Archive for January, 2010

2010 Trends: What’s in Store for Marketing and Media?

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

I love information about trends and what’s happening next in the marketplace. After all, if you’re not paying attention to what’s going to be the next big new thing it’s as if you’re walking around in a fog all the time. This article has an international flair and some great thoughts to share. Keep reading…

By: Chris Moerdyk

So what does 2010 hold in store for marketing and media, especially as we should be beginning to move out of the recession and as we gear up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup? Here are 10 predictions for 2010.

1. Getting closer to the consumer: brand managers will look towards marketing strategies that involve closer contact with the consumer. In-store marketing that gained impetus in 2009 will continue to grow apace as marketers choose face-to-face strategies over faceless shotgun approaches.

2. Social media: with the cost of Internet access and cellphone usage coming down, however slowly, consumers will resort more and more to sharing their purchase experiences with their personal networks and a growing number of consumer complaint websites. Retailers of goods and services will have to monitor these to avoid being caught up in an e-tsunami of consumer backlash, as has happened in the US and UK.

3. Measurement: with the cost of marketing, particularly mass media advertising, having sky-rocketed during the past few years, more and more marketers will be under pressure to prove campaign results. The days of trusting instinct are long gone. Boards of directors will want to see results and not promises.

4. The big idea: the recession will have effectively killed the notion of relying purely on a “big idea” for marketing success. 2010 will be the start of a move toward pragmatic marketing, featuring built-in measurement tools and the use of logic, technology and common sense. Put it this way, for marketing to work efficiently in future, it will have to be conducted in a way that accountants can quite easily understand.

5. Online advertising will continue to grow: the only media type to have actually grown during the recession, online advertising will continue to make inroads into the advertising and marketing budget pies. Already in the UK, last September, online advertising passed TV to take top spot. But, the growth in online advertising will also mean a paradigm shift in the way advertising is constructed. Online will start demanding a completely different approach to that of conventional media.

6. Online media: newspapers will wake up to the fact that taking advantage of online is not just a question of reproducing their print products online. That was a massive mistake in the past and effectively just ended up with newspaper giving content away for free to the detriment of their print products. Newspapers will start to reassess their online presence or simply go bust.

7. Media convergence: if we do get faster Internet and much wider bandwidth, South Africa could see media convergence beginning to take effect by the end of 2010. Which will mean massive mindset changes among media companies whose newsrooms will be filled with content providers to a variety of media rather than print, radio or TV journalists.

8. The 30-second commercial: South Africa will remain one of the world’s last bastions of faith in the 30-second TV commercial. However, given the demand on marketing to become more measureable, more and more big brands can be expected to move away from the very expensive and largely un-measureable mass media shotgun approach to something much more focused. Perhaps 2010 will be the year that branded TV really takes off as a far more effective, efficient and cheaper option to the 30-sec commercial. Don’t hold your breath, though. There are still far too many unskilled brand managers around who continue to be convinced that the 30-sec commercial still works.

9. Customer service: it can generally be expected that 2010, being hopefully the first post-recession year, will be one in which marketers and senior corporate executives start taking consumers seriously. Maybe this will be the year when South African companies realise that saying “WE CARE” to consumers means absolutely nothing to them.

10. 2010 and the FIFA World Cup will provide a lesson to companies and their marketers that it is better to offer good value at a good price rather than a once off rip-off.

To see this original article click here.

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Upbeat Business and Economic News

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Think the economic picture out there is grim? If you’re looking for a job you may have a rough road to hoe for the next few months – but I’ve talked with a number of women home-based business owners who’ve whispered to me, “Denise, I can’t believe how terrific my sales have been. It’s like I’ve got new customers coming out of the woodwork.”

Consumers have held back for well over a year. There is serious pent-up demand for all kinds of products and services and if you can get beyond your prospective customer’s initial hesitation and show ‘em why what you offer is a great value – there are a lot of people ready to get on with life, proclaim this recession personally over – and buy from you.

Just check out these article leads I discovered in a quick online search of economic news:

DETROIT (Reuters) – Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said on Monday that he is cautiously optimistic about the world automotive market and saw a 3-4 percent increase in unit sales this year. Zetsche told journalists at the Detroit Auto Show that he saw the Chinese market posting single-digit growth in 2010, while Daimler’s own sales in that market would grow faster, he said.

HERKIMER, N.Y. – As a new year dawns, Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Scarano said he is optimistic about the future of local businesses. “We’ve had a few rough years,” said Scarano. “Our businesses — especially small businesses — have reacted better than other businesses in the country. We know how to adapt and survive. They’ve been around for quite a while.” According to the state Department of Labor Web site, the unemployment rate declined to 8.6 percent in November — below the national number of 10 percent.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The next 12 months hold much opportunity for investors in the U.S. chemical industry as its members hope to ride a wave of cautious economic optimism and capitalize on growing consumer confidence. After two years of frenzied stock swings, debt downgrades, and slumping revenue and profit, some of the industry’s biggest players are charily confident that a long-awaited economic uptick is coming this year.

SAN JOSE, CA – Small-business owners throughout Silicon Valley express a reserved, low-key sense of confidence as they enter 2010. That’s a dramatic contrast to how they felt a year ago. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Andy Meade, president of Meade Construction Group Inc., a San Jose-based general contracting firm specializing in high-tech and health care projects. “When we entered 2009, I’d say the general feeling was fear and pessimism.”

CHICAGO BUSINESS — Is business looking up? Are execs feeling optimistic? OfficeMax is banking that the answer to both questions is yes, and its enlisted Fast Company and BusinessWeek on its optimism crusade. The office supplies retailer is launching a new brand campaign, its first since 2004, under the banner “Good News for Business.” The comprehensive effort represents Office Max’s biggest marketing investment in four years, said Bob Thacker, senior VP-marketing and advertising. “It’s substantial,” said Mr. Thacker. “We feel it’s time to start focusing on the 90% of the population that is working. That’s not to minimize the 10% that aren’t. But for business to thrive, we have to get beyond fear and focus on hope.”

LOUISVILLE, KY – Owners of small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly optimistic about future business prospects for 2010, according to a survey conducted by City Business Journals Network. The network is owned by Charlotte, N.C.-based American City Business Journals Inc., owner of Business First of Louisville.

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7 Secrets to Stimulate Your Cash Flow

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

By Denise Michaels

If you’re like millions of business owners you put on a happy face to the rest of the world that says, “Everything’s great!” but on the inside you’re concerned about what’s happening with your cash flow lately.

How do you stimulate your own economy so you get the results you deserve rather than getting caught up in the mass consciousness of lack that’s become so pervasive? This article provides seven stimulating secrets that’ll get you back on track. Wealthy people depend on these principles to keep their cash flow humming so when someone asks them about their business they can honestly and enthusiastically say, “We must be doing something right. My business hasn’t been impacted at all.”

• Stay away from the nattering nabobs of negativity. Whether its cable news with a constant stream of negativity, or, just the people you meet at a networking mixer who seem desperate, steer clear of anyone who’s less than optimistic. About 10-15 minutes of news a day is all you need to keep up to speed with what’s happening. Turn off the news and focus on the 99 percent of the world that’s just fine.

• Make progress every day and give yourself credit. Focus on doing what gives you the greatest results. Creating a successful business is about moving energy and building momentum. Consider all the thrust it takes to get a jet off the ground. Except the most important work you do may not be about running around. The most important work can be about consciously shifting your mindset. Then, when you take action amazing things happen.

• Speak with enthusiasm and passion. Wealthy people attract others to their dreams by speaking with passion, enthusiasm and confidence. They give the impression they just know their product or service is amazing and their business will be a winner. Once you launch your business stop looking for validation. Get over feeling like you need “permission.” If you offer good value and products or services that help others you don’t need permission or validation from anyone.

• Be bold. One bold stroke to get the word out can do much more than dozens of hesitant, little moves. This means expanding your comfort zone because your business growth doesn’t happen any faster than your personal growth. This mean when you decide you’re going to get on a radio talk show or do some other promotion that’ll make a big splash you do it with your head up, with boldness and confidence.

• Understand the importance of marketing. Marketing is about building relationships – but it’s more than smiling and chatting with other business owners at a mixer. Your marketing message goes out ahead of you. It precedes you. It should filter out people not likely to do business with you and filter in people likely to do business with you. Filtering means when you talk with a prospective customer chances are they already know about you and are partially pre-sold making selling easier.

• Be emotionally compelling. People still have wants and needs. What’s lacking right now is confidence. When people feel you understand, empathize and have a solution for their problem they will do business with you. Too many business owners try to play it safe because they think customers will buy based only on features or having the lowest price. They must see how your features and benefits help them solve their problems.

• Ask for the sale. Some business owners enjoy building the relationship however they’re afraid they might mess it up by asking for the sale. Don’t be pushy but be willing to confidently guide and direct a conversation. After I’ve explained everything about what I offer, my fees and answered questions and gotten strong signals that a prospective client is interested my closing question is, “When would you like to get started?”

By following these seven secrets you’ll crack the code on stimulating your own economy. You’ll discover more people are receptive and open to what you offer. They will come to trust you, have confidence in you and as a result your cash flow will increase. You will be in your own flow of wealth and abundance so when people ask you about your business you can sincerely smile and say, “My business is great!!”

Denise Michaels is author of the business bestseller, “Testosterone-Free Marketing” and founder of EmpowerUAcademy. Her mission is supporting people in going for their dreams and she’s known as The Marketing Maven and as an Empowerment Expert. You can also find out about one-on-one mentoring with Denise at her website MentoringwithDenise. All rights reserved.

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Do You Cheat Others When You make a Profit?

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

One impressions I get from many women is that deep in your heart you may have a subconscious belief that you’re cheating others and are somehow bad if you make a profit.

Do you feel guilty when you make a healthy profit on what you do?

Do you charge enough for your products and services or do you undercut yourself at times?

Yesterday I had a meeting with a lovely woman who owns a business but spends all her time promoting others. She doesn’t take any money for doing this. In fact, when she’s tried to charge for helping others in this way – sending out notices for others on her e-newsletter and other promotional strategies – people are actually angry with her and say she should be doing it free.

In the meantime, her dear husband is working his tail off trying to make ends meet and his job is based on earning commissions. Unfortunately over the holidays the commissions were very low and now they’re trying to figure out how to pay all their bills.

I asked some probing questions of this woman and discovered that her Mother was a stay at home mom who only worked part time on an infrequent basis. My client got a lot of deeply negative messages about women who promote themselves and try to be anything but humble and meek. Messages like:

“Don’t get a big head.”
“Don’t be conceited.”
“Don’t be selfish.”

The message she got was that when she gives everything away and constantly helps others she’s being “a good woman.” When she does something for herself – she’s not a good woman. So, she keeps creating circumstances that reinforce that perception.

The challenge is when it’s time to pay the bills – if you’ve shorted yourself on what you charge, you end up falling short when it comes to your lifestyle and paying your bills. You can’t exactly go to your mortgage company or the grocery store and say, “Um, I’m a really nice person. Would you give me a little extra discount?”

Of course we know that’s silly. Why? Because these real businesses don’t give extra discounts. So if you consider yourself a real business – why are you undercutting yourself?

Here’s where it comes back around: In the real business world people don’t say, “Gee, that’s so nice. She’s only charging me $$ instead of $$$.” Instead they silently think, “She’s charging so much less than market rates – she must not be as good.”

Traditionally women always gave away our work. We have a history as volunteers. And, for centuries we were at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to jobs. Women were praised for being selfless and for constantly giving with no expectation of ever receiving anything in return except the warm fuzzy feelings of knowing we’ve helped. We made our husbands look good in the community while he took care of the messy job of going out and slaying dragons. Additionally, many of us have dealt with boyfriends, husbands and partners who became threatened when the woman they love made significant money or enjoyed a level of success.

We live in a very different world than the world our mothers lived in when they raised us. We were raised to be good wives, moms, sisters, daughters, friends and maybe a good employee. But we certainly weren’t raised to be a good business owners. And, it’s extremely difficult in this day and age for husbands to carry the whole load.

What thoughts, beliefs or attitudes were you raised with regarding the money you earn? Was it different for a girl in your home or your community compared to a boy? How much is enough? Is it fair for you to get a healthy profit? Will those warm, fuzzy feelings pay the rent or the mortgage?

Women are now starting businesses at double the rate of men. This has been true for over five years now. But many women business owners struggle because they’re uncomfortable about what it says about them to be successful when they feel a societal expectation for women to keep give everything away. Is it a good thing to make a profit? Or, does it mean you somehow had to claw over others to gain success? Is your business struggling because you’re new and just getting off the ground? Or are you struggling for other reasons?

All the best,

Denise Michaels
Author, “Testosterone-Free Marketing”

PS: Sign up for my free Marketing and Empowerment Tips by clicking here.

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