Can customers really be drawn to you, almost like a magnet?
May 31, 2008
One of the top business, sales, and marketing experts on earth is Mr. Dan Kennedy. Dan has won international recognition as a “millionaire-maker,” helping people in dozens of different businesses turn their ideas into fortunes.
When entrepreneur magazine says about you: “Dan Kennedy has 101 money making ideas for any business owner.”, that is powerful stuff. He is able to take his principles and put them to work for his clients in any industry or business. He currently works with clients in roughly 60 businesses. In any given year, he’ll make as much as a quarter million dollars in a month providing strategies in direct marketing, copywriting and marketing materials, video production and infomercials and profit improvement systems.
Kennedy’s clients include everything from sole entrepreneurs to huge corporations. Here are just a few examples - there’s the husband-and-wife couple who came to Dan with an idea, a mountain of debt, and failing advertising. Less than two years later, they have zero debt and a home-based mail-order business generating over 200 000.00 a month at about a 40% profit margin.
Or, there’s the now-giant Guthy-Renker Corporation, famous for its celebrity infomercials with Victoria Principal and Vanna White, and its Tony Robbins infomercials. Guthy-Renker is a 200-million dollar+ a year business now, and Dan’s been a key member of their brain trust since their very first infomercial (Think And Grow Rich). Or there’s U.S. Gold, a company that has twice increased its sales by millions with Dan Kennedy provided marketing breakthroughs. And the list goes on and on and on.
In the case of my business, Dan brought it to good health with one simple principle I wasn’t applying. I think it is a principle ignored by many businesses. It is the principle of total customer value. Basically, the crucial skill of having relationships with existing customers is an essential profit center. He sees it as even more vital than how well a business is attracting new customers.
We turned our whole business around by focusing greater attention and energy to providing excellent customer service. One of the skills that goes with this focus is handling customer complaints. Learning how to handle customer difficulties in a way that grows the customer’s loyalty rather than fractures it.
A client can take offense to a number of things when it comes to doing business with you. Whether it be the actual product, your prices, or your customer service, some clients just find things to gripe about. And you can’t ignore their complaints. Instead, acknowledge their problem and defuse the situation by:
Thanking them. Often the customer will express themselves impolitely. Start by thanking them regardless. None of this is personal. Stay calm and composed.
Beginning your phrase with, “Let me see if I understand you completely.” Then restate the complaint of the customer. This accomplishes two things. First, it gives the customer pause and a moment to calm down. Second, it shows that you are listening and taking their concerns seriously.
Finding at the very least one thing in their complaints that you agree with. It doesn’t matter how unfounded their complaint is in your mind, you should pick out one major point you agree with. Build your response around that point. For instance: “Well, Mr. Johnson, I can totally relate to you being upset about the late delivery. I will make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Now, about your other concerns. This shows them you are not defensive about the situation, and you are not interested in making excuses, but solving the problem.
Solving the customer’s problem. The client picks a fight, not to fight, but to be heard and make you understand that there is a problem. It’s your role to play along and stay locked in on solving the problem. These situations handled correctly are when true customer loyalty is build. Success here adds to your total customer value and your profits.
I will tell you without hesitation that these techniques saved my business. I knew nothing about total customer value and what it meant to my bottom line. The understanding of the importance of TCV will make you stronger in customer service all by itself. Dan’s “Magnetic Marketing” is the ultimate resource for marketing principles that work to change the fortunes of your business, fast. It is these simple, low cost to no cost strategies, which make the biggest difference. Before Magnetic Marketing, I was ignorant to these concepts.
Dan backs up Magnetic Marketing with a full year’s money back guarantee. Anytime you want to send it back, there will be no hassles, just a full refund. I think that many times, the student really has to be ready for the right teacher appears. With a new business, with limited money to lose, missteps or wrong trails can destroy you before you even start. If you are already going, but just haven’t solved the riddle of how to market for big money profits, you might be ready for Dan Kennedy and the magic of Magnetic Marketing. It could make all the difference and you have nothing at all to lose.
My advice would be to copy those that have had success. Take the trail blazed by the millionaire business man.
Adwords Help: Are Your Adgroups a Total Mess?
May 31, 2008
Google Adwords is an incredible method for garnering high-quality traffic to your site nearly instantly, but it does have a considerable learning curve to it…
…And that’s a ton of pressure when it’s your credit card being billed for each click!
So, here’s some quick advice from a seasoned veteran of the Adwords marketing game, and an easy way to increase your ROI on Adwords:
An important measure of your Adwords account is how effectively you’ve your Adgroups arranged.
Don’t fall into the oh-so common trap of only creating a couple of adgroups per campaign and then stuffing them with hundreds (or thousands) of keywords.
Don’t do this, it’s begging for trouble!
Trouble in that this is like giving Google permission to “gouge” you, and you’ll end up paying way more per click, suffer from lower CTR’s due to poor relevance of your ads, and most likely be nailed with poor quality scores.
Remember always, “relevance” is the key to unlocking Adwords!
It’s impossible to write ads that are targeted, specific and “relevant” for hundreds of different keywords all in the same adgroup, so you need to “break out” keywords into their own adgroups.
For keywords with a lot of clicks, this might mean one keyword (with it’s three different match-types) per adgroup, and that’s all!
Even for low-traffic keywords “long tail” keywords, have no more than 15-21 keywords per adgroup.
After you spend some time “breaking out” the keywords into fresh adgroups, notice how much easier it is to write extremely focused ads, including the keyword as much as possible in the ads.
Your CTRs will instantly raise across the board, along with lowering your per click cost!
Business Coaches And Selling Worldwide
May 31, 2008
A smart business owner knows that there is no longer such a thing as a local business nowadays. With the ever-increasing use of the internet, the phenomenon of outsourcing, and the greater ease of traveling around the world, all companies have become global enterprises. It takes means and know-how to begin a new company. Increased knowledge of the business practices and customs of other countries opens the door to increased opportunities for investment, marketing, expansion, and profitability.
Anyone entering the field of international business needs to have a business coach that can help them maneuver through foreign tax and legal environments. Cocahes with experience and knowledge of a certain country can greatly improve a business’s prospects in that country, and can help the business build a network of buyers and suppliers.
For example, in Europe business coaches have experience in both local business culture as well as being fluent in several languages. For those embarking on their first attempt at entrepreneurship, professional coaching can be of inestimable worth in helping make ties with local vendors for raw materials, as well as wholesalers and distributors who will be the ones to bring your product to market.
A business coach can also help your business understand the consumers that form its target market. Different cultures have different incentives in place for various products. Some items that are considered necessary in the West are considered luxury goods elsewhere, and vice versa. Coaches with knowledge of local customs can help a new company establish itself by marketing its products to local consumers in a way that they’ll find appealing, leading to rapid growth in sales and profits.
A coach can assist you with the complex logistics involved with selling and shipping internationally. Many companies find that their international business fails because they can’t successfully negotiate the difficult world of tariffs and exports. An experienced coach company that is up to date on these regulations can help a company thrive world wide.
International business holds risks, but it also holds the potential for big profits and enormous growth. Hiring a business coach is the fastest way you can establish yourself on the global marketplace. Their experience and familiarity with traditions make business coaches a critical tool for your success.
Business coaches can be extremely important, even vital, for anyone starting out in the international business field. They often specialize in specific geographic areas, and are familiar with the local business culture and the legal and tax aspects of running an international business. An experienced coach company can help the business owner navigate the often tricky aspects of importing and exporting, and can even help connect the business with buyers and vendors. To help ensure a successful transition into the international business world, it is highly recommended that any business owner make use of professional coaching.
Sales Executives Use Covert Hypnosis For High Closing Rates
May 31, 2008
Among the various successful sales techniques used daily, conversational hypnosis is definitely one of the most interesting. Exactly what is “conversational hypnosis”? And, how can it be used to significantly boost sales for your business?
Conversational hypnosis, otherwise known as covert hypnosis, is a communication style. You might already be using conversational hypnosis without even realizing it. While it comes naturally to some people, others intentionally learn and practice the style of communication to benefit a specific purpose. This is true of successful sales executives. Sales executives use covert hypnosis as a means of relating a clear message that engages their client and gains their cooperation and agreement.
Conversational hypnosis actually begins with the technique of starting a conversation that will cause the client to connect to you. This will be the starting point of building a relationship with the client. Once this is done, you can begin adding in some meaningful words or body language that can help direct the client’s actions.
A key element in using conversational hypnosis is to be able to influence people without the use of words. For an example, an air conditioner salesperson may want a customer to know how hot the outside temperature is. Rather than state the obvious, he has the ability to simply make a point of looking at the thermometer on the wall. Most likely, when the salesman looks at the thermometer, the customer will too. The salesman has told the customer how hot it is (and how much he needs an air conditioner) without saying a word.
Another approach, which is more verbal and direct, is to tell someone not to do something or think of something. As you may know, this automatically makes you do or think of what was spoken of. This approach is often referred to as reverse psychology. You may have heard parents talk about using reverse psychology to get their children to do what they want them to do, but reverse psychology is an important factor in conversational hypnosis. Reverse psychology can be effective because when a particular phrase is used, the mind has to process the phrase by using some point of reference.
Some salespersons prefer to use a straight-forward approach with some customers. They might state something such as “Think about how nice it would be to have clean, fresh, odor-free carpet.” They plant the idea in the customer’s mind that all the customer needs to do is purchase his carpet cleaner to get fresh, clean, odor-free carpet. All the customer can think about now is how nice that would be. The customer has been influenced by the salesperson’s words and thinks favorably about the product.
Can you think of times when you’ve been susceptible to conversational hypnosis? Perhaps your son or daughter has unknowingly used conversational hypnosis techniques to persuade you to purchase them a new video game, or new clothes. At other times you might have been susceptible to conversational hypnosis methods used by TV advertising, ads on the web, or when speaking to telemarketers on the phone.
If you’re serious about boosting sales figures, you should strongly consider learning and applying conversational hypnosis methods. The easy method of causing the customer to connect with you and see your perspective, rather than their preconceived notions, is very effective and, when mastered to the point of not being detected by customers, can significantly increase sales for you and your company.
Get the Word Out About your Business: Use Promotional Apparel
May 31, 2008
Ask anyone and they will tell you how much they love going somewhere and getting something for free. The promotional give-a-ways at sporting events are usually those relating to apparel such as hats, t-shirts and more.
Promotional apparel is a very effective way in getting the word out about your business. Your company name is embossed on the apparel of your choice and everyone will see your business name worn by many people.
The most common and least expensive promotional apparel is the t-shirt. A company can buy in bulk from places like Hanes or Fruit of the Loom and then can print any kind of design on them.
For only $5.00 per shirt or less, if you bought in bulk, you can see how you can’t go wrong with choosing such an effective promotional item.
If you were to look at many different people in public places, you would see how popular a monogrammed hat is, especially with the guys. The marketing opportunities are endless because wherever the person that is wearing the hat goes, he/she is actually providing your company with free advertising. Again, the hats are considered inexpensive. A basic style cap can be found to be under $5.00 per hat and monogrammed too.
A very unique concept for marketing and promotional items are those found in the kitchen. Oven mitts, aprons, and towels, all embossed with an organization’s logo are a reminder everyday of that particular company. A little trick to remember is to buy kitchen apparel that is attractive or appealing so that the item is not put in a drawer or cupboard and then forgotten.
Last but not least is athletic apparel. Many people today exercise and will be grateful for anything that they can receive for free. If they wear any of the apparel in a huge event like a marathon race this would be another example of free advertising for a company. Hundreds of people will see your company name or product. Something as inexpensive as a headband or wristband is only $2.00 per piece.
No matter what kind of business you are in you should consider using promotional apparel to help you advertise. You will be able to get your business to be recognized and you will have people who will be walking advertisements for you. This is a great way to get people thinking about your business and the services or products you offer.
Project Management Training Course Increases Profitability In IT
May 31, 2008
Project management means knowing how to get things done as efficiently and effectively as possible. If your skills in this area aren’t quite what you’d like them to be, you need to take into account taking a project management training program. Project management training programs are readily available via the web which means you don’t even have to drive to classes. How much more efficient can you get?
Selecting the best on the internet project management training offering from among the abundance available today is not a simple task. Even though not everyone’s goal is to seek project management certification, a project management training course that leads to certification eligibility is prone to be a thorough course. Additionally, even if certification is not the initial goal, being eligible for it is a good option to have.
People who own small businesses and those who want to take project management training to enhance their job options might find price to be the reason they choose one program over another. There’s no problem with doing this providing that the coursework of the chosen institution is up to standard. When analyzing a less costly program, see if they offer and refunds or guarantees down the road if you don’t feel they are giving you adequate training. Before enrolling, check into information on the company from the better business agency or read on the web reviews and ratings.
What kind of content should a project management training program contain? It should include directions on how to handle employees as well as physical resources. Therefore, there should be psychological training offered as well as training about finances, budgets, communications, and resource management. The project management triad is usually expressed as scope, time, and cost; this triad should be emphasized in any course.
A strong project management training course won’t just cover all the topics, but will also fit your personal requirements. While many people can succeed using self-directed learning and online coursework, others require the structure of a conventional classroom setting. Even though the classroom is less convenient than an online course, it might be more effective at helping you learn the skills required to be an effective manager. Many local universities and community colleges offer such courses inexpensively.
A project management training course can help business managers and owners in the short term, and could lead to an entirely new and profitable career. Experienced, certified project managers can earn over one hundred dollars per hour, and demand for their services is large and growing rapidly. Becoming certified in project management will add considerable marketing value to your business degree.
Anyone who needs to plan and get things done should think about a project management training course. Project management is the skill and science of getting things done, in the most efficient and effective way possible. With the advent of the internet and distance learning, it has never been easier to get into a project management training program. Though the options for online project management training are many, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be simple to find the right one for you. Though not everyone is interested in certification, if the option is available it likely means that the course is a more complete one.
Become Successful By Learning From King Solomon
May 27, 2008
If you have ever heard of King Solomon, you have heard two distinct characteristics related to him. He was the wisest man and he was the richest man to have ever lived.
You have the same ability to accomplish your dreams simply by learning the keys to King Solomon’s success? What could you accomplish by learning how to apply these keys to your life? These Keys to Success, written by King Solomon in The Proverbs and in The Book of Ecclesiastes, will help you become successful in every area of your life. Thousands of millionaires attribute their success to their study of King Solomon’s Proverbs.
Hundreds of preachers and life coaches preach and teach that you ‘can’ be successful and prosper but there are few who actually teach the ‘how to’ part. They will quote scripture after scripture that tell you that you can be successful. However, no one tells you how to become successful — the practical application of these success principles as they apply to your life.
By studying the Biblical ‘how to’ book and applying it to your everyday life, you will experience the success that you need. When you study these keys and follow them carefully, you will succeed at whatever you try. You will become healthy, wealthy and wise.
It does not matter if you are a graduate of a University or barely scraped by the GED test. It doesn’t matter whether you have $20,000.00 dollars to invest or you have $0.20 to invest. All that matters is that you believe that God wants for you to succeed and, when you stick to the program, you will experience success in ways that you have never imagined.
Just as we are spiritual beings and physical beings, there are laws that govern our physical nature and there are laws that govern our spiritual nature. The One who created this physical world placed the physical laws, those that govern the physical world, into effect. The laws that govern the spiritual aspect of our existence are even more powerful that the physical laws because they also affect the physical world in which we live.
Let’s consider, for an example, the airplane. The aeronautical engineers and designers know and abide by the dynamic physical laws that govern flight. They understand these laws of aerodynamics and strictly observe them. The pilots of these aircraft also know and abide by these governing physical laws. If they did not, the flight would be not only short but possibly a deadly one. The physical laws that govern this world are strictly enforced and we can see them observed on a daily basis.
Wise ole King Solomon discovered that there are also ‘living laws’ or ‘laws of living’ that govern our lives on a daily basis. He informs us that they must be followed stringently because they are strictly enforced, just as the physical laws. Your belief or disbelief of the physical laws that govern the universe does not change the fact that they exist. Should we can choose to ignore them we will definitely suffer the drastic consequences. It does not matter whether we believe or disbelieve the ‘living laws’ that govern our daily lives, they exist and are enforced. We can ignore them but, again, the consequences are dramatic.
You do not need to continue reading if you feel that there is nothing more that you can, would, could or should do. If you want to be successful in life, the guidance and tutelage of the Master of the Universe is essential. By enhancing your understanding of God’s Holy Word, your relationship with Him will deepen. Wisdom is supreme and, no matter what the cost, we must seek understanding. When we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. This does not mean the self-centered materialistic desires. This means the true and sincere desires. We’re going to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven because we know (Jesus told us) that everything else will be added to us.
You must study the Wisdom of God to be qualified as a ‘Good Steward’ of God’s property. As you progress in your study, you will become a good steward of great wealth. Applying Solomon’s Principles of Success, found in the Book of Proverbs, will help you to attain an even greater level of success.
There must be incorporate a warning here as well. If you study these laws and ignore them, you will be setting yourself up for disaster. It is better that you make a commitment now to develop the attitude of success and stick to it. You will succeed. God has given you the wisdom through His Holy Bible to succeed.
I Hate to Write Articles - Is There An Easier Way?
May 27, 2008
Owning and maintaining an world wide web business requires that you have fresh content articles on a regular basis — preferably daily. Articles quench the thirst for information and knowledge that lures your prospects to your site.
But what are you going to do if you can’t or don’t want to write?
First of all, if you just don’t like writing and you don’t want to hire someone to write for you, you can get a lot of free articles online. One place to look is at public domain articles. Copyright infringement is not an issue with public domain articles.
Public domain writings are simply expired copyrights. When a work is originally copyrighted, the copyright only lasts for a specified period of time. If the copyright isn’t extended, usually when an author dies, then it simply expires. Then the writing is placed in the public domain. These are articles or writings that were once published works and so the English and grammar should be very good. You may need to check copyright laws in the country in which you reside for more information.
The downside to public domain articles is that anyone can use them and your competition may have done so already. You may have to edit them a bit to place your keywords and keyword phrases in the appropriate places. Also, make sure that if you use public domain articles they pertain to your niche topic.
One of the best ways to get fresh content is to allow other websites with a similar niche to submit articles that you post on your site. It’s a common blogging tactic to create “utility posts” which consist of an intro to a post in another blog with a link to it from your blog. Bloggers are simply using good fresh content from other blogs to fulfill their content needs.
Now, you might be saying — wait a minute, I don’t want links to other sites on my site! Well, if that’s what you think, you’re a little behind the curve because that’s exactly what Web 2.0 is all about! Google knows this and is now serving up pages based primarily on their social popularity. Google weighs other parts of the site as well, but always remember that social populariaty is VERRRRY important!
So, begin sharing as much as you can and forget about keeping all the links to yourself.
And, if you’re wondering where all this is going, well here’s the pot of gold and the real reason why I decided to write this article in the first place. Because of Web 2.0, there are now many article services gaining popularity that cater to this need. The one I belong to not only sends my “unique” articles to about 600 sites upon submission, but I also receive many one-of-a-kind articles everyday as a subscriber. And, you can select to only receive articles if you don’t want to write them.
This service is not expensive but is well worth the minor fee I pay monthly. As a result, I’m seeing my links increase in Google daily. It’s the best method I know of to help us all trade links and acquire one-of-a-kind articles. I have no problem posting regularly to all of my sites now. It’s up to me to choose what categories of articles I receive, how many are sent everyday and whether or not to publish on my website. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to write good articles! If it’s crap, I don’t post it.
One more thing you should know — There are now many websites that offer Private Label Rights Articles that you can publish on your site. Many of them are free to join. Private label rights allow you to take credit for writing the articles. If you want, you can even rewrite all or part of them. In fact, that’s how I wrote this article. I’m pretty good at writing, but sometimes the ideas don’t come as swiftly as I’d like. So, when I start with a PLR work, the ideas begin churning out and there’s no need to create all of the content myself. Even though most of the time you wouldn’t recognize the original as the starting content, when I’m done!
Google AdWords Campaign Management Secrets
May 27, 2008
When it comes to managing a Google AdWords campaign, you should consider a few strategies if you want to get the biggest return on your time. In the following article, we will talk about a few simple but effective pay per click strategies that you can use in your Google AdWords campaign.
One of the first things you can do in your Google AdWords campaign is to make use of keyword optimization. You can start this process by doing your homework and limiting your keywords. Then, filter out searches that you know have a very poor conversion rate by instituting negative keywords into your keyword selections.
Depending on the goals of your campaign, it may be cost efficient to utilize a cost-per-impression strategy instead of just a cost per click one. This is a way to create brand awareness for a cheaper price. Basically, your ads appear on relevant websites instead of just SERPs (search engine results pages). This is a way to reach a wider potential audience without having to pay a high price. It is also a way to put your ad in front of people who may be interested but had not thought to search for your specific term.
If you are very certain of your ability to convert potential prospects, then you may want to consider the Google AdWords campaign strategy of maximizing your keywords. This strategy is based on bulk sales, and relies heavily on your ability to convert potential prospects into sales on the backend. Some strategies for maximizing your keywords include adding typos of your keywords, reversed letters, and plural and singular versions of keywords. This will increase your potential audience and likely increase the number of clicks you get. Of course, you don’t want clicks that aren’t at least somewhat relevant to your product or service.
Another effective Google AdWords management technique is limiting your spending budget. You should do this on a daily, weekly or even monthly interval. The idea is to work with the budget you have and to maximize the dollars you do spend. Never just through more money at a pay per click campaign if you are not seeing results. It is important to analyze the situation and examine other possible reasons for your lack of success. These could include an ad that does not grab the reader’s attention, or the fact that your keywords produce prospects that are not relevant to your product or service.
Utilizing some or all of these Google AdWords campaign management strategies is a great way to maximize the potential of your pay per click campaign. And, they won’t break the bank. Think about the ultimate goal of your campaign, and then decide if these strategies are right for you.
King Solomon’s Introduction to Marketing Basics - Wise Counsel
May 26, 2008
There are lots of concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is ‘the range of activities involved in assuring that you are meeting the needs of your customers and that you’re getting a valuable response in return.’ One major misconceptions of marketing is that it is only ‘advertising your product or service.’ Although advertising is important, it is only one component in the process of marketing.
We have the ability to define the core meaning of marketing as ‘understanding’ your clients’ needs and ‘developing’ a plan that effectively addresses those needs. By understanding marketing in this way, a business owner who desires to see his business ‘grow’ can set the proper goals.
What is meant by ‘organic growth?’ This is a wonderful concept. Your business is a living organism and, as a living organism, it must be cultivated and nurtured. We can ignore its needs and let it fend for itself or we have the ability to determine those needs and do whatever is ideal to make it thrive.
Let’s look at two basic elements of marketing to help us get a superior idea of the activities that we need to do to create a successful business. The first element of marketing that we need to consider is ‘developing a marketing plan.’ The second element is your ‘ongoing promotion.’ A serious mistake that many business owners make is to create a product or service and immediately begin an advertising campaign. After a further explanation of these two basic elements, you’ll comprehend why this mistake can be a disappointing and pricey one.
When we develop a ‘marketing plan’ or ‘marketing strategy’, we create a guide that’s necessary for the well being of a business. The first consideration in creating a marketing plan is research and analysis. This is not as difficult as it may seem. It may take a tiny time but it will be well worth the effort.
To help us get started, let’s start by looking at a simplified explanation of ‘marketing analysis.’ We should apply two of Solomon’s Keys to Success at this point.
Proverbs 1:5 (NLT) “Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance” Guidance or wise counsel can be found in many forms. We should also remember, for those of us who think we comprehend everything, ” Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” Proverbs 12:15 (NLT) In a nutshell marketing analysis involves the following:
A well built marketing analysis involves the following:
1.) Discovering our ‘market’ or the groups of potential customers that exist,
2.) Determining our ‘target market’ or those clients that we prefer to serve,
3.) Determining the needs of our target market,
4.) Decide which of your products or services might meet their needs,
5.) Determining the uses our potential clients might have for our products and services,
6.) Learning what our competitors are doing,
7.) Determining the pricing structure that we should use and
8.) Decide on a plan for the distribution products and services to your target markets.
There are numerous methods of ‘market research’ that can be used to gather information concerning markets, target markets and customer needs, competitors’ products, etc. The ease of World wide web research will reveal many sources of specific information. We must target our searches on the Internet search engines. This can be accomplished by beginning from a broad area of possibilities and with each subsequent search get more specific until we’ve discovered as much as possible about our market in general and specifically our target market. The resulting information will determine our ‘niche’ market, our specific area of a market that’s best for our product or service.
When you have successfully developed your marketing plan, look at your ‘ongoing promotions’, which may include advertising, press releases, public relations, sales materials and customer service to name only a few. These terms can become confusing: advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations and publicity. These terms are often used interchangeably. They refer to different — but similar tasks.
Let’s look at a list of swift definition of each term.
1.) Advertising — presenting a product (or service) to potential and current clients. Advertising needs to be focused on a particular product or service. We have to understand that an advertising plan for one product will be different from that for another product. Advertising is usually done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, website banners, etc.
2.) Promotion — Promotion can be defined as the tasks that maintain the product in the minds of the customer (product recognition). The ongoing effort of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.
3.) Public Relations — ongoing processes we use to ensure that our business has a strong and positive public image. This is referred to as “PR.”
4.) Publicity — Publicity is public or ‘media’ attention, whether favorable or not. These are the review that others present of your product or service and can include news releases. These are only a few terms that are good to learn.
These are a few of the many terms that need to be learned. The health and well being of our business, your business, is determined by the extent of diligent study that you do and the application of the principles that you learn through study. To best know your product or service or clients or competitors, you must develop a sincere determination to become as diligent as possible.
Remember these few examples of Solomon’s Proverbs to help you develop a growing and successful business.
Proverbs 10:4 (The Amplified Bible) “He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
Proverbs 12:24 (The Amplified Bible) “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor.”
Proverbs 13:4 (The Amplified Bible) “The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied.”
Proverbs 21:5 (NASB) “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.”
Commit this last Proverb to memory. It will serve you well.