Marketing – Page 7 – Business Fundas

5 Secrets on How to create a winning PPC Strategy

For all the online marketers, Pay Per Click (PPC) can be a really powerful strategy for online marketing, but if you don’t know what you are doing then PPC can drain your money in a day. PPC is one of internet advertising methods on websites that has created quite a stir. For example, Google, Yahoo, Bing, even Facebook, they all have PPC program, using which businessmen can advertise their products or websites, but the cost can be huge depending on how many clicks were clicked on your posted ads. Here are some tips for PPC program that will help you lower your cost for advertising and increase your sales or visits.

Facebook PPC : Facebook PPC program will be the best to start with for your business. Why? Facebook ad is actually cheaper than other sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Also, it can target ad details to another different level. It’s really easy to use and the result will be faster than others.
Do Your Homework : You will need to do your homework before you get a good grade in class, right? That means do your research on popular keywords before you actually put them in your ad. There are so much different ways you can do. For me, by using Google Adword, Alexa, and Quantcast are the best ways to find out the popular keyword.
Capture Page : For most online marketers, the Capture page is the most important page. The Capture page is a webpage that allow people to put in information of themselves and provides several lines to insert contact information. Why do I need to have their contact information? Because 97 percents of visitors that view your site will not come back again. But by creating a capture page, they will leave you information such as email or phone number that you can contact them with. This will increase the visit rate. PPC charge money whenever people click on your ad, so in order to make sure you are fully using PPC, create a capture page for your visitor.
Details of Your Ad : How convince people to choose your ad over your competitor’s ad? It’s very easy! You need to make your ad different from the others. What I mean by different is give more details of your product’s effect and how to use them. You are not promoting your product, but you are promoting your knowledge of this product. By promoting your knowledge, this will give viewers the sense of trust and they will look further into your product.
Budget Range : Lastly, if you want to start PPC marketing, you should be prepared to spend around $1,500 to $2,000 for a good start. How come the budget is so high? For the first two months of PPC marketing, result will not come out as good as everyone wish. That’s because you will need to start picking up your leads and momentum for all the promotion you are doing. It’s like a snowball rolling down the hill. As it picks up speed, it becomes bigger and bigger. That’s the budget you might spend to start PPC, if you know what you doing.

These are great tips for a successful PPC marketing online. I will tell you one thing: learn as much as you possibly can before you start any marketing. That’s because the more you learn, the faster results you will receive. PPC is a great way to earn income faster, but if you don’t understanding the process it is the fastest way to lose all your money.

The art of need recognition for product conceptualization

Need can either be recognized or generated. Most utility-based products like refrigerators, washing-machines, cars, etc. were introduced to the market because the manufacturers felt that there was a need for such products in the market. Refrigeration, cleaning and transport were far inferior before these products were launched, and post-introduction, they were easily accepted by the society.

On the other hand most fashion accessories, colas, computer games, etc. originated no such popular need; rather such products were able to create a need for them in the market, which did not exist before. These products did not originate from any popular need because suitable substitutes were already in place. For example, fashionable clothing did not add any utility to existing clothing; beverages could easily substitute colas and there were sufficient number of indoor games which could substitute computer games. What these new products did was give new dimensions to existing products which did not exist before. When these offering were perceived superior to existing ones these new products flourished while in other cases they failed.In any case a detailed market analysis is a must before even starting the production of a new product. In the first step when we do not know what product to actually launch we have to first identify different populations and do a market structure analysis to understand the requirements of various groups of people.

Market structure analysis or segmentation seeks to identify and profile subgroups of a given population. Cluster analysis and perceptual mapping are 2 such useful tools for market structure analysis.

Cluster Analysis: Cluster analysis is a set of techniques for separating objects into mutually exclusive groups such that the groups are relatively homogeneous. To explain in simple words, the analyst has to decide how many unique clusters it wants to divide a target population into. The respondents from a market research are then divided into these clusters as per one of their responses. Then an iterative process follows by virtue of which the average answer of a respondent over the set of attributes being investigated by the market research, determines his/her cluster. This iterative process continues until a respondent cannot be reclassified any further.
Perceptual Mapping: It is an insightful and innovative process to estimate the target population’s expected perception of a product or service when it will be launched, or its perception of an existing brand or product/service offering. Most commonly it is a 2D map displaying the strength of association of a product/service with certain attributes, and also in respect to other products/services or competitors.

An Idea Can Change Your Life – But for Better or Worse?

All ideas generated by brain-storming cannot be actually implemented due to various constraints. The company needs to cut down to one or two feasible new product ideas from the pool of all new product suggestions. Exactly which ideas are to be selected, are determined by considering the following:

SWOT analysis
Is there a genuine need for the new product/service?
Is the need substantial enough to support a profitable business?
Do competitors currently offer similar products/services? If “yes”, do the new ideas offer distinctive advantages and customer benefits that competitors don’t?
Is the product/service feasible to produce?
Is the product/service legal?
Is it safe?
If the product/service is a durable good, can it be easily serviced? (Who will service it?)
Are the investment costs required to develop, produce, and market the product reasonably, within the company’s financial realities?
Is the “pay-back period” fast enough to allow you to stay in business?
Can the product be expanded into a line of similar or compatible items later, if the original product was successful?
Can the product be protected with a patent or copyright?
Does the product infringe upon anyone else’s patents or copyrights?
Are all the needed raw materials and supplies readily available?

These are but some of the facts that need to be considered while short listing new product ideas. When the proposed ideas fail to answer the above questionnaire satisfactorily, those ideas have to be rejected or modified.

Out of 100 ideas or more, there may be only one or two real opportunities. Superior business ideas that have the potential to become opportunities have 4 anchors:

They create or add significant value to a customer or end user.
They do so by solving a significant problem, or meeting a significant want or need, for which someone is willing to pay a premium.
They therefore have a robust market, profit margin, and moneymaking characteristics.
They are a good fit with the founder(s) and management team at the time and in the marketplace with a risk/reward balance.

It is not feasible to actually test the performance of all the ideas in the market. These checkpoints actually cut down the number of options to the best ones, which can then be tested for feasibility through market research.

7 Tips for sustaining online business relationships

Social networking is the mantra of the day. People and organizations are increasingly getting dependent on social networks in the course of everyday life and business. It is revolutionizing the way B2C marketing is getting shaped on the web.

So a daunting question still remains, how can one build such networks which would be sustainable in the long run? Do the concepts of relationship marketing still hold in this new influx of social networking platforms?

Here are some tips which may help you to create a lasting bond and a successful social network.

Create friends and not links. Links are transactional and hence not sustainable. Friends however are.
Selectively choose where you need to network. Social networks opens up the windows to too many networks which may not be useful for your need.
Creating relationships with lesser number of friends will do a lot more wonders than building a mammoth network. Your friends will be your value creator.
Know how to connect with your friend besides the work-relationship. Maybe he is an aquarist, or into video games. Discussion over similar interests can fire up an exciting relationship.
Try to hone in to the need of your network and understand the gap in knowledge. You may find that there is an exciting opportunity to zero in amongst your network only. Since it comprises of your friends, the venture will also be successful.
If possible, try to venture out of the cyber world. Phone calls or a meet with your e-buddies can do wonders for your relationship.
Never ever try to get transactional benefits from your friends. They can see through it, and your investments on creating the relationship is instantly loss on the very first exposure. Trust takes a long time to be established, but only an instant to break.

These are simple yet highly effective tips to take that transactional relationship with members of your network to the next level. Try them and create the next success story.

Remember: Transactions are a one time business, but relationships pay divident for the entire lifetime.

Chrome Touch: Or is it Chrome vs I-Pad?

An exciting revelation about Google: that the magician company may be looking to incorporate touch features in their Chrome operating system. This would pitch Chrome’s capabilities against that of Apple’s I-Pad touch features. Who would win this battle of the giants?

Google may be looking to incorporate touch features in their Chrome operating system. This would pitch Chrome’s capabilities against that of Apple’s I-Pad touch features (or even against HP Slate). Who would win this battle of the giants?

When questioned about whether Chrome OS would include multitouch capability, Anders Sandholm, Senior Product Manager of Search, quoted “I can’t, I mean, right now we are targeting netbooks, that’s what we’re focused on, but I expect it to work well. We expect it to target everything up to desktop computers. Chrome OS will be built for a specific hardware setup.”

Incorporating the Touch Feature would enable Google to enter the tablet markets, one, which Google is still to enter. This would pit Google severely against Apple’s newly launched I-Pad and against the zillion other tablet devices by Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, Dell and Acer (to name a few).

Mobile devices from HTC, Apple, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, HP and others have already made touch capablities popular amongst the the consumers. With so many mobile devices providing support for touch features, consumers are ready to accept an operating system which would imbibe that magic touch experience into the operating systems of laptops, notepads and desktops.

The market is already there, awaiting to be tapped.

Would Google be the first entrant and sweep over the consumers all over the world with this new operating system? What do you think should be Microsoft’s strategy in light of this statement by Anders.

A winning framework for market entry strategies

A market entry strategy is the planned method of delivering goods or services to a new target market and distributing them there. This article talks about the critical issues that needs to be considered while entering a new market and suggests a list of actions that would mitigate the risks involved better, and hence successfully enter the market.

A market entry strategy is the planned method of delivering goods or services to a new target market and distributing them there. When importing or exporting services, it refers to establishing and managing contracts in a foreign country. Few companies successfully operate in a niche market without ever expanding into new markets but most businesses achieve increased sales, brand awareness and business stability by entering a new market. Developing a win-win market entry strategy involves a thorough analysis of multiple factors, in a planned sequential manner.

When an organization makes a decision to enter an new market, there are various issues that needs to be thought out. These options vary with cost, risk and the degree of control which can be exercised over them. The simplest form of entry strategy is often exporting, using a direct (agent) or indirect method (counter trade). More complex forms include truly global operations which may involve joint ventures, or export processing zones.

An organization wishing to enter a new market faces 3 major issues:

Marketing – which markets, which segments, how to manage and implement marketing effort, how to enter – with intermediaries or directly, with what information?
Sourcing – whether to obtain products, make or buy?
Investment and control – joint venture, global partner, acquisition?

Firms can follow the mentioned steps in sequence to create that successful blend of strategies while entering a new market.

Planning these few steps in details would ensure that firms face less risk while entering a new market during expansion. Although there is no absolute success mantra to enter a new market, these activities would significantly lower the risk exposure of the firm and create a winning scenario.

Have you read our article on the Porter’s Five Forces analysis of industry competitiveness? This is a must-read article for anyone planning to get into a new market.

7 reasons why Apple’s I-Pad may fail.

Amidst a lot of hype as always, today 27th January, 2010, Apple launches the I-Pad. While it is being viewed as the product that will rejuvenate Apple’s revenues for years to come, a question many staunch Apple fans (and those who are not fans of course) will ask, is it really worth the hype? Apple has always created a market even when there is none. Will it be successful yet again this time?

While it looks sleek and captures the mind of all tech-enthusiasts, every one will admit that this product can not be the replacement of a smartphone or a palmtop due to its size.
It has the potential to be a great e-book reader and internet browser, but will users like a gadget only suited for that purpose, given that tablets of that size pack the same features (except the wireless carrier connectivity) and lots of processing power and data storage capacity. Also, colored screen may not increase the overall ebook reading experience on the i-Pad, given its shorter battery support, as compared to the other e-book readers
Is it worth the time for serious gamers, given its processing and memory configuration?
It does not sport a 16:9 aspect ratio, the standard for wide-screen entertainment, and by not doing so makes the iPad much less interesting for watching movies. This may affect sales.
I-phone’s huge list of applications will also run on the I-Pad. But will the usage of I-Pad revolutionize the development of applications as never before? Unless applications are developed custom made for I-Pad, the product will not see the meteoric success of the i-Phone.
The users would be keen to experience something radically different from the windows mobile, the Android sets and the ever stable Symbian phones. This the I-Pad may not be able to deliver, given its technical configuration.
Lastly, the price tag may appear too high even for the brand exclusivity, even for staunch Apple fans.

Apple has always been a great marketeer and has added value to the consumers even with products which were present before the “Apple way” became popular. What Apple provides its customers is the ooomph factor of being associated with the company, the exclusivity maybe. This positioning amongst its fans has always been the USP for the company. Because of its size, processing capabilities and functionality, it may be rejected as yet another gadget which fall in between the mobile phones (iPhone) and the laptops (Macbook), and thus fails to meet both requirements. But will that be enough to ensure a great reception of the i-Pad from the Apple’s fans? Will the early adopters be inclined to try out the hype? Only time will tell.

7 secrets to successful online marketing

Some e-markets become success stories while others fail. Time and again, e-markets like e-Bay and Amazon.com have become super success stories while certain sites like Rediff-shopping have sustained themselves in the onslaught of internet marketing.

So what makes these companies perform better than the others, which failed to sustain their business. What makes certain websites tick and others to fail?

Research has indicated that there are few factors which affect the intention to purchase a certain product from a given website.

To make sure your website addresses these criteria, the following things need to be addressed with very high importance.

First you have to draw your customers. To do so, you need to have a separate marketing strategy for search engines (Like Google). Make sure the website i solid in depth keyword research. A good keyword density of about 5-6% is necessary. Internal linking to related posts and use of HTML tags like heading ,bold and italic tags helps a lot. Spend efforts on link building too.
Referring sites like blogs and forums, social media sites (Twitter/Facebook) and word of mouth help a lot to build up vendor reputation and spread product awareness. Connect with your current or potential customers through blogs and discussion forums and spread your campaigns.
You have to keep them interested in your offers for long enough to trigger the purchase intention. Ensure you have all the relevant information on the website.
Ensure that the website is not cluttered. Always avoid information overload. This distracts the customer.
Ensure that the customer can access the payment portal very easily. An intention to purchase must be taken care of as soon as it is triggered.
Ensure the customer of his privacy and security if he needs to put in sensitive information online. Adhering to international standards helps a lot. Focus on having his faith.
Ensure there is a mechanism for feedback in the website. It pays to satisfy a dissatisfied customer. The returns from such a customer can be astronomical as his brand loyalty increase a lot.

Following these simple yet highly effective tips can change the way your customers perceive your website and your offerings. These simple tips will enhance the effectiveness of your websites a lot.

Try them out and let me know if you have any more inputs.

Can you Digg it?

Digg.com is still a relatively lesser known name among many people but is one name that is growing astronomically, especially in the United States and more recently India, where people live on the news provided on Digg. Read the success story behind Digg, the company which is changing the way content gets managed on the web.

Digg is a place for users to share content from anywhere on the web, be it one’s own blog or content from someone else. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg users today share the most popular posts on the web and it has become a major single point to share content. Content gets popular, if more and more people likes it, and it gets more Dugg with increase of popularity.

Today, Digg is only 5 years old, and has a global traffic rank of 104, and is one of the top 50 visited sites in USA and many other countries.

Founded by Kevin Rose and launched in November 2004, Digg has grown to be one of the most popular sources of information on the Web. The team is led by CEO Jay Adelson, founder of the billion-dollar company Equinix (EQIX).

Following are the rank of Digg amongst all websites among few countries.

Majority of Digg users come from the following countries:

From a business perspective, Digg shows us how business models can evolve over time and how companies can create a niche out of evolving needs of consumers. A company whose revenue model thrives solely by engaging the users to add content to its site, and increase its hits, Digg is one of the wonders of this e-business era. Thus, all the users, provide and manage content, and also vote (by Digging) which content they like better, and all this, the users do for FREE.

While this reminds us of Google and Wikipedia, whose success stories banked on the ability to manage and provide content to its users, Digg is unique. It actually helps to develop a taste of reading amongst its users as well. The user is guided on what is the hot topic that he should know about in the domain of technology, business, science , gaming, lifestyle, entertainment and sports.

Today, Digg is positioned to be another success story on whom case studies would be made by students of business management, as one of the wonders of the internet business models, who changed the dynamic of the game.

If you were Digg’s competitors, what would you do? Should companies like Wikipedia and Google look carefully at Digg’s business model?