What to Consider When Buying a Motor Home

What to Consider When Buying a Motor Home

Are you interested in buying a motor home?  If you are, you are definitely not alone.  In the United States, motor homes are popular recreational vehicles. Many motor home owners use motor homes to travel around the country and others only use them for camping, possibly even in their own backyards. No matter what your reasons for wanting to buy a motor home are, do you know what you should look for in a for sale motor home?  If you don’t, you will want to continue reading on.

When it comes to buying a for sale motor home, one of the first things that you will want to do is ask yourself if you would like to buy a new motor home or a used motor home.  New motor homes are nice, as you are the first “real,” owner.  Although owning a brand new motor home is nice and exciting, motor homes, particularly new ones, can get quite pricey.  If you are looking to buy a for sale motor home while on a budget, you may want to think about buying a used motor home.

How much you can afford to spend on a for sale motor home is another question that you will want to ask yourself.  Motor homes come in all different sizes, shapes, styles, conditions, and prices. Deciding, ahead of time, how much you can afford to spend on a motor home will make finding and buying for sale motor homes much easier on you. For instance, if you know that you cannot spend more than twenty thousand dollars on a motor home, you can simply skip over any motor homes that cost more than twenty thousand dollars.  This can actually save you a considerable amount of time.

Once you are ready to start shopping, you will want to think about taking notes.  If you are truly interested in buying a motor home, there is a good chance that you will look at a number of both new and used motor homes. Keeping a small notebook with information on all of the motor homes that you look at is nice, as you can keep all of your information straight.  This approach is also good if you would like to further research the motor homes in question later at home. For instance, you could perform a standard internet search with the year, make, and model of all motor homes that interest you.  Your standard internet search may let you know if the motor homes in question have any problems or if they had any part recalls.

The location of the motor home that you are interested in buying is something that should be taken into consideration, when looking to buy a new or used motor home.  If you are unable to find a motor home to buy locally, you may find yourself turning to the internet.  A large number of motor home owners sell their motor homes online, through online classified advertisements or online auction websites.  Of course, you can buy a motor home online, but you will want to make sure that it will be easy for you to pick up the motor home or have it delivered to you. That is why location should be examined, before you decide to buy a new or a used motor home.

The features of a motor home should also play an important role in your purchase decision. As outlined above, motor homes come in a number of different size, shapes, and styles.  Each motor home is likely to be unique in its own way.  Common features that are found in many motor homes include bathrooms, kitchens, dining room tables, small entertainment systems, and sleeping areas. When it comes to buying a motor home, you will want to look at what you want in a motor home, as well as what you need in a motor home.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many points that you should keep in mind, when looking to buy a motor home.  As a reminder, you may want to take the time to examine both new and used motor homes, as you never know what great deals you may come across.

What to Consider When Choosing a Motor Home Dealer

Are you in the market for a new or a used motor home? If you are, there is a good chance that you may be looking for a motor home dealer to do business with. While there are a number of different ways that you can go about finding and buying for sale motor homes, motor home dealers are one of your best options.

Although motor home dealers are a great way to go about finding and buying a motor home, you need to proceed with caution. In the United States, you will find that most motor home dealers come highly rated and recommend, but not all do.  You will want to make sure that you choose to do business with a motor home dealer that will not “take you for a ride,” especially a costly ride.

When it comes to choosing a motor home dealer to do business with, there are a number of factors that you may want to take into consideration.  One of those factors is location. In the United States, there are a large number of cities and towns that have motor home dealers.  You may want to try and find a motor home dealer that is local or at least one that is located a reasonable distance away from your home.  Of course, you can buy a motor home from any dealer that you want, but you may have to make travel arrangements if you choose to do business with a non-local motor home dealer.

Selection is another factor that you may want to take into consideration, when buying a motor home.  Motor home dealers often have a large selection of motor homes to choose from, but not all do.  The decision as to which motor home dealer you want to do business with is yours to make, but you may to try and find motor home dealers that have a large selection of both new and used motor homes.  When you have more motor homes to choose from, you more likely to find the motor home of your dreams.

The average prices of a motor home dealer are another factor that you may want to take into consideration, when looking to buy a motor home.  Motor homes come in a number of different size, shapes, and styles and they are sold for a wide range of different prices.  By finding a motor home dealer that has fair prices, you are more likely to get a great deal. Although motor homes are more than worth the costs, you will want to avoid paying more money for a motor home than you need to.

In addition to examining the average asking prices of motor home dealers, you will want to examine the extra benefits that come along with the purchase of a motor home. For instance, if you buy a motor home from a motor home dealer you should be able to get a warranty, as well as other extras.  Some motor home dealers even offer warranties or at least service plans on some of their used motor homes.  If at all possible, you will want to try and do business with a motor home dealer that offers warranties to customers like you.  Warranties are important as they help to protect you, your motor home, and your wallet.

The reputation of the motor home dealer that you are interested in doing business with is also important. As previously stated, a large number of motor home dealers come highly rated and recommend, but not all do.  Unfortunately, there are some devious people out there.  What you will want to do is try and research a motor home company before doing business with them.  To do this, you can either ask those that you know for feedback or use the internet.  By doing business with a reputable and reliable motor home dealer, you are more likely to get a good value for your money.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to find a reliable and reputable motor home dealer to do business with. As a reminder, by taking the time to examine each motor home dealer you are interested in doing business with, you are less likely to fall victim to a motor home sale scam.\

What Owning a Motor Home Can Do For You?

What Owning a Motor Home Can Do For You?

Do you know of someone who owns a motor home? If you do, have you seen how much fun and excitement they have with their motor home?  Motor homes are rapidly increasing in popularity and there are a number of different reasons for that.  One of the many reasons why motor homes are so popular is because they of everything that they can do for you.

One of the many things that a motor home can do for you is save you money when you travel. When you travel in a motor home, you not only have a mode of transportation, but you also have your own overnight accommodations. When traveling in a motor home, you don’t have to worry about finding a hotel or paying for one.

In keeping with the traveling that you can do with a motor home, there are many motor home owners who choose to use their motor homes when they go to visit long distance relatives.  There are also motor home owners who use their motor homes for cross country adventures.  These types of adventures are popular among family members during the summertime or among retirees.  As mentioned above, traveling in your motor home is nice because you don’t have to worry about finding or paying for a place to stay overnight.

Owning a motor home can also give you a fun and exciting adventure, namely when camping. In the United States, a large number of motor home owners use their motor homes to go camping.  If you enjoy camping, but find it uncomfortable sleeping in a traditional camping tent, you will may like what owning a motor home can do for you.  Motor homes allow you to go camping out in the wilderness, but motor homes still give you the many comforts of home.

In addition to allowing you to have fun, a motor home can help you with living arrangements.  If you would like to sell your home and just travel around the country, a motor home can allow you to do so.  Also, if you are planning on remodeling your home or building a new home, you may want to think about using your motor home, if you buy one, to give you a temporary living space.  In this aspect, owning a motor home can save you money.  If you didn’t have a home to live in, even for a short period of time, there is a good chance that you and your family would need to stay at and pay for a hotel. A motor home can save you from having to do so.

In short, owning a motor home gives you freedom. When you own a motor home, you can literally do just about whatever you want, like go traveling or go camping, often at the drop of a hat.  If you regularly keep your motor home, should you buy one, stocked with supplies, like clothes, bedding, and some nonperishable foods, you can, literally, take off and go, whenever you have free time. This is something that no other automobile really allows you to do.

If you would like to buy a motor home, you will need to find a place to make your purchase from. For a large selection of new and used motor homes, you may want to think about stopping by some of your local motor home dealerships.

What Size Motor Home Should You Buy?

Are you interested in buying a motor home?  If this is your first time trying to buy a motor home, you may be unsure as to what you should look for in one.  In all honesty, one of the most important things that you will want to do, when looking to buy a motor home, is making sure that your motor home is large enough for you and all of your needs.  

While it is important to know that you need to buy a motor home that can give you what you need, you may be wondering which size motor home you should buy. When it comes to determining what size motor home you should buy, there are a number of important factors that you may want to take into consideration.  Just a few of those factors are outlined below for your convenience.

One of the many factors that you will want to take into consideration is who will regularly be traveling with you in your motor home or camping with you in your motor home.  It is important that you make sure that you have enough room for everyone who will be with you. That is why you may want to think about doing an estimated head count.  If you are unsure as to how many people may be joining you on your motor home adventures, you may want to think about going with a larger sized motor home, just incase.

The uses of your motor home are also factors that should go into determining what sized motor home you need to buy.  For instance, if you are planning on going camping in your new motor home, you will want to make sure that your motor home will fit in some of the camping spots at your local public campground parks. While a large number of public campground parks have spaces that are large enough for motor homes, many of these spaces still limited on space.  You will want to make sure that you can regularly take your motor home camping with you and still have enough room to enjoy yourself.

What you need or what you want in a motor home is also something that should be taken into consideration, when determining what size motor home you should get. For instance, if you would like to make sure that your motor home has a full sized motor home kitchen or a number of sleeping areas, you may need to purchase a large sized motor home. While many smaller or standard motel motor homes do come with multiple sleeping areas, bathrooms, and kitchens, you may find that these areas are quite small or even cramped.

Cost is another factor that may have an impact on what sized motor home you would like to purchase.  As you likely already know, larger sized motor homes are more expensive than smaller sized ones.  If you have your heart set on a large sized motor home, but you are shopping for a motor home on a budget, you can still have the motor home of your dreams.  You may need to buy a used motor home, but it is more than possible to find used motor homes that are large in size, as well as ones that are affordable.

The above mentioned factors are just a few of the many factors that you will want to take into consideration, when trying to determine what sized motor home you should buy.  As a reminder, if you are unsure as to what sized motor home you need, you may want to think about going with a larger sized motor home, just incase.

Checking out the Alamo car rental

Checking out the Alamo car rental

One of the more popular and reputable car rental service in the country is the Alamo Car Rental company. It is highly recommended not only thorugh word of mouth, but in the internet as well. The Alamo car rental company is actually a blessing to constant travellers, especially those seeking a way to make their travels be as comfortable as possible, it is best to check out the Alamo car rental company and find out for yourself if they really as good when it comes to their services as they claim to be.

The Alamo car rental company actually gives its customers varied service programs that they can choose from, from corporate programs to governement contractor programs to meeting and events probrams. Alamo car rental has your back (plus your head) covered. They can actually provide you with whatever vehicle that you will want (depends on what you actually need that time).

Aside from quality service, Alamo car rental actually prides itself for being able to deliver unbeleivably cheaper rates (as compared with their rival car rental services agency) which just goes to show how Alamo car rental has been devoted to its consumer public. By sticking to cheaper rates, Alamo car rental agencies actually give their clients a good value for their money.
Alamo car rental is also a good choice for businessmen who are jetting off from one state to another, rather, from one country to another (thus the need for the private vehicle). They actually provide businessmen an exlcusive and unique “business travel program” which obviously is just focused on delivering the needs of valued and busy businessmen.

Certain Alamo car rental policies and guidelines include the following:

Informing them about an additional driver as well as any disabilities or sickness and complications.
Your credit card number, basically how you’re planning fot Alamo car rental’s excellent service.
Proper papers, licenses and identification cards.

Well there are actually a lot more, But its really best to highlight the more important ones. The Alamo car rental service adheres these strict rules and guidelines in order to maintain service efficiency and their good reputation to the public.

Contacting them is actually just a breeze, if you’re not able to locate their listed number in the directory, you can just  search for their number instead, on the internet. The internet has a varied and incredibly enormous array of lists that will inevitably lead you to the Alamo’s car rental service’s number. However, you can also reach them through electronic mail. Geared towards providing unparalled service to its loyal customers as well as those who are still looking for a car service rental that they want to try out, Alamo car rental has provided the public with various ways of being able to reach them.

And speaking of trying their best to give their curtomers great service, Alamo car rental has actually equipped their vehivcles with other services that might possibly prove to be very useful to their clients. Upon request, one may avail of the various “add-ons’ that only Alamo car rental can provide. From carphones to kiddie chairs. Alamo car rental service has prided itself for always being in the forefront of the car rental industry. Be sure to check the out once you’re having some car rental problems, they’re sure they can help you out.

Tips on how to get the most off a budget car rental

Budget car rentals are a traveler’s savior from being stranded in one place and from expensive taxi rides. But with today’s competitive market, I won’t be surprised that from trying to rent a car you end up renting a lawnmower instead. Well maybe not a lawnmower, but sometimes, well most of the time, the people that assist you in car rentals just doesn’t have your best interest in mind, so you end up paying a truckload of money for a pool of frustrations. To avoid this here are a few tips to get the budget, out of budget car rental.

1. If you’re not choosy with a budget car rental, try to get a budget car rental through sites that let you rent cars at your own price. These firms will try to get the best deal for the car that you’ll get and might just toss in unlimited mileage and upgrades, all of that without spending an extra dime out of budget.

2. Look for package deals, fly-drive-stay, or fly- drive, most of these packages give great discounts for rentals, but don’t do it with an airline, airlines although convenient aren’t really the more economic way to go, their budget car rental prices are hardly budget, and tend to be higher than those of outside firms.

3. Use the internet to reserve a rental car. Ah, the internet, what other good can it provide? Yes there are budget car rentals on the internet that can give you a better bargain. Some budget car rental sites even go as far as internet only discounts. Aside from that you can easily get upgrades and depending on the season, at least one rental company is bound to have a special offer that can help you save money, plus, you can rent a car in the comfort of your own home, beat that!

4. Ask for discounts that can be applicable to you, remember even when you’ve scored the best deal, there is still that one last ditch of a possibility that one of your credit cards support the company and provide discounts or that your frequent flyer program or military service can put that budget in budget car rental, its along shot but its worth a try.

5. Most budget car rentals are low on maintenance so when you rent a car, check all sides for damage, and I mean every side and every nook and cranny of that car, make sure to inform the renter of these so that you wont have to pay for damages once you return the car. In addition, try to check out all the accessories, wipers, radio, brakes, seatbelts etc, to familiarize yourself with them, and also to check if they work, like the previous tip, you might be charged for this if you don’t inform them.

6. Now we pass the subject of insurance, sometimes your own car insurance covers car rentals, so have a look see before you buy insurance from the rental firm. Budget car rental insurance doesn’t cost much, but if you already have one why buy another? Car rental insurance is always required when you rent a car.

7. Another money saving tip is to pick up your car early in the morning, make it so that the firm is just opening, this is because at this time most of the budget car rentals haven’t been returned yet, and you may get an upgrade for a lower price.

Marketing and Selling on Internet

Marketing and Selling on Internet

Marketing on the Internet involves online advertising to reach out to potential customers. It requires creativity like designing, development and technical aspects like marketing and advertising. Affiliate marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing and interactive advertising are all different facets of Internet marketing. It also includes sales, public relations, information management and customer service. Ever since the advent of Internet, it is widely used for all kind of purposes. Among the advantages of Internet, some helps in doing business, shopping, etc, from the comfort of the house. According to a research, a quarter of the Internet users shop online. It has also helped grow electronic commerce and Internet marketing is a part of electronic commerce.

Direct marketing techniques like radio and television commercials, mails, and newsletters are the inspirations for Internet marketing, which involves direct response marketing strategies and is rapidly growing. Business-to-business, also known as B2B, and business-to-consumer, also known as B2C, are the two business models to which Internet marketing can be linked. B2C companies were the first to start when Internet marketing originated. They are companies that sell directly to the customers. B2B companies are meant to do business with each other.

Websites built for Internet marketing are slightly different than others. There are peer-to-peer modeled websites which are used to exchange products and services between each other. Other is name-your-price, where the customers have to specify their price range that they can spend and select products that fall in that price range. Priceline.com is an example of such a website. Amazon.com is a website which is based on find-the-best-price model, where customers can find the lowest prices. Last are online auctions sites, where items are bid. Ebay.com is an example.

The companies who use Internet marketing are at an advantage. They don’t need to put in huge amounts of energy and time in Internet Marketing like other traditional methods. With the help of only few resources national and international markets can be reached. Because of very low investment, even small businesses are turning to online marketing. Websites and blogs have been developed for this purpose. Internet marketing is advantageous in the sense that the data is easily available on the Internet. Newsletters can be directly sent to customers and if it doesn’t contain the information they are looking for, they can search for information about the product online, make a decision and purchase it online itself.

One of the factors that hinder the growth of online marketing is delayed loading of the page. The web pages that take a lot of time to download test the patience of the consumer. To add to that, if the businesses design complex web pages with lots of graphics and animations, it will slow down the speed even more. Another minus point of online marketing is that the customers cannot feel, taste, smell or try products in order to make a good decision. To over come this, some of the online stores have created liberal return policies with the help of which the customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

Another biggest threat of online shopping is identity theft. Paying online using credit cards, e-checks are susceptible to hackers and information can be stolen and used. Many hackers and websites have been caught who were involved in buying and selling of personal information. Most of the websites have taken measures and incorporated good security on their websites. One of the best methods is encryption. When the data is being transferred between two computers; there is a possibility of a hacker intercepting it. So the data is changed by applying some encryption algorithm and is sent through the network and upon receiving, the decryption algorithm is applied to bring back the data to its original form.

Online selling is influencing all kinds of businesses like banking, advertising, music, etc. Instead of going to a store for buying cassettes and CDs, music can be bought online. Bank transactions like depositing, withdrawing, transferring funds, and paying bills are all performed online. Billions of dollars are invested every year in online advertising alone.  

Marketing and Sales: What is the difference?

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 big mistake. Marketing involves designing a product according to the needs of the market and customers, promoting the product through advertising etc. and setting up a competitive price for the product. Marketing is a platform which drives sales. While 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 critical to the success of these two important activities.

Marketing is the backbone of a company’s future and launching pad for the sales. While the marketing process encompasses the design of the product, advertising etc. the sales process is the execution of all the efforts which involves direct interaction with client either by in-person meeting or cold calls or by networking. But there is always an ongoing rivalry between the two, one claiming dominancy over other. The marketing people say they have an upper hand because they think it is they who designs the products, lays down the strategy and also develops tools essential for sales. They say sales are 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 think that it is the sales people who actually sells a product and bring money to the business. 

But many experts believe that marketing should play a pivotal role among the two. A successful marketing campaign makes sales easy and makes people believe that it is actually the sales people who are the dominant leaders. The most important role of 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, one who is constantly backing up the sales department and enabling them to successfully deliver the end product. 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 should envision their product catering to the needs of the market for next few years and be ready to make design changes in their 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.

How to write a winning sales letter?

How to write a winning sales letter?

Writing a sales letter is tough and writing a winning sales letter is even tougher. Many sales managers break their heads thinking why they can’t get it right. Well, to answer this question they should put them in people’s shoes and ask what “benefit “would I get by reading this sales letter? Remember that word “benefit” which is the crux of this discussion. Many sales people take bits and pieces of information from here and there and create mess out of a sales letter. They literally throw everything on people and then get what they deserve, instant rejection.

One should always remember that a sales letter works only when you have a product to sell and an offer to make. A sales letter should not be an introduction of your product or company. Remember every word is important in the sales letter and do not waste a single one which would distract your potential customer’s attention. They are not interested in the features of you product but an offer or a benefit to them. Think from the customer’s point of view and ask yourselves why should I read the letter? Is there any benefit or offer to me which cannot be refused? Can you convince me that it is really a good offer?

After keeping in mind these things, sales managers should apply thought in presenting their letter. The header or the headline is very crucial to any sales letter. It should target directly to the customers of your product. One also needs to be little tactful in use of words. But if you are not good at the trade do not attempt to do it and rather be simple in writing it. The headline should not be more a line, so try to be as specific as possible but with maximum affect. Nobody has time to read each and every letter in this fast paced era of instant satisfaction. If you are not able to convey your message to the audience in stipulated time, then you have lost those customers. The headline should start with a benefit being offered to the customer. This ensures that the customer goes to the body of the letter at least.

Now, having made a good effort with the heading, it’s the time to work on the body of the letter. How to maintain the level of enthusiasm that you created in the customer’s mind with the heading? Once again it is important to remember to not to focus on features of the product you are trying to sell but on the benefits and offers you are making to them. Things like how much money it is going to save them and how it would affect their lives should be mentioned in the body of the letter. Make them realize a need for it and compare it competitor’s product. Remember, a person reading your sales letter will constantly get questions in mind as to how this will benefit me, after each and every sentence. So be ready to clear those doubts and answer the questions. Being little informal in the approach wouldn’t do a harm and try to grab the attention by relating things to real life things. You can add a little bit of humor but unless you are sure that it won’t be in the bad taste of the reader. Bring in few previous clients to give testimony of your products. But keep the testimonials believable and something that people can relate to.

Once you’ve made clear about the product, do not forget to prompt your audience to take action. If it is an email, prompt your reader to click on a link to act now or provide a contact number if it is a direct mail. Also remind them again that if you don’t act now you will forfeit the offer as the offer is for limited time only.

Once you are done with the letter, one of the important parts of the sales letter is P.S. Many people simply read the beginning and end of the letter. So, try to convey something that will prompt them to go back to the letter and read it. It will be a perfect end to the sales letter.

Increasing the business with the help of Promotional Gifts

Gifts are loved by one and all. Gifts are a way of expressing gratitude and marketing gifts are given to customer to thank them and most of the customers are more than happy to receive gifts from companies they pay patronage. The thank you gifts cannot only be presented to existing customers but also to potential customers when they try a new product of the company. This would encourage them to buy other products, which will increase the company sales. This practice can be made more advantageous by making it as marketing and branding strategy, which helps in expanding business along with earning customer goodwill. To make it marketing oriented, a lot of planning should be put it in so as to not to loose its essence. 

Sending promotional gifts is a means of rewarding clients to appreciate their kind cooperation through out the years; they will make customers feel that they are valued. Flyers are discarded the moment they are received, and are seldom read. But when a person is gifted with something that he/she can use, there is a probability that they will not only enjoy it, but they will also keep it for sometime, might be for several years and until the time they have it, they will remember the company. One of the better methods is to print the name of the company on the gift. This doesn’t involve any strategy and can be implemented even if there is lack of imagination. Name and brand recognition can be established by getting the logo of the company or information of the company printed on the gift. This also helps build recognition among potential customers. 

Also give the customers the gifts that last long. The longer the gift lasts the longer the customer will remember your company. Gifts like pen, key chain, coffee mug, calendar, refrigerator magnets, etc. which not only lasts forever but are something that is observed and used many times a day. There are certain gifts, which can fit the budget, promote marketing and at the same time serve the purpose of gift. 

Calendars are one of the most opted gifts by small companies as promotional products. They aren’t expensive and are used year round. Following them are office supplies. Stationary tub, embedded pens, sticky pads and diaries containing the logo of the company are very good gift ideas too. Desktop accessories are the next best things. Things like pen stands, paperweight are hot giveaways. 

For home gifts like fridge magnets, coffee mugs and thermo-flask make ideal gifts. They, too, get noticed many times a day. The good thing about them is they can be modeled in different colors, shapes and styles and can be unique when compared to other’s promotional products. And hence, they are more like collectible items. Innovation can increase the interest of the user in this regard.

Key chains are also something which is carried everywhere and they don’t even cost too much. Usually people use the promotional ones to store spare keys. T-shirts and cap are a bit expensive, but are worth the investment. They are usually worn outside and people around can easily sight the company’s name and logo and they function like a walking billboard. 

Creativity is the key to selecting a right gift to market your and so is the money. The more the money invested, the better the gift, but the gift should be selected such that it earns maximum returns.

Global Marketing

Global Marketing

Global marketing is nothing but marketing done on national and international level and which involves understanding the similarities, dissimilarities and taking advantage of the opportunities to attain the goal. Concentrating on global marketing is as important as concentrating on domestic marketing if a company is aiming to increase sales.

The domestic market has become saturated in most categories of products and services, in all industrialized countries and hence, they started to deal with other countries to increase their sales. Usually in such case, goods that are too expensive for the domestic customers to buy are exported to other well-off countries.

When a company does marketing within the boundaries of a specific county, it has to compete with other domestic companies as well as international companies who are a part of the market. The marketing steps taken by the professionals are based on the taste of a specific audience. The product might not suit the taste of customers at a higher level. The other domestic companies that plan to go global hinder the growth of such companies. They become invisible at the international level as they are unable to cope with the growing competition and might not be aware of potential competitors. The product development is dependant on the need of the local residents. Such kinds of businesses are ethnocentric and are only bothered about their performance in the domestic marketplace.

Companies planning to go global should start with export to a foreign client first. The returns wouldn’t be satisfying in the beginning. The export department can be introduced at the headquarters that deals with all the laws. There can be a possibility of becoming secondary exporters by bringing export management company into the picture, who will deal with the language problem, time difference, paperwork and customers. If managing the exports without any help, the export department can be started at an office located abroad. This office works in collaboration with the regional headquarters. But the respective offshore offices take the marketing decisions, as they will have best knowledge about the particular market they are operating in.

Multinational marketing involves marketing in many countries. The marketing is based on the requirements of different countries and the returns are rewarding. Each region should be studied individually based on development, production and marketing. Such kinds of markets are known as region centric. Global marketing involves the whole globe. The entire world is summarized as a single market and the products that are released in the market should fit the needs of any regional marketplace. Marketers all over the world make the marketing decisions. Such a kind of market is known as geocentric.

Automotive industry is one such market that saw a global boost in sales during the last fifty years. Earlier only the local companies like Ford and General Motors used to produce cars in America, but today other international competitors like Toyota and Honda are operating in the same market and have out done the local companies. Another key factor to the global marketing is the Internet, which introduced e-commerce. Businesses went going online and global. This encouraged the sales of the company and the figures are only increasing because of ever increasing Internet users.   The geographical location of customers is no longer a hindrance. Global marketing management and business-to-business e-commerce is growing rapidly.  

Product, price, placement and promotion are the elements of global marketing. The product created should be such that it can sell anywhere using the same method.  It should consider the primary elements of all the markets. However, the language in which the product is named can be changed, where as the content can remain the same. The price is never constant. It should be decided after reviewing the market and the currency of the country. The variables which affect prices are location where the product is being produced, cost of ingredients, transportation charges, labor charges, etc.

Placement is how the product is distributed and how it reaches the targeted market. Like in third world countries, there is a lack of superstores, so they can be placed or sold at ordinary shops. After the product is developed and distributed, it should be promoted precisely known as advertising, promotion is one of the major steps of marketing and consumes major part of the budget. If it is possible to send out the same message worldwide in a relevant and cost-effective way, it sure must be put into practice but the challenge is really big.

How to make a marketing campaign appealing?

Marketing campaigns cannot survive if they boring. Everyday there are more than three thousand marketing messages reaching out to the customers and it is really a huge competition if one expects to be recognized among the crowd. This message should talk to the customer and influence his mind. Strong, creative, confident and exciting are the key factors that a message should have, as that will embed it into the customer’s thinking and he remembers it for a longer time. The customer should feel empowered and should think of taking some action right away. For instance Nike’s catch line is Just do it, it’s a line that has such a great impact on the minds of the people that they use that line even when talking about everything else, along with Nike products. It is obvious that by adding certain features, the marketing appeal can be multiplied. 

Scientists agree to the fact that using visuals to make a person learn something is the best option than any other means and as one of the famous saying goes “a picture speaks a thousand words”. So the best bet is to add visuals to promote marketing. Visuals can be anything like pictures, animations, or graphics. See yourself what wonders it does by placing a picture of a representative and products on the company’s website. This not only brings the customers close but also strengthens the relationship. 

Different colors depict different types of emotions. Messages can be delivered to people suing colors and meaning can be added to it. Red and blue are colors liked by aggressive shoppers where as yellow color can catch good attention of the on lookers. Green reflects health, money and nourishment, so it can be used in food advertisement. Black means strength and power that is why it has been used by Jaguar, on their website background and advertisement. Wealth and royalty means purple. Colors used on business cards can also be used to attract the customers. But the colors should be carefully played with, too much can be distracting. A professional help can be sought when selecting colors for business cards, website font, website background, logo, etc., to send the right message. On websites, fonts can be added which change colors and graphics that move. 

There are lots of options available when thinking of what technology to use. The good news is that most of the options are cheap and easy to use. Audios and videos can be added to your website to attract attention. Like when one visits the Pepsi homepage, they are greeted with energetic music, which attracts teenagers instantly. To make a more realistic approach, welcome message, introduction video, interviews, or how the goods are produced, can be added to the website. Hearing a voice can be very touching and a rapport can be immediately developed with the visitor. Like Adidas’ website opens with a video which truly fits their punch line, Impossible is nothing.           

Business cards should be outstanding and at its creative best. Professionally designed graphics can be added to a brochure type of card. Information about the company, contact information, quotations, and picture can be added on four sides of it. The fonts should be the same. 

Just listing the benefits isn’t enough. Customers want more, they want their needs to be met. Like if some is thinking of buying an exercise equipment, don’t just say that the machine has display, automatic incline, cooling device, CD player, programs, but also add that there is a program with audio instructions which encourages the person to do exercise, which is meant for people who need real motivation to get out of their couch and to start sweating out. So convey exactly why the customer should use the product, be more precise. 

Uniqueness is the biggest key factor. Not only should the products and services be unique, the marketing campaign should be unique too. Not only will the effort be appreciated but also the impression will be everlasting. Once faith of customers is gained, they will be like free walking advertisement and will spread the word to their friends and acquaintances like anything.

Disadvantages of using email to sell

Disadvantages of using email to sell

Some sales people think using email to sell everything is the best idea. But the truth it is not. It is not a good idea to replace calls with emails when contacting with a potential client. Some people use email to sell products, to avoid the humiliation of rejection. Also the major disadvantage of taking this approach is that there can be a possibility of not getting an email while awaiting a transaction related to a sales process.

More than seventy five percent of the businesses today have replaced calls with emails, and in the process has lost the personal touch. The reason why businesses do this is that feel awkward to face rejection when speaking directly to the customer. It hurts less to hear a no though an email. Some people get tired of hearing the voicemails repeatedly. They think it’s a better idea to switch to emails.

When trying to sell products or services to a new client, it is not possible to gain customer’s trust through an email, which makes the foundation of a long-term relationship, weak. Some well to do firms, think that they are recognized in the market but they forget that there are strict spam filters installed, these firms take the risk of sending introductory emails to potential customer. There are very little chances that the customer will receive the email and will read it. But when calling a potential customer, there is a higher probability of the customer receiving the call and all the resources invested will be put good use.

If the company still thinks that sending emails to clients is the best approach, some points should be taken care of. The introductory email contains introduction about the company, brief information about the products and services they offer and information about method of purchase and contact. All the information included in the email should give the impression to the reader that the company is interested in benefiting the customer and not themselves.

The introductory email should sound like it’s trying to solve the problems and try to build a strong relationship with the prospective customer. For this the targeted people should be thoroughly studied in order to understand their shortcomings and what wonders they would expect from a particular product. In the first time itself; do not mention that the company and the client is a good match for each other. Sales pitches should be repelled completely.

Don’t put the company’s name in the heading of the email. When the company’s name is included in the heading, the customer gets the impression that profit of the company is its top priority and not interest of the customer. It’s a good marketing strategy to include the name of the product being sold, features of the product and how it can solve the problem of the reader. The subject should tell it all, and should also catch the attention in the first glance itself.

Its best to start emailing the customer after the foundation of a strong long-term relationship is laid first. At first the customers should be personally approached. Later when the customer’s trust is gained, further dealings can be done through emails. Emails should only act as a back up method of communicating. Take care that word like “we” should be avoided and replaced with the word “you”. The customer feels that he is being directly referred too.

There should be no negativity in the matter. This sets the mind of the customer in a negative mood and he will actually get the opposite message. For example, instead of writing ‘We don’t sell low quality products’, write ‘We sell high quality products’. Don’t condition the customer. This creates a pressure on the customer and they will start to avoid any calls and emails from the company.

Emails can be used during difficult times. Suppose some soreness erupted between the parties or at least from the side of the customer, emails written with polite and gentle words can melt the toughness and can open up good terms again. The best thing is to stop using email as the only way of communicating, completely. Companies that directly reach out to clients reflect higher level of confidence and create a good impression on new customers.

Doing Research on Marketing

Research on marketing is essential to understand the pattern of marketing. This is possible by searching existing knowledge related to business marketing. It is a form of business research, business-to-business marketing research and business marketing research. Marketing research is done in many forms and all these forms are known as problem-identification research.

Research in advertising is done to determine the copy testing of advertisements. It is also used to know the efficiency of ads placed in any medium, the customer attention it gets, the message it delivers and how it motivates the customers to buy the product. Commercial eye tracking is done to understand the visual behavior of the customer. Ads, websites, etc., are analyzed for this. Before an advertisement is released in the market, its performance can be forecasted with the help of copy testing which takes consumer’s level of attention, motivation, brand liking, and entertainment into consideration. 

When a customer buys something online he analyses it in order to make the decision, this one of the criteria on which consumer decision research is done. Interviews and surveys can be done to understand consumer’s level of satisfaction, which is known as customer satisfaction studies. The demographic and psychology of the people of a particular geographical region can be studied with the help of segmentation research. 

When analyzing is to be done about brand recognition, brand performance, brand preference and awareness, ad tracking is done. A favorite brand can be recognized with the help of brand equity research. Tests are conducted so as to determine what customer thinks about a brand or a product and it is specifically known as brand name testing. The demand of a product can be understood by demand estimation. After the demand of the product is taken care of, the quality should be checked from time to time. Appointing mystery shoppers who is usually an employee of the market research firm does this. He buys goods through a salesperson and notes down the whole experience. This procedure can be used to do research about rival companies’ products.

Before practical application of a concept, concept testing should be done which tells whether the targeted audience will like the idea or not. Test marketing is done by introducing a product in small numbers in the market and observing the sales, after which the product is launched on a large-scale. After the initial phase, when the company thinks of increasing the price of the product, price elasticity testing should be carried out which shows customer reaction to price fluctuations. Distribution channel audits are conducted to understand the attitudes of retailers and distributors towards specific products and brands. 

The more tech savvy form of marketing research is Internet strategic intelligence. The likes and dislikes of the customers can be directly known with the help of chats, blogs and forums. Online panels are a group of experts who accept the marketing research done online.  

All the researches that are carried out can be classified as primary research, which gathers original research, and secondary research, which is based on a primary research and information published by other resources. Secondary research costs less as research is done on already researched data, but the result isn’t efficient.

The research designs used by marketing research are either based on questioning or are based on observations. Quantitative marketing research and qualitative marketing research are based on questioning. Quantitative marketing research is done to derive conclusions like questionnaires forms and survey. The number of respondents involved is high. Qualitative marketing research is done to understand something like in-depth interviews and projective techniques.

Marketing research based on observations is called experimental technique and ethnographic studies. Test markets and purchase laboratories are examples of experimental techniques. The quantity measured is determined by understanding the factors that are responsible for the success of a product and then one or some of the factors are changed and the result is observed.  In ethnographic studies observations are done longitudinally or done at several instances of time or cross-sectional, or done at only a particular time.

Research on marketing is similar to exit polling in politics. The market is studied from different angles, at different time, and under different circumstances.