Business to Business Vs Business to Consumer Marketing: What’s the Difference

Recently, I was discussing the value of business to business marketing to a small business and how it be can used in synergy with business to consumer marketing for increased growth and profit. After a brief overview of what business to business marketing is, I observed that my protégés were staring at me confused. When I inquired to know what was wrong, I was hit back with questions such as:

What value does a business to business marketing strategy adds to a business?

What’s the distinct difference between business to business marketing and business to consumer marketing?

Which holds more profit potential? B2B or B2C?

I am not going to go into the definitions of business to business marketing and business to consumer marketing because I defined both in details in the article below. Now let’s move on.

An Overview of Business to Business Marketing

The process of improving business and increasing sales via any distinct strategic plan is called marketing. The two types of marketing include business to business and business to consumer marketing. Although both employ the same initial steps and other marketing programs, there are some basic differences between the two and it is this difference that I intend to point out in this article.

The Difference between Business to Business Marketing and Business to Consumer Marketing

The first distinction is the way they sell their products or services. In business to consumer, the marketer sells to the consumers, who are the end-users. While in business to business, the marketer sells the commodities to organizations or companies, such as to a business dealer so that they can resell the commodities as well and turn in profits.

Unlike the consumer marketing, the promotion in business marketing does not involve any media advertisements. Instead, it uses magazines, business newspapers, and direct mails to the concerned buyer companies or organizations.

Through the years, it was known that business to business marketing has always been behind the operation of business to consumer companies. But as the years wore on and with the rapid advancement in technology, it has been reaping popularity.

What are the factors behind this fact?

First is the technological revolution. Black and white, technology has taken a significant leap in terms of advancement. The growth of business to business concept can be linked with the advancement of technology and the result of this can be seen in the employment of websites and similar tools to improve business sales and operation.

The second is the entrepreneurship revolution. Nowadays, more and more businesses are putting their hands in different business promotion tactics. Because of this, there has been a tremendous increase in the competitive aspect of the industry. It is now a fact that competitors are becoming more innovative and aggressive in their business activities; thereby grabbing up anything that will perfect the improvement of their company or organization.

There is also the third factor, the market revolution. The significant increase in demand has to be taken into account in the market revolution. Consumers are becoming impatient with the way supply is provided, so businesses have to discover more innovative and practical ways to address this impatient in the best and quickest possible ways. Thus, a change happened in the entire business marketing nature.

The fourth is the internet, probably the biggest factor to be considered in the development of business promotions. The internet played a significant role in binding the power forces and is responsible in joint ventures between huge industries and companies together. More and more businesses are reaching out to other businesses with the realization that both would gain bigger profit if they work together.

The Main Objective of Business and Consumer Marketing

The business to business marketing aims at boosting the shareholder value it holds in the market. So, while it is not aggressive when it comes to promotion, it is very aggressive when it comes to branding of the services or products. It doesn’t have to reach the consumer end users, but its role in developing the business and giving it firm position in the industry relies heavily on the reputation it makes by having a superior product or service branding.

Business to consumer marketing on the other hand can be aggressive when it comes to product promotion because its aim is to increase profits by increasing sales. Selling more is the game in a business to consumer marketing, so lot of consumer behavior research is carried out.

These are the major distinction between business to business and business to consumer marketing.

20 Business or Corporate Gifts Ideas for Christmas

Christmas is here again and it’s a season to radiate love and show appreciation to those who made us or shaped our lives and businesses. I was pondering on the best business Christmas gifts ideas to purchase in order to show appreciation to my business associates and business allies.

After critically carrying out some research, I was able to come up with a list of 20 business gifts ideas for Christmas and I decided to share it with you. One of my mentors, Aliko Dangote; the richest black man in the world explained in an interview granted that one of his business success secrets is giving back to those who made him.

A lot of businesses, customers, investors, associates and even my employees have contributed their quota to make my business a success. I believe this season is another opportunity to show my appreciation to these personalities and entities. If you share the same mindset of appreciation or giving back to those who contributed to your business success, then below are 20 best business or corporate gifts ideas for Christmas.

The corporate gifts listed below are specifically tailored for CEOs, business executives and corporate entities. While carrying out my research, I compared various online shops for the best prices and I was able to find some good bargains which I will share with you. If you are ready, then let’s ride.

20 Business or Corporate Gifts Ideas for Christmas

1. Corporate Secure 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive

2. Office Wall Paper

3. Amazon.com Gift Cards

4. Grand Gourmet Gift Basket

5. Miniature Desk Stand Compass

6. Corporate Wall Clock

7. Christmas Holiday Card – Reindeer Christmas Wishes

8. Digital Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Red)

9. Kindle Wireless Reading Device: See Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 9.7″ Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

10. Electronic Photo Frame: See Pandigital Panimage PI1003DW 10.1-Inch Digital Picture Frame (Black)

20 Business or Corporate Gifts Ideas for Christmas

11. A Bottle of Wine printed with Company’s logo

12. Coffee Mug: See Fred & Friends Fisticup Mug

13. Boxed Stationery Sets

14. Business Cards Holders: See Gentleman’s Business Card Case with Top and others

15. Crystal Plague Award

16. Sticky Note Organizer

17. Desk Accessories: Safco Mesh Desk Organizer with Two Horizontal and Six Upright Sections (3255BL)

18. Executive Wallet

19. Engraved Executive Pens: See Executive Pen with Built-In USB Flash Memory Drive (4GB) and Laser Pointer

20. Leather Bonded Diaries: See Red Embossed Heart Leather Journal – Lined

Business to Business Marketing and its Significance to your small business

The relationship existing between two businesses in which no end consumers are involved is called the business to business marketing. It is commonly known as B2B and is nothing new in the industry; although with the gigantic rise of technological advancement, the marketing type has come to embrace the changes as well.

Before the term business to business or B2B became popular, the relationship between these enterprises is largely known as the capital goods or industry goods marketing. These names distinguish the B2B marketing to the other type of marketing, the B2C or business to consumer.

The difference and similarity of B2B and B2C

Business to business marketing is in contrast to the business to consumer marketing, in which the relations existing happen between business and end consumers. In B2C marketing, the business has direct contact with the consumers to encourage them to make their purchase decisions favorable to the company and be loyal through the years. But B2B marketing does not deal with the consumers, although customers are the end users who will consume the service or product it markets.

The complicated process of B2B makes its different with the B2C. Many people are involved in the decision making process in B2B; thus making the whole method complex that if one is not quite knowledgeable about it, it can be difficult executing the programs of business to business marketing.

In the case of B2C, only one person is involved in creating the final decision. Or when a special package is being offered, only one person makes the decision resulting to fast buying decisions. There is another major difference existing between the B2B and B2C and this is in terms of the buying decisions. While in B2C the purchasing decision of the consumers is more based on wants, the business does its buying decision based on its needs.

But there are also some similarities existing between the two. For both marketing types, competition is increasing while decrease in the resources is occurring. Because of this, most small businesses suffer from the lost loss of share in the market. In conjunction with this, there is also a falling activity going on the profit margins. This has resulted to great demand on marketing data specifically for these two business marketing types and the small business marketing.

The significance of business to business marketing

Creating an excellent product or service, having a competitive process and the best technology available is not enough to be keep growing in the competitive world of today’s business. Strategizing; through the use of B2B marketing is important as it helps identify, locate, quantify, segment, and target the customers who are considered really significant in the growing of the business.

By using the business to business marketing techniques, it will become easier for the business to achieve its goals. It allows you to concentrate on the performance of each marketing channel involved. The marketing channels, which may include service partners, retailers, reseller networks, and distributors, can be monitored and evaluated so that those that perform weak may be eliminated and those that produce desirable results may best be focused on.

As a final note, I believe it’s worthwhile you note that B2B and B2C are very important to the growth of a business; whether big or small.

3 Smart Ways to Use Promotional Products to Attract Customers

This is a guest article by Sarah Wallace of Quality Logo Products

There’s nothing quite like a “free give away” to get people’s attention. It doesn’t even have to be great stuff, if it’s free, people want it. That’s why logo products and promotional items are a great idea for any business.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to make it worthwhile; there are some simple and effective ways to use inexpensive products to send a powerful message about who you are as a company. If you are ready to learn how to attract more customers to your business, then below are three smart ways to use promotional products.

3 Smart Ways to Use Promotional Products to Attract Customers

1. Be Memorable

Choosing your promo products is a decision that shouldn’t always be made based on how much you can get for the lowest price. If you want to stand out from the crowd, another batch of pens isn’t going to do it. When you are at a trade show, getting people’s attention can be a challenge amidst a sea of booths and swag, so having something eye catching can be a huge advantage.

Whether it’s an interesting stress ball, a back massager, a Frisbee or gift bags, the more unique your product is, the more likely it is that it will be noticed, and remembered. Unusual shapes, bright colors and interesting ideas are the ones that get recognized and talked about. When you strive to deliver something creative and unique you can find a subtle way to stick in the consciousness of your customers.

2. Be Useful

Now, we’ll get back to pens. There’s nothing wrong with using writing utensils and other office supplies as promo products. Useful items like pens, notepads, mouse pads and calendars are popular and effective. These kinds of incidentals are likely to be used frequently by recipients, and are prone to lie out on desks and work spaces.

This habit can be particularly advantageous for companies that specialize in B2B products or services. Having a product, which is essentially a business card, right out in front of your potential customer, rather than buried in a rolodex, can make you the first person they think of when a need arises. Items like these also often get passed around and traded.

When someone steals one of your promotional pens from someone, now you’ve just reached a brand new person who may never have heard of you. When you opt for products which are functional and can be integrated into a person’s daily work rituals, you as a company also become a part of that routine. It’s that kind of familiarity that can breed customer loyalty.

3. Be Outspoken

Aside from all of the practical functions they can serve, promotional products can speak to a company’s corporate culture and philosophies. A laid back business that believes in a fun atmosphere can use logo items to convey that sense of personality.

Utilizing a little bit of fun and humor can go a long way toward achieving the kind of memorable status mentioned earlier. If you make someone laugh, or if your product can continually bring a smile to a stressed out face, there is power in that. If as a business, you believe in healthy living or going green your promotional products are a great way to translate that belief to your customers.

Whether you choose water bottles and pedometers or tote bags made of recycled materials your logo items can re-iterate your principles. When you choose something deliberately for the message it will send you are elevating the status of a branded item, from a gimmick to a strategy.

No matter what you decide to give out for free, going for the easiest, cheapest option misses an opportunity. If people are going to walk out of your business with something that has your name emblazoned on it, make it something that won’t be tossed out.

When you give away products which are memorable, functional or creative you have a much better chance of accomplishing your goal. That goal is of course, to turn customers into customers for life. A great promo product can help you become an intrinsic part of someone’s life, or you may just make their day. Either way, it’s a great way to grow your business.

Author’s Bio: Sarah writes most often for Quality Logo Products, a website specializing in promotional items and logo products. She has been working as a marketer and consultant for several years in addition to freelance writing and blogging.

An Overview of Business to Business Marketing

Most entrepreneurs are familiar with business to consumer marketing because it’s the most popular and some even go ahead to inter-relate business to business marketing (B2B) with business to consumer marketing (B2C). In this article, I am going to draw the line between B2B and B2C marketing; I am also going to give you a brief overview of the concept of business to business marketing. If you are ready to learn, then read on.

Business to business marketing (B2B) strategy has a distinction from business to consumer marketing in such a way that it operates to reach out to other organizations and companies as their targeted market place to transact with, while the latter has the consumers and buying public as its main targeted market base.

However, in essence, B2B does what B2C employs in order to gain profit – which is learning the heart of the buying public when it comes to purchasing decisions. While the business to business marketing sells products and services to other businesses with an objective of supporting the operations of the companies, the end-users will be the public who are the consumers.

"The purpose of a business is to create a customer." – Peter F. Drucker

Increasing sales, profits, marketing, and efficiency is the purpose why these companies utilize these services. In as far as utilizing the business to business concept is concerned, it is a must to know that B2B can be complex beyond the standard marketing concepts in such a way that programs used are more innovative and advanced.

So, if one is considering B2B, it is important to learn what consists in the ropes of the journey, especially the factors such as the requirements, the competitors, costs, technology, trend, and the present situation of the market.

Also, if one is integrating online tools, there are these things which one should have knowledge about, particularly when it comes to using online communities, email marketing, banner or pop-up advertisings, cost per click ads, and many other tools. If you want to learn more about B2B, you would probably want to know the following aspects:

An Overview of Business to Business Marketing

The features

As what was said a while ago, business to business marketing is doing transactions within and between value chains and not between consumers. As such, it targets quite a small number of customers who expect to have personalized marketing, such as customized prices and products or services.

It is also more complex than it appears, requiring a lot of players to create demand decisions chain. B2B is also for building value relationships with other companies and some individuals found in them.

Its strategy

These three steps; to aim market choice, to set marketing objectives, and to build marketing program shape the strategy formation of a business to business marketing concept. The B2B marketing strategy is quite different from that of B2C because the B2B marketer is providing goods and services for organizations and corporations; not the consuming public.

The difference between B2B and B2C (business to consumer)

The B2C sells, markets, and discloses products or services to the buying group or public and is product-driven. It also maximizes transaction value. B2B on the other hand targets a smaller amount of consumers, which in this case are the business companies and organizations. Both may have similar marketing programs and may employ the same initial steps in developing them, but in terms of executing them, there is a distinction.

The Business to Business buyer

The business to business buyer is the company or organization that wants to purchase the good or service because it knows that the services or product received can help their business remain standing, competitive, successful and profitable. Because of this, it is more often than not that B2B buyers have more understanding of the products or services than the B2B owner does.

So when engaging in business to business marketing, always bear in mind that the organization you are marketing to is also in business to make profit just like you. They are more likely to switch over when they find another service provider that offers the same service you are offering but with more efficiency and at a better price. So you have to constantly be on guard, hold your position and stay competitive.

30 Ways to Find or Attract 300 New Customers to your Small Business in 30 Days or Less

What’s the average number of new customers that comes to transact business with you daily? Do you know how to attract or find new customers for your small business? Is your business experiencing difficulties due to a shortage of customers? If I were to show you some techniques that will help you find 300 new customers for your small business in 30 days or less; will you be willing to try them out? If your answer to the last question is yes, then read on.

"The purpose of a business is to create a customer." – Peter F. Drucker

It’s the utmost desire of every business man to see customers trooping into his place of business because one of the most valued assets of a company is its customer base. Most entrepreneurs have successfully built a functional business system around their product or idea but they don’t seem to be making headway with respect to finding customers for their business. And without adequate customers, there will be no sales and without sales; there will be no profits. Without profits, your business is as good as dead.

Since you’ve understood the importance of a customer to a business, let’s now brainstorm on how to find new customers and increase your customer’s base. In this article, I am going to reveal to you 30 smart ways to find or attract 300 new customers in 30 days or less with little budget.

Please note that you are not expected to implement all the techniques; just pick a few and stick with it. Your goal here is to find 10 new customers each day for the next 30 days. At the end of 30 days, your business should have nothing less than 300 new customers in its asset base. Secondly, creativity should be applied when implementing any of these marketing tactics. Thirdly, it’s advisable you make sure that your entire business is prepared and able to handle the inflow of new customers.

What’s the essence of attracting new customers to your business only for the customers to arrive and be disappointed by your lack of co-ordination and poor services? Never let that happen because customers talk a lot and bad news spread like wild fire. Now if you are good to go, then below are 30 smart ways to attract or find 300 new customers in 30 days or less with little budget.

“Sales is about identifying a thirsty prospect and selling them a glass of water. Branding is about selling your 2nd glass and the 3rd glass and the 4th until when they’re thirsty they want to buy your water. Branding is finding out what you stand for and then communicating and delivering what you stand for.” – Ben Mack

30 Ways to Find 300 New Customers to your Small Business in 30 Days or Less

1. Create a branded professional business card and give it away at every given opportunity. Your business card should be professional in its design and should maintain your company’s brand image and color. Important details about your business should also be included in the business cards and you must give it away at any given opportunity. Never leave your home or office without your business cards.

2. Brand your company’s car, that’s if your company has one. If your company is still a small business, then consider branding your personal car. After all, it’s still your business. Brand your car with your company’s corporate color and leave a catchy message on it. For instance, if you run a pet food shop; then consider modeling a bone on the roof of the car.

3. Offer a money back guarantee to new and existing customers. A money back guarantee will attract new customers; the existing customers will tell their family and friends about it and this will lead to repeated sales.

4. Offer a discount to new and existing customers and make sure you give your discount offer maximum exposure.

5. Give away free samples to new customers. The free sample marketing strategy actually works; it was on this same strategy that Debbi Fields grew her cookie company.

6. Motivate your employees to promote your business and help you find new customers. Make them understand that your business success is dependent on their internal and external contributions to your business; and make sure you provide an incentive for them.

7. Look for a competition going on in your local area and offer them prizes. Please note that your donated prize should be the product your company sells and also make sure that the competition will receive publicity.

8. Write a press release and send it out to the media.

9. Advertise your products and services on mobile billboards that are attached to moving vehicles.

10. Create an informational booklet and give it away for free. Your informational booklet should be related to your business products or services. For instance; if you are running an electronics repair shop, you can create a booklet teaching people how to take care of their electronic gadgets. If you run a pet food shop; create an informational booklet teaching pet owners how to care for their pets. Most importantly, you must give this booklet away for free but be sure to promote your business inside the booklet; preferably on the front page, back page and centre page.

30 Ways to Attract 300 New Customers to your Small Business in 30 Days or Less

11. Advertise your business in print media.

12. Take your business to trade shows and business expos. These events attract tons of customers and exposure.

13. Form strategic alliances with other small businesses in your area and cross promote each other. For instance, if you sell men’s wear; you can strike strategic alliances with other businesses that deal on men’s shoes, men’s cosmetics and fragrances. You can even ally with barber’s shop in your vicinity; all you need is creativity and a win-win plan.

14. Advertise your business in electronic media.

15. Make an excellent branded sticker and give it to your existing customers. Make sure its content is something that your customers will be proud to fly. For instance, you can create a branded sticker inscribed with the words “I am a highly valued reader of StrategicBusinessTeam.com business blog.”

16. Initiate a loyalty program for your existing customers. This will encourage your customers to talk proudly or brag about your business.

17. Promote your business with direct marketing campaigns.

18. Approach your local radio station and offer to provide their audience with valuable information.

19. Design a hard hitting branded brochure and give it away to prospects.

20. Make your packaging branded and reusable. A biscuit company I know made their big sized biscuit package a dice board game. Once the customers are through with eating the biscuits, the package can be used as a dice game board. You can also make your package a map or educational material but make sure it’s branded and valuable.

30 Ways to Find or Attract 300 New Customers to your Small Business in 30 Days or Less

21. Get a business website or blog and put your business on the web.

22. Become a syndicated columnist for a popular newspaper and offer the readers valuable information relating to your industry.

23. Start your own branded newsletter. You can choose to publish daily, weekly or monthly.

24. Ask your existing customers for referrals and don’t be shy about it. If you’ve serve them well; then be bold to ask them to reciprocate or encourage you by referring their family and friends to your business.

25. Offer to be a guest on a television show that relates to your industry.

26. Attend business events, conferences, annual general meetings, stakeholders meeting, lunches and social gatherings. Be sure to network very well during such events and never forget to give out your business cards.

27. Send your customers a thank you “branded public display gift item.” I am talking about gift items such as calendars, memos, customer’s loyalty badge, wall papers, awards and souvenirs.

28. Place branded notice boards in high traffic locations such as shopping centers, stadium, cinemas and conference centers.

29. Help your customers advertise or promote your business voluntarily by providing them with valuable branded promotional materials such as face caps, wrist bands and T-shirts.

30. Organize a “thank you” party for your loyal customers and ask them to invite friends who are non customers. Make sure you give the non customers a warming experience and be sure to hand them branded promotional valuables such as T-shirts and face caps.

As a final note, I believe these marketing strategies will help you find or attract 300 new customers in 30 days or less and you won’t have to spend much. Just make sure you implement them with a little touch of creativity and 300 new customers will be yours.

10 Relationship Marketing Strategies for Building Customer Relationship

Relationship marketing, just as the name implies is simply the art of developing a personal relationship with your customers. Anybody can start a business but not everybody can build a strong customer relationship.

“Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationship.” – Henry Ross Perot

If building a business successfully from scratch is your major priority? Then you need to put a strong relationship marketing strategy in place and the goal of this strategy is to build a strong customer relationship for your business. Building a strong customer relationship begins with you asking yourself the question: How well do I know my customers?

Today, I will be sharing with you 10 strategies that will help you build a strong customer relationship. I will be showing how to brand your business name on the heart of your customers; I will be teaching you how to build brand loyalty for your business.

Customers are known to be indecisive but they are all looking for something in common, “value at a fair price.” Customers are looking for solutions to their problem and how do you know their problems when you have no relationship with them. Customers value relationship a lot, they are always looking for someone to discuss their problems with and this is where you come in.

“There is only one boss; the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton

With a global increase in competition; which is as a result of the advent of the internet, a strong customer relationship can be your competitive strategy to gaining undue advantage in your niche. Whether you run an online business or an offline business, there is need to connect with your customers.

“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.” – Peter F. Drucker

Is a Relationship Marketing Strategy also needed for an online business?

My answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ In fact, building a strong customer relationship is more important to an online business that an offline business and this is the reason. The entrepreneur behind an online business is usually anonymous or virtual; there is no face to face contact between the entrepreneur and the web visitors. No face-to-face discussion and opportunity to persuade potential customers to make a purchase. That is to say that gaining customer’s trust or building brand loyalty is more difficult online because humans always yearn for a one on one relationship.

Since building a customer relationship online is more difficult, you must strive to make every second count for your online visitors. When visitors arrive on your website for the first time, their first glance will be your headline. If the headline connects with their need, they then proceed to read the rest of your content.

Therefore, building a strong customer relationship online starts with your website headline. Make sure your headline connects with your visitors and a great way to do this is to include a specific promise or benefit in your headline. For instance, a weight loss website or blog may use the headline below:

“Get Instant Information; Discover How to Lose 30kg in 30 Days or less without Starving Yourself.“

I know I have deviated a little into copywriting but all the same; copywriting is simply the act of using words and symbols to connect with your customers. Using headlines as the sample above will instantly connect you with a first time visitor but please, don’t make false promises as this is the fastest way to ruin your reputation; whether online or offline.

Without wasting much of your time, below are 10 relationship marketing strategies to creating long-lasting relationships which in turn creates helps long-lasting customers and repeated sales.

Relationship Marketing: 10 Strategies to Building a Strong Customer Relationship

1. Make every customer interaction count

Your first strategy to building a strong customer relationship is to make every customer interaction count. Don’t take a single customer for granted. Each and every interaction with a customer is a gift and should be valued.

But how do you bring about that interaction? You can achieve that by setting up a focus group made up of loyal customers. A focus group can be a vital tool to getting into the mind of your customers and knowing their needs.

“You can’t just ask the customers what they want and try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they will want something new.” – Steve Jobs

2. Follow-through on commitments and claims about products or services. Just as I said earlier, your business must make a specific promise to the customer and deliver on that promise if it intends to win the heart of the customer. False claims however should be avoided at all cost as it can harm your credibility.

3. Offer benefits and product value that responds to the customer’s desires. Another positive step to building a strong customer relationship is to offer value to the customer. Go all out to let your customers know you are a stickler for quality.

“If you build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos

4. Treat customers as individuals who are respected and valued. As an entrepreneur, I believe you know how hard it is to find one good customer. I hope you also know that it cost more to find a new customer than to take care of existing ones.

“It all comes back to the basic. Serve customers the best tasting food at a good value in a clean restaurant, and they will keep coming back.” – Dave Thomas

“Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.” – James Cash Penny

5. Listen to customers. Even complaints can be a gift if handled properly and quickly. Be available and accessible when customers have questions, concerns, or comments. Humans always look for someone to talk to or share their problems with. If you can listen more to your customers, you will end up knotting the bond between the customer and your business.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates

“Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You will be amazed at how many companies don’t listen to their customers.” – Henry Ross Perot

6. Build a strong brand identity. Make it easy for your customers to identify your business or products in the midst of the crowd. Create a winning slogan, tagged with a catchy logo and a unique theme. Most important, make a specific promise and deliver on that promise. You can also forge that specific promise into a USP just like FedEx and Domino Pizzas did. If Fortune 500 companies such as Coca Cola, Nike, and McDonalds are investing in building a strong brand identity, why shouldn’t you?

“If you are not a brand, you are a commodity.” – Robert Kiyosaki

7. Surround your customers with valuable information by using emails, website content, social media, and other methods of outreach but do not be invasive. Keep them informed on the latest trend, price or development. You must also make it easy for customers to reach you; if possible, be their next door neighbor.

8. Does your business have a website? If your answer is no, then it’s time to get one. If yes, then you should consider making your website user-friendly and easy to navigate for new and existing customers. The World Wide Web is making it easier for businesses to build a strong customer relationship with their customers; why don’t you take advantage of it?

9. Reward loyal customers. This is a point that can never be over emphasized. Most businesses go after new customers while forgetting that the existing customers need to be taken care of. Introducing a loyalty program is a very effective relationship marketing strategy.

Nothing strengthens a bond more than appreciation. Thanking customers for sticking to your brand will go a long way to make them know they are important. A simple thank you package might be all your business needs to connect personally with your existing customers.

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job everyday to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos

10. Create a blog about your business where discussion is more casual and inviting. Blogging is a trend that has come to stay. Almost all businesses today maintain a blog. A blog is a powerful communication tool that can help you stay in touch with your customers. I know some individuals that have built a strong personal brand online using blogs as a platform. A blog improves your customer relationship process and can be a tool to obtaining instantaneous feedback from your customers.

As a final note, building a strong customer relationship is not rocket science. All you need to do is to take into consideration the little things that matters. Creating long lasting relationships helps to ensure long-lasting customers and repeat sales. Customers want to know that they are valued and appreciated as an individual. Showing existing customers that value and appreciation encourages them to refer their colleagues, friends, and others to your business.

So armed with these 10 relationship marketing strategies, you can build a strong customer relationship and outperform the giants.

Ad Copywriting Secrets: How to Write Profit Pulling Ads in Seven Quick Steps

If advertisement is a sure way to reach out to potential customers, then learning and mastering the art of ad copywriting would not be out of place. Ad copywriting and web copywriting share almost the same technique but both are used in two different medium.

Ad copywriting is to newspapers and magazines while web copywriting is to the internet based sales letters. Many entrepreneurs desire these two skills but today, i will be ripping one apart; “ad copywriting.” When it comes to running adverts, i bet you are a small business owner and don’t have the financial muscles of the giant corporations. So your aim while running ads should be to make every advertising penny count towards increase in sales.

Right now, i know the question running through your mind is; what does it take to write profit pulling ads? What secrets do ad copywriting gurus know that i don’t? This article will be laying these questions to rest.

Without wasting much of your time, let me divulge the underground secret to writing profit pulling ads.

How to write profit pulling ads in seven quick steps

1. Groundwork is the key to writing persuasive ads
Yes, ground work is the first secret of ad copywriting. The foundation of anything matters; without a strong foundation, all effort expended is null and void. Ground work entails knowing what works and what don’t. Certainty sells.

A particular word might provoke a positive response in certain niches and that same word can mess up your campaign in another niche. For ad copywriting guru, this is where the ad copywriting game begins. To succeed and increase your learning rate with respect to ad copywriting, you must develop your own list of response pulling words and phrases.

Ground work requires you research and find the words that work perfectly on your targeted market. Ground work also entails knowing who your target audience is, their demographics and psychographics. It’s all about doing your home work before launching the ads.

2. Go question crazy

The next secret to writing profit pulling ads is to go question crazy. You must ask yourself and some of your targeted audience questions that are relevant to the niche. You must understand your product in and out; its benefits, nature, advantages, disadvantages, major features and marketability.

3. Go wild with imagination

After the understudying the product, the next step is to go wild with imaginations. This is where you can think of relevant and creative ideas that will appeal to your target consumers. Think of the primary audience and the consequent clients that you need to convince with respect to the product you are offering.

You must figure out the motivating factors of your consumers which may include culture, character and economic factors. You can use emotional appeals such as fear of loss in your ad copy to drive motivation.

4. Understudy the marketing and advertising channels

Study the magazines or newspapers that you intend placing advertisement on to have a better look on the tone of the general audience. If you are ad copywriting; let’s assume a classified, try looking at the published ads. Are there guiding rules? If there is, then try to follow the essential rules. You must also apply creativity while working on the modalities that will make your ads stand out from the rest.

5. Figure out the main purpose of your ad copy

It’s very important that you write your ad copy with an ultimate goal in your mind. Your ad copy’s main goal might be to get many phone inquiries or sell your product. That’s left for you to decide and you must decide that goal before even writing the ad copy. You may choose to include some call to action on your ad copy so that the audience can have several chances to take action while reading your ads

6. Sell Benefits in your ads, not features

This is probably the most important rule in ad copywriting. When writing your ad, you must emphasize the product’s greatest advantage boldly in the headlines and use details such as testimonials, verified laboratory results and product testing to keep up your assertions.

Your ad headline should be strong and anchored with the ultimate benefit derived from the use of your product. Let me share with you an example of selling features vs. benefits in the headline:

a) Get Best Weight Loss Diet in the World.

b) Discover an Amazing Guaranteed Way to Shed 30kg in 30 Days

If you were a customer looking for a weight loss product, which headline will you respond to? I bet headline B carries the day. Headline is the core secret of ad copywriting and that’s why i emphasize you must sell your ultimate benefit in the headline. It will increase your ad response rate.

7. Send out the ad copy and ask for feedback

This is not a necessity but it’s an ad copywriting secret to writing and publishing profit pulling ads. By implementing a feedback mechanism, you can figure out the effectiveness of your ad copy. A thumb of rule in ad copywriting is that you must collect testimonials from satisfied customers to add credibility to your ads or content.

As well, you can plan to enhance the results by testing one sense or style on another project. For instance, you can test run two ad copies and monitor their response rate to determine the best.

In conclusion, i want to impact in your mindset that ad copywriting is not a single touch affair but a continuous process. You can never get to the peak of your ad copywriting skills because there will always be room for improvement. So keep learning, while writing your profit pulling ads and you will see your business go burst with explosive increase in profits.

7 Factors That Will Influence Your Product Pricing Strategy

“Customers want high quality at low prices and they want it now.” – Bill Gates

In the world of business, product and price are part of the 4Ps of marketing. The strategic pricing of your product is such an important part of a business building process that its importance can never be over emphasized. Why? You might ask. This is because the price of your product can either break or make your business so it should not be handled with kid gloves. Wal-Mart have gained and retained leadership position in its industry simply because of their unique pricing strategy. They devised a unique pricing strategy that set them apart and gave them competitive edge.

“Anybody can cut prices, but it takes brain to produce a better article.” – Phillip D. Armour

Your adopted product pricing strategy can give your business an unfair advantage just like Wal-Mart’s and that’s why most businesses try to compete at the price level. Now how do you adopt a pricing strategy that sets you apart? What factors need to be in place before implementing or adopting a product pricing strategy? You will find your answers below.

“There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: make the best quality goods possible at the lowest price possible, paying the highest wage possible.” – Henry Ford

When it comes to the pricing of your product, there are certain factors you must take into consideration. In this article, I will be revealing to you 7 critical factors that will influence your product pricing strategy but it’s up to you to decide if the influence is going to be positive or negative. Without wasting your time, below are the 7 critical factors that can influence the pricing of your product.

“The best thing to invest in your business is your time. To schedule, plan and use time effectively, know your turf and know your objectives. Assess the obstacles and opportunities, then devise your strategies.” – The Mafia Manager

7 Factors That Will Influence Your Product Pricing Strategy

1. The level Of Competition

Most entrepreneurs fancy the concept of selling their products with a very high margin. This idea can only be realistic when you have a monopolistic hold on the market. But if not, you can’t sell with your desired profit margin without getting a sting from competition.

“In business, the competition will bite you if you keep running. If you stand still, they will swallow you.” – Victor Kiam

When trying to adopt a product pricing strategy or determine the right price for your product, the issue of competition is a factor that must be trashed out effectively. The more intense the competition in your industry is, the more flexible your product pricing strategy and policy will have to be.

“Defeat your opponent by strategy and flexibility.” – Sun Tzu

The point I am trying to stress here is this; if your competitor sells the same product you are selling but at a lower price, it may affect your business negatively. That is why a feasibility study or business plan always includes an opposition or competition analysis section. Never implement your product pricing strategy without first putting your competition into consideration. Pricing your product without giving a heck to your competitor’s product pricing strategy is a sure way to business failure; so don’t do it.

“The ultimate goal of the Dangote Group is to dominate every niche in which it operates. In order to achieve this goal; we acquired over 3000 new trucks, developed a strong distribution network and increased production capacity. Our strategy is to sell our products faster than our competitors and at uniform price.” – Aliko Dangote; the richest black man in the world

2. Perceived value of your product

This is another factor you must take into consideration before setting a price for your product. Your first step is to ask this question “what is the perceived value of my product in the heart of the customer? You must strive to find a good and definite answer to this question before fixing a price for your product.

The reason perceived value is a critical factor to consider in a product pricing strategy is because customers often associate low price with low quality. Meaning, if your product is priced too low, the customers tend to feel the materials used in producing the goods is inferior and so therefore, the product is of low quality. So before fixing a price for your product, make sure you strike a balance between the price of your product and its perceived value.

3. Product development cost

This is definitely a factor you cannot turn a blind eye to. With respect to normal business and market economics, you should never price your product below its actual cost price. Your actual product cost price is determined by the total cost of production including tax, divided by the total number of products produced.

But in this case, I am not talking about production cost. I am talking about product development cost; a cost incurred from research and experimentation, a cost that’s usually incurred when bringing an innovative product to the market.

If you are a business owner, you should know that newly introduced products usually command a high price. This high introductory price is based on two reasons:

a. The first reason for the high product price is due to lack of competition. Since the product is the first of its kind in the market place, there will be less or no competition thereby giving room for the company to fix price. The second reason is this; a high price will enable the manufacturer recover the heavy investments channeled into the research and development of the product.

However, I have seen some company successfully use the product pricing strategy of losing on the front end by pricing below cost price only to recoup you losses and pick up some profits from the back end. So whatever product pricing strategy you choose; just make sure it positively adds to your bottom line.

4. Economic trend

This is another unavoidable factor that can influence the pricing of your product. I don’t even need to stress much on this. As an entrepreneur, you should know that economic factors such as taxation rate, labor cost, inflation rate, currency exchange rate, government’s fiscal and monetary policy will definitely influence your adopted product pricing strategy either positively or negatively.

5. Level of market demand

This is the fifth factor that can greatly affect your product pricing strategy. Just like economic factor, I feel this point is self explanatory. In business economics, if demand exceeds supply, there tends to be a mad rush for the few available products, thus inflating the price of the product and vice versa. Some companies even go as far as creating artificial scarcity in order to gain a stronger hold on the industrial price level.

6. Demographics

The demographics of the targeted customers will indisputably influence the pricing of your product. Demographic factors to consider before taking a stand on your product price include:

The age bracket of the customers you are targeting

Your business location and customer’s location

Educational status of your targeted market

To cut it short, demographics is all about who your targeted customer is. Let me share an illustration with you.

Assuming your product is a portable bag specifically designed for students. If the region you are targeting has a population of maybe 100,000 out of which 90% are students. The result is that your product price will be affected positively. But if the case is reversed and you have a population where only 10% are students; you know what to expect.

7. Class of targeted customers

The class of customers you are targeting will greatly influence the pricing of your product. In the society, there are three classes of people. The rich, the middle class and the poor or more preferably “low income earners,” who are always the majority in terms of population.

A product targeted at the rich will surely command a higher price than those targeted at the middle class. If products targeted at the rich commands a low price, it will be tagged valueless by the rich.

So when devising your product pricing strategy; consider the societal class of your targeted customers first. It’s very important. For instance, there are cars for the rich and cars for the middle class; both can’t be can’t be sold in the market place with the same product pricing strategy.

Example of an entrepreneur that adhered to the “class of targeted customer” factor while devising a product pricing strategy and became extremely successful was Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company. His company’s mission statement was “Democratize the automobile.” Before the coming of Henry Ford, cars were exclusively for the rich. Another entrepreneur that won at the product price level was Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart. His adopted product pricing strategy was summed up in the company’s slogan “Always low price.“

As a final note, I think it’s worthwhile you know that price is a double edge sword that can either make or break your business. So when devising a product pricing strategy; do it with utmost caution. To be on the safe side, don’t do it alone. Devise a product pricing strategy together with your business team, professionals or external advisors. Who knows, your product price; if unique, can give you a competitive edge. In conclusion, I leave you with this quote:

“You don’t have to be the biggest to beat the biggest.” – Henry Ross Perot

Marketing and Sales: What’s the Difference

What is sales? What is marketing? How are sales and marketing inter-related? What’s the big difference between marketing and sales? Well, I will advice you read on to find the answers you seek.

Do you know that marketing and sales are one of the most important components of a business’s survival in the market? While both are dependent on each other, many people confuse marketing with sales and vice-versa, which is a very big mistake.

In this article, I am going to draw a line between marketing and sales; for those who desire to know. I won’t go into the definition of marketing or sales because I believe you can look that up in a dictionary. Now what’s the similarity or difference between marketing and sales?

The inter-relationship between marketing and sales

The only big inter-relationship I see between marketing and sales is this: they are both aimed at fulfilling one objective; “Increasing business profits.” Marketing and sales is a game of numbers but their workability in the field is quite different.

Marketing and Sales: What’s the Difference?

Marketing involves designing a product according to the needs of a market and the targeted customers. It also involves promoting the product through advertising, setting up a competitive price for the product and so on. Marketing is the platform on which sales is driven.

On the other hand; the sales process is what you do to successfully sell a product and fetch a contract. Sales and marketing together is a part of selling and one cannot do without the other. They can also be called activities. The success of a business is critically proportional to the success of these two important activities.

Another critical difference between marketing and sales is this; marketing is carried out through a system while a sale is conducted on a personal level, one on one.

Marketing is the backbone of a company’s future and a launching pad for sales. While the marketing process encompasses the design of the product, planning, advertising and so on, the sales process is the execution of all the efforts which involves direct interaction with the customer either by in-person meeting, cold calls or by networking.

However, there is always an ongoing rivalry between marketing and sales; one claiming supremacy over other. The marketing people say they have an upper hand because of the feeling that they planned, designed the products, lay down the strategy and also develop essential tools for sales. They believe sales is the outcome of marketing and thus should follow its directions.

The sales people might not agree to this view and may be completely opposite in their opinion. They believe it is the sales people who actually sells a product and bring money to the business.

But many experts believe that marketing plays a pivotal role among the two. A successful marketing campaign makes sales easier and makes people believe that it is actually the sales people who are the dominant leaders.

More difference between marketing and sales

The most important role of the marketing department is to create opportunities for the sales department. Marketing drives sales and sales drives companies’ success. Marketing is like a life support for sales; just like one who is constantly backing up the sales department and enabling them to successfully deliver the end product. However, there shouldn’t be a race to gain supremacy over another department but a race to win the market and customers working together.

Many businesses combine sales and marketing together but in reality they have different targets. While the sales department is interested in fulfilling the requirements of what the customer asked for, the marketing department is actually busy studying what the market demands.

The goal of the marketing department is to foresee how the market will shape up in future. They envision their product to cater for the need of the market in the next few years and they are ever ready to make design changes on the product accordingly.

It is very important that a company integrates their sales and marketing department in a well fashioned manner. It is the correct integration of these two important entities that fuels the growth of a company. The sale people should not be merely treated as the cash collectors. Each department has its own role and should go hand in hand in selling the product of the company and should be the foremost important criteria.

In conclusion, no matter your opinion; what the entrepreneur needs is results, which will in turn yield profit. So regardless of what you think; the business must grow, I don’t care if either the marketing department is more important than the sales department. All I care about is the satisfaction of my customers, profit for the business and dividend for the investor.