions and price points can be tried, with efforts then directed toward the approaches which are most successful.

8. Qualify prospects and develop a proprietary database. Any publicly-available contact list is likely to contain some errors and be based on dated information. In addition, it might not have the specific contact information or profile detail for a given product or service. By compiling updated information and additional detail in the course of their efforts, a professional telemarketing team can quickly turn a flawed database into a proprietary information source.

9. Gain access to state-of-the-art technology and expertise. Telemarketing companies are specialists in what they do. They have the fastest, most reliable, and most cost-efficient equipment, and their experience can be unleashed on new marketing challenge. This is a significant advantage over having to accumulate this equipment and experience from scratch.

10. Avoid telemarketing regulatory pitfalls. There has been a series of legislative restrictions on telemarketing activities, which can represent a potential legal liability to any organization with an in- house telemarketing operation. Outside telemarketing companies are in the business of keeping track of and complying with those regulations, and they keep the potential liability at arm's length.

Conclusion
Outsourcing telemarketing services may not be an option for all organizations, especially in highly-regulated industries with strict licensing requirements, or for very complex, high-end sales. However, for the vast majority of sales-driven organizations, it is an option which should be explored with a full understanding of the potential benefits.

Cost/benefit decisions are usually discussed as trade-offs, where lower costs are exchanged for lesser benefits, or higher costs are invested in return for greater benefits. Approached correctly though, outsourcing telemarketing services can be a win/win proposition rather than a trade-off, as lower costs may be accompanied by improved productivity and a range of other benefits.*

bank marketing

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1. Introduction

Bank marketing in general and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in particular are of vital importance for Indian banks, particularly in the current context when banks are facing tough competition from other agencies, both local and foreign, that offer value-added services.

Competition is confined not only to resource mobilization but also to lending and other revenue generating areas of services offered by banks. Under the circumstances, it has become essential to develop a close relationship with valued customers and come out with innovative measures to satisfy their needs. Customer expectations for quality services and returns are increasing rapidly and, therefore, quality in future will be the sole determinant of successful banking corporations. It is, thus, high time that Indian banks organically realize the imperative of proactive Bank Marketing and Customer Relationship Management and take systematic steps in this direction.

2. Marketing Approach

Banking industry is essentially a service industry which provides various types of banking and allied services to its clients. Bank customers are such persons and organizations that have surplus or shortage of funds and those who need various types of financial and related services provided by the banking sector. These customers belong to different strata of economy, different geographical locations and different professions and businesses. Naturally, the need of each individual group of customers is distinct from the needs of other groups. It is, therefore, necessary to identify different homogenous groups and even sub-groups of customers, and then with utmost precision determine their needs, design schemes to suit their exact needs, and deliver them most efficiently.

Banks, generally, have been working out various services and products at the level of the Head Office and these are traded through their retail outlets (branches) to different customers at the grass-roots level. This is the so called 'Top to Bottom' approach. However, bank marketing requires a change in this traditional outlook. It should be 'bottom to top' approach with customers at the grass-roots level as the focal point for working out various products / schemes to suit the needs of different homogenous groups of customers. Thus, bank marketing approach, in general, is a group or "Collective" approach.

Customers Relationship Management, on the other hand, is an individualistic approach which concentrates on certain select customers from the homogeneous groups, and develops sustainable relationships with them for adding value to the bank. This may be termed as a "Selective" approach.

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Thus, bank marketing concept, whether "collective" approach or "selective" approach, is a fundamental recognition of the fact that banks need customer oriented approach. In other words, bank marketing is the design and delivery of customer needed services worked out by keeping in view the corporate objectives of the bank and environmental constraints.

The following chart gives an overview of the Two Pronged Approach to Bank Marketing.

Various components of the above chart are further elaborated in the sections which follow.

e-mailennium

There is a time coming . when many things will change. E-maillennium!

The Internet has changed the way we do business. Customers expect you to have a website, information links, one-stop-shopping online - and businesses are scrambling to meet their demands. "Be proactive. Embrace the Internet as a powerful marketing tool and you will reap the rewards of this new medium."

To keep myself at the forefront of this new medium and to use it to market my own business - http://www.theMARKETINGSITE.com - I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject. I believe that you will also benefit by reading this practical, step-by-step, how-to guide Internet Direct Mail by Steven Roberts and his Team.

Steven defines E-maillennium as the era, at the beginning of the 21st Century, when direct marketing evolved from paper mail to electronic delivery over the Internet.

Advantages of Internet Direct Mail over traditional Paper Direct Mail:

	It is faster - you can reach your target within minutes, even seconds
	Response is immediate - 90% of your responses will be in within 4 days
	E-mail is a global medium - it eliminates time and place restrictions on business
	It is less complicated to produce
	It costs less to send - cents rather than Rands
	It works as well as or better than regular direct mail - in many instances. It increases response rates by making the purchase easy, fast and at a time and place of the buyer's choice
	It is interactive - instantaneously

Internet DM can be used for many activities and will improve your marketing results:

	Acquire new customers
	Sell more products and services to existing customers
	Get orders for your products or services
	Generate requests for follow-up from your salespersons
	Direct prospects to your website
	Generate enquiries for more information
	Create affinity programs
	Announce new products, services, pricing and renewal policies, contracts and subscriptions
	Promote special offers
	Conduct market surveys
	Invite people to participate in a seminar or online discussion
	Precede or follow-up on paper direct mail/marketing campaigns
	Publish or distribute an online newsletter (e-zine)
	Use as a reminder or teaser
	Build brand awareness
	Promote your own company or your online presence
	Provide added value for customers
	Convert web surfers to online buyers
	Build customer relationships and employee relationships
	Increase frequency of communication at minimal cost, and many more

What the e-experts have to say

If your company is networked and has a website, nothing should stop you from marketing directly to your onlinecustomers and prospects. E-mail campaigns are not only less costly and more effective than paper mailings but also bring you instantaneous results and help you form lasting relationships with your customers in a way that is impossible using 'bricks-and-mortar' techniques.

Abbie Lundberg, editor of CIO magazine: "When the dust from the transition to the new e-conomy settles, the corporate landscape will be strewn with the carcasses of organisations that were unable to adapt."

Jane Applegate small business editor: "If you own a small company and you are not online or planning to be online within the next 6 months, you are heading towards obsolescence and you will ultimately go out of business."

Internet entrepreneur, Dr Jeffrey Lant: "To succeed in the new millennium, you must succeed on the Internet."

So, is traditional Direct Mail Marketing dead?
Some believe that "Direct Mail will remain viable for certain niche markets." And others, that "it will not remain viable for large-scale consumer-based or B-to-B marketing operations." According to a study by Forrester Research - the Internet will siphon 10% of all US ad spending - a total of $27 billion - away from traditional media, with newspapers and direct mail being the hardest hit.

However, the Father of Direct Marketing - Lester Wunderman did say, that one medium has never destroyed another and never will. Writer Umberto Eco, supports this opinion, saying that "The appearance of new means of information does not destroy earlier ones; it frees them from one kind of constraint or another."

Steven sums it up
The e-maillennium is here - to stay. Add the Internet to your marketing arsenal. However, tighten your focus on paper direct mail, catalogues, print and press advertising and other general advertising so that you improve your return on investment. The race to win in e-business is on. By mastering e-mail marketing, you gain an edge that will soon leave your competitors in the dust. To look for more golden nuggets in this wonderful guide, go to http://www.edithroman.com

profitability

Bob Stone says: "Creativity in direct marketing campaigns brings recognition, awards and applause. But behind every successful campaign, one or more mathematics major makes the creativity work. They're among the unsung heroes of direct marketing."

Before you attempt any marketing campaign, you need to look at the two most important aspects: the basic mathematical formulae - Breakeven Analysis - the "What if..." observation - and your Return on Investment (ROI).

As with your business forecast, you typically perform a breakeven analysis before implementing a marketing campaign and it should be done across several levels, e.g. variable cost, overhead, pre-tax level, etc. You can also use breakeven analysis after a campaign to measure its overall success or determine the performance of individual target segments.

Breakeven analysis (also known as breakeven point of profit) is a very useful tool for all marketers. It essentially works as a profit-and-loss for solving variables, and it enables you to determine:

*	The profitability of the proposed product line, campaign and your customer
*	How far sales can decline before a particular product begins to incur losses
*	The response and conversion needed for your campaign to break even
*	What sales you need, to make the product profitable or to break even
*	How many units of a (new) product have to be sold before it becomes profitable
*	How much money you have to spend on marketing to make a product profitable
*	What effect a reduction of the selling price (discounts for marketing offers) or the volume of goods sold will have on the business's profitability
*	What the effect on profitability will be if overhead expenses increase (levels of calculations)
*	How much more will have to be sold at current price levels to make up for an increase in the cost of sales.

Think about Lifetime Value

The profit from your customer is not in their first purchase, but in them buying continually from you - the lifetime value of your customer. Your Return on Investment (ROI) is normally calculated on the Lifetime Value (LV) - your total earnings from your customer over their lifetime with you.

What is important is that you need to estimate what this number will be before you embark on any marketing campaign as part of your business strategy. This number is what enables you to measure your ROI.

Lifetime Value is measured on a predictor called RFMP - Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value and Product Category.

*	Recency - when was the last time your customer made a purchase. If your customer has recently purchased from you, then it is more likely that they will purchase again - assuming that they had a good experience - customer service.
*	Frequency - how often does your customer purchase? The more often your customer purchases, the more likely they will purchase from you again.
*	Monetary - how much does your customer spend? The more your customer spends, the more valuable they are and the more they will spend.
*	Product Category - what products or services your customer purchase. The type of products your customer purchases or services that they use will assist you in identifying their lifestyle and will assist in cross-selling opportunities.

You use the RFMP measurement to decide which of your customers to market to, how often and what products and services to offer. You also need to study their buying and paying behaviour. Don't waste your marketing Rands on customers who become less and less likely to buy again.

These numbers are the compasses from which marketers take their direction. As a responsible business you should think of your marketing budget as an investment in your business and not as expenditure.

10 tips for marketing yourself and your business

10 Tips for Marketing Yourself and Your Business

by Rob Engelman © 2002

If you are like most independent contractors and/or executives of small businesses, you spend sleepless nights worrying about how you will acquire customers and grow sales. Therefore, marketing your business effectively becomes a critical component to your overall success.

Even if your company does not have a formal marketing or business plan yet, there are many cost-efficient things you can do to market and promote your company's products and services. Here are 10 simple, tactical ideas to put your marketing efforts on the right track:

1. Focus on Your Core Competencies
   Know your target market and the value your product or service will bring to them. Focus your sales and marketing efforts towards these groups. Avoid spending time trying to acquire customers you cannot properly serve.
2. Develop a Clear and Concise Message
   Create a 30 to 60-second statement that clearly explains what you do, for whom, and why your target audience should buy from you. Have this message become your company's mission statement and raison d'être. Practice your message and notice how your target audience reacts to it.
3. Create Collateral Materials
   Nothing says you are a viable business more than having a company logo, business cards, stationery, brochures, and possibly even a web site. Keep it all simple, and do not order more than a 3-6 month supply of printed materials. Once these pieces are in place, do not be shy about using them.
4. Join Networking Groups
   Join or form one or two networking groups with individuals you do not know very well. Tell people what you do and who your target market is. Help others by connecting them with potential suppliers or employers. In time, they will return the favor to you.
5. Network Every Day
   Networking is not limited to groups and networking meetings. Carry your business cards with you at all times and be prepared to talk about your company's mission statement at a moment's notice. Your next hot prospect might be standing behind you at the grocery store.
6. Leverage Your Current Customers
   Happy customers are your best sales people -- ask them to provide testimonials and/or references for prospects. Consider establishing a customer referral program, and provide free/discounted services or a monetary reward for every customer that they recommend.
7. Develop Alliance Partners
   Form strategic partnerships with others who sell a complimentary product or service to your target market. These alliances can be as simple as sharing contacts and leads, or they might take on a more formal structure. Either way, the goal is to broaden your reach beyond your own network.
8. Become an Industry Leader
   People like to buy from subject matter experts. Therefore, look for opportunities to share your skills and talents by writing articles or lecturing on a topic within your area of expertise. Even teaching a night course at the local college or community level will give you additional exposure.
9. Don't be Afraid to Try
   If you are serious about growth, spend time outside your comfort zone and try new things. Sometimes new ideas will work, and other times they won't. Either way, the process will teach you something new and valuable about yourself and your business.
10. Brainstorm with Others
    You are in business for yourself, but that does not mean you need to have all the answers yourself. Whether you are a natural born marketer or one that sees marketing concepts as completely foreign, kick around ideas with others whose opinions and values you trust. You never know where your next “big idea” will come from.

These are just 10 tactical ways in which you can easily market yourself and your business. There are many more ideas that can work as well. Use these approaches as the building blocks to acquire customers and grow sales. However, for the best results, it is recommended that you incorporate your tactical initiatives into an overall marketing or business plan that acts as the compass/guidepost for your company's day-to-day activities.

promoting your marketing

The promotion of a company can be divided into two parts - advertising and public relations. Advertising is any form of promotional material that has to be paid for ie adverts in print, broadcast or electronic media; flyers; banners; give-aways etc.

Public relations includes the use of press releases to promote a business and, though the writing may be professionally commissioned, it is inserted into the relevant media free of charge.

How is this possible?
The print and broadcast media in South Africa need to have new stories all the time and there is a limit as to what reporters can cover. Therefore, they also rely on companies to inform them of exciting, innovative or controversial items of news. Major companies employ public relations companies to do this writing for them, usually on a retainer basis. This option is not necessarily possible for emerging and entrepreneurial businesses but this does not mean that these businesses cannot get free publicity.

How do I start?
The first step is to analyse precisely what business you are in and then find out what media serves it. Even within newspapers, there are specific areas of interest covered by different reporters. Think broadly, when defining your business. For instance, a company starting up with a new way to market to spaza shops must not see itself solely trading in the black market and so concentrate only on media aimed at this market. This kind of idea is also of interest to marketing, financial and new business media.

Where do I get the media lists?
For R400, you can buy the latest copy of the Media Manager Directory from Ibis Media. This lists every publication in South Africa, by category, including general and community broadcast media. The list states what the editorial policy is and all the contact details needed.

What do I do next?
The next thing is to decide what you want to say about your company. The golden rule of journalism is that every story should answer the five basic questions - who, what, when, where and why. The order in which you write these is dictated by the actual story. If you are launching something and you want the press to come to it to see what it is - start with when. If you are launching something and someone important is doing the launch - start with whom. If you are launching a product that is new - start with what. If you are doing something innovative - start with why.

How do I capture their attention?
You have very little time in which to capture the attention of any journalist who probably receives hundreds of news items a week. Therefore, the first rule is having a catchy headline. Even if they change it and they probably will, at least you have caught their eye. Keep the opening paragraph short and punchy and put the main point first. Answer the five questions and end with something to catch their attention. People tend to read and remember only the first and last lines of material when they are in a hurry.

How do I write well, when I have no experience?
First of all, write with passion. If you don't sound enthusiastic about your idea, product or dream - no one else will be. Secondly, keep it simple and avoid your own industry jargon and acronyms - they only annoy journalists who cannot be expected to keep track of every society, product or technical term. A good test is to give it to someone who knows nothing about your business. If they go "Wow, that's interesting," you've probably got it right. If they go "Uh okay," write it again. Lastly, go for plain English words and sentences. Don't say "It is anticipated that the company will be on track for its first trial in the late part of the third quarter." Say, "The company will run its first trial in September." If you can't be that sure, then you shouldn't be sending out a press statement anyway.

What about photos?
If you have a photo - say so. It really is worth a thousand words. First rule is to send a print and caption it well but not by writing on the back of the photo as these are scanned and black ink shows through. Carefully attach the caption with sticky tape to the photo, do not use a paper clip. These get parted at newspapers and then no one has a clue whose photo is whose. Send one of yourself if it is relevant but not if it looks like Police File. Invest in decent photos and, if you can, get them digitally scanned as high-resolution JPEG files. These can then be sent electronically as you will never get original photos or negatives back. If it is something complicated - indicate which way is up and if there is more than one person in the photo caption indicate it by stating Left to Right and listing the names. The media get very irritated if they get names wrong and have to apologise.

How do I finish off?
When you have ended the story, count the words (most software programmes do that for you) and then type Ends - 420 words. This is useful if a journalist wants a short story because they know then how much you have given them. Underneath that put your name, designation, company name and contact details. (Who knows, they may want to come and interview you if you get it right). Don't e-mail it as an attachment but incorporate it into the text - most media are very worried about viruses and block attachments coming in.

Finally, don't give up. Professional PR companies warn clients that it can take up to three months to establish good media connections, so be persistent and keep on writing about your company. Remember the world no longer beats a path to the best mousetrap - it beats a path to the mousetrap with the sign "The world's best mousetrap."

marketing via internet

"The purpose of a business is to convert strangers into clients." That's what Peter Drucker - the leading US business guru said. But that's a heck of lot easier to say than to do!

Most of us have more than enough technical skills - skills in whatever products and services we offer - to do the job. But very few of us have had formal marketing training. Consequently we spend most of our time on the technical stuff - which often has very little to do with our business success. Let me demonstrate:

You probably have Microsoft Windows installed on your PC right now. Yet there is a better operating system around - which does not seize up erratically at critical computing moments; which doesn't have 48,000 viruses attacking it because it was inadequately designed; which has been completely secure and password protected for the past 10 years; and which is FREE - but which is used by less than 5% of all PC users! The Linux operating system is superb, but is not well marketed - so the worst product wins. Bottom line, provided your product doesn't actually kill people - your success depends on your marketing, not your product quality! Scary, isn't it?

We little guys don't have the money, time or patience to invest in large campaigns - so we don't. But we don't do any other marketing either! And that's a real problem for most of us. If you disagree - then ask yourself if your sales remain consistently where you want them to be each month. If they don't, then chances are you have a marketing problem.

For 99% of us marketing is never an urgent activity. By the time it becomes urgent, it's probably already too late. But direct marketing will generate immediate sales. Within hours. And if that marketing is done via the Internet, it's almost for free. Forget about websites for the moment. Most of the sales I see via the Internet - as a little entrepreneur - don't happen via websites. They happen via email.

Marketing is that range of activities designed to get a prospect to knock on your door. It used to be expensive. Until last year most of our marketing was via faxes to 120,000 businesses. That used to cost R25,000 each month! In July last year we stopped all faxing, and concentrated on marketing only via the Internet through emails and the websites. Sales haven't changed, but our marketing costs are now below R1000/month! And it's not difficult.

I have been using direct marketing techniques since my first business effort 1984. I started out that way because I couldn't afford to do media advertising. Ever since then I have found that each rand spent on direct marketing generates as much business as each R500 spent on media advertising!

When our kids arrive on the employment scene they're going to eat our breakfast because they aren't bound by the same restrictions and traditions that tie us in knots. [We're so stuck on an older way of doing things that we struggle to break free. It's all in your own head!] Our children will have a clear unfettered vision of how to use the Internet to achieve their goals.

One of the biggest fears ever voiced about marketing is: "What if I am overwhelmed? What if there is so much business that I can't handle it?" If it helps, I have never seen it happen! But the Internet allows you to ensure that each prospect gets an immediate response - and I will show you how to do that as well. This buys you the time you need to sift through the responses to find the sales.

One last thing. Because marketing is never urgent, it usually never happens because we're never short of urgent stuff to fill any given day. You will need to spend a little time - about 1 hour per week - on maintaining the most effective marketing campaign you've ever designed. If you can't commit to that time, then I must suggest that you will soon be needing the CrashProofing strategies! Go well.

relationship marketing

Everybody talks about relationship marketing. But do we really know what it means? Bart Foreman from Group 3 Marketing has outlined the 9 Truths that he believes are important in the marketing planning process. He stopped at 9 Truths so no one would think these are commandments.

Bart says: "Although relationship marketing is not exactly brain surgery, it does require technical discipline, customer-centric thinking and a willingness to try new ideas that have one goal: deliver sustainable, profitable growth by marketing to known customers in a way that competition can only hope to mimic."

What is Relationship Marketing?
Debate continues about how to describe what we do. Some call it "loyalty marketing" - others call it "direct," "frequency," "one-to-one," or "CRM." And these terms are all right - and, at the same time, all wrong.

Dynamic and integrated touchpoints and channels (both virtual and real) are redefining the marketing process. And there are no walls; we are all interconnected through Intranets and the Internet.

As our marketing world continues to change, every business needs to adopt a carefully crafted position that supports how to best interact with its customers. It's not the same for every company, and no canned program will work for all situations.

With that in mind, let's look at these Truths. By learning how to accommodate them in your own operation, you can develop a relationship marketing program that will help you keep your best customers - and your livelihood.

Customers are no longer loyal.
They are actively seeking new and better ways to shop. Mall traffic is down and Internet traffic is up. Any correlation? In the B-to-B world, face-to-face sales calls are being replaced by e-mails and online ordering.

Customers don't really want a relationship - but companies do.
It is a logical premise: Acquiring new customers is expensive and relationships with new customers are very fragile.

The current mentality in many companies is that a relationship marketing program can extend the life of a customer. That's true as long as management understands what is driving the dynamics of the relationship; trusted products and services and customer service that exceeds the customer's expectations.

Unfortunately, many companies only want to have a relationship with their "best" customers. In reality, that thinking is flawed. A more productive philosophy is to embrace the idea that "everyone has potential." Furthermore, you must understand that: Your best customers can leave; Your marginal customers can buy more; Consumers can become customers.

Customers want information.
The company that controls the flow of information and keeps its name in front of customers has the best chance to extend the customer's lifecycle. Control is easier said than done because there are so many touchpoints available to customers.

Customers not only want to be thanked for their patronage; they expect it.
This can be as simple as a follow-up "thank you" letter after a first or major purchase has occurred. Many businesses overlook this critical step. The logical extension is to create an incentive program that rewards customers for their continuing patronage, which can be based on the idea of "Spend and Earn; Redeem and Save." A typical concern is that this will reward customers who will buy anyway - scary thinking in today's dynamic competitive environment.

Customers control the selling process.
Gone are the days when a company could put a price on an item, run some ads and customers would blindly buy. Customers will readily abandon traditional selling outlets with a trip to eBay or at the hands of an Internet search button.

The lifetime value of a customer is not relevant; what is relevant is your company's lifetime value to the customer.
For years, direct marketing experts have created formulas to calculate the lifetime value of customers based on macro forward-thinking assumptions. The formulas are not disputed, but their underlying static assumptions do not reflect today's real-time multi-dimensional marketing environment.

Today's dynamics demand that companies know their customers, their demographics and their purchases. Purchases at the SKU level with corresponding frequency patterns are important in determining not the lifetime value of a customer, but where each is in their lifecycle of buying. As a company pieces together lifecycle dynamics and clusters customers, it has a better chance of marketing to them in a meaningful way.

Overly complicated programs fail to keep customers.
Customers won't understand a complicated loyalty program. They won't spend more or shop more because of different reward levels for different spending levels. And sales associates won't understand it and will be frustrated when customers question them.

Keep reporting simple and focused on the customer.
Management often gets caught up in analysis paralysis and loses sight of the reporting focus. Management should establish clear and measurable reporting benchmarks for their program, such as number of members, their activity, their sales as a percentage of total sales, etc.

What if? Ask this question often.
Experiment every chance you get and don't call it testing. With a known universe of customers, a company can target specific ones and determine if a certain offer triggers a positive response. There are many reporting tools that deliver a wealth of information.

Bart closes in saying: "Management should never be afraid to try something new - and if it works, expand it. If it doesn't't, little is lost and we learn while we prepare for the next idea."

Take care and remember, the most important order you can get is the second one. A two-time buyer is at least twice as likely to buy again.

your website and how to market it

The Internet is the biggest marketplace the world has ever seen. As a small business owner you should be asking yourself:

How can I make the Internet work for my business?

·	The Internet is a place where you can start with a small investment and challenge the big companies out there.
·	The Internet can be a profitable place for small businesses.
·	The Internet is convenient for your customers as your business can be open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
·	The Internet will change the way we do business.
·	The Internet will create international opportunities for many small business owners.

Before you decide to venture onto the Internet it is good idea to start out with a plan. Answer the following questions:

· Why do I want to be on the worldwide web?
· How much am I prepared to spend to develop a web site?
· How am I going to market my website?

Start-up Website

·	You will need an I.S.P. (internet service provider) to host your site, ensure that you ISP is reliable and that your customers will not have problems to get onto your site 24 hours per day.
·	You will need to register a domain name with an ISP. Your domain name is your address so try and be innovative so that you have a name that is easy to remember. To check if your domain main name has been used by someone else search the following site: www.co.za
·	You need to have your website designed. There are quite a few packages out there that allow you to design your own website but it is advisable if possible to pay the experts. Ask friends for referrals. Remember you want to project the right image on the worldwide web.

Web Site Contents

·	People will visit an interesting website so ensure that contents is so good that it brings visitors back to your site and shows that you are an expert in your field.
·	Ensure that your site has interesting information to keep the visitor there for a while, especially if you would like your customers to make purchases on you site.
·	Update your site as often as possible.
·	Ensure that you include your phone, fax number and email so that it makes it easy for the customer to contact you.
·	Ensure that the site is easy to click through.
·	Don't over fill your WebPages.
·	If you are going to use graphics on your website ensure that they are simple and that they download fast.
·	Many people are using slow modems in South Africa so keep this in mind when designing you site.
·	Ask customers for advice on how to improve your website.

Your Shopping Mall

·	If you are going to make sales over the Internet.
·	Ensure that you have a good payment system in place.
·	Credit card processing requires an Internet merchant account; most banks can offer you this service.
·	Contact your local banks electronic division about this and speak to your website designer to give you advice.
·	Ensure that your ISP has the required security to do transactions on the Internet.

Marketing Your Website

·	If want people to visit your website like any business you need to market it. Develop a marketing plan specifically for your website.
·	Always put your Website address on letterhead, business cards, and in your e-mail signatures.
	Promote your website on your vehicles, adverts in whatever media you use.
·	Get involved in online discussion groups. There are many of these groups that focus on specific industries.

Search Engines

·	Get listed on as many search engines as possible especially the South African ones. www.ananzi.com, www.aardvark.co.za and www.max.co.za
·	Submit your website to international search engines also if you are targeting those markets and why not? Visit www.addengine.com
·	Add Meta tags to your website to help you move up search engines. These are words that are hidden in your site which you don't see while surfing, speak to your website designer about this.

Swapping links

·	Ask sites complementary to yours to put links on their pages and you'll do likewise. You can also do this with your customers
·	Link to a web ring, this links related sites. www.webring.org

Banner Exchanges

· You can place a 3rd party banner on your site and your banner appears on their site.
· Visit www.linkexchange.com

Affiliations

· All you have to do is put their banner up on your site.
· For every click-through that results in a sale, you earn a commission.
· Ask visitors to your site if they would like to receive email from you.
· Develop a newsletter that you can send to subscribers regularly which contains useful information.
· Include links to interesting websites that you recommend.

Tracking visitors

· Ensure that you include a counter on your website.
You can obtain software that will let you know how often your pages are visited as well as information on the users, like which country they are from. Speak to your website designer about this.

points to blonder

The main desire of any business owner, no matter how successful, is to sell more of their products or services. The usual way to achieve this is to identify errors made in the day to day running of the business, and eliminate them.

Not surprisingly, the majority of these errors occur in the marketing and promotion side which, all to often, fail to do the job of selling the product properly, or cost effectively. An expensive ad doesn't necessarily generate more business than one that costs a lot less.

If you look in any magazine, you'll see many ads, ranging from the double page spread, to the humble classified. Perhaps surprisingly, it is the bigger ad that usually fails to live up to expectations.

More often than not they are filled with unimportant and useless information, trying in vain to grab the prospect's attention. It's almost as if they believe that the extra money that the ad cost somehow compensates for the lack of an effective sales message, by trying to shout the point across, instead of attracting interest subtly and cleverly.

A business owner on a tight budget has no choice but to make every cent count by ensuring that what little space they have, is as productive and effective as possible.

So, how do you sell more products or services? Avoid making the costly marketing mistakes that can slow your progress, or even ultimately put your business, and livelihood in jeopardy.

Qualify your prospects

You will make a lot more money if you target market your products. A classic example is to place an ad in a specialist publication, if you sell car parts you would advertise in car magazines, and so on.

This may sound obvious, but how much junk mail do you get each week, completely unsolicited, un-targeted, and a total waste of money.

Concentrate on your customers

A very common mistake made in advertising literature is to put your main focus on you and your company, when it should be on the prospect, and how it benefits them.

That is what they're interested in, and tending to this feeling of desire, want, and need is an extremely important step towards selling more of your products or services.

Save the company blurb for later when your customer has decided to buy from you. Only then will they be at all interested, and only then might it be advantageous to tell them.

Learn about your prospect's problems

If you know about your customers, and what motivates them to read your sales literature, you will find it considerably easier to persuade them to buy from you. If you've targeted your prospect properly, then they will all have a similar problem that your product is designed to solve.

People don't often buy things just for the h*ll of it, they buy because they want to resolve something, or make their lives better in some way.

Like I said before, customers are only interested in the product's benefits. Tell the customer how it will improve their situation, then motivate them to act immediately, right at the point you've got their undivided attention.

You can do this by using expiration dates, special offers, and discounts. Offer to pay the shipping costs, always give a guarantee, and make the payment process as simple as possible.

By following this simple guide, you will undoubtedly experience an increase in your response rates and sales, propelling your business into a higher league.

marketing your online business

Marketing your online business is never an easy task. There is so much competition out there, and a lot of Internet marketing is far more costly than you can possibly afford. You have only yourself to rely on, and don't know where to start. Here are a couple of ideas as to how you can market your online business, while sticking to a budget…

1. Know your niche
If you haven't yet decided on your product or service, consider what people really need, and how you can fit in. Look into your own life and think about what you need - will other people need it too? Consider then what competition you might have - are there already hundreds of other businesses offering the same thing? Find yourself a unique niche to fit into that will fill a gap in the market.

2. Know your product
Once you have decided on your product or service, make sure that you educate yourself in full on it. Do your research and be prepared for any question - after all if you are passionate about your business, your clients will pick this up in your attitude and will become enthusiastic too!

3. Use your website for content, not just marketing
People are immune these days to the hundreds of adverts on websites today, and usually ignore them. Simple sites that merely try to push a product may receive a once off hit from a customer, but is unlikely to bring them back or lead to a sale. Give potential customers a reason to visit you. Think about what information they might be interested in alongside your product. For example, if you sell baking equipment, consider having a recipe section with a contributor's corner.

4. Have attractive features on your website on a regular basis
You want to get clients to keep coming back and recommend your site to other people. Consider adding a regular feature on your site that will keep them coming back to see it. For example offer a "recipe of the month" competition with a small prize - not only will people keep coming back to see winning entries, but you will be able to collect a database of email addresses from customers interested enough to enter - your ideal target market.

5. Make interaction simple
Give your customers a choice of how they want to communicate with you. Allow them to either click on a simple visible email link and write their own comment, or give them an online form that they can check appropriate answers. On this form ask questions that will help you get to know your customers better, for example ask if they are a professional cake-decorator or if they do it for a hobby.

6. Build your community
Keep in touch with customers who have already found you, and build up their loyalty. Consider creating a monthly newsletter to keep them up to date with what you are doing, without it coming across as obvious marketing, and try to get these people to come back to your site, and provide their feedback. They might even offer some useful advice that will help you build on your product, drawing more customers. Customers will also appreciate the fact that you listen to them, and will feel more loyal if they know that they are important to you.

7. Interact with other communities
Visit newsgroups that might contain customer who fit your profile, and post answers to questions that they might ask, offering your services to assist them. Not only might they become a customer, but also onlookers to the postings who don't necessarily post themselves.

8. Be an expert in your field
Know one knows your business better than you do, so don't be afraid to offer advice. Write articles for your newsletter and extend your expertise, and offer your advice on newsgroups. Customers will become loyal to you if they know that they can trust your knowledge.

9. Be professional, honest and polite
While the Internet is a great tool to get your message across to a large number of people, remember to treat people with respect, as you would want them to treat you. Never write an email in anger or frustration - it can backfire very easily. Rather sit down calmly and write down your main points in a professional manner. Don't make promises you can't keep, especially via email as customers will have proof of everything you said. Be polite and offer solutions or alternatives where possible, and always be prompt in your replies - a fast response to a query will always win loyalty over.

10. Add your signature to your emails
Most email packages allow you to create a simple signature that will appear on all your emails, with your name, email address, and motto, etc. Keep it short and simple - nobody will read anything too long and it doesn't look good either. Word-of-mouth is one of the cheapest and best marketing means, and adding this small signature to your email will help people remember you, and if your email, or particularly your newsletter, is of interest, it may be forwarded to other people.

Marketing your Internet business needn't cost a fortune, as long as you keep it professional and remember to stick to the basics

marketing your business in five steps

Most small businesses struggle with setting up a marketing plan - generally not their area of expertise. Marketing is integral - you need to get your name out there if you are to bring in those much-needed customers. Here are some steps to consider when drawing up your marketing plan:

1. Your target market
Think of who you are aiming at - their average ages, income, jobs, interests and where they live. The more detail the better, as it will help you to consider the next step:

2. What medium are you going to use to advertise?
Once you have considered the demographics of your target market, you will have a better idea of what medium to use, be it radio, television, print media or websites. Once you have decided on this, research further to decide for example which magazine - if your product is aimed at music-loving teenagers, your money would be wasted placing an advertisement in Financial Mail! There are a number of other ways of advertising without spending a lot of money - from hand-delivered flyers to promotional items given out at a traffic light, but remember to…

3. Be clear and direct in your approach
If an advertisement doesn't make its point in the first sentence - your audience will quickly switch off. Sell the main benefit of your product first, before going into the finer detail - and remind the customer of how it can benefit them directly.

4. Make use of free publicity opportunities
Most media are always looking out for something new and exciting - an excellent marketing opportunity which will impress potential customers. Send out press releases, drop off free samples, take advantage of online listings, or contact spokespeople directly, you are bound to hit it lucky eventually!

5. Be consistent in your marketing efforts!
Rather than blow a fortune on a once off campaign, think about your budget and consider a consistent ongoing campaign. Going back to our teenagers, for example, for the cost of a one-month television campaign during "Music Chart Countdown" that everyone will quickly forget, rather consider an ongoing and far more affordable campaign in Top 40 Magazine. Remember to always keep your target market in mind, hitting them with your message again and again (marketers believe that an audience has to hear your message at least 7 times before they will consider buying).

Keep the above steps in mind when drawing up your marketing plan - be creative, and above all consistent!
Happy marketing!