The market place may seem large, but it is really made up of many smaller markets with customers who share similar preferences or needs. These smaller markets are called market segments. Your target market is the market segment that you choose to serve. Yet, to truly serve your target market, you need to be able…
DetailsMarketing mantras say how you are different. A mantra is a religious prayer or mystical phrase or poem that instills concentration when repeated and is used for meditation and prayer. The key is to focus on the mantra and to block out everything else. A marketing mantra is three to five words that describes how…
Details“Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise.” – Author Unknown Many customers hesitate to buy because they fear that they might make the wrong decision and regret it later. This fear dominates the purchase decision and may kill the selling opportunity altogether. One way to minimize this fear, or even…
DetailsThere is something special about a fine bottle of wine—for many, a fine wine is worth the hefty price premium. Yet, that price premium is how many wine lovers actually determine a fine wine’s merit— the higher the price the better the wine. Scientists at California Institute of Technology studied premium pricing and its impact…
DetailsNo, this is not a flashback to the psychedelic sixties. Instead, this is a serious discussion about color and how it can be used in marketing. While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm…
DetailsThanks to Monty Python, the U.K. based comedy troupe from the seventies, “spam” became the symbol for mediocrity. Later spam became the symbol for unwanted e-mail from unknown senders. Spam is actually the trademark name for the Hormel Corporation canned meat product. SPAM was used by the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Nonetheless,…
DetailsPeople can “hear” you smile when you talk with them on the phone. A recent study confirmed that you sound different or better when you smile. Smiling affects how we speak. Listeners can actually detect your smile based on sound alone according to a new study by the University of Portsmouth. The study determined that…
DetailsYour website must have a posted privacy policy. No exceptions please. With e-mail marketing the most practiced form of customer communication and the most common way that contact information is gathered, a privacy policy needs to explain what you plan to do with customer contact information. A privacy policy is a clear description of how…
DetailsInnovative products need to be marketed and sold differently than other offerings since they require a special customer who is receptive to innovation. Most customers are skeptical and will wait until innovative products are mass marketed. Here are a few suggestions on how to market innovative products: • Not everyone will understand the need for…
DetailsNewsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects; they can create a new relationship or maintain an existing one. When sending a regular newsletter to your subscribers, always make sure that it’s sent on the same day, at the same time. Your punctuality and your consistency speak volumes about…
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