Technorati Tags: marketing mix

I found this competition (well sorta) over at the Friday Traffic Report Blog

Ok, so all we have to do is link to them via a blog post.

Now if you want all the details, I’m not going to post them here, you can pop on over and check them out and be in the running yourself!

  http://www.jackhumphrey.com/fridaytrafficreport/flip-me-a-link-win-a-1200-prize/ 

Technorati Tags: blogging

Article 1 - Marketing and Advertising Secrets – 7 steps to creating successful adverts

With Micro Business Ownership on the rise, business owners need to make their advertising as effective as possible to ensure they

stand out from the crowd.

Step 1.   Why are you advertising?  Ascertain why you want to advertise. What you want to achieve from your advertising.  Is it to raise awareness of a product or your brand or to increase your database? Do you want a certain amount of sales?

Step 2.    Know your target market.   If you sell products or services that suit a range of markets, make sure you create your advertisement to suit only one market.  Trying to cover all bases with one advertisement will lead to less profit. By highlighting your most profitable market and targeting them you will increase your bottom line profit rather than just increase sales.

Step 3.     Write your advert correctly.   Be sure to capture the readers attention with a headline that stands out followed by a “hook” to keep them reading.   Make the advertisement clear, bold and be sure to outline the benefits – not the features.

Step 4.      Include incredible offers.   If you want to attract new clients then make it worth their while.  Give them something they can’t resist! You need to make them want to come and visit you right then and there. Team up with some other businesses as part of a strategic alliance and give away one of their products. That way, you both win.

Step 5.      Choose where to submit your advert.  Put yourself in the shoes of your target market.  Read what they read, visit websites they visit.  Spread your advertising around so you are not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Step 6.      Test your advertising and measure your responses. Before you commit to a large advertising budget, test a few different methods to see if they work. I.e. - before sending 5000 inserts into a magazine, ask them if you can send around 300 to test. If this doesn’t get any kind of response, then you’ve saved yourself a bit of money! Always ask your clients where they heard about you.

Step 7.       Final word   Remember that marketing and advertising is ongoing.  People need to see your business a number of times before they will make the decision to buy from you.  Your marketing and advertising plan should be comprehensive.  Be prepared for the long haul and always budget for advertising.

A great way to find out more advertising strategies and to learn how to track and measure your sales is from the Diva Promotions Start Up Marketing Kit. www.divapromotions.com.au or click the picture on this page!

From Emma Rhoades, Diva Promotions.

Technorati Tags: advertising copy, advertising secrets, marketing and advertising

There is a great post over at the Marketing Ideas Blog about article marketing. Article marketing is a fantastic tool to add into your marketing mix.

You don’t even have to be able to write! There are plenty of resources around to teach you the best way to write articles.

Have a read of the full post here - http://www.marketing-ideasblog.com/marketing-ideas/article-marketing-secrets-6-creative-article-marketing-ideas-to-get-more-traffic

Technorati Tags: article marketing, marketing ideas, marketing mix

Spiritual Business: Creating a Business from the Heart

Posted using ShareThis

By Medha Behera

Marketing professionals and specialist use many tactics to attract and retain their customers. These activities comprise of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing mix. There are two concepts for marketing mix: 4P and 7P. It is essential to balance the 4Ps or the 7Ps of the marketing mix. The concept of 4Ps has been long used for the product industry while the latter has emerged as a successful proposition for the services industry.

The 7Ps of the marketing mix can be discussed as:

Product - It must provide value to a customer but does not have to be tangible at the same time. Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products.

Price - Pricing must be competitive and must entail profit. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts, offers and the like.

Place - It refers to the place where the customers can buy the product and how the product reaches out to that place. This is done through different channels, like Internet, wholesalers and retailers.

Promotion - It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company has to offer. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product or service rather than just talking about its features.

People - People refer to the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realize that the reputation of the brand that you are involved with is in the people’s hands.

Process - It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is hence essential to have a thorough knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things.

Physical (evidence) - It refers to the experience of using a product or service. When a service goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help him see what he is buying or not. For example- brochures, pamphlets etc serve this purpose.

Medha Behera

Technorati Tags: marketing mix

I’ve recently put this piece of information out to my newsletter at Diva Promotions. It will also be on my blog as well.

TIPS FOR MAXMISING THE RESULTS OF YOUR PUBLIC RELATIONS

• After distributing a media release, make sure you are contactable at all times on the number/s you have provided on the release. Journalists will only try to contact you once or twice, and if you are not available, will run with another story instead – your opportunity will be lost!

• It is preferable you do not contact the journalist/publications yourself to follow up – leave this to the professionals. You could risk ruining your chances at publicity if handled the wrong way.

• Journalists work to tight deadlines and under a great deal of pressure. Do not come across as aggressive or demanding – always be courteous and helpful if contacted.

• Provide the information they request as quickly as possible, bearing in mind their tight deadlines.

• If you have agreed to offer a media release or story to one particular journalist or publication as an exclusive, don’t contact other publications with the same/similar story. This will just spoil the rapport you are forming.

• Remember that advertising and editorial departments are entirely separate in media outlets, and usually have little or no knowledge of what the other is doing. Therefore, it is pointless to mention to the journalist any advertising dollars you may have spent with the outlet in the past.

• If in doubt about a question/request from a journalist, rather than making something up off the top of your head that may not be accurate, ask them if you can find out and get back to them – then do so ASAP!

• Make sure you have a News Room on your website that journalists can refer to, and ensure it’s kept up to date. For further information, contact Kerry McDuling at Diva Promotions.

Technorati Tags: marketing mix, publicity

Seth Godin has just posted a very basic, but very necessary blog post. I’m going to share it with you here. When creating your marketing mix, this element of time is absolutely crucial.

Time

Technorati Tags: marketing ideas, marketing tips

Podcasting is a relatively new term to many small business owners. However, using podcasting as part of your marketing mix can prove to be well worth the effort.

If you are seriously considering adding more strategies into your marketing mix, read the below article from over at the Hansis Blog.

by: Rodney Rumford

Copyright 2005 Rodney Rumford

Leveraging podcasting technology can give you a marketing edge that will allow you to increase your online visibility, increase your client acquisition rates and improve customer loyalty. The smart businesses and marketing companies will add podcasting to the marketing mix for their business. Adding podcasting to your marketing mix can have tremendous positive impact on your business.

Many small and large businesses are still trying to understand the basics of podcasting technology. There are many articles and white papers that can educate people on the basics of podcasting 101. If you are looking to educate yourself more on podcasting for your business you can read the 6 blogs that are available at http://blog.podblaze.com.

Read the rest of the article over here…

Technorati Tags: marketing mix, podcasting

Another fantastic article coming to you direct from the Debbiestubbs blog. Enjoy!

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Putting up a company would of course require a lot of things, to get straight to the point, you need a capital. To make money requires money as well. But of course, with the versatility the internet offers, there are many ways you could find that could help optimize the potential of your site or business in generating traffic.

While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites don’t have the resources that others have to generate more traffic for your site. Well, you don’t have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance to do hard work and research to generate more traffic for your site.

How sweet it is to have more traffic for your site without spending a single cent.  Now it’s a sure thing that many sites have articles that offer tips and guidelines in how to generate traffic using only free methods. Because it is possible, you don’t need to speed a single cent, it may take time, to say honestly, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. You get better chances by paying for your advertisements, but at least you get a fighting chance with some of these free methods I’m about to tell you.

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things about the niche that you represent or offer.  Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

With online communities and forums you can build a reputation for your company. Show them what you are made of and wow them with your range of expertise about the subject, with that you can build a reputation and build trust with the people in your expertise and knowledge.

You can also make use of newsletters. Provide people with a catalog of your products and interesting and entertaining articles. If you make it really interesting and entertaining, more people will sign up for your newsletter and recommend it to other people. The more people who signs up for your newsletter, the more people there will be that will go to your site increasing your traffic.

Another great idea is trading links with other sites. You don’t have to spend a cent. All you have to do is reach an agreement with another webmaster. With exchanging links, the efforts both sites do will benefit both sites. Every traffic that goes to the site could potentially click on the link of your site and visit your site as well. This works well especially when both sites feature the same niche.

Write articles that could pique the attention of people that have interest in your product. Try writing articles that will provide tips and guides to other aficionados. Writing articles that provide good service and knowledge to other people would provide the necessary mileage your traffic flow needs. 

Many sites offer free submission and posting of your articles. When people find interest in your articles they have a good chance of following the track by finding out where the article originated. Include a link or a brief description of your company with the article and there’s a great probability that they will go to your site.

Write good content for your site. Many search engines track down the keywords and keyword phrases your site uses and how they are used. It is not a requirement that a content should be done by a professional content writer. You could do your on but you have to make content for your site that is entertaining as well as informational. It should provide certain requirements as well as great quality.
Generally, internet users use search engines to find what they are looking for. Search engines in return use keyword searching in aiding their search results. With the right keywords, you could get high rankings in search engine results without the costs.

All of these methods and more will drive more traffic to your site for free. All it takes is a bit of effort and extended man hours. Learn all you can about the methods depicted here and you will soon have a site with a great traffic flow without the usual costs that come with it.

Technorati Tags: cheap marketing ideas, marketing mix, marketing strategies