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7 Tips for Business Success
Many executives and other business managers often forget that they really have 2 jobs – the first is to do what they get paid for (and do it better than others). The other is to manage their career path and do what is required to ensure their...
Create a Positive, Upbeat, "Can-Do" Workforce and Dazzle the Customer with Your Caring!
Given the choice of dealing with a positive, upbeat employee with a "can-do" attitude or dealing with a disgruntled, distracted, uninterested one, which would you choose? No contest. Customers always want the best experience possible; they want...
Creative Strategies for Brainstorming for Business Success
We experience creativity every time a fresh idea pops into our minds. We recognize creative imagination in everything from a pastel painting to a business plan. By trying these ten tips, you will discover some amazing creative abilities that may...
Get Rid Of The Clutter
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Innovation: The Life Blood Of Your Business
If you're running or managing a business and want it to be around for a good while longer, you need to spend at least 15% of your time innovating. That's because, in a fast-moving world, where people expect things to get better and better, and...
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Introduction to Marketing for 1st time business owners
Introduction to Marketing for 1st time business owners
Copyright Ben Botes and My1stBusiness.com – 2003 – 2005
Marketing is determining which orders you would like to win. Selling is getting out there and winning orders once you have decided which orders you would like to win. Marketing is a continuous process of creativity, research, testing, analysis, development and implementation. We must stay close to our customers. We must satisfy our customers' needs and anticipate their wants. We love our customers and we always do that little bit extra for which we do not get paid.
Specialize and be excited in what you do
There is a strong relationship between high self-esteem and peak performance. The more you love doing something, the greater will be your success. All successful businesses specialize in their areas of excellence. Many unsuccessful people drift into areas where they do not have the excitement, enthusiasm, energy, knowledge, etc., to establish competitive advantage and find their market segment.
A few questions for you to answer at this point are:
Which product or service would you like to produce and sell? In which area of human activity would you like to improve the lives of other people? To which area of human improvement can you bring excitement and enthusiasm? What is your area of excellence? What is your core business? For which product or service are you prepared to be a product champion? What would you love to do to improve the lives of others for 16 hours each day, even if you received no financial reward? What is it that makes you feel valuable and worthwhile?
Differentiate for a competitive advantage
Perhaps the biggest question in any business is: why should anybody buy this product or service ... from me? This is in fact two questions. The first question is: why should anybody buy this product or service? What is the benefit? What is the improvement in the life of the customer? How is the customer's life enriched by acquisition of the product or service? If you cannot answer this question, then you do not know why a customer should buy your product or service. Remember the law of cause and effect. There is a reason for everything. There has to be a reason why your customer buys the product or service.
Segmentation or the creation of a market niche
If people buy from you because you are such a lovely person, then your market niche may well be your circle of friends and friends of your
friends. If you own the village grocery store, then your customers are probably restricted to those living within a five-minute walk or two-minute drive, i.e. the local community. If yours is the best or cheapest product on the market, then this opens up huge opportunities. Who is your customer? Who buys this product or service? Identify your market segment. Describe your customer - age, sex, income, occupation, education, other interests, area where he or she lives, type of family, other products he or she buys, etc. Where exactly is your customer? Identify the geographical concentration, understanding that 80 per cent of your customers will be within 20 per cent of your catchment area. How is your product normally distributed? How would you expect your customer to buy your product or service? To which customers does your competitive advantage make a big difference? Is there a small segment of the market which you could dominate?
Answer there question when considering your market niche: Who are your customers? Where are your customers? Who cares that you are the best? Who cares that you are the cheapest? Who cares that you are the local dealer? Who cares that you are such a nice person?
The answers to these questions establish your market segmentation, or your market niche, i.e. a small segment of the market which you can dominate.
Concentrating your efforts
With a view to succeeding in business, we have to concentrate all our resources, hitting our market segment with our competitive advantage in our area of excellence. We have to concentrate our creativity, our marketing, our sales skills, leadership skills, finance, time, energy, excitement, enthusiasm, advertising and promotional efforts, production facilities, etc., all of these resources being concentrated in enriching the lives of our customers - at a profit.
Is the benefit we offer worth more to the customer than the price the customer is expected to pay? Can we provide the benefit at a cost which is lower than the customer is willing and able to pay? Can we provide the benefit at a profit?
These are four of the most important steps to consider as a business owner. For more in formation on marketing for first time business owners, please go to http://www.my1stbusiness.com.
About the Author
About the author: Ben Botes from http://www.my1stbusiness.com is an entrepreneur, business owner, scholar, author and leadership coach E-mail Ben at ben.botes@my1stbusiness.com.
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Creativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of ... Wallas considered creativity to be a legacy of the evolutionary process, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Creativity For Life |
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AdCritic.com: Commercial Ads |
FROM CREATIVITY: Emerging Directors, Unite In the time it took to write this, three new directors popped up. Here are twenty to get acquainted with. ... |
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National Curriculum in Action - Creativity - |
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Ten Steps for Boosting Your Creativity |
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Category:Creativity Techniques - Mycoted |
This is a general category of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, ... I like to think of these creativity techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the ... |
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Creativity at Work: The interplay of business, art and science |
A resource for training and development in creativity and innovation in organizations. Has a newsletter, and some articles and essays by 'Corporate ... |
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Crayola Creativity Central |
Crayola Creativity Central offers kids arts and crafts ideas for rainy day fun. We also have coloring books and pages, art and craft projects, games, ... |
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Pages tagged with "creativity" on del.icio.us |
All items tagged creativity ??? view popular ... Perspective for Creative Leaders · save this. by aromay to creativity business management ... 1 hour ago ... |
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Creativity Web - Resources for Creativity and Innovation |
Creativity Web Home Page Resources for Creativity and Innovation ... The Creative Process · Multiple Intelligences · Idea Recording · Your Creative Space ... |
members.optusnet.com.au |
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gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards": how to ... |
So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. ... Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion ... |
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Creativity Quotes | Creativity Quotations | Creativity Sayings ... |
Quotes on Creativity - part of a larger collection of Wisdom Quotes to challenge and inspire. Find Creativity quotations and links to quotes on other ... |
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Ideas by Creativity Pool |
A free database with new ideas and possible inventions. Add your own, or bring an existing idea to life. |
www.creativitypool.com |
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CREATIVITY |
Creative problem solving depends on using the right tools, tricks, ... Search for the latest books on Creativity (or anything else) in the Quantum Books ... |
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Creativity Tools, Creative Solutions & Creative Problem Solving ... |
This page explains a wide range of techniques which can help you generate creative solutions to your problems. |
www.mindtools.com |
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The 6 Myths Of Creativity |
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CreativeClass.org |
Richard Florida's "The Rise of the Creative Class" examines creativity and its effects on economic development. |
www.creativeclass.org |
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TIP: Concepts |
The relationship between creativity and intelligence has been always been a central concern of psychology ( Guilford , 1950). Much effort has been devoted ... |
tip.psychology.org |
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American Creativity Association (ACA) |
An incorporated non-profit organization promoting personal and professional creativity. Association membership is represented by four multidisciplinary ... |
www.amcreativityassoc.org |
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CREAX - Portal for creativity and innovation |
A resource for links on creativity and innovation on the web. A selection of 690 links is divided into 67 categories for the visitors convenience. |
www.creax.net |
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