So you think you have the perfect product. Maybe it’s an all-in-one toaster, omelet fryer, and coffee maker. Or a telephone that auto-dials contacts at pre-programmed times, making that Saturday afternoon phone call to mom easier to remember. How about a toilet paper dispenser that automatically re-orders toilet paper from your local supermarket when the roll gets low? Regardless of your product is, one thing is certain: you will need to identify the consumer or consumers most likely to purchase it. When Mind Maps are a creative and effective way to design product-to-consumer flowcharts, and they can help facilitate the brainstorming process surrounding identifying your target buyer.
Using Mind Mapping to Put Together a Product-to-Consumer Flow Chart
Mind Mapping is a means of depicting information, or “mapping out” ideas using words, images, colors, and other visual representations. Information constructed in this manner is thought to stimulate the brain’s natural learning functionality, because it makes use of several learning pathways, rather than just one. With Mind Maps, the brain must process words, colors and images, not just words alone. This engages multiple areas of the brain, allowing thoughts to flow more easily and intuitively.1 Mind Maps are, therefore, a natural choice for brainstorming to create marketing flowcharts that help identify buyers.
The first step in creating a product-to-consumer flow chart is to represent the product as the central topic of the Mind Map. This topic should be located in the center of the map. Next, the main uses or functions of the product should be attached to the central image, and listed on “branches” flowing from the image. Any product sub-uses that you feel are important to note should be listed next, and attached to the “branches” on “child-branches”. Lastly, decide what groups are most likely to benefit from the uses or functions your product offers, and attach them to the uses/functions using more “child branches”. The attached Mind Map depicts a flow-chart connecting the a product called the “Video Game Cell Phone” to its potential consumer(s) in the manner described above.
Identifying Consumer Target Groups From the Mind Mapped Flow-Chart
As the Mind Map shows, consumers 18-24 are most likely to benefit from all four of the listed uses/functions. Therefore, you might decide that 18-24 year olds are the most likely target base for your product. However, 25-34 year olds appear to likely benefit from three of the four uses your product offers, making those in this age group good targets of your product as well. A marketing campaign focused on consumers age 18-34 thus emerges as the strategy most profitable to pursue. Though simplistic in nature, the attached Mind Map shows how instrumental it can be in the initial brainstorming process for identifying the target consumer. By organizing initial brainstorming ideas in the manner described, marketers can save money and time when deciding where to put the emphasis for a marketing campaign.
When undertaking any marketing research project, the first step the market researcher needs to take is to determine exactly how the project will be carried out. Questions such as: “Will this be a phone survey or a computer survey?”, “How many respondents will be surveyed?”, and “How long will the survey be in field?” are crucial to answer before beginning the research project. It is often at this point that researchers can get a bit overwhelmed; successfully organizing a research project requires the fitting together of many components. Mind Maps can provide an easy and workable way to organize a research project. By clearly “mapping out” the research project, from beginning to end, using visuals, key words and pictures, the intuitive process of finding out what the consumer thinks can naturally emerge.
An Example of Mind Mapping a Research Project
Consider, as an example, a market researcher who has been hired by her client to find out how well his fast food product rates among fast food consumers. The researcher wants to organize how the study will proceed using a Mind Map. She begins by listing the main research objective of the study in the center of the Mind Map, which, in this case, is to find out how fast food consumers rate Product X. Next, he or she lists the main points he or she will undertake in the study, such as “recruit panel”, and “field survey”. These steps are attached to the central topic via “branches” that flow from the topic. Here, the researcher may want to insert any pictures, colors or visuals she chooses to make the Mind Map more intuitive. For example, she may insert a graphic depicting people next to the step “recruit panel”, to represent the people in the panel.
After listing the main steps of the attached Mind Map diagram, all of the steps he/she needs to conduct the study are clearly laid out. Compare this method of organizing a research project with the method of simply taking notes on a piece of paper. Absent the visual imagery and spatial layout of the Mind Map, the second method would likely be more tedious to comprehend, and thus, work with. The researcher now has the distinct advantage of conducting the study using information that is easily organized and intuitively processed. The research project is ready to commence.
Presenting the findings of a research study to the client is the pinnacle of the entire research process. Working out how to present these findings in a way that the client can easily understand, is, therefore, a crucial part of any market researcher’s job. One way to present these findings is by using a presenting research findings to clients, because they offer a visually stimulating, easily understood, representation of the results.
An Example of Research Findings Organized Using a Mind Map
Imagine a scenario in which a researcher has just finished fielding a study for his client on her new product, the Big, Beefy, Juicy Burger. The client wants to know how well her product did in a taste and naming test. After reviewing the data, the researcher discovers that the product did well taste-wise among all age groups except those18-24 years old, and poorly in terms of the product name among females in general, 25-34 year olds, and those age 50 and older. In addition, male respondents and those age 34 and younger said they were more likely to buy the product if sold than females and those 35+. All of these findings contain information that the client would want to know. How can the researcher use a Mind Map to organize these findings?
The researcher might first begin by listing the main research objective, to find out how well the Big, Beefy, Juicy Burger does on the dimensions of taste, name preference, and intent to buy, in the center of the Mind Map. He next could list each of the three dimensions stated in the research objective on “branches” that are attached to the central image. The dimension fields would have “child branches” labeled “Dislike” and “Like” stemming from them. Lastly, flowing from the “Like” and “Dislike” “child branches” would be the main groupings of the respondents surveyed, the age and gender groupings, depending on how well that dimension did with the group. For instance, if 60% or more of respondents in a group liked the product name, that group would be attached to the “Like” “child branch” of the name preference dimension.
The researcher should be as creative as possible when constructing the Mind Map to make it both visually stimulating and easy to understand. Simply put, the client should be able to understand the research findings just by looking at the map, without any explanation from the researcher. Attached is a Mind Map showing the stated research example and findings “mapped out” in the manner described.
Easier Delivery of Research Findings to Clients
In the attached example, a Mind Map showing the findings of the research study was constructed using a very simple process. However, as the attached Mind Map exhibits, the findings are clearly identifiable, and are shown in colorful, visual, take-away representations. The inherent clarity and intuitive nature of the Mind Map makes it easy for the researcher to present his or her findings, and give any subsequent recommendations based on these findings. By beginning with a clearly constructed diagram of the findings, the researcher has now made the final step of delivering them to the client much simpler.
There have been so many instances when we have needed expert legal opinion.We’ve been cheated by bogus holiday rentals, taken for a ride by false salesmen or duped by real estate agents who’ve fed you with a heap of lies. However, people hesitate to hire the services of a lawyer because of the costs and documentation involved. To overcome these problems, PrePaid Legal services Inc was established; through this, members need to pay a fixed amount every month to use free legal assistance for certain issues.
How It All Started – Background Of The Company
The foundation for PrePaid legal Inc was laid in 1969 when Harland C.Stonecipher got into a vehicle accident that left him in a legal tangle with lots of bills to pay. He started a scheme to offer legal assistance for a small monthly fee. He started the company and it was established as a network marketing firm in Ada, Oklahama. Now the company has offices in 50 states and in Canada. In the following years, the company went on to win several accolades and grew in size. However it also had its share of lawsuits from dissatisfied customers as well as representatives.
If you are a member with Prepaid Legal Services Inc, you could use legal services of expert attorneys for documentations and research work, wills, assistance in traffic violation issues, insurance claims, general minor attorney services and legal help in auto theft cases. Divorce, bankruptcy and criminal charges are not included in the services provided; but as a member, you could get a discount of up to 25% for such cases. The Firm also offers an identity theft monitoring and restoration service.
Become an associate by paying the startup fee of . Earn between and 0 for each order you bring in. Good performers also get perquisites when they achieve targets. Payment is made as soon as orders are submitted; so there’s no waiting period for commissions. New reps are trained well in the art of selling and given complete support.
Problems faced by reps
The way the opportunity’s projected, you’d think you could easily earn a five figure salary every month. You may have a vast network of friends, but not everyone shows the same interest as you in this program. The challenges faced by reps in this business are:
- Most people don’t need legal services regularly; hence they wouldn’t want to spend so much money on prepaid legal services. - The company follows a traditional network marketing setup wherein associates are trained to invite people they know to “parties”. Most customers are fed up with such strategies; this technique is not likely to bring in much business. - Customers cannot be won over by trying to coax them to subscribe to your product. Pestering them will not help your cause nor get you referrals. Winning PrePaid Legal Services Strategies
In an MLM setup, your income depends on your promotion techniques. In the network marketing field, people are either completely frustrated or brilliantly successful. One way of ensuring good results is promoting your business online. Find out tips and tricks of virtual marketing and you’ll be surprised to see the results in your business.
So, you have a website but now are struggling to take it to the next level. You have probably read about affiliate marketing but are unsure if it is right for your business. The good news is that you are not alone. Basically, an affiliate marketing company is about partnering up with an“affiliate” who in turn, promote your products on their site, and take a commission off the completed sale. There are many different options when shopping for an affiliate network and it is important that you know what to look for before you lay down your credit card.
Every affiliate network will require some sort of financial commitment up front. Do not join a network that makes outlandish promises. These companies tend to require a huge upfront payment upwards of ,000 just to get you into their network. Some talk about how much money you will make and that it is easy to recoup your initial investment. Do not fall into this trap. There is not a guarantee in affiliate marketing so it is best to start small at a lower investment before selling the farm.
Make sure you check into the company before committing to anything and of course perform extensive research. You want to look for low commission rates, organized affiliate marketing programs, and access to the affiliates by phone or email. You will want to choose a network that also provides these services if your company has a limited tech or creative department. At times the services will be included in the package and other times you will have to make an additional investment.
The single most important thing about being successful with affiliate marketing is the landing page. A landing page is a 1 page lead or sales generation tool that users “land on” when they click on your ad or link on your affiliates websites. If your organization doesn’t have the greatest converting site, your landing page should still easily counteract this. Most affiliate marketing businesses will work with you to optimize the landing pages. You will want to build several landing pages and perform some testing and research to see which landing page is working the best. A great way to stir up some ideas is to search online for high converting landing pages. There are tons of sites that talk about what is working and not working on a landing page with examples from a variety of different companies.
If done correctly, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative aspect of your business. Just be mindful that not all affiliate networks and businesses are created equal.
Epicenter Network offers contextual advertising and CPA lead creation through its affiliates and web properties. Find out how Epicenter, an affiliate marketing company, can work with your business.
A successful business comes from exploring potential marketing actions that are cheap but will yield you maximum income.
Even if you are working with a shoestring marketing budget, you can use these simple ways to attract clients and see your business flourish. All you need is time and a good plan.
First and foremost, your natural charm, friendly demeanor and winning attitude are your greatest assets. These qualities go a long way toward getting your foot in the door. You want to come across as friendly and trustworthy.
If someone doesn’t feel comfortable around you, the odds of them training with you on a regular basis are very slim. The best way to meet potential clients is to actually get out and meet people.
Spend time in the gym chatting with members; hit the tennis courts or even the golf courses.
Obviously, talk alone can only do so much for you. You always want to have business cards on you to hand out to people you meet. A well designed business card will create a very professional impression towards your potential clients. Printing out cards on your printer at home won’t cut it. Invest in quality business cards – it’s possible to get them done at a very reasonable rate.
Ever think about why many people (like Real Estate Agents) have their photo on their business card?
It’s because they know people are less likely to throw away a card that has a picture on it. So have you’re mug shot taken and place it on your card.
A good way to separate yourself from all the other trainers is to promote what makes you a unique trainer.
What are your specialties?
Just announcing that you’re a personal trainer doesn’t necessarily tell people what you have to offer. Do you know how to help rehabilitate injuries? Do you focus on training competitive athletes? Are you more interested in fitness beginners? Determining your target market will enable you to know which fitness marketing strategies to use and makes you stand out from the rest.
In the world we live in, people love freebies. Attracting more people into your business can be helped along by giving out free assessments or sessions to clients who can refer as many friends as they can. The evaluation allows you to show the prospective client why they need you as a trainer. Here is where your personality shines through and you use your greatest assets to close the deal.
Since you now have some new clients, you can allocate more funds for marketing. Lots of weekly local newspapers offer very affordable rates for business card size ads. This will give you exposure to a greater number of people and hopefully will fill up your remaining time slots.
Following these simple, effective and yet economical tips will swell your schedule with training sessions. A little leg work now equals a steady flow of clients and financial independence in the future.
Ready to grow your Trainer Business?
Personal trainer salaries range from thirty thousand to well over a hundred grand. Are you getting paid what you are worth?
If you haven’t noticed, there is plenty of money to be made in affiliate sales nowadays. The increasing number and variety of ecommerce sites these days means that there are lots more pieces of the pie to go around and affiliates can make money whilst sending more sales to an online retailer. It’s a win-win situation at the end of the day. That said, there are some big problems that affiliates face, and they usually pop up time after time. Lets take a look at three of the most common and fatal mistakes made by affiliate sellers.
Thinking too small. What most affiliate marketers forget is that even if a market is big enough to support an online retailer or two, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s big enough to support affiliates. This site selling snowboards for example may be able to survive, but seeing as they will only pass on around 10% of the profits to affiliates, it is unlikely that affiliates sites could servive in such a niche. This means that affiliates are required to umbrella a good number of smaller niches in order to stand a chance of capturing a decent amount of the overall market.
Thinking too big. When products cost a great deal of money, like buying a swimming pool or even luxury cruises for example, sellers take a lot of time over their decisions.It is quite rare for buyers to follow affiliate links for expensive goods or services and then buy them on the same day. They will do more research, ask relatives, go to travel agents etc. When they actually get to a stage that they are ready to make the purchase, your affiliate referral will have been lost in the ether. Sticking to smaller items such as gifts and downloads is far more likely to get results and people are more likely to buy these quickly.
Too uncompetitive. With any successful market it is not long before it attracts quite a crowd, and you find that you are not only competing with lots more affiliate marketers, but on top of that you have to try and boost your profile over the online merchant. The difference being that they are working to get 100% of the profit, whilst you are only working for a proportion of that. What this essentially means then is you need to put in more effort or more ingenuity to keep ahead of the others.
Do you own a traditional offline bricks and mortar business that really needs a a marketing boost? If so, do you own an online presence as part of your marketing formula?
The web is today the first selection for folks searching merchandise and services they are thinking about purchasing. The internet has now taken over the yellow pages as the leading consumer enquiry resource.
Hence, if your enterprise isn’t online, it is missing an sizeable percentage of the market which may be costing you a healthy amount of annual profit.
If you are considering going online with your business, you genuinely want to consider incorporating direct response marketing ideas in the design of your web site.
Leaflet style internet sites that bring zippo to your gross sales and business development are really not worth the trouble.
Business is all about selling and a web presence is fundamentally a sales medium which you are well advised to take advantage of.
Of course, advertizing your website is is fundamental to success and you may consider the benefits to engage a specialist online marketing consultant to get the job done.There are many things to consider when creating a sales oriented website and it can take a lot of your time and expensive if not done the right way.
Maintaining a current perspective on on-line marketing techniques is primary because web based marketing tools are continually evolving and shifting. Most small business owners working 70 hours a week just don’t have the energy or time to keep up with their own marketing plans and run the risk of being left behind if they do not include the web as a key part of their marketing resource kit.
There are long lists of marketing ideas that can be effective online. It is often a matter of testing an idea to see which strategies work best for your business.
It is essential for any business enterprise to be trying different strategies all the time just to keep up with the competition. Web marketing techniques include SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), article marketing, blogs, pay per click, banner advertising, email marketing, autoresponders, RSS, social networking, link swapping, link building, on-site optimization,video marketing etc.
Creating a marketing plan that builds upon your current marketing plan can give up spectacular results. The key is to sustain momentum and always be trying different ways to acquire new potential leads, sustain active customer loyalty and increase your clients average life-time value to your business.
Online marketing can be a very cost effective way of attaining speedy development in earnings and longterm dominance in your local market.
Many of the lower cost press release distribution services are now offering you to specify a release time. The large wire service providers have always allowed you to specify the release time and time zone. With this in mind, a {public relations agency the entire day to line up interviews with company executives, if requested.
Note your “target timezone” may be different than the location of your business. If your company headquarters is in New York, but you primarily sell on the West Coast, a 7:30am PST release time would be best. Early AM release submissions have given us the best media pickup. Remember though, you always have to option of sending reporters releases “under embargo” which means you can send them ahead of time and, by ethics, the receiver agreees not to publish until your specified date and time. {However, we find sending releases “under embargo” is not as effective as a timed morning distribution}. Many editors and journalists now frown upon embargoes releases or the release slips their minds because it was sent days before actual distribution.
For a press release distribution service consider Marketwire.com.Marketwire’s state-only distribution are great bargains if you are a local company.And their SEO-enhanced options at $200 is highly-recommended as anchor-text backlinks remain intact even in online news sites such as Google News and Yahoo! News. If you can’t afford Marketwire for a national release, then use PRWeb at $80 if you’re really budget-limited, or the $200 PRWeb SEO-enhanced version with anchor text backlinks. But be aware that at the PRWeb package, you will not be able to specify the {time of distribution- the $80 option releases only at midnight}.
Direct marketing is a sub-discipline and type of marketing. It has its definitional characteristics distinguished from other types of marketing. It involves commercial communication with consumers or businesses, including direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, etc.
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It’s a cost-effective way and a good marketing solution to purchase direct marketing lists (http://www.kingsbridgelists.com/ ). With the direct marketing lists, you can obtain names and addresses of people interested in the products and services you offer. You can take a targeted approach to communicate and develop new customers. The more selects you choose for your marketing lists, the more targeted your campaign will be.
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With direct marketing lists, you can reach a targeted audience. Some advertising techniques, like radio and TV advertising and roadside billboards, are highly expensive and difficult. While a direct marketing list is definitely different. You can focus on businesses and consumers that have purchased from companies similar to yours. And also, those featured on the list need the products and services you offer and additional information.
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Direct mail is the most common form of business-to-business correspondence. Sending an offer through email is a very different approach to mailing collateral to businesses on direct marketing lists. Email marketing is a godsend for small business owners. An effective, targeted email-marketing campaign can drive traffic to your site. It’s so effective than a traditional direct-marketing campaign.
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An email list consists of consumers who actually want to receive offers from companies like yours. They offer more request information by opting in through web forms or e-mails. It’s an effective way to help you conduct a faster marketing campaign. The list broker conducts the campaign and tracks the results for you.
