In business, having competitors goes with the territory. There's almost always someone selling the same product or service you are selling, or at least trying to solve the same customer problem you solve. Not only can competitors out-market you and steal your valuable prospects and customers, they can put you out of business if you're not careful. Trying to fight back by out-marketing your competitors can not only get expensive, it can be frustrating. But there is another solution. Eliminating your competitors is the easiest way to increase your chances of business success....

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Most business owners get so involved in the work of the business that there never seems to be enough time to do the necessary marketing. Even when business is good the owner must continue marketing because if he/she stops, the business eventually will stop too. Marketing your business simply means to nurture good relationships with your customers and potential customers so that they will buy from you again or they will refer you to others. Think about the kinds of things you enjoy doing and then use those activities in your marketing efforts....

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Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. (That's the theme from "Mission Impossible"...)FADE IN. Your mission, should you chose to accept it is to create a fail-proof proclamation, a road map, that not only serves ALL your business needs but also provides you an endless source of fuel so you can thrive in your business. Beware of the well-intentioned imposter called "the mission statement." Should you choose to accept this mission... this article will self-destruct in......

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Your customers don't know what they want. And to assume otherwise is folly. When you begin relying totally on customers to be your product development department, you are asking for serious trouble. I am not saying that you should discount customer input. However, asking customers what they want is a marketing question and requires experienced marketers to answer. Marketers have the objectivity to look at the marketplace, see through the consumer's self-deception and discern the answer to a tough question that requires some serious analysis....

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What do Klingons, giant rubber bands, and monster trucks all have in common? They hold the fascination of every male on the planet - and they make frequent appearances on Spike TV. Spike TV, which totes itself as a network for men, is the perfect example of the power of knowing your audience and giving them what they want. In one week of watching Spike TV you can expect to see poker, ultimate fighting, demolition derbies, cop shows, kung fu movies, school bus figure eight racing, pyrotechnic explosions, Klingons, customized cars, Chairman Tamori, giant rubber bands, sports superstars, Captain James T....

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In early 1992, President George H. W. Bush was riding high. He was sitting on an almost unprecedented 80% approval rating following the first Gulf War. Conventional wisdom pegged him as a shoe-in for a second term. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton faced an uphill battle. He was largely unknown at the start of 1992, facing a very popular incumbent. Worse for him, his opponent "owned" foreign policy. There was no way to successfully attack him on that front. So what did the Governor's campaign do?...

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As best you can, answer the following twenty-five questions. There's no scoring. But you'll know whether you should be satisfied with your answers, or not. If you aren't, perhaps you have some work to do. 1. What are the benefits you offer? 2. What do you think motivates your clients to buy? Are they driven by Fear of Loss, Desire for Gain, Self Preservation, Safety, Health, Security, Recognition, Power, Net Profits, Increased Sales, Lower Costs, Knowledge, Self Actualisation, Social Status, Riches, Popularity, Self Expression, Acceptance, Prestige, Success, Pleasure, or a combination of a few of these?...

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You muted the commercials on the TV last night because you were fed up with interruption marketing. Ditto if you went through your mail to find most of it is junk. Ditto again, if a stranger phoned you (usually at dinner time) asking you to answer a survey, or give to yet another worthy cause. Interruption marketing does just that. It interrupts you, and steals your time. And it is the darling of mass marketing, which is the child of the mass media, which was born in the 19th century with large circulation newspapers, and thrived in the 20th with radio, TV, and the international media....

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More and more companies seem to be looking for new and innovative ways to market their products. Overlooking most of the traditional marketing techniques, more companies are pioneering the relatively new mobile marketing campaign. Mobile event trailers and vehicle graphic wraps are bringing the products directly to the consumers. With an array of games, giveaways, contests and twenty-five foot product shots surrounding and engaging the consumer, it's hard to see why this form of marketing is not more widely used....

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How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly do you know why they are loyal customers? Customer loyalty has been a buzz term in marketing for some time and with good reason. Estimates suggest it can cost 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. Think about your business as having a bucket of customers. The customers you lose leak out a hole in the bottom of the bucket. Understanding how big the hole is for your business is the crucial first step to improving your customer loyalty....

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Apple Computer just announced that their earnings from the last quarter more than quadrupled mainly due to robust holiday sales of the iPod digital music player. More than 10 million iPods have been sold since it was introduced in 2001. There are some important marketing lessons to be learned from all this. First of all, Apple has created a product for a hungry market that has the financial means to purchase it even with the relatively high price point. If you find a hot and hungry market, create a product for it and you are almost guaranteed to succeed....

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If you want to design effective marketing postcards, then aim for "Refrigerator Door Mindshare." By this, I mean that you should create a card that someone would be proud to display on his or her refrigerator door.The image on the front of your postcard should be simple, but attractive. I? ve found that brightly colored cards pull a better response than dark, moody cards. Save your artistic angst for some other medium. You should also create an image that? s easily comprehended. Why? Because your recipients will only give your cards a one - or two-second glance before deciding to keep them or throw them away....

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Do you want to successfully market your business franchise online? Here's an internet strategy you can use for your franchise opportunity. 1. Design a very simple web site. I've visited quite a number of company web sites, and their franchise page is sometimes hidden under layers of beautiful flash pages. If you insist on having a visually attractive web site, go ahead and maintain it. Please consider, however, building a partner web site that contains mostly text and no flash programming (i. e....

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