…. Marketing, The Internet, Globalisation and more !! I made a brief book review of Sheila Elliott’s ‘My Business Is My Business [Learn How To Earn A Fortune'] as the content is bang in line with the theme of the program. Listen to the podcast above for the summary review but here are the main points covered [which are based upon the chapters of the book] :-

• Why Do You Want To Start A Business ?
• Putting Your Vision Into A Strategic Marketing Plan
• Exuding/Creating Confidence In Your Business
• Financing Your Business
• Running A Customer Focussed Business

… in line with previous week’s discussions and our review of Tom Peter’s ‘The Brand You 50′ and the specific discussion on :-

• What do I want to be ?
• What do I want to stand for ?
• Does my work matter ?
• Am I making a difference ?

… [this is taken from page 18] >>> in line with that; if you’ve listened the program you will be familiar that I am always talking about the importance of

• Categories
• Segments
• Channels

i.e. all products and service fit within a particular category of the market place, those products and services are sold to specific segments of the marketplace and finally those products and services must by definition pass through a marketing channel.

Sheila Elliott’s book ‘My Business Is My Business’ is spot on and very relevant in today’s economic climate, I will be completing the review sometime soon – in the meantime, do yourself a favour. Grab a copy !!!

Let me know if you have any thoughts, comments or business collaboration ideas

Whether you are running your own business or not – you should be thinking about your personal Brand and Message, making use of the Internet is the The perfect way to get that message out to who you wish to know about what it is that you have to offer. So please – join us on the 24th Oct.

“Are you confused when it comes to understanding how the internet can be used in both your personal and professional life ?

Are you afraid of being left behind when it comes to the use of the internet and the new technologies such as :-

• Facebook
• Google
• Squidoo
• Podcasting
• Blogging &
• Social Networking ?

In association with Ujima Radio – Stephen C Campbell will be holding a half day workshop on :-

• Sat 24th Oct from 10:00 – 14:00

… teaching the fundamentals of Business Marketing & how to get started making use of the internet.

To learn more go to BristolBusinessSeminars.com and reserve your place – now.

Don’t be left behind”

… Business Strategies, at times I act as more of a Mindset and Self Development consultant as at times, this is the key area that clients find themselves having to focus on.

Highly motivated and inspiring coach, helped me and guided me throughout the whole process with patience and caring. The coaching has helped me turn my life around – and get me out of the “I can’t because mentality …” I have overcome fears and I am not afraid to fail. There is no such thing as failure – just feedback. [who taught us about failure anyway - they got it so wrong].

A big thank you to Stephen C Campbell for giving me the tools to get myself free.

This was part of the reasoning behind the launch of bristol business coaching Bristol Business Seminar (www.BristolBusinessSeminars.com) which gives me the opportunity to impart quality strategic business, sales and marketing information for those who are not yet ready for or sure about taking on one on one consulting.

Due to the technologically advanced world in which we live, I have found that there is a rising trend in those organisations that are looking to really embrace the internet and to make their business websites work as equity in their businesses. As we manage multiple websites in various market sectors the focus on the next bristol business seminar will most likely be focussed on the bristol internet marketing needs for businesses.

If you are looking to work with a business coach to help to your organisation to the next level, then please do not hesitate to get in touch to see how we can work together.

Slogan or Tagline : Once you have the logo that you want, you can think of a slogan that will reinforce the message you are trying to communicate to the consumers. As long as you keep this part brief and straightforward, then this can be an effective branding tool for your business. This tagline will serve as an additional touch to the main message you are trying to give, thus giving you an edge over your competitors and highlighting the unique experience or service that consumers will be able to avail of.

One advantage that you can get with including a tagline is that it is not permanent, unlike the logo. Therefore, if your company wishes to employ a new marketing strategy, you can readily change your tagline to highlight this new marketing ploy. A tagline then opens up several opportunities to expand your marketing campaigns, as compared to the static nature of company logos because they are the ones more difficult to establish.

Colors and Images : As with logos, colors and images can be used to establish the identity of your business. Colors depict a corresponding set of emotions as well. Therefore, you need to carefully pick out exactly what type of color you are going to use in your logo in accordance with the image and personality of your business. Try to conduct a little bit of research about the different qualities of color types so you can determine exactly what best to use for your company.

Unique Services : When communicating your company brand into the market, highlight the services that only you can offer. If you can guarantee a service that none of your competition can, then you create an edge on your customers over the same businesses. Then, you can use that as a chief marketing strategy to draw more people into your business. An example of this would be a time guarantee on your delivery services, if you’re in the food business.

Learning how to effectively employ these business branding strategies will help boost your company’s campaign and be that much closer to your desired business success.

Love them or hate them, there’s no doubting the fact that ads do work wonders when it comes to selling a product or service. And so we come to the question, why do they work? Well, the answer lies in the word “suggestibility”. We’re all influenced by some thing or some person, and if marketers and promoters are up to scratch in their research, they base their ideas for advertisements on what people think they want.

Some ads are targeted at needs and others at wants. Not many people realize that there’s a vast difference between the two words – a need must be satisfied at all costs while a want can be deferred, almost indefinitely. Most “need” ads are not very aggressive, except when the competition is pretty tough. Then it’s a case of one-upmanship as each brand tries to outdo the other in pushing their product as the one that’s better in every way. “Want” ads on the other hand use human psychology to sell the products they endorse – they target children to sell confectionery, impressionable adolescents to sell fashion labels and accessories, housewives to sell kitchen appliances and so on.

Today though, marketers have to come up with all the innovation and creativity they can summon to stay in business because of the recession in the economy. People have lost a major part of their spending power and are tightening their belts as they prepare to wait it out till the economy starts to look up again. To get them to spend money in such an environment, companies have to reinvent their products, effect price cuts, improve their quality, or leave it to the advertisers to portray their offerings as must-haves.

Advertisements, especially the ones that are on TV and have catchy jingles or colorful displays, work because we’re able to associate them with the product when we see them on the shelves at the shopping malls. It’s a product we know, and so something we can choose over the ones we don’t. And if we like it, we’re likely to stay with it.

The magic words for a product to sell then become – Exposure, Quality, Consistence – customers will buy when they recognize a product, they will stay with it if they think the quality is good, and they will keep coming back for more when the product stays true to its initial quality. Advertisements play a large role in defining the way potential customers view the product; they provide the exposure, and this makes them very important as a selling tool.

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of business school. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com.

Key points :-

• Branding is a key component of a company’s marketing strategy
• Consider what your brand is
• Determine how you will communicate your brand to the world at large
• Ponder your brand as the business owner
• Consider the brand of the company as seperate and distinct from your personal brand

All businesses exist to effectively deliver their products and service via specific marketing channels and in the bristol marketing scene there is a great deal of competition. We see organisations such as business west bristol providing training in the region to small businesses and other more specialists companies with more specific business training experience making a significant contribution to the marketplace.

Marketing is the heart and soul of every business and especially when looking to start a business it is really important to ensure that you as the business owner put business training seminars and sales and marketing courses at the forefront of their operations.

The 1st page of Google for a Highly Competitive Market. Play in Popup and Double the size of the window. Get in touch if you want these strategies to work for you.