Tag: Strategy

Branding – Creating a Brand Strategy For Your Business

Branding is essential to the success of your business, but how do you go about creating a brand strategy that is going to achieve the objectives that you have set and bring success?

Define Your Brand

The first thing you will need to do when creating your brand strategy is to clearly define your brand. Think about what products or services you offer, the benefits of these, the values of your business, your target market and your unique selling proposal. What do you want your target market to think of your company and how do you want them to relate to your business? After answering these questions you should be able to write a summary that defines what you want your business to look like and be, almost as if it was a real person.

Why Are You Branding?

Once you know what your brand is the next step is to understand why you are branding – what are your branding objectives? Do you want to attract more customers? Win an award? Get a greater market share? Write down exactly what you want to achieve in your branding efforts.

Understand Your Target Market

In order to achieve success in your branding efforts you need to know who you are going to be targeting. How do you achieve your branding objectives with these people? If your objective is to get more customers then how do you improve your sales to your target market? What is your target market looking for?

Do a SWOT Analysis of Your Company

Certain factors may be influencing your ability to reach your branding objectives – the competition you face in the marketplace, the demand for your product, financing, the location of your business, etc. Do a careful analysis both of your business and of the environment in which you operate to see how these affect your brand strategy.

How Do You Package Your Brand Strategy?

Your brand is reflected in all aspects of your business – your website, emails, answering service, brochures, business cards, letterheads and marketing materials. It is important to ensure that you always put across a strong brand and that each piece of packaging adds to the brand strategy you want to create. Think about how each message is put across and what it says about your company.

Creating a brand strategy is important for achieving success in your business and you should always aim for a strong, unified message that relates to your target market and achieves the branding objectives that you have set.

Forex Trading Profits – A Manual Trading Strategy That Works

It is possible to take up Forex as a full time profession. In fact, it is the only home-based business anyone can set up from home with as little as 1500 USD. You will need USD 500 to set yourself up with a laptop and internet connection and 1000 USD to deposit in your forex personal ECN account. In 20 days you will be making more than USD 200 per day with this strategy, but it takes time and patience.

Good charting software that comes with the popular MT4 trading platform that almost every broker offers free along with a trading account is the only tool one needs. Added to this is the knowledge of trading strategies and risk management and one is all set to set up the perfect home based business without any overheads at all.

It is possible to make as much, or as little (whichever way you look at it), as 200 USD per day trading forex with a 1000 USD account.

I’ll let you in on a little secret forex trading strategy of mine:

Trade a 0.5 percent of your deposit in PIP value. This means that one pip should be equal to 0.5 percent of your deposit. So if your deposit is USD 1000, your exposure per pip should be USD 5.

This will leave you with 160 pips to play around with. The chances of the market moving 100 pips in the wrong direction are scarce if you have an eye on the screen while the trade is open.

A good strategy will give you ample warning that the market is going to move further and you can opt out. I suggest you keep a stop loss of 120 pips, believe me you will never need it if you follow this strategy.

Observe a monthly chart. Mark out the highest point and the lowest point the pair reached over a period of 3 months. Observe the most common price the currency pair kept returning to and draw a line through that point. That is your entry point. Go long with 0.2 lots at that point and go short at the same point with 0.2 lots. Your per-pip value will be USD 2 in each trade.

With 160 pips to play around with you don’t have to worry about the margin call. The market will move in both direction and return to the same entry point at some time or the other. You must set up alerts on the MT4 for 10 pips above and 12 pips below the entry price. When the alert sounds, exit the trade.

If the market moves away in either direction you will still make a profitable trade. It will be a matter of time before the market returns to the entry point.

With a 0.2 lot trade and take profit point at 10 pips, you stand to gain 20 USD per trade. You will get at least 4 opportunities to trade in a day. That will make you USD 80 per day. With a consistent trading strategy you will make 1600 USD in 20 days. Use it to increase your per-pip value.

This is one strategy that has worked for me over the last 2 years. Why, should it not work for you? The only thing that could be a problem here is that you need patience and have to be in front of your terminal every day. It will also pay if you increase your deposit and reduce your trade percentage. The lower the better because then you will have more pips to play around with if the market moves against the trade. Remember, the market will return to the entry point, you just have to wait it out without fearing a margin call.

Business Planning – Reducing the Risk of Failure by Developing a Low Cost Strategy

Many people believe that the risk of failure in starting a business on a low budget is a little high but I believe even a business with low budget can prosper if you can devise an intelligent strategy and stick to it. Just taking care of a few issues will eliminate the chances of failure. The economic situation of today’s world is not the best therefore many Guru’s would not advise you to start a business in a middle of economic turn down. Others have a completely different point of view and they consider this time to be an ideal opportunity to establish your business.

Entering the market at a time with a low budget when many potential competitors have taken their eye off the business ball does make sense. Low budget does not mean only mean spending less but it also means spending wisely.

First thing you need to start a business with a low budget is a fantastic idea. Keeping in view the market needs and customers demand you came come up with a real good idea.. A proper guidance is a must for a new entrepreneur therefore you require the services of skilled business consultant.

Your business does not only require obtaining finance and investment from a financial institution but a carefully crafted strategic business growth plan for a long term success. The strategy can be best designed by you with the help of skilled business consultant.

The start up of the business is the most difficult job because of tight cash flow. So it really doesn’t matter whether your start up investment is a bank loan, investment from some one else or a start up loan. If you can through the first few troublesome months then the chances of long term success are quite high.

The best way to market your business with a low budget would be keep as minimum as possible for advertising. This will help you strive hard to find methods of advertisement that are most economical. About 60% of world’s traditions businesses have their online counterparts this makes it clear that indeed online marketing is the most effective and economical way to promote your business. Most of the online marketing methods are free. Many businesses opt to promote there business through their online website so it would be a good idea to get your self an attractive website with almost all the information about the company and the products and look for economical methods for its promotion.

Think Global Act Local: A Case Of McDonald’s Global Strategy

The impact of culture on international business, has led to the emphasis of the concept of glocalization. The following reasons, highlight the importance of adopting a strategy tailored to a particular culture in international business. This reasons are:

– International marketing scheme is affected by globalisation and cultural differences.

Cultural distinctiveness has affected strategies adopted in international management. A given strategy in a particular culture is unlikely to yield the same result in another cultural background or environment.

– An understanding of the difference between macro and micro environment has been of great help in strategies of international interventions.

– Cultural distinctiveness has a great impact on consumption of goods and services. A clear understanding of this, helps international organisations to properly analyse the market and suggest ways to properly meet consumers needs and demand.

A case study of the global strategy of McDonald’s reveals the concept of ” think global and act local” (glocalization).

McDonald’s was able to attract its French customers by introducing some local menus that suits the French taste bud. When McDonald’s first came into France, it faced lots of oppositions. The difference in food culture between the French and the Americans was very wide. The French preferred home made kind of food rather than fast food meals. Secondly the French were sentimental towards accepting the American life style. The Mistake McDonald’s made was that it positioned it self as an American fast food company, introducing American menus and way of life to the French. As a result, the French were not willing to accept its brand. Based on this, there was need for McDonald’s to restrategise. McDonald’s later discovered the importance of children in influencing family decision, and therefore, positioned itself as a family restaurant rather than a US brand restaurant. This strategy was powerful because it was the only brand at that time that recognised the family.

The moment McDonald’s started positioning itself as a place for the modern French family, it started to experience an increase in growth. This was the turning point for McDonald’s in France.

However, the success of McDonald’s was not completely smooth without hitches. In 1999, an irritated farmer named Jose Bove, began a protest against the insurgence of junk food. He took his tractor along with some other farmers and demolished the McDonald’s branch in his local area. This protest by Jose brought the attention of the French president who openly condemned the role of US within the global food industries.

The opposition by Jose led McDonald’s to adopt a transparency policy campaign with farmers to explain to them what it is doing to improve relations among them.

Secondly, McDonald’s started paying attention to local details. It discovered that the French do not have the habit of snacking. It had to adopt recipes which the French liked to its menu. It added French pastries and cakes to its menu, and this was a big boost to its sales. Also, it had to ensure that French franchise only prepare fries from a particular specie of French potato. This strategies adopted by McDonald’s made the French to accept its global brand because it had a local taste and feel.

Also, the global fast food McDonald’s, survived and grew in India by developing innovative menus to cater to Indian taste bud. When McDonald’s first came to India, it had strong oppositions from nationalist. Despite this opposition, it had a growth plan to double its turnover every three years in the next decade.

The managing director of McDonald’s in India, Vikram Bakshi, said that in order to survive in India, it had to change its strategy. Seventy percent of its product had to be developed to suit the Indian market. In India McDonald’s was very careful not to offer pork or beef based on the country’s sensitivity to these items.

McDonald’s faced a very big challenge on how to reach out to the Indian large vegetarian population, and still maintain its national brand. Hence, in 1999, it came up with a new brand of burger called the “McAloo Tikki Burger”. This burger has never been heard of any where in the world. Today, the McAloo tikki burger is the single highest selling product and one of the first product to be exported to the middle east.

McDonald’s archived its success in India and world wide because it used both global and local strategy in marketing its products. It had different designs for different countries depending on their culture, as in the case of India.

McDonald’s also takes into consideration the laws of the country they find themselves. For example, in Spain beer is sold in McDonald’s outlets, while in Great Britain it can’t because it will need a separate license to sell alcohol.

This case of McDonald’s shows that in order to succeed globally, intercultural differences should be taken into consideration in the strategy adopted by international organisations.

In conclusion, cultures affect the strategy adopted by international organisations. These cultures vary, therefore the strategy adopted in country A should be different from the strategy adopted in country B.

In addition, global brands has been able to evolve cultures to a certain degree, and cultures has in turn, affected the nature of global brands.

In line with this, people hold certain element of their culture in high esteem and are not willing to let go of it. However, they are willing to accept foreign influences only if it is able to portray certain aspect of their culture, making them have a local feel.

As a result, for international organisations to succeed globally, it is important to pay attention to local needs, while maintaining a global brand.

Therefore, as you deploy a market entry strategy into foreign markets, it is important to adopt the concept of “think global and act local”.

The Strategy of Leadership is Thinking, Vision, and Planning – The Future Depends On It

Grammar speaks of events occurring in three plains. The past was, the future will happen, and we live now, the present. However, operating in the information age, the age of instant global communication, makes the future now. Gates [1] wrote we are citizens of an information society. He noted that past generations, and past societies found ways to gather information, get more work done, increase life spans, and improve their standards of living. Time was not as critical in those past ages. A message from a ruler may take months to arrive by sea courier. The Pony Express was six days. Airmail was cross-country overnight. The time span between thought and action are virtually unidentifiable today. Although leaders rely on collective knowledge sharing, leaders who engage in strategic thinking, imagining events as happening rather than will happen, allows them to view the present as their personal and organizational future.

This paper considers how important strategic thinking is for leaders who want to shape their future and the future of their environment. Strategic thinking is the starting point for creating vision. Traditional planning gives way to flexible organizational structures that change “on the fly.”

Strategy in past generations allowed leaders time for thinking, sensing a vision, clarifying the vision, articulating it to begin considering action plans. Accepting that the future is no longer an event to happen later, this paper explores how leaders think, envision, articulate, and plan. How do leaders continue to use strategy to their advantage in a rapidly changing global environment? The answer is in the age of possibilities [2]. Today, as never before we are free from traditional bonds of work, we are free to choose our futures as well as shape them to suit our own desires and needs.

This age is an extension of Gates’ information society. We have the ability to choose our reality in a way that never before existed. In the past, a baker’s son became a baker. However, many leaders of the past came from unexpected places. The Biblical King David was the young son tending sheep (1 Samuel 16:11) and Jesus was just the carpenter’s son whose mother we know (Matthew 13:55) [3]. Truman had leadership thrust upon him. These people saw a point on the horizon but events changes their vision. The age of possibilities allows us to rewrite our future as events dictate.

Accepting that we can change as events dictate suggests that there is a less linear structure in this image and a more chaotic non-linear structure. Sanders [4] describes an organizational structure as a known initial condition but the future appears random. Using the model of the “Lorenz Attractor,” she presents a view of interacting and interrelated parts that appear disorderly until a closer inspection reveals the spiraling order hidden in the model. The Gates’ information society and the Taylor and Wacker age of possibilities do not depend on a linear progression of thought and action and Sanders holds the non-linear nature of the new science of strategic thinking allows us to understand natural order on its own terms.

Strategy

Does strategy have some mythical or mystical property? Leaders and leadership use the word in many contexts, perhaps not really acknowledging what strategy is. Therefore, a simple working definition of strategy for this paper is the deliberate means of attaining an outcome, being visionary.

Mintzberg, et al [5] explains that strategies inevitably have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of setting direction is charting a course; however, the disadvantage is narrowing vision, hiding dangers. The advantage of focusing effort is coordination of activity; however, the disadvantage is groupthink. Having a definition of the organization provides understanding of the organization; however, the definition may hide the complexity of the supporting systems. Having a strategy that provides consistency establishes order in a way that reduces ambiguity; however, creative groups appear to operate with little or no consistency.

Strategy involves paradoxes as the above paragraph suggests. One paradox tells us the story of answers and questions, once you think you have all the answers, someone changes all the questions. Taylor and Wacker state this paradox as, “The more you are right, the more wrong you will be.” This contradiction confuses the reader, if you are right, how can you be wrong? How? The speed of knowledge accelerated beyond our ability to absorb it in our traditional learning pattern.

Another paradox for visionary leaders involves predicting the future. Leaders who are successful predictors of the future act as agents destabilizing the present. Taylor and Wacker explain that today’s realities and tomorrows expectations collide. The allocation of resources between present and future “produce a massive future-based political problem with huge consequences for the present.”

Strategy at Work

The State of Nebraska recently made National news with the passage of LB1024 that, in effect, created segregated school sub-districts in Omaha. The bill was the Unicameral’s way to defeat intercity lawsuits claiming “One City – One School District.” The City of Omaha annexed several small suburban communities to its west, provides police, fire, and city services to these communities; however, the communities remained independent school districts.

The City of Bellevue annexed several Sanitary Improvement Districts (SID) to its west, provides police, fire and city services to these incorporated SIDs. Previous mayors and city councils of Bellevue and Papillion drew arbitrary boarders marking the fringes of the two cities school districts in, what were then, unincorporated zones. Population growth attached itself close to Bellevue. Now, Bellevue’s city limits extend beyond the school district boarders. Therefore, Bellevue claims “One City – One School District.”

By passing this bill, Senator Chambers [6] acknowledged formal segregation of the districts. LB1024 created two super-districts, one in Omaha, and one in Bellevue. In Omaha, the super-district has three independent sub-districts. The independent sub-districts have authority over teacher hiring, measures of teacher/student success under federal No Child Left Behind, and administration of their own budget. The super-district has academic authority over the smaller sub-districts.

The strongest supporter of the LB1024 is the State’s strongest proponent of desegregation. Why did Senator Ernie Chambers of the State’s 11th district support the bill? He claimed the Omaha school district is already segregated. Segregation re-occurred with the end of bussing in 1999. Yet, no Omaha high school is more than 48 percent African American.

Bellevue Mayor Jerry Ryan acknowledged the drain on city funds fighting to redraw school district lines. The fight in Bellevue and Papillion is over federal dollars to schools with a population of children of military families. Offutt Air Force Base is located near Bellevue and military dependent children attend elementary and secondary schools in both cities. Redrawing district lines would result in more federal money to the Bellevue Public School District.

Strategic Thinking and Vision

Reading the paragraphs above may leave the reader asking, “What were they thinking?” Recall the paradox of predicting the future affects the present in adverse ways, yet successful leaders operate as though the future is now.

Another view is that nothing turns out exactly as expected. This may leave leaders in an action quandary: Strategic thinking in the midst of shifting paradigms servers to help organizations “identify, respond to, and influence changes in its environment.”

Strategic thinking allows leaders to think in terms of opportunities to innovate and influence their future and the future of their organization. Strategic thinking aids in abandonment of policies and procedures that are outdated, obsolete, or ineffective.

Strategic thinking is having an awareness of what has not yet taken shape, having foresight. Foresight has a facet that is an individual ability and behavior and it can be a process or activity in business. On a macro level, foresight is a global practice. Note, reaching a macro level must pass from micro – individual, through mezzo – organizational, to reach macro. Foresight starts with the individual leader seeing or sensing something better [7].

Foresight is more than vision; it is visionary. Being a visionary leader means being provocative and questioning rather than seeing answers. Mintzberg, et al (1998) calls upon visionary leaders to operate on emotional and spiritual resources, values, aspirations, and commitment. Leaders need a mental image, build a mental model of a desirable future state. The visionary state is as simple as a dream or complex as a written document outlining the dream in measurable steps.

Visionary leaders must next translate the dream of the desirable future state into a vision they can share with the organization. Sharing a vision must be proactive, must be like a theater performance. Mintzberg, et al addresses performance by the leader as a rehearsal. Rehearsal is the practice of the vision, learning everything they can about the vision. Upon becoming comfortable in rehearsal, the leader must openly perform the vision. Performance brings a dream to life; however, performance has no value without the attending audience. The organizational audience views the performance while feeling empowered to mimic the performance. Organizational mimicking of the performance serves as a starting point for transformation to a higher state of consciousness, becoming, as Senge [8] describes, a learning organization.

Bellevue, Nebraska is the third largest city in the state. Eight years ago, Jerry Ryan made his first run for Bellevue Mayor winning an election against a popular mayor. Bellevue’s population in 1998 was about 29,000. Improvements in transportation, cost of housing and housing developments, and growth in retail and commercial ventures has caused an explosion in population to almost 50,000 with an extended sphere of services into not yet annexed developments of an additional population of about 15,000.

In the May 2006 primary, Mayor Ryan [9] ran against a field of opponents. Mayor Ryan ran on the ideal that Bellevue has reached a size that requires a full time mayor devoted to the city. Opponents, all in their seventies, do not share his view. Mayor Ryan won the majority of primary votes telling the city his vision. In interview with Mayor Ryan, he expressed how hard it is to run a city of 50,000 part-time. “Citizens think I run the city. They are not aware that it is the City Council that approves all action. And, the City Council doesn’t want a full time mayor,” said Ryan in interview. “If there is one thing I’ve failed to do,” said Ryan, “is adequately share my thinking and vision within the council.”

In the “One City – One School District” battle in Omaha, the school district argued that incorporation of suburban districts into Omaha would create a broader tax base, allow for creation of magnet schools throughout the district, and more equitably share resources. Senator Chambers, in support of LB1024, argued that schools already segregated would have more administrative control over their districts to create educational opportunities for racially distinct schools by racially distinct administrators. Opposition to LB1024 was high before its passing, the Governor faced strong opposition for signing it, the Attorney General believes it is in violation of federal law and unconstitutional and Omaha’s most famous citizen, Warren Buffet, expressed his strong opposition.

Senator Chambers is the only African-American state senator who is controversial and outspoken. Many of his claims include racially provocative statements against police, school administrators, teachers, and fellow senators. By contrast, to Mayor Ryan, Senator Chambers does not appear to have a vision based on strategic thinking. Senator Chambers’ term in the Unicameral ends in 2008 and he cannot run again because of imposed term limits.

Morgan [10] offers some thoughts on social construction of reality. What he writes is people have images of themselves and these images unfold into their reality. Two leaders identified thus far have diversely different views of reality. One holds a vision of what can be for the city while the other fights against change using deeply entrenched assumptions of the power of others to shape events.

Another person, a division head of a large First Data Corporation region [11], offered some insight into strategic thinking and being visionary. In an impromptu interview, she held that having a focus on what is possible helped her rise within a company at a time when it was having serious leadership troubles. When everyone else was seeking safety, she sought innovation-providing direction when it appeared there was none. Her member services region is the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. She said, “I thrive on chaos. When things look the most confused, I see my division diversified, flattened, with empowered subordinate managers.”

Our dialogue continued on chaos with Kim conceding she manages chaos within set organizational plans and policies. This lead to her admission that she is more ordered in her expectations and spends more time planning than thinking and creating vision.

Strategic Planning

Hill and Jones [12] discuss strategic planning with the same cautions of Davis [13]. One concept of planning is doing so under uncertainties. In life and business, the only certain is uncertainty. Organizations cannot plan for the future because it is unpredictable. Another consideration is planning cannot be a top-management function alone. This “ivory tower” planning may result in senior leaders thinking in a vacuum, being enthusiastic about a plan and having no operational realities. Finally, strategic planning often suffers because planners have a short-range view of the current environment missing the dynamics of the competitive environment.

Mintzberg, et al devotes a section to “Planning’s Unplanned Troubles.” They explain that planning establishes inflexibility. They support the assertion presented above with the fallacy of predetermination. This fallacy says organizations are able to predict the direction of their environment, are able to exercise control over the environment, “or simply to assume its stability.” “Because analysis is not synthesis, strategic planning has never been strategy making.”

Reverse course a little, planning is not a bad thing when used in cohort with strategic thinking and visionary leadership. It is applying the controlling element strategy to planning that causes problems. Morgan argues in favor of plans and planning when created in a visionary framework that can evolve as circumstances change. What they insinuate in relating the tail of the “Strategic Termites” is unpredictability of organizational structure. An organization’s leader does not need a strategic plan to impose order. Order, like in a termite colony, emerges in an evolutionary way. Planning is not guided by plans rather by a sense of know what the organization wants to ultimately achieve. Ideas, action, and events occur separately but self-organizing yet apparently disorganized groups of termites seize the opportunity to initiate change.

The Future Depends On It

Seeing the future depends on foresight. Having a future view and strategically thinking of the future creates a new paradigm, part of the paradoxes already discussed. One old paradigm suggests future thought as a prediction and development of plans based on the prediction. Making plans establishes policy necessary to reach the predicted future. When the predictions fail to materialize an organization scrambles to recover. Another paradigm is the invention of the future. This means people both construe and become constrained by the structures they enact and change through practice. Gaspar [7] refers to the work of Mintzberg, et al, saying the old paradigms do not work in future thinking organizations. She tells us we must integrate a strategy that includes patterns and perspectives with planning and positioning.

Take a view of American companies 100 years ago. Of the top 12 companies 100 years ago, ten dealt in selling commodities. Today, of the top 12 U.S. companies, three deal in commodities. The remaining nine companies deal in services, manufacturing, and high technology [14]. The only thing certain is change and business leaders must learn to cope with it in order to manage it. Coping with change and managing it mean businesses can profit from it. The future of business is knowledge driven. Countries must be smart, companies must be smart, and people must be smart.

Countries, companies, and people must be equally smart at the same time. To win the future game, each of the three must anticipate and adapt to change in order to manage it effectively. Mayor Ryan admitted that government is slow to change. By example, he cited the city council established a steering committee to investigate whether the city needed to spend money for computers in the mayor’s office. The city has a web presence but the city council did not adopt an intra- and inter-city email system until the steering committee received confirmation from surrounding cities of their system usage. The mayor is 72; by contrast, the average age of the city council is about 63. Mayor Ryan recognizes the value of technology and aggressively seeks younger citizens to enter city government. He hopes forward thinking younger people will drive the risk adverse council toward active and aggressive risk management.

Senator Chambers is the longest serving Senator in the Nebraska Unicameral. He is 69 years old and suffered racial slurs and isolation from fellow senators when he took office. Slurs and threats, chalked on his capitol office door, remain and he considers these a badge. He does not appear on the senate floor in suit and tie. He wears blue jeans and sweat shirts in protest to conformity. However, Senator Chambers seems to exist in an era when racism and segregation were the norm. He rarely seeks coalition with other senators preferring to be a voice of defiance [15].

These two leaders view the future differently. While one hopes to achieve the future by recruiting younger forward thinking people into the political system, the other remains rooted in the past. Neither manages the future proactively but approach the future based on present and past experiences not through information seeking, strategic thinking, and visionary mental modeling.

Conclusion

This paper discussed strategy, strategic thinking and vision making, planning, and the future. These are not separate activities although the discussion presents them individually. By recognizing the Lorenz Attractor as a spiral of interacting parts of an organization, one can also find this model fits a non-linear process of thinking, vision, and planning. Seeing the future as an evolving present helps leaders comprehend that rigid policies based on formalized strategic plans inhibit response to change.

Strategic thinking and vision creation suggests that leaders continually test their mental model with new thinking and questioning – progressively looping thinking, vision, and new information into new thinking. This cycle process allows leaders to anticipate disruptions in the business cycle. Leaders who question themselves asking, “what if …” know “what if …” These leaders are future seeking and organizations employing these leaders are future seeking learning organizations prepared to change before change occurs.

This paper does not deny the value of planning as part of a strategic process. However, rigid planning that does not calculate the shifting horizon of organizational development leaves the company questioning, “What happened,” rather than “what’s happening.”

Foresight allows for strategic management, forecasting and positioning of an organization. The outcome from foresight in business is the anticipated future becoming an inevitable future.

References:

1. Gates, B. (1996). The Road Ahead. New York: Penguin Books.

2. Taylor, J., Wacker, W. with Means, H. (2000). The Visionary’s Handbook: Nine Paradoxes that will Shape the Future of Your Business. New Youk: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc.

3. Holy Bible. New International Version. Bible Online. Retrieved from http://www.bible.com.

4. Sanders, T. I. (1998). Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the midst of chaos, complexity, and change. New York: The Free Press.

5. Mintzberg, M. Ahlstrand, B. & Lampel, J. (1998). Strategy Safari: A guided tour through the wilds of strategic Management. New York: The Free Press.

6. Gaspar, J. (2005, August 21-24). Corporate foresight – an attempt to listen to the voices futures’ generations in the strategy making process. Future Studies Department, Corvinus University of Budapest. Retrieved June 15, 2006 from http://www.budapestfutures.org/downloads/abstracts/Gaspar%20Judit%20Abstract.pdf#search=‘judit%20gaspar%20corporate%20foresight’

7. J. Ryan (personal communication, April 28, 2006) in discussion of mayoral leadership strategy in a metropolitan community.

8. Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency and Doubleday.

9. Morgan, G. (1993). Imaginization: The Art of Creative Management. Newbury Park: Sage Publishing, Inc.

10. Hill, C. W. L. & Jones, G. R. (1998). Strategic Management: An integrated approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

11. Davis, S. (1996). Future Perfect. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

12. Ong Teck Mong, T. (2006, May 7). Anticipating and Managing Change: The Key to Future Success. Asian Institute of Management 37th Commencement Ceremonies. Retrieved June 16, 2006 from [http://www.aim.edu.ph/home/announcementc.asp?id=741].

13. Ernie Chambers. (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 31, 2006 from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Champers].

14. Blackman, D. A. and Henderson, S. (2004). How foresight creates unforeseen futures: the role of doubting. Futures, 36. 253-266.

15. Johnson, T. A. (2000). An Intellectual and Political Biography of Nebraska State Senator Ernest Chambers: Activist, Statesman, and Humanist, 1937-. Plains Humanities Alliance: Events. Retrieved May 31, 2006 from [http://libr.unl.edu:2000/plains/events/seminars/johnson1.html]

16. Nadler, D. A. and Tushman, M. L. (1997). Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press.

17. Somasegar (No First Name) (2006, January 21). Strategic Thinking. Retrieved June 2, 2006 from http://blogs.msdn.com/User/Profile.aspx?UserID=3644.

Importance Of Forex Strategy For Traders

There are many options for you when you are looking to do some investment. You can do any kind of business, but make it sure that you are familiar with that business field; otherwise you might face the loss of your money. If you are looking to invest in the forex market, then proper planning is required from you, so that you could achieve your targets. This planning is known as forex strategy. You must follow these instructions, so that you could be able to keep yourself away from those risks that are involved with this market.

In a foreign exchange market, traders do the buying and selling of different currencies for the purpose of making profits. This kind of business requires huge amount of patience from you, as you might only become a successful trader in this market after spending a lot of years. There are three kinds of traders; short-term traders, medium-term traders and long-term traders. Short-term traders invest for short term objectives. One of the best plans is medium-term strategy, because it requires small amount of funds for investment.

There are different kinds of plans for the investors and these plans includes advance, simple, complex and basic. If you are a beginner, then you must follow a basic plan, because rules are defined in this plan. Skilled beginners can use a simple plan. In this plan, techniques of trading are defined.

Complex and advance plans are for the guidance of traders. Before the start of this business, you are required to practice with the software that is specially designed for this trade. With the help of this software, you could be able to gain an idea of this business as well as an idea of the foreign exchange market.

With the use of a forex strategy, a trader can make wiser decisions. These plans are really helpful to the traders, but you must be aware of those risks that are associated with this trade.

It is not compulsory that 100 % results are achieved by you with a business plan, because there is great requirement of hard work. Technical analysis and fundamental analysis plays an important role in the formulation of plans, so you must understand these well.

You must pay your focus in learning different skills, so that you could create a forex strategy. It is compulsory for you to plan well and work hard at the same time, because success could not be achieved without hard work.

Increase Business Revenue With an Innovation Strategy

Innovation provides many ways to increase revenue in your business. A properly managed innovation strategy can increase sales of products or services. An increase in sales can result from new products or services, as well as the introduction of new features for existing products or services.

Increased business revenue can result from:

  1. New customers that are attracted to your innovative products or new product features. These new customers may also purchase other products and services from your company.
  2. Existing customers who purchase your new products in addition to the products they previously purchased. This situation builds stronger customer relationships while expanding product sales.
  3. Existing customers who begin purchasing more frequently due to the new product innovations. Your new product features may cause existing customers to consume more products, or buy more of your products as “replacements” for products previously purchased from a competitor.

Promote your business as an “innovator” and show the market how your products offer unique benefits. Look for new product features that have the potential to become the “must have” features in your market. Tell people why these new product features are so valuable – give examples. Establishing yourself as an innovator in your market builds your customer loyalty and produces valuable word-of-mouth advertising.

Let’s consider an example. In a particular market, certain individuals have not purchased a particular type of electronic device due to perceived problems or confusion with operating the device. However, when a version of the device with an innovative user interface is developed by a new company, these individuals purchase the product from the new company due to the ease of use. This new device with the new user interface performs the same basic function as other devices in the market, but the “must have” feature is the easy-to-use interface. In this example, the innovative product brings new customers into the market and increased revenue for that company.

When developing an Innovation Plan, be sure to consider opportunities to increase business revenue with both existing customers and new customers. Also, consider how innovative products (and product features) can attract new customers who have not previously purchased products in your market. Implementing new product features that satisfy unmet needs in the market is a great way to increase sales.

10 Strategy Tools For Smaller Businesses

I come from a background in large blue chip businesses, where I spent a fair amount of time helping predominantly large clients with strategic issues and during the last ten years I’ve started and built a couple of smaller businesses. SME owners and directors need to think about strategy, but they need to concentrate upon those elements that are going to produce the most impact – by all means read the business strategy tomes from cover to cover if you want, but this article aims to give you, a busy SME director, most of what you need to know about strategy and analysis in order to make a start.

1 – 3 Types of Excellence. Many commentators would agree that a company has the option to excel (that means really excel so that the market recognises that excellence) in one or two of three possible areas:

Operational excellence – which means doing things really efficiently and therefore probably being able to deal with higher volumes and therefore passing on cost savings to customers (although it is possible to think of examples where operational excellence was so valued by the customer that she would be prepared to pay a premium for it alone). An example might be EasyJet.

Customer intimacy – which means that you have systems and staff who treat customers as royalty (or at least good friends) and they feel loved and valued by your business. An example might be John Lewis.

Product leadership – which means that your product (or service) is highly differentiated from alternatives and substitutes in ways that customers value. An example might be Apple.

2 – Do a McKinsey. As a start-up or small business you may not be able to afford a McKinsey assignment to address your strategy issues, but you can apply one of their most powerful weapons to your advantage. MECE stands for “mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive” – apply it to your problems and you could see great results. MECE is a useful model for analysing a business problem because it aids clear thinking by ensuring that categories of information do not overlap, and by reducing the possibility of overlooking information by requiring that all of the categories of information taken together should deal with all possible options. Information should be grouped into categories so that each category is separate and distinct without any overlap (mutually exclusive), and all of the categories taken together should deal with all possible options (collectively exhaustive). A “major issues list” should contain no less than two, and no more than five issues, with three being the ideal number. Let’s say that Acme Widgets Ltd use a MECE tree diagram to help them locate the source of declining profitability. The diagram as a whole represents the problem at hand; each branch stemming from the starting node of the tree represents a major issue that needs to be considered; each branch stemming from one of these major issues represents a sub-issue that needs to be considered; and so on. The problem to be addressed in this case is “how can Acme Widget Ltd increase widget sales?”.

You will hopefully find that analysing issues down to the constituent parts using this technique will clarify where the real issues lie and they will now be in more “bite sized chunks” and so be easier to handle.

3 – Markets & Industries. The expressions “What’s your market?” and “What industry are you in?” are thrown around pretty well interchangeably – what exactly do we mean when we say “market” and “industry”. If you use the definitions that I suggest then a great deal more clarity will start to appear around the potential strategy that you should adopt.

I suggest that market should mean – a group of people / organisations who have the desire & ability to buy products to satisfy a certain need or want ie buyers & their needs. Market therefore is not about your product or service (although of course related). I suggest that you spend a reasonable amount of time thinking about who the buyers of your products or services are / could be and what traits or characteristics they share. By being able to describe your market(s) accurately and precisely you will subsequently be able to focus your sales and marketing efforts far more effectively.

When thinking about markets (ie buyers) you should also consider:

* How attractive are your products and services to these buyers

* And how attractive is the market to you – is it clearly defined, growing, shrinking, are external influences going to affect its size in future, are they easy or difficult to persuade to buy, and so on.

I’d suggest that industry should mean – sellers that offer products or services that are similar or substitutes. Sellers sell into markets. So let’s say that you have founded a business offering disposable paper place mats for university canteens where businesses can advertise themselves to students. The classic Dragons Den question is “so what competitors do you have?”. Of course you would be wrong to say “none – we are the only people doing these advertising place-mats”. Rather you need to think about what industry you are in, and the answer is likely to be “the provision of advertising to target students” industry so your competitors would include – Facebook, local radio, advertising hoardings, Google Ads, free magazines etc. The key thing when defining your industry is similar or substitute offerings – you may think that you are unique but if your potential customers consider something else then that something else is in the same industry as you!

When thinking about industry (ie other sellers you should also consider:

* Can you sustain any advantage (indeed do you have any advantage?)

* How attractive is your industry (more on this below)

4 – Attractiveness of an Industry. Of course different industries have different levels of attractiveness and you should be aware of that right at the outset. But it isn’t necessarily the case that you should only operate in attractive industries and disregard unattractive industries. Good business can be created in “unattractive industries” and it is perfectly possible to fail within what would be viewed as an attractive industry. The analysis that you perform to establish that an industry is “attractive” can be carried out by the rest of the business world too, so others might stampede into the industry and change its attractiveness quite quickly. Industry analysis doesn’t ensure that you have picked a winner, it just means that you are well informed about your business environment.

The defining work on industry analysis was carried out by Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School and published in his 1979 book “Competitive Strategy” – Porter’s Five Forces.

Porter’s Five Forces

Competition: How strong is the rivalry posed by the present competition? The various factors, include: the number of firms in the industry, rate of market growth, economies of scale, customer switching costs, levels of product differentiation, diversity of competition, level of exit barriers.

Barriers to entry: What is the threat posed by new players entering the market? The various factors include: capital costs of setting up,highly specialised equipment, level of protection of necessary intellectual property, scale and branding of existing competitors, government regulations.

Substitutes: What is the threat posed by substitute products and services? The various factors include: the cost to customers of switching to a substitute, buyer propensity to substitute; relative price-performance of substitutes, product differentiation.

Supplier bargaining power: How much bargaining power do suppliers have? The various factors include: number of possible suppliers and the strength of competition between them, whether suppliers produce differentiated products, importance of sales volume to the supplier, cost to the buyer of changing suppliers, vertical integration of the supplier or threat to become vertically integrated (ie the degree to which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers).

Customer bargaining power: How much bargaining power do customers have? Factors that will effect the bargaining power of a customer include: volume of goods or services purchased, number of other customers, brand name strength, product differentiation, availability of substitutes.

5 – Spider diagram. Understanding how your business compares to the competition and to customers perceptions of value is a really key element of strategy. A great way to form a better understanding is to establish the key important dimensions (by asking the people who matter, customers) and then representing them graphically using a “spider diagram” such as below. You can map how your business measures up and how the competition measure up and then it will be readily apparent where areas of competitive advantage / disadvantage lie.

6 – SWOT. Dear old SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) – it hardly needs any introduction

Strengths weaknesses opportunities threats

After a business clearly identifies an objective that it wants to achieve, SWOT analysis involves examining the strengths and weaknesses of the business (internal factors); and considering the opportunities presented and threats posed by business conditions, for example, the strength of the competition (external factors).

Don’t fall into the trap of SWOT becoming two lists – one of “pros” and the other of “cons” and make sure that you use it critically and with clear prioritisation. So for example, weak opportunities shouldn’t balance strong threats.

7 – The Sales Funnel. Strictly speaking this isn’t a pure strategy tool but a very powerful sales strategy analytical tool nonetheless.

If your problem is with generating interest and awareness, then look at your PR – where are your target market seeing you talking about what you do? Are you engaging with your target market? If your problem is with generating leads, then how well are you explaining how you meet your target market’s needs with your products or services? If your problem is with converting leads into serious buyers, how well are you encouraging your buyers to take action? How well are you demonstrating your credibility and expertise to solve their problems? If your problem is with closing the sale, what objections are you hearing from your potential buyers? How are you overcoming these objections?

8 – The 4 P’s. Again the purist might argue that this is marketing strategy rather than pure business strategy – but we don’t mind what you call it because it all helps to being a more successful business. There isn’t the space here to do justice to the 4 P’s of marketing but to skim the surface they are a framework for evaluating the marketing strategy for a product.

Price: the pricing strategy employed by a firm for a particular good or service will have a significant effect on profit.

Product: differentiation is a source of competitive advantage. Product differentiation creates value in the mind of the consumer.

Position / Place: the physical location of a good or service can be a source of competitive advantage.

Promotion: is used to enhance the perception of a good or service in the minds of customers. A promotion will draw peoples attention to any features of a product that they might find attractive.

9 – Strategic Advantage. Following on from his work which resulted in the “Five Forces”, Michael Porter suggested that businesses can adopt one of four generic business strategies, as represented in the diagram below.

Generic strategies

The differentiation and cost leadership strategies seek competitive advantage in a broad range of market or industry segments. By contrast, the differentiation focus and cost focus strategies are adopted in a narrow market or industry.

I will write about this more fully in a strategy for smaller businesses booklet soon to be published, but for now it might be best just to suggest some example companies that might fit into each quadrant:

Cost Leadership: Tesco

Differentiation: Mercedes Benz

Cost Focus: Instore

Differentiation focus: The Perfume Store

Generic Strategies Example Companies

10 – Product & Service Life Cycle. The product lifecycle curve was originally the brainchild of another great management thinker, Theodore Levitt and was first published in the Harvard Business Review in 1965. Again space here does not allow for a full description.

Product Life Cycle Curve

Introduction: As a new product much time will be spent by the organisation to create awareness of it’s presence amongst its target market. Profits are negative or low.

Growth: If consumer clearly feel that this product will benefit them in some ways and they accept it, the organisation will see a period of rapid sales growth.

Maturity: Rapid sales growth cannot last forever. Sales slow down as the product sales reach peak as it has been accepted by most buyers.

Decline: Sales and profits start to decline, the organisation may try to change their pricing strategy to stimulate growth, however the product will either have to be modified, or replaced within the market.

How to Develop a Powerful Marketing Strategy

Introduction

As you launch your new real estate business or wish to elevate it to the next level of success, it will be critical to have an efficient and cost effective marketing strategy. Having a great product, deal, or service will not bear any fruits of your labor if you are not reaching the proper audience. The following information will highlight many concepts and recommendations you may want to consider as part of your marketing plan. Because of the general nature of this material, all information may not apply to your specific business model.

Marketing and Advertising Concepts

Recommendations Go a Long Way

Perhaps one of the most powerful tools you can ever have in your marketing arsenal that you can’t buy for any price is to have people who have done business with you, or are familiar with your business ethics and professionalism to provide positive recommendations. You need to capitalize on all of the hard work and service you have provided in the past to instill confidence among your new relationships that you will continue to provide the same premier performance. We have all been exposed to testimonials and recommendations throughout many aspects of our life. Clearly, most people don’t need any further convincing beyond a sincere recommendation from someone not benefiting from the referral.

Use Referrals And Recommendations As A Marketing Tool

As you establish your history of past success stories, you should compile this information and share it with people you are trying to influence with regards to your ability to perform. An example of this could be a presentation folder that could include a summary of past projects as well as copies of any written letters of recommendations. In addition, you should have readily available a list of past clients that have given you permission to give out their contact information as a reference. You will have far more credibility if you provide this information in advance as part of your presentation material instead of your new potential client having to request this information; proactively providing this information will demonstrate your confidence in your services.

Know Where Your Leads Are Coming From

To have an effective marketing program, it will be critical for you to know what strategies are making the phone ring. When you fully understand what approaches are producing results, you can shift marketing efforts and capital away from the methods that are not producing the desired results and apply them to the methods that are successful. During your day to day activities when making inquiries on services and products you need, I’m sure you have been asked “Where did you see our ad” or “How did you hear about us”. This is their attempt to do their own marketing research on what is working for them.

There are a number of techniques you may want to consider that will help you to understand where your leads are coming from. Of course you can just come out and ask them. Alternatively, you could use the following methods:

– The use of different color stock on forms can help you establish what “color area” is responding.

– Have each different ad have a unique “offer number” and ask for his number during your conversations.

– Have a different response phone number for each ad or location.

Keeping Your Marketing Plan Going

There is one mistake that is common to new smaller businesses, once they get busy with the business that is coming from their marketing efforts, they become distracted and lose focus on keeping the marketing plan going. An example of this is getting wrapped up in a flip you are directly involved with that is taking away from your time to send out direct mail letters. Remember, with most of the common business models, once you’re done with the current deal, you need to get another one in the pipeline; otherwise, the flow of income may stop or be reduced. As another example, have you ever tried to get an estimate for a repair on your house? It seems they are all too busy on the job they are currently on to stop and work on new business.

Delegate Or Outsource Your Marketing Activities

As you are developing or expanding your business, the day to day challenges of running your business along with everything else going on in your life can stand in the way of you working your marketing plan. If you feel this is occurring and is affecting your potential business success, it may be to your advantage to either delegate or outsource some or all of your marketing activities. Using this technique will allow you to free up some time that could be used to work on items that will help you grow the company. Some examples of the marketing tasks that could be delegated or outsourced are highlighted below:

– Preparing and mailing marketing materials and direct mail letters

– Distribution of flyers

– E-mail support

– Covering phone calls

Keep in mind that before you let other people get involved with your marketing and speaking with potential clients and customers, make sure they have been adequately trained and the process has been documented in your company procedures (see “How to Write Your Business Plan” for information on the development of standard work modules).

Dealing with Rejection

As you develop your marketing strategy and “hitting the streets”, you should be prepared to face some level of rejection. The level of rejection you will experience will be determined based upon your approach, persistence, and what is the current situation and state of mind of the person you are dealing with. If for example your marketing model is focusing on homeowners in foreclosure, there will be a very high rate of rejection. In some cases they may be in denial regarding their current situation and also because they have been overwhelmed with the interest in their property from all of the investors who saw the Lis Pendens filed. You must recognize that this type of marketing is a numbers game and the more people you have an opportunity to make contact with, the higher the probability to secure business.

Even Rejection Can Make You Money

As you work through your targeted marketing area and encounter rejection, remember that each door closed in your face or phone call hang-up will get you closer to a completed transaction. If for example it takes 100 calls to close a deal worth $5,000 than each rejection is worth $50.00! Although difficult at first to imagine that rejection makes you money, it could help motivate you to move on to the next door slamming or phone-hang-up opportunity.

Your Marketing Should Have A Look

As part of your marketing efforts to “brand” your company, you may want to consider the use of logo’s, slogans, and trademarks in all of your ads and promotional merchandise. In addition, the use of “company colors” that is used exclusively in all of your marketing will also help to create a unique look that will help to set you apart from your competition.

Marketing and Advertising Techniques

The following section will provide you with some specific recommendations on marketing techniques you may want to consider. Since this information is generic in nature, all recommendations may not apply to your particular business model.

Due to the significant impact on operating budgets to fund marketing and advertising activities, you should be very critical on what methods become part of your Business Plan.

Buy A Ton Of Business Cards

One of the most inexpensive and effective ways for you to market yourself and your business is through the distribution of your business cards. During networking and casual meeting opportunities, the exchange of business cards will be a critical tool for you to assemble your contact list. Even if you are just starting out and don’t even have a company or services to offer, the small investment in business cards will allow others to have your contact information. At a minimum, the card should contain the following information:

– Your name

– Title or company name

– Fax number

– Phones number(s)

– E-mail address

– Websites

In addition, you can add information with regards to the specific business models you are involved with, for example:

– Foreclosures

– Short Sales

– Property Management

– Rehabs

Business Cards Design Suggestions

– Make your business cards stand out with bright colors or interesting artwork or graphics.

– Avoid the glossy type of paper because it is difficult to write on (in the event the person you are giving them to would like to make some comments on meeting you or your services).

– Use the back of the card as well to provide additional information on your business; why waste valuable marketing space?

– Have a powerful hook on the cards to include statements like:

– “We will close in 7 days”

– “We buy all houses in any condition”

– “We buy with all cash”

– “Get a $250 referral Fee”

Bandit Signs

Bandit signs are a great way to attract attention from people on foot or in vehicles. These signs are usually 2′ X 3′ or smaller and are designed to either stick in the ground or mounted to a pole. This method of advertising is very economical and when using the plastic version will allow for repeated use. It is suggested that you get them printed on both sides if you plan or placing them in areas where people will be coming from both directions.

Displaying Ads and Signs

Proper utilization of the various types of ads and signs will help support your efforts in establishing high visibility and presence in your targeted marketing area. The number of ways to display your company name, logo, and services you provide is limited only by your imagination. The following section will highlight the most common locations and methods you may want to consider for posting your ads:

– On billboards (very popular in rural and city areas)

– Sponsor or adopt a community bench, garden, or road clean-up.

– On buses

– On railroad cars and stations

– Local community and church newsletters

– Placemats in diners and restaurants (I always read these things while I’m waiting for my food)

– Place signs on your property while you are working on it and marketing it.

– Advertising lettering or magnetic signs for your vehicles.

When using lettering or magnetic signs for your vehicle make sure to check local ordinances; by placing a sign on your vehicle could make it be considered a commercial vehicle. Also when using magnetic signs, make sure they are secured properly. I have heard instances of these signs flying off during high speed travel and when exposed to rain. If you can also have a sign on your trunk, it will make it easy for people to read it as they follow behind you or at stop signs and traffic lights. Make sure to use large text size on your contact number.

Marketing Flyers

When designing flyers, it will be important for you to use bright colors to attract the eye. When placing them in stores, your flyer may be among dozens of other items that are posted so it must have some punch. To help minimize the chances of someone just taking the entire flyer, design it to have tear-off tabs at the bottom that contains minimal information on your services and a contact number.

Check Local Ordinances

When using signs and flyers as part of your marketing program, make sure you check with your local town regulations to ensure you are not in violation. Most towns have laws on the books that prohibit the display of signs and may come with substantial fines.

People Love Giveaways

Another marketing tool that will help you with your company exposure is to give out small gifts that promote your business and services. The possibilities are endless on the type of give-a-ways you can come up with and is limited only by your imagination and budget. The following list will provide some recommendations that are typically used for this purpose:

– Shirts and jackets

– Calendars

– Recipe cards

– Hats

– Letter openers

– Golf balls, tees, or towels

– Refrigerator magnets

– Stationary items (pens, pads, binders, etc.)

– Cups

– Totes and bags

When selecting the product give-a ways, you want to pick items that are designed to encourage use (nobody will wear an ugly tee shirt; it will be probably used as a rag). Avoid one time use products like candy, cookies, etc. Many companies offer these types of products at various price point budgets. Do a web search on “marketing merchandise” and you will get some great ideas. To reiterate, you may want to keep a consistent look to all of your marketing gifts.

Be An Exhibitor Or Sponsor

Another outstanding marketing method you may want to consider is to participate as an exhibitor or sponsor at conventions and investment organization meetings. These events can be very effective in reaching people that may benefit from your services. Sponsorship and exhibitor costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on the venue and size of the organizations. With many organizations, you may have an opportunity to set up a display table as well as a speaking slot to highlight your services. One comment with regards to this marketing option is that people typically feel more comfortable doing business with you when they see you as a “regular” sponsor and not a one shot deal because it adds more credibility that you will be around. This type of marketing could be a significant drain on your allocated budget and it will be critical for you to determine if the appropriate level of business is being derived from this approach to justify the expense. By doing a web search for Investment Clubs and organizations you can select particular groups you would like to focus on.

Advertise In Hard Papers

Running ads in hard papers such as newspapers and trade magazines can be a great way for you to keep your company’s products and services in the eyes of the readers. Although this method of advertising can consume a majority or your marketing budget, it can represent a tremendous opportunity to reach a large mass of people. When considering using this advertising method, you may want to implement some of the following recommendations:

– Have a “hook” to your ad like “We will close with cash in 72 hours”.

– Advertise constantly

I’m sure you have observed ads that always seem to be displayed. This constant exposure although costly, will help to develop your company’s long term credibility.

– If your ad is listed in column form, consider adding a blank space above and below the text, this will make the ad stand out.

– If possible, use a contrasting or reverse color or text from the standard format.

Out of State Newspapers

Based upon the particular business model you are involved with, it may be necessary to either advertise or receive copies of out of state newspapers.

Using Public Records

Depending on your particular marketing areas or contact group, you may have good success accessing the public records that are available on-line. The information available will vary from state to state and also based on local township on-line capabilities.

The Use of Purchased Lists

An effective method to locate a particular group of people or businesses is to purchase a list from companies that specialize in generating and selling information about specific groups of people. An example of these types of lists includes the following:

– Recent graduates

– Recently relocated

– Recently sold their home

– Recently turned a milestone age (example:18,21,50,62,65)

– Recent Lis Pendens filings

The lists of possibilities are endless. Companies that generate and/or sell these lists are marketed by “List Brokers”. Try a Google search on this and you will see how big this information industry really is.

Be Prepared to Get Responses to Your Marketing Champaign

There is one area that many people fear when launching their marketing strategy and you need to get properly prepared for this and that is getting responses to your marketing efforts. The last thing you want to exhibit to people who are reaching out to you is your lack of confidence in being able to help them. In addition to having a strong foundation of knowledge in the particular business model you are marketing, you will need to develop a standard process on what you will do when they start calling you or responding to your calls. It is suggested that you put together a scripted dialog or bullet list that you will use when speaking with potential clients. The dialog or bullet list should be used as a guide as you are speaking with them to ensure you are gathering the appropriate data from them and presenting all of the critical highlights of why they should consider working with you.

Practice Makes Perfect

It will be absolutely critical to make sure you are projecting confidence when speaking to potential clients. I have spoken to many people who have left the leads hanging because of their fear in making contact with them; one way to mitigate this fear is by practicing and learning from your good and bad experiences. It is suggested that you conduct role playing to practice your approach. Another strategy that works well is to record your conversations and listen back to them. It will be critical to extract lessons learned from the calls and to apply these lessons to future calls. Keep in mind that the more you do this, the more effective and successful your “close rate” will be.

Don’t Touch That Mailbox

Keep in mind that you are prohibited from placing anything in a mailbox that does not have the appropriate postage. If you practice this technique, there is a very good chance you will be contacted by a representative from the postal service.

Creating Your Buyers and Clients List

Whether your real estate business model is wholesaling, rehabbing, selling notes, or any other model that requires you to rely on someone “taking your deal” will require you to understand the investment goals of your potential clients. To achieve the highest degree of project turn-over efficiency and to minimize your risk exposure, you will need to have investors and clients in a stand-by mode waiting for you to hand them your next investment opportunity they will consider. It will be very important that as you begin to launch your marketing and networking activities, you have a method to compile the investment criteria of your buyers or clients. It would be very efficient to have this information as part of a spreadsheet database. To help gather this information, you could create a form that can be filled out that will highlight the investment goals of your buyers or clients.

Having a comprehensive buyers list that includes the specific criteria of your buyer will help you to align available investment opportunities to the appropriate investors. In addition, understanding these criteria in advance will allow you to go out and seek new investments that you know will fit into the investment strategy of your buyers and clients that will be willing to pull the trigger if you bring them a good deal. The following list will provide examples of common criteria you would want from your investors (let’s assume for this example we are involved in the flipping business model)

– Specific locations

– Price point

– Age of property

– Class of property (A,B, C, D)

– Type of property (single-family, multi-family, commercial)

– Financial expectations

– Cash flow

– Cash on Cash returns

– Minimum percent of equity position

– Capitalization Rate

– Condition of property

– Creative Financing

Also keep in mind the relationship you develop from your Buyer’s List may also be a source for deals they bring to you. Perhaps a deal is too big or too small for a particular investor or they are too busy to get involved in another project at this time. The fact that you have presented them with investment opportunities in the past can set the stage for them to feed you a deal.

Qualify Your Buyer’s List

It will be critical for you to establish if the contacts on your Buyer’s List are able and willing to take deals that meet their investment criteria. The last thing you need when you are trying to wholesale a deal is to find out your buyer’s are just tire-kickers. One way to help avoid this situation is to get to know your buyer’s and become familiar with their past success. Through your networking and relationship building with these buyers’s, you should be able to feel them out with regards to their ability to pull the trigger.

I’m sure you’ve heard before, “If I find a great deal, I know the buyers will follow.” Although there is some logic to this statement, if you have buyer’s queued up in advance knowing their investment criteria, it will help to minimize your risk of not being able to close the deal; this can be a real concern when you are in a stale or decreasing market.

Your Extended Marketing Team

In addition to your planned direct marketing efforts, there could be past clients, family, friends or business associates that may provide additional sources of leads and business for you. This circle of contacts if properly utilized could be another informal arm of your comprehensive marketing plan. Although most people would normally pass along any services or products you provide to someone they know in need with no compensation; one sure way to motivate them to help bring in additional business is for you to offer a referral program. Depending upon the business model you are involved with, you could compensate them on a per deal basis. It is suggested that you provide these contacts with some of your marketing material.

Using Bird-Dogs To Augment Your Marketing

To bring the concept of an extended informal marketing team to the next level, you may want to enlist the help from people whose specialty is to locate deals for clients and present them for consideration. These people are called Bird-Dogs and they do this work as part of their business model. When using Bird-Dogs, it will be critical that they understand your criteria so they will not waste your time or theirs. Usually Bird-Dogs will only get compensated if a deal closes. A Bird-Dog fee is usually paid at closing.

Using Technology To Market More Efficiently

Have Your Own Website

Having a website can be a powerful tool to provide current and potential clients information on the products and services your company offers. The use of websites is so common that omitting it from your marketing campaign could certainly lead towards lost business. Remember, there is a very good chance that your competitors will have a website.

The subscription or development cost of your website can have a very large range depending upon the features. You should expect to pay $30-50 per month for a web design service provider that uses pre-designed templates you can edit. On the other extreme, you can pay thousands for a custom designed site.

When selecting a domain name, it is suggested that you use a name that reflects your business and is also easy to remember

Although having a website can be instrumental to the success of your business model, it will be useless unless you can attract visitors to your site to see what you offer. There are many strategies you can consider to help direct visitors to your site, some of techniques are listed below:

– Have a reference to your website on all of your printed material and e-mails you generate as well as marketing giveaways you hand out like coffee mugs or pens.

– Write on-line articles for websites like e-zine.com where you contribute articles for free in exchange for an opportunity to discuss your expertise as well as what you have to offer. In addition, you will be able to provide a link to your website.

– Have your website listed on other websites as a link, you can have an agreement with the website owner to mutually display links to each other.

– Pay to advertise on other sites that have the type of traffic you are trying to attract. Usually, there is a monthly fee for this service or in some cases will be a “Pay Per Click” where you will be charged a predetermined fee when anyone clicks on the link to your website.

– There are many options to consider when developing your website from do it yourself templates where you just fill in the blanks to a full blown custom site. It is suggested that you speak with an experienced website designer to see what option is best suited for your needs and budget.

Tele-Conferences

A very popular marketing method is to utilize teleconferences to highlight the services and products that you offer to a large audience by speaking with them via a phone line. This marketing technique will allow your company to provide another vehicle for your potential clients to get to know who you are. The process of setting up a teleconference is very easy; there are many third party providers that offer teleconference services for either a flat monthly rate or on an as-needed basis. Once set up, you just need to provide the attendees with a dial in number and access code (given to you by the service provider) and they will call in at the appropriate time.

Webinars

To bring the benefits of a teleconference to the next level, you can consider reaching out to your audience using a webinar. A webinar is an opportunity for you to provide a presentation to your audience by accessing a web site on their computer. Two-way communication is also possible using a dial in phone number. Like the teleconferencing, a webinar can be arranged by a third party. The cost of this service will be determined by how many “seats” are required.

E-Mail Blast

An e-mail blast can be a very effective way to contact a large group of people on your mailing list. Depending upon how many people you are trying to reach, you can either send the mail through your own mail service like Outlook or if a very large list of people need to be contacted, you may need to consider the services of a third party provider. As you compile your contact list, it is recommended that you create “groups” within your mail program. By using groups when sending e-mail, you can easily fill out the “to” field by selecting the appropriate group you are trying to make contact with. It is recommended that you sort your address book into categories that make sense for your business model. Examples are as follows:

– Bankers and private money lenders

– Past clients you are trying to stay in touch with

– New prospective clients you are trying to conduct business with

– Tenants occupying your properties

Mail Merge

Mail merge will allow you to take your contact information from your Outlook (or equivalent) address book and add these contacts to envelop and form letters you generate. Although mail merge can save you a considerable amount of time in preparing mailed letters, it is not encouraged when preparing envelops for initial contact letters. Computer generated envelops look too much like junk mail and not even be opened.

Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to keep your contact list up to date on what is going on in your company and to help attract new business. All of the popular word processor programs have templates that you can use to generate your own custom newsletter. When considering the use of newsletters in your marketing campaign, you may want to implement some of the following recommendations:

– Make your newsletter releases monthly or quarterly; you want to periodically remind them who you are.

– Add both business development information as well as education and public interest sections. Don’t make every issue overflowing with sales hype. You will turn off your audience.

– Give each newsletter a release number or volume

– Format the pages so they can be added to a three ring binder

– Publish articles that continue in a future newsletter

– Add photos and charts to help illustrate text

– Have featured segments that are part of each newsletter release. The following are some examples:

– Rehab trick of the month

– Bloopers sent in from audience

– Deal of the month

– Success story of the month

Using An Internet Video Site

A very popular tool that can be added to your marketing plan is to utilize internet sites that allow you to download videos. On these sites, you can download your video that will be part of the site database of searchable videos. It is suggested that you add in your title a “hook” that specifically identifies the scope of the video so when someone searches the site for your topic, you may get a “hit”. An example of this would be “Learn Short Sales from John Doe.”

Sales Lead Software

As your marketing and networking strategies start to generate leads, it will become an increasing challenge to manage the large volume of leads effectively. Without managing leads appropriately, you run the risk of losing the ability to “convert” them to a deal or sale. Although there are many manual methods that you could use to manage your leads, you may want to consider purchasing lead generation and management software. There are a number of companies that provide this product. Perform an internet search for available products.

Marketing Strategy Plan: What’s Your Unique Selling Proposition?

Every business must have a marketing strategy plan. The success of every business, whether online or offline, depends on business planning. Experts have shown that strategic planning in marketing is the key to improving efficiency and effectiveness in business. Business owners are advised to always present unique selling propositions. Deep insights in marketing are necessary for reasonable propositions.

Unique Selling Proposition and Its Benefits

A unique selling proposition (USP) can best be described as a marketing idea that differentiates one businesses product or service from its competition by way of a benefit or way of doing business. Your USP will convince the potential buyer from doing business with you because your proposition is seen as much more valuable as compared to your competition. Here are three famous USP examples:

“You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.” Domino’s Pizza

“The ultimate driving machine” BMW

“The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand” M&Ms

Furthermore, a USP helps greatly in product marketing strategy. Every seller must be able to identify the company’s unique selling proposition. You do not sell what you do not know. You will be able to provide answers to any question asked by the buyer and thus convince the buyer to buy even more.

How do you know your USP?

1. Consider yourself to be a buyer.

The USP must be unique indeed. It ought to be an addition to the benefits that are obtainable in your industry. The consumer market research should be critically conducted. This will reveal the needs of the consumers and it’s the tool that will be used to uncover the USP. Having understood the needs of the consumer, the solutions to the needs are then made unique in such a way that it is completely different from those of the competitors.

2. Determine customers’ motivating buying factor.

You can get to know this by a simple questionnaire or by short interviews of your customer. Most customers will provide genuine answers as per what gives them the drive to purchase your products. This is very essential.

3. Determine reasons why consumers prefer your products and services.

The best source of getting feedback is through your customers. They provide you with the information you need to know about the reasons why your services or products are distinct and preferred to others in your industry. Some of your customers will even suggest how you can improve your services.

Ensure that your selling propositions are convincing enough to persuade customers to use your products and services. Also ensure that you retain your customers while you increase your customer database.

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