Everyday Marketing Ideas

Many people confuse a business plan and marketing plan, imagining that they are the same document. It is true that a marketing plan may fall under one specific category of an overall business plan. Your company’s marketing plan details the manner in which your business will present its products, services, and value proposition to potential clients. Individual marketing plans are usually reworked every few years, depending on the situation.

Boosting your company’s sales depends on much more than simply offering a high quality product. You have to get information about your products and services to the people who will be most interested in them. This is the responsibility of your marketing team. After the initial contact and sale is made, they must then make an effort to keep that customer. How to do so is outlined in the marketing plan.

The persuasion techniques your company will use on potential clients can be found in your marketing plan. Consider the following topics that should be found within it.

•Descriptions of products and services - Give details about how your customers will be benefited by purchasing either a product or service that you provide. Use this section to explain why your business and its offerings are superior to your competitors.

•Pricing and positioning - You will have to take time to do market research and calculate overhead costs to set prices for your products. Present information on how you have arrived at your prices here. Emphasize how you have been able to beat your competitors’ prices.

•Sales and distribution - Explain what methods your business plans on utilizing to get other companies to buy from you. Give a description of how you will deliver your products as well.

•Marketing strategies - Present the way in which your company will be employing its marketin Read the rest of this post »

Are you looking for a wild way of promoting your company or organisation? Wildlife animal stress balls come in many different shapes, one of the most popular being the tiger. Tigers are often used as mascots for sports teams, schools and colleges or in logos for companies. Tigers are also one of the most popular animals at zoos so these shapes are very popular in zoo and wild safari park gift shops. They are also an excellent way of promoting exotic African holidays or African themed events. Here, I would like to introduce you to these very popular stress balls shapes.

One way tigers are used is to play with and make your company colours really stand out. Tigers normally come in orange and black but you can have them any colour you like. I have seen companies order blue and pink tigers, green and yellow tigers and other fun combinations to fit in with their company look. One company asked to have the body of the tiger white with the stripes in fruity colours of green, yellow, blue, purple and orange. The tigers looked fantastic and their promotion was a huge success.

As I mentioned earlier, tiger shapes are very popular at zoos and other animal parks. They are also very popular at circuses where they are usually supplied in their orange and black form. One travel agent who specialised in African safari holidays recently decided to reverse the colours so that the base was black and the stripes were orange. Almost anything is possible in the world of stress balls!

The most popular tiger shape measures in at 130mm x 55mm x 50mm which is a good size for squeezing. I always recommend asking your supplier to transfer print the stress tigers for you. Not all suppliers can do this. Most still pad print which looks OK but it is not up to the same standard as transfer printing. Transfer printing is very important with tiger shapes because Read the rest of this post »

How is your business mapped when a potential customer searches on an iPhone or GPS device? The answer is becoming more critical every day to the success of restaurants, retail outlets and any other business that serves customers at a physical location. Business owners need to review the way their businesses are listed on GPS devices and online maps, correct any omissions or errors and provide a full and properly organized profile of contact information to the databases that feed these devices. A missing, incomplete or incorrect listing will cost you customers.

Black Friday 2009 saw GPS devices as one of the most heavily advertised items, with prices dropping as low as $59. That means more consumers are relying on the devices, not only to provide directions but to identify points of interest, including gas stations, retail outlets, lodging and restaurants. People are using these global positioning systems not just to find the businesses they plan to visit but to identify and choose the businesses where they will eat, shop and buy. Increasingly, these systems are available in cell phones or built into motor vehicles.

After a long day of shopping or traveling, a consumer can consult a GPS device and walk through a technology-assisted decision-making process. The consumer may know the name of a restaurant but need to find the location and get directions. Or the consumer may want a list of restaurants to choose from near his or her current location. GPS technology allows these decisions to be made on the road at a moment’s notice.

For vacationers and business travelers, the GPS is a natural resource in planning stops and meals. When traveling in the Hershey, Pa., area, a contact of mine wanted a Chinese restaurant that was kid-friendly and within a reasonable distance of the hotel. The hotel’s front desk was the first step and the GPS Read the rest of this post »