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By Michele Schermerhorn Marketing results should be measured in only one way increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing is the first step to the sale. There are seven underlying principles upon which to base your marketing strategy and efforts. Follow them and your business will be a raving success. Violate them and you will fail as so many small businesses do. The seven underlying principles are Image, Differentiation, Repeat Business, Ease of Doing Business, Networking, Likeability, and Emotion. Lets begin with image. Image Much like people have an image so does their business. Some people are informal and likeable, as are some businesses. Some people are formal and aloof, as are some businesses. Your image is wrapped up in your packaging. The clothes you wear, the haircut you sport, the weight you carry, and the age you are, all create your image. The same applies to your business. Every way your business presents itself to your customers adds to or detracts from the image you are trying to create with your marketing efforts. Decide on the image you wish to convey to the public and design your business to support that image. Your business cards, letterhead, website, advertising materials, and every other portion of your business which will come into contact with a customer must reflect the same image. If you sell a product, your image is also reflected in your packaging, the colors, the box, the website, the store — everything. If you sell a service, your image is reflected in your writings, your website, your proposals and your presentations. Make every interaction with a customer or prospect reflect the image you have for your business. However, remember, it is far easier to create an unforgettable image by differentiating yourself from the competition. Differentiation Be as different as a zebra in a herd of horses. You must be different from your competitors in order to stand out. And, you must be able to convey that difference in all your messages to prospects. If you know you are different and don’t convey it, you lose. You must leverage your differences to your advantage. If you cant differentiate yourself, its because of two general reasons. You think you don’t have any competitors. Or, you have copied your competitors to the extent you all look alike to your prospects. Thinking you dont have any competitors is a dangerous and nave position to take. Even if someone doesnt sell the exact product you sell, they do compete with you for peoples money. If a potential customer is spending money with someone else, they arent spending it with you. Offer something different in product or service. The second option, where you look just like your competition, is equally dangerous. In this situation, the only way to compete is by having the lowest price. Lowest price also translates to lower profit margin. This means youre working harder to make money than you have to. Differentiating yourself from the competition is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish. It is also one with the largest positive impact upon your bottom line. Differentiating yourself will increase business. However, part of marketing is also hanging onto the business once you have it. Repeat Business A sale is great! But, two or more sales are even better! A customer who buys once from you represents short-term revenue. Short-term revenue requires ten times more work. In this mode, you are in a constant search for new customers. A lifelong paying customer is your objective. If you offer a one-time event, you do not have a marketing process — you have a single sale. A marketing process sells to clients over and over again. One of the reasons businesses fail is because they don’t stay in touch with customers. Frequency of contact can build trust and trust is a requirement for a sale. Set up a system to remind yourself to contact existing customers. This can be a regularly published newsletter, an email follow-up for input from the last sale, or a new product announcement. Keep in touch! Customers dont want to be taken for granted. Make your customers feel special and they will return to you, time and time again. Another proven method for encouraging that second purchase is to be a business that is easy to do business with. Ease of Doing Business Having many ways for people to buy from you increases your chance of the first sale and subsequent sales. Your website should be easy to navigate. This includes having contact information on every page, multiple methods of paying you, product descriptions with customer benefits clearly spelled out, and an easy to understand return policy. Many websites lose sales every day because they cant be contacted with questions or their order forms are confusing. Look at all the business systems you have established. These include the ordering system, the communication system, and the feedback system. Test them from the customers standpoint. If you cant be objective, have relatives and friends test your systems and provide you with feedback. Remove anything they complain about, no matter how small it seems to you. It can be hard enough to grow a business under the best of circumstances. Dont build your own roadblocks. Build networks instead. Networking. To increase sales, increase your network of contacts, both customers and suppliers. Weve discussed how customers can increase your business. They can return to purchase from you again. They will also tell others about you. But why network with suppliers? Suppliers profit when you profit. They have a vested interest in your success. The smaller the supplier, the more they have invested in your success. If you establish a really good network with your suppliers, you will have first access to new products and special closeout sales. In turn, you will both be more successful. This principle is also referred to as the principle of reciprocity. This works on the principle: “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours.” It is not just about relationships, it is about the value of those relationships. Make yours count. Likeability People buy from people they like. This is a long proven sales axiom. If people don’t know you, how can they like you? They need to like you before they will trust you. They must trust you before they buy from you. Likeability is one of the most valuable assets you have. Does your marketing copy (on your website or in your advertising) come across as the type of person you would like? Would you do business with this person? Is likeability subjective and emotional? Yes. But so are buying decisions! Emotion Marketing studies claim eighty-five percent of the buying decision is made from emotions. Buyers will then justify their purchase with logic. But emotion is where it starts! This means you must first connect with their emotions. Then give them the logic to justify what they bought. You cannot do one effectively without the other. Your clients perception creates the sale. So many business owners think their service or product is absolutely great. They cannot understand why it is not selling. It is because they developed their product or service according to their perceptions and not their prospects’ needs. Keep your prospects in mind at all times and you will succeed. Remember, marketing is the first step to the sale. Keep these principles in mind and you will succeed. Nice doing business with you! Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a Corporate Freedom Fighter dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Schermerhorn http://EzineArticles.com/?Principles-of-Marketing-101&id=36154 federal income tax rate per paycheck quick and easy same day student loans failing to pay back payday loans pre settlement cash advances

By Paul Cris Bonsai is the art of growing trees that are of tiny-stature, within the household premises. The word Bonsai is basically a Chinese term, which denotes a shrub or a tree planted in a shallow tray. It plays an important role by adding value to the living room. The following are the valuable tips that can preserve the plant for a longer duration. a) Adequate water should be poured on time and the leaves that have turned yellowish should be plucked without crushing the buds. b) Retain the moisture content in the soil by consistently immersing the pot into the water. Let the excess water get drained away later on. c) Choose a right location so that the plant is not deprived of the sunrays. Also, ensure that it is not exposed to the scorching heat of the sun. d) Add the necessary fertilizers like phostrogen tomato after watering them. e) Maintain the original shape by tapering away the part that grows so that it looks orderly. f) Trim away a small portion from the root and fix the plant in a new pot. Thus, the plant will be healthier for a longer span. g) When you sense a glossy touch at your fingertips, it should be understood that the leaves are victims of an infestation. So apply insecticides or a diluted solution for a maximum of three times. Although this craft leads to curbing of nature, it is not a form of wastage. It is a way of bringing beauty indoors. Paul has been providing answers to lots of queries through his website on a wide variety of subjects ranging from satellite phones to acne. To learn more visit http://www.askaquery.com/Answers/qn1532.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Cris http://EzineArticles.com/?Taking-Care-of-Your-Bonsai&id=135267 cash untin payday rome georgia unsecured debt consolidation loan get a home loan with bad credit and no money payday loan debit cards ok

By Perriann Rodriguez Do you ever wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and just want to crawl back in bed because of the way your hair looks? We all have bad hair days, but if your bad hair days are turning into bad hair weeks or months, then you might need some help. Many people look to celebrities to find a new hair style—spending tons of money on all kinds of magazines only to frantically tear thru the pages in search of the perfect hair style. Then you go to your salon and get that fantastic celebrity hair style only to discover (usually after the first shampoo) that you need to spend about an hour to get it to look the same way. There are 5 important questions you should ask yourself if you want to get the most flattering hair style that will work for you. 1. How much time you are willing to spend every day fixing your hair? Include hair drying, hair straightening, hair curling, special conditioning, styling, etc. Be realistic about your lifestyle and hair grooming habits. If you don’t have the time, don’t get a high maintenance hair style. 2. Is your hair in good condition? Don’t plan on doing any sort of perms, hair straightening, extensions, bleaching if your hair is damaged or brittle. 3. Do you know what your face shape is? Your face shape is very important for selecting any hair style. What will look great on a square face shape might not look good at all on a round face. See HairResources.com for suggested hair styles for each face shape. 4. Are you generally happy with your hair stylist? Does your hair stylist give you instructions about how to style your hair at home? Do they address all of your concerns about your hair or hair style? The hair stylist plays a vital role in the way your hair style will look from day to day. Sometimes you can leave the salon looking great–for a day or two. Then it’s all downhill after that. You need to get a hair style that YOU can make look great on your own. This can require special instructions from the hair stylist along with specific hair care products. 5. Do you know what hair styles you like and why you like them? If you explain to your stylist what you like about certain features of a hair style–i.e. long side-swept bangs or long layers in the back—the stylist may be able to add some of these features to your hair style even though the entire hair style may not be suited for your hair. For additional information on hair styles, including celebrity hair style photos, samples of the most popular short, medium, long, updo, bridal, prom and mens hair styles, check out the galleries at HairResources.com Perriann Rodriguez is the founder of Hair Resources, the place to find hair styles, beauty salons + stylists, hair extensions info, hair loss info and more WORLDWIDE. Browse hair styles at http://www.hairresources.com FOR BETTER HAIR DAYS. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Perriann_Rodriguez http://EzineArticles.com/?Hair-Styles—How-To-Get-The-Most-Flattering-Hair-Style&id=27126 fast cash nh same day payday loans har money loans need cash fast

By Charles Donovan Market surveys on women, men and depression suggest an estimated 4.4 million Americans are believed to suffer from chronic treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a chronic, disabling disorder and a major worldwide public health problem. Depressive episodes usually recur over time, with risk for further episodes proportional to the number of prior episodes. After three major depressive episodes, the probability of recurrence is 90%. In the U.S. alone, approximately 18 million people suffer from depression over six million of which are receiving some form of medical treatment. Market studies on women, men and depression also estimate that over 100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT) for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that require hospitalization commit suicide. Disorders related to men and depression are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S. alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12 billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion. Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and gabapentin are also used as antidepressants. There is a new alternative treatment for this debilitating disease. On June 15th, 2004 an FDA Medical Device Advisory Panel recommended approval of the vagus nerve stimulator as a treatment for chronic or treatment-resistant depression. Learn more about this remarkable device at www.VagusNerveStimulator.com. Charles E. Donovan, III Author Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression. Published November 1, 2004 by Wellness Publishers,L.L.C. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Donovan http://EzineArticles.com/?Adult-Men-and-Women-Who-Suffer-From-Chronic-Depression&id=4897 paycheck for being a chemist easy bad credit auto loan houston bad credit bankruptcy car loan home equity loans online php

By O Quinn A recent article touting the wonderful effects of adding strength training to your regular workouts for results in the weight loss department. I thought this was common knowledge. I discovered this myself shortly after my pregnancy. I had always been nice and fit. Ex-gymnast, ballerina etc and just a high metabolism person. But months after my pregnancy I couldnt seem to lose those last 10 pounds. You hear it often but I had never experienced it. I didnt have the freshman 15 in college. Didnt gain weight like everyone promised after high school and even starting my 30s I was still the same weight as in high school. But pregnancy? That did me in. I worked out daily with my sister. We were determined. Cardio, cardio, cardio. A few squats here and there. Some crunches but man I was still big! Then I happened upon some well known weight training videos for women in a second hand store. They were hard but they were fun. My body wasnt used to the weight so I started small. Three and Five pound weights. I was having so much fun. Then I had to get eight pounders. Oh i also needed ankle weights. The weight was dropping off! It was so wonderful. Then I plateaud. Common with heavy workouts. I got kind of sad about the whole thing and put the weights down. I still had 2 or 3 I would have liked to removed. I thought it was about that much. My lower regions were still kind of chunky. So I lost my momentum and put the weights away. A few weeks later I picked up a well known female exercise enthusiasts 20 minute workout. Nothing big. I knew her stuff was easy but it had been a few weeks since I worked out. It was all cardio too and I was kind of tired of weighs. OHMIGOSH! I lost about 5 pounds that week! I know I sound like an informercial. The bottom line for me was a combination of both. The weights definitely started the ball rolling but I had pretty much omitted the cardio because the weights were so fun and actually for me easier. Cardio made me breathe hard. Ick! Well thats my story and Im stickin to it. Get some weights ladies (and gents). Workout carefully and make sure you lift right. There are some videos to show just how its done too. Have fun! O Quinn is a wife and mother who likes to look for the best ways to get things done.Visit her at http://www.homemakingorganized.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=O_Quinn http://EzineArticles.com/?Adding-Weights-Can-Help-You-Lose-Weight&id=155631 banks issue payday loans long term personal loans for poor bad loans christmas faxless cash advance no fax payday advances

By Carmel Baird No matter how well prepared you think you are, there is always something at the last minute. Christmas cards to be written, Christmas gifts to be wrapped, Christmas decorations to be put up and if you are fortunate a Christmas vacation to be organized. Christmas gifts are wonderful to give but these days so many people seem to have all they want or need, that deciding on a gift idea can be quite difficult. For Christmas gift ideas, gift baskets can be a great solution. When you know a persons interest or hobbies filling a gift basket can very easy and will always be acceptable. With most hobbies and interests there is usually items need to be replaced often, like a golfer always loves to get golf balls and golf tees, shirts, caps, hand towels. Gardeners love garden gloves, small garden tools, gardening books. Someone who enjoys a glass of wine, would love a Christmas gift basket filled with wine and or wine accessories or a for the person who loves to cook, a Christmas basket of gourmet foods and new recipes. Even children love to get a Christmas basket of goodies. There are lots of fun Christmas baskets that can be made up for children, browse the book stores, toy stores and you will kind a treasure trove of items that will delight a child. If you are not into making up a Christmas gift basket there are speciality gift basket stores. Try the florists, they will make up a gift basket for you with whatever you wish put in it, florists are very creative people and could come up with gift ideas you may not have thought of. If you have the items you wish to go into the basket, then ask if the Christmas gift basket can be made up for you. There are other containers that can be used too, not just baskets. Take a look around the specialist storage shops, you will find things like wonderful stainless steel or galvanized buckets in various sizes, compartment type trays and tool carry-all, timber boxes and pot plant pots in terracotta and ceramic. Don’t forget a wonderful clear glass large vase, these can be filled with all sorts of lovely pretty bath soaps, candles, even golf balls etc. Let your imagination go, If you decide on Christmas gift baskets then your Christmas gift ideas list will fill up very nicely, your Christmas gift shopping solved and the recipients will just love their gifts. Christmas decorations are so very personal to the family. In some families the Christmas decorations are priceless, not in a dollar value, mainly because of the memories each decoration gives to the family. Some decorations are hand made by family members when they were small children at school, some are bought and hold significance to various happenings to the family at particular Christmas times. Christmas decorations are usually stored in the attic or a storage area in the home. Many families have built up their own traditions over the years as to when the decorations will be brought out and the Christmas tree decorated. This is a happy family occasion, if you don’t have a special time to decorate your Christmas tree, make one, get the family together and enjoy this special time. After you get through all the Christmas shopping, planning, cooking and entertaining, you may think you need a Christmas vacation. A Christmas vacation is a great time to relax, unwind and get over the Christmas festive time and get ready for the New Year. A vacation to the beach, how about a cruise or go to the snow for a skiing Christmas vacation. Whatever you choose, get away relax and enjoy. The Christmas Season only comes once a year and many of us say, Thank Goodness! in the nicest possible way. CTBaird is a freelance writer and web publisher, for Christmas Ideas for gifts, baskets, decorations and vacations visit http://www.christmasat.123moreforu.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmel_Baird http://EzineArticles.com/?Christmas-Time-Is-Here—Are-Your-Prepared-For-The-Last-Minute-Everything&id=387876 free paycheck calculator bad credit car loan illinois houston online used car loan personal loans 5000 dollars guaranteed bad credit

By Foras Aje Suffice it to say the if the adjective serious is used to describe the state of emotional health that one may be feeling, then whoever it is that may be suffering from the problem must be in dire need of help. The good news is, attempting to know the very indications of a serious depression anxiety disorder, in its early stages is perhaps one of the more crucial steps in treating both mental disorders. To this effect and to give some kind of assistance in being able to nip the problem in the bud of its early stages, listed below will be a list some indications of a serious depression anxiety disorder so one can be able to approach finding a lasting solution from every angle possible. These signs could be classified as being physical or mental and thus will be listed in those two categories: * Heart palpitations or racing heartbeat * Chest pain * Hot flashes or chills * Frequent urination or diarrhea * Dizziness * Fatigue * Insomnia The Mental Indications of a serious depression anxiety disorder could include: * A state of Apprehension, uneasiness, and dread * A state of Impaired concentration or selective attention * A state of Feeling restless or on edge * A state of Confusion * A state of Nervousness and jumpiness * A state of Self-consciousness and insecurity * A Fear that you are dying or going crazy With these indications listed, it is my hope that you can find some assistance in regards to helping you deal with your situation-with more emphasis on its pre-mature stage. This way it, it may not have that much of a hold on you as its still developing. To Happiness Aje Foras Aje is an independent researcher and co-founder of BodyHealthSoul LLC. Stop by His Treatment for Depression Blog today for more information on the symptoms of severe anxiety and depression Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Foras_Aje http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-You-Recognize-the-Indications-of-a-Serious-Depression-Anxiety-Disorder?&id=406589 federal credit reporting act how to maximize your credit score who sings the free credit report pirate jingle song ringtone home mortgages for those with bad credit