How Can Internet Advertising Help Your Business?

Internet advertising is one of the newest ways of getting exposure and brand recognition for your business, however many small and mid-size businesses do not take full advantage of all of the marketing opportunities it has. Internet advertising opens the door to endless sources of clients and other businesses, as almost everyone is currently connected in one way or the other. Below are some tips for using internet advertising to your advantage.

How to use Internet Advertising for your business

1. Evaluate how your business can benefit from Internet Advertising

Internet advertising is a broad term for numerous types of marketing strategies using the internet. The following are some examples of internet advertising that your business should consider:

A. Blogs – Blogs are a great method for garnering attention for your business. A blog is a journal that your business can keep with different entries that relate to your consumer needs. While blogs are cheap and relatively easy ways of reaching consumers, you will need to battle with many other blogs that exist. In order to set yourself a part, you need interesting information that engages the reader and has information found nowhere else.

B. Social Networking – In recent years, social networking has exploded across the internet, as people spend much of their time conversing with friends, family, while posting pictures and commenting. Facebook has become the go to social networking site, and your business should have a presence by either a facebook profile or fan page. Social networking is again a cheap and relatively easy method of internet advertising, however you will be competing with many other pages and profiles, so you will need interesting and engaging content.

C. E-Mail Marketing – One method that is often used is the sending of mass emails, either describing your company or providing informational texts that involve your business. E-mail marketing must be approached with caution, as you run the risk of being considered spam, which will reflect negatively on your image with consumers. Instead, you must send e-mails only with important updates and interesting new content.

2. Consider your budget

Budgeting is a crucial elements when coming up with a marketing plan using internet marketing. The internet provides advertising that range from the very cheap to the very expensive. While advertising by using emails and other basic forms of communication can be very cheap, they often are not as effective as the much more expensive methods. Professional companies can build your website and provide services to help your business’ website generate traffic.

Revenue can be generated from internet advertising, but it may not be noticeable at first and take some time. Blogs, facebook pages, and e-mails all take time to build followers and readership. You must slowly develop your internet presence before having any noticeable affects on your business. However, you will more clients will come to you seeking your service who have been exposed to your internet marketing.

3. Put your Internet Advertising plan into effect

Internet advertising works best when you have multiple types of advertising working together in conjunction with one another. Articles sent through email should be linked to your website, your website should be linked on other websites, and all of these should be search-able on search engines such as Google and Bing. A facebook profile can link to blogs and written content generated by you and your business. All of these advertising methods need to be put in place to work together in order to maximize the effectiveness of internet marketing.

4. Evaluate how your Internet Advertising plan is working

Once you have your internet advertising plan up and running, you must constantly monitor how well they are working. The internet can be a fickle medium to garner attention, so you must constantly check how many clients are being reached, how engaged they are in your advertising materials, and whether you should change your strategy. Consulting outside firms is often the best method for determine how helpful your internet advertising is for your business.

Internet Advertising compared to regular advertising

Regular advertising and internet advertising can always be used together to full expose your company to as many clients as possible, however you need to understand the benefits and limitations of each. Internet advertising will usually be significantly cheaper and more diverse, in that you can reach many people with just simple blogging posts or facebook updates. However, with this simplicity comes the fact that you will be up against thousands of other advertisements and content all vying for your consumers attention.

Regular advertising can be more expensive, more time consuming, and can challenge you to be creative. However, regular advertising, when done properly, can expose your company to more consumers, especially older ones who do not use the internet as much as the younger generation. Regular advertising can include sending mailers, taking ads out in publications, or other media outlets.

Legal Issues with Internet Marketing

While most internet marketing is simple and is not affected by regulation, you must be aware of illegitimate forms. Spamming and spy ware are used by some groups in order to send mass emails and reach many more consumers than they should be reaching. Such methods are often illegal and you business can face sanctions if caught up with such internet marketing plans. If you have any questions or concerns, contact a legal professional who has experience with advertising laws and internet regulation.

List of Celebrity Branded Fragrances

List of Celebrity Brand Fragrances: Actresses

The most successful fragrances branded by a celebrity are those of Elizabeth Taylor as she collaborated with Elizabeth Arden. The duo released 12 of the most successful celebrity fragrances between 1988 and 2010, and some of these fragrances include Passion, White Diamonds, Black Pearls, Gardenia, and Violet Eyes.

Jennifer Lopez has released over 15 fragrances and some of the most successful include Glow, Still, Deseo, and Love and Glamour.

Sarah Jessica Parker released 8 fragrances between 2005 and 2009 that included Lovely, Covet, SJP NYC, Endless, and Twilight.

Halle Berry released three popular fragrances including Halle, Halle Pure Orchid, and Reveal. The branded fragrances have been released by Jennifer Aniston, Kate Walsh, Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, and Isabella Rossellini.

List of Celebrity Brand Fragrances: Male Actors, Models, and Athletes

Male musicians with the most successful branded fragrances include Diddy, Usher, Akon, and Nelly.

Diddy’s successful fragrances include Sean John I Am King, Sean John Unforgivable, and Sean John Unforgiveable for Women. Usher’s successful fragrances include UR for Men, UR for Women, and Usher VIP. Popular fragrances by Akon include Konvict Homme and Konvict Femme. The most popular fragrance by Nelly is Apple Bottoms, and other musicians like 50 Cent and Tim McGraw have popular fragrances as well.

Antonio Banderas has released 15 branded fragrances, and some of the more popular fragrances include Seduction in Black, Spirit VIP for Men, Spirit VIP for Women, and The Secret. Male celebrities like David Beckham and Patrick Dempsey have released branded fragrances as well.

List of Celebrity Brand Fragrances: Female Musicians

Celine Dion has released 14 fragrances, and some of the popular fragrances include Celine Dion, Belong, Enchanting, Sensational Moments, and Simply Chic.

Britney Spears has released 9 different fragrances, and she has collaborated with Elizabeth Arden for most the fragrances. Her popular fragrances include Curious by Britney Spears, Fantasy, Midnight Fantasy, Circus Fantasy, and Radiance.

Mariah Carey has also released 9 fragrances, and she has also collaborated with Elizabeth Arden. Some of her popular fragrances are M, Luscious Pink, Forever, and Lollipop Bling Honey.

The following female musicians have also released popular fragrances: Avril Lavigne, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Shakira, Fergie, Gwen Stefani, Jordin Sparks, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Jessica Simpson, Mary J. Blige, Hilary Duff, and Queen Latifah.

List of Celebrity Brand Fragrances: Other Popular Celebrities

The following celebrities are known for popular branded fragrances as well:

Andy Warhol: Andy Warhol and Marilyn Rose

Kat Von D: Saint, Sinner, and Adora

Cindy Crawford: Cindy Crawford, Summer Day, and Joyful

Maria Sharapova: Maria Sharapova

Heidi Klum: Shine

Kim Kardashian: Kim Kardashian and Gold

Kate Moss: Kate, Vintage, and Wild Meadow

Paris Hilton: Heiress, Siren, and Tease

Daisy Fuentes: So Luxurious, Dianoche Love, and Mysterio

Naomi Campbell: Eternal Beauty, Cat Deluxe, and Naomi

Michael Jordan: Michael Jordon, 23, and Legend

Trade Secret

A trade secret is primarily defined by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). Essentially, the trade secret is information such as a formula, pattern, program, method, process, technique, or similar piece of information that produces economic value. However, the information only produces actual or potential economic value because it is not accessible by other parties who could also generate economic value with its use.

Before the UTSA was passed, the use of a secret in trade was an offense under a common law tort known as the Restatement of Torts. Section 757 and 758 of this tort laid out general policies, and the majority of U.S. Courts adopted the trade secret tort. Comment (b) of §757 is still accessed regularly and determines what qualifies as a secret in trade. A secret in trade is recognized depending on the following:

· the amount of information about the secret known outside of the business

· the amount of information known by employees for the business

· the measures taken by the business to protect the information from exposure

· the value of the secret to the business compared to competitors

· the difficulty involved in acquiring the information and duplicating the information

In order to submit a trade secret claim, the information needs to qualify for protection in the first place. Secondly, the party holding the secret needs to prove that they took reasonable steps to keep in the information private. Thirdly, the party holding the secret must prove that the secret was not unlawfully obtained from another party.

There are two cases when a secret in trade is unlawfully obtained. The information was unlawfully obtained through improper means or there is a breach of confidence. For example, if an employee accessed information and sold the information to another company, the second company committed breach of confidence.

It is not illegal to obtain a trade secret if the information is discovered independently, reverse engineering leads to the discovery, or the company holding the secret failed to take proper steps in protecting the secret.

A trade secret does not last for a specific number of years like a patent. The secret in trade continues indefinitely until disclosure of the secret is reached lawfully. An inventor has the choice to choose between a patent and a protection of the secret, but the information cannot by dually protected at the same time.

Obtaining a secret in trade does not always exist as a crime only under tort law. It qualifies as a federal crime in some cases. The crimes becomes a federal crime when it violates the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.

A recent trade secret violation occurred when Kolon Industries stole information about the manufacturing process used by DuPont for Kevlar para-aramind fiber. Kolon is headquartered in South Korea and makes a bullet-proof product called Hercron. Kolon wanted to improve its products, so they targeted former employees that formerly worked for DuPont to receive information on the secrets.

They soon received information about the secret manufacturing process used by DuPont and replicated the process in three years.

Hungry Jack’s

Hungry Jack's

Hungry Jack's is an Australian fast food franchise that was originally under the control of the American fast food franchise Burger King. From 1995 to 2001, the two companies were involved in a prolonged legal dispute that was ultimately decided in favor Hungry Jack's.

Hungry Jack's began business in 1971 as the exclusive franchise of Burger King in Australia. In 1991, the contract between the two businesses was renewed. The contract included a "termination clause" stating that Hungry Jack's was responsible for opening four new franchise locations a year. However, the contract contradicted itself with another clause which stated that as long as Hungry Jack's opened at least two new locations in a year, another year's worth of a "grace period" would be granted.

In 1995, Burger King decided it wanted to take over directly from Hungry Jack's. Though the terms of the contract stated that every franchise location opened had to be approved by Burger King, the company refused to approve the opening of any new locations, making it impossible for Hungry Jack's to live up to the terms of the contract. At this time, Burger King also made use of a Hungry Jack's employee who provided them with information about the company's activities.

In 1996, Burger King claimed that Hungry Jack's had violated the terms of its contract and began directly opening its own franchise locations. In 2001, Hungry Jack's filed suit against Burger King, claiming that they had violated the terms of the contract. The case was heard in the New South Wales Court of Appeal and resolved on June 21, 2001. In its decision, the court considered the termination clause's terms and its contradictions with other parts of the contract. The court ruled that the contract allowed Burger King to arbitrarily impeded and hinder Hungry Jack's, making it impossible for them to honor the contract.

In reviewing the contract, the court considered the question of "good faith." Because the contract in question was not a standard commercial agreement for which precedent concerning good faith had not yet been established, the court had to rule on whether there was an implicit, justifiable reason to assume such a basis for business. Taking into account Burger King's attempts to prevent Hungry Jack's from opening more locations and use of internal information provided by its informant, the court ruled that Burger King's actions were taken with the direct intent of harming Hungry Jack's to allow Burger King to open its own locations.

As a result, the court ruled in favor of Hungry Jack's and ordered that Burger King pay roughly 71 million in Australian dollars. Burger King appealed the decision but was not successful in this attempt. The case is considered in the Australian legal system for introducing "good faith" as a measure of determining the merits of two parties' actions when involved in a contractual dispute. The case is often cited as a precedent in such cases.

Competition

How the Law Handles Competition between Businesses

In business, competition between sellers within an open marketplace is beneficial for both businesses and consumers. Competition not only keeps prices lower and raises quality, but it also provides more choices and more reason to be innovative. In order to maintain this sense of competition between sellers, the Federal Trade Commission enforces the antitrust laws.

These laws were first created in response to many companies who concealed their business practices using trusts in the late 19th century, which threatened the free market.

· The Sherman Act (1890)

o Created to prevent potential cartels or monopolies that could be detrimental to having competition in a free market

o The act does not allow companies to artificially raise the price

· The Federal Trade Commission Act (1914)

o Created the Federal Trade Commission which now regulates large corporations and stops them from having unfair trading practices

· The Clayton Act (1914)

o Prevents certain practices that could harm competition in free market, such as price discrimination or having an individual being a director on two companies in competition with each other.

While the anti-trust laws are applicable to most organizations, there are certain types that are exempt from the anti-trust laws, such as labor unions banks, and agricultural cooperatives.

The Federal Trade Commission still continues to monitor large corporations to ensure that no business practices occur that may harm the free market and healthy competition. The Federal trade Commission Monitors the following activities:

· Mergers

o While mergers can allow firms to operate more smoothly, mergers result in fewer options and possibly higher consumers.

· Agreements Among Competitors

o Businesses cannot conspire to raise prices, hinder other businesses from operating, or raising prices

o The Federal Trade Commission pays close attention to potential artificial price fixing

· Manufacturers and Product Dealers

o There are some agreements, for example a car with a brand of tires that are acceptable, but others can be illegal if they restrict competition without providing customer benefits.

· Monopolies

o By excluding other companies or impairing their ability to compete, it can hurt the consumer by allowing them to control prices.

· Other Anticompetitive Actions

By regulating major corporations, a free market can exist and competition is possible between sellers. However, there can be downsides to competition in the free market. It can potentially lead to increased costs and if waste if companies repeat ideas without innovation. In certain circumstances, competition is inefficient and a natural monopoly flourishes.

What Makes for Good Marketing Strategies?

Creating a successful marketing strategy can put your business ahead of the competition and even allow you to expand into new areas. A good marketing strategy reaches already existing clients while also finding new clients for your business. At the same time, a good marketing strategy is cost effective and gets a position return on the investment.

How to construct your Marketing Strategy

1. Know your product and services

Of course, every business owner knows a great deal about their product and services. However, you will have to evaluate your product from the point of view of your clients. Your client may not see how the product is created or services rendered. Instead, they only have an image of what they believe is how your product is created. Therefore, knowing and understanding this perception of your business will help you develop the marketing strategy that will most appeal to clients.

2. Determine your budget requirements.

A good marketing strategy works within its allocated budget while delivering the best return on investment possible. Consider how much funding you can provide your marketing strategy and whether these funds will be returned with some sort of benefit. Not all marketing strategies require large budgets, however some time and money will be needed in order to create brand awareness.

3. Establish your marketing ideas

In order to create your marketing strategy, you will need to come up with the marketing methods that will best work for your company. Traditional methods of advertising and marketing, such as newspaper advertisements, television commercials, or billboards are always available but not always appropriate for every business. Instead, try to think of alternative ways that get the attention of your clients. Coming up different ideas can give you options with how to market your business.

4. Put your marketing strategy to work

After conducting the research and evaluation to best determine how, where, and when to market your business and within what budget you must work, actively put the plan together into a well though out plan. Write this plan out with specific dates and target goals to accomplish. Once implemented, your marketing strategy will go to work for you and you should see an increase revenue.

How to adapt your Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategies may work for extended periods of time, but often they need to be changed and adapted to changing realities of your company. Marketing can get stagnant, as using the same advertising methods may reach the same client base over and over. Instead, you should always be ready to adapt your marketing strategy to new technology, new media outlets, and alternative ideas that your competition are not using. Having an open mind and willingness to spend will always help a marketing strategy grow and maintain a business.

What Makes for a Good Marketing Plan?

Marketing is one of the most important things that can be done for a business. Marketing gets your business name to the people who need your services, tells them what you can provide, and is often the first thing a client sees before contacting you. A good marketing plan can make or break your business, so it is important to follow the steps for creating a successful marketing plan.

How to construct a solid Marketing Plan

1. Know your business

It may sound obvious, but before you can start to create marketing plans, you must be able to identify key concepts about your business and what it is you do. Identify your client base, whether they are businesses, individuals, or families. You will also need to identify what these clients are looking for in your company. Why do they need your services? What services are more popular than others? Only by knowing and understanding your own business and client base can you start to work on a successful marketing plan.

2. Evaluate your budget

All marketing plans require some form of capital in order to be implemented. You will need to evaluate how much you can afford and what your return on investment will be for certain types of marketing. You will need to determine what types of marketing will be needed and how much you should expect to pay for them. More expensive marketing plans are not always more successful than less expensive ones, so do not be turned away if you think your budget cannot support a marketing plan.

3. Brainstorm marketing ideas

One great way of coming up with marketing plans is by writing as many ideas as come to mind. Try to gather the thoughts of other employees, family, and friends for what could go into your marketing plan. Often, an outside perspective can give you new ideas or spark ideas of your own. The experiences of others can often lead to creative ideas that can go into your marketing plan.

4. Put your marketing plan into effect

Once you have gathered all of the information about your clients, your budget requirements, and ideas on how to reach your clients, you need to put it all together into a workable plan. Write out your plan is as much detail as possible, with specific forms of advertisements and target dates for your marketing plan to be implemented. At the same time, ensure that your marketing plan can be modified as you find what types of marketing work and which do not.

How to adapt your Marketing Plan to changes

Often, your marketing plan will need to be changed and adapted in order to keep your marketing fresh and helpful. One great way is to ask for feedback from your clients. Ask them about what brought them to your business and whether they have been exposed to your marketing. If need be, you may need to hire a marketing professional in order to keep your marketing sustainable while allowing you time to run your business.

How to Conduct Market Research

Market research is the evaluation and study of business marketing which helps those businesses identify strengths and weaknesses in their marketing strategies. Market research is important for all companies, large and small, and can range from complicated studies that cost millions of dollars to simple questionnaires sent to clients of a small business. Either way, market research is important for any company in understanding whether they are receiving a return on their advertisement investments and how to best use marketing tools to accomplish their goals.

How to conduct Market Research

1. Identify how Marketing Research can help your business

Marketing research can help any business understand if their advertisements are reaching clients and whether the message is being relayed. This can be extremely important information that will tell you if your marketing strategies are working as you had planned. Marketing can cost a business a lot of money and any inefficiencies in the marketing plan can lead to losses and hurt business.

2. Determine how to budget for Market Research

Market research can be very expensive, especially when seeking the help of outside consultants and firms that specialize in it. While large companies often must use market research firms, such as the Nielsen Company or IAG, there are cost effective methods that are also available. Asking clients about how they heard about your company, sending simple questionnaires, or simply seeing how many people respond to direct marketing are all cheap and simple ways of getting an idea of how your marketing plan is working.

3. Creating your Market Research plan

Once you have determined how you can budget for market research, you need to come up with a plan for obtaining the information. Start by writing your market positions and goals. Next, you will need to define what you will accomplish within a specific time period. You will then have to write a list of your target markets and the specific segmentations or niche areas you want to cover.

Then you will have to list the appropriate marketing channels, which are how you will specifically market to each of your target markets and what mediums you will use. These can include targeted mailing materials, television or radio media, or internet marketing. Finally, you should plan on how you will adapt to your competitors response.

4. Effectuating your Market Research

After establishing your plan, you will need to gather all of the information and make sense of it. Market research does not always result in completely straightforward information, so be prepared to analyze seemingly conflicting information. You may find that certain marketing strategies work for some clients but not all. Remember, market research is not the end result, but rather the means of changing your marketing strategy for the better.

How to adapt Marketing Research to your specific business

Market research can cover a host of different types of marketing plans, but you will need to find which type of market research best fits your business. Costs will be one of the most important factors in determine your level of research that you need. It is important that the costs of the research do not outweigh the benefits you receive from the information, so make sure that you fully understand what you are getting for what you are paying. Also keep in mind the type of marketing you have conducted, as your research will need to mirror the sources and forms of information that is needed.

Using Marketing Software

Marketing software is the available computer programs that allows you to bring certain marketing strategies with the internet. Marketing software can be used in numerous ways, including e-mail marketing, on-line surveys, event registration, and on-line sweepstakes. Most marketing software use legitimate forms of advertising, however you must always be aware of illegal or unethical software that use e-mail bombing, spamming, or even spy-ware. You do not want your business name attached to such forms of adversing, as it will create a negative image for your clients.

How to use Marketing Software in your plan

1. Identify your business strengths and your client base

Before determining how you will use marketing software and what type of software you should purchase, you must identify what products and services you want to bring to your clients attention. You must also consider your client base. Ask yourself, do your clients spend their time on computers checking their email or do they spend the majority of their work time disconnected? Should you try to reach your clients at their personal email or while they are not working, or should you only contact them while they are on the job?

2. Consider your budget

All different types of marketing software is available for businesses however their costs can vary greatly depending on how technical they are. Of course, the better quality marketing software will cost significantly more than the less technical versions. The most basic email programs may cost you a few hundred dollars a month while the more technical software can cost tens of thousands of dollars per month. You must determine your available marketing budget before you can even consider developing your marketing plan using marketing software.

3. Develop your marketing plan while considering what Marketing Software is appropriate

The marketing software that you choose must fit in with your entire marketing plans for your business. Marketing software should not define your overall plan, instead you should work the marketing software into an overall marketing plan. Make sure you understand what your chosen marketing software can do and what it cannot accomplish. Many marketing software companies will tailor their software to your needs, so you may need to work with these companies to develop custom marketing software for your business.

4. Monitoring your Marketing Software

Once your overall marketing plan is in place and your chosen marketing software is being utilized, you must monitor how successful the software is. Many types of marketing software will provide you with data about your marketing, so it is important that you use this data in determining whether the software is working as you had planned or if you need to change it. Working with marketing software companies is one of the best ways to ensure that the software is working as efficiently as possible, however this may not be a possibility for small businesses that do not have the budget to do so.

Equipment Financing FAQS

Businesses in need of flexibility
may turn to equipment financing to acquire the implements necessary to run
their enterprise effectively. After
accepting business equipment financing, the liquidity afforded by the
arrangement will enable the business to pursue other functions vital to the
success of their business.

Why should I pursue business equipment financing?

As equipment for businesses is
generally a capital investment, many businesses will view equipment financing
as a means of having the equipment pay for itself. Although this is less cost-effective than
purchasing the equipment outright, small businesses will not always have
sufficient cash flow to justify buying expensive or vital equipment
outright. The liquidity afforded by
equipment financing typically will outweigh the potential drawbacks from paying
interest on equipment financing.

Some business financing providers
will even consider software a type of equipment and will agree to finance that
as well. For many businesses,
specialized software necessary to the operation of the company will cost
thousands of dollars, putting them in the exact situation as businesses that
need equipment financing on tangible equipment that produces the products sold
by the business.

What are the conditions of business equipment financing?

During a business equipment
financing arrangement, the equipment is technically owned by the leasing
company. This means that the financing
is a form of secured debt and failure to meet this debt obligation will enable
the leasing company to retake possession of the item. Continued payment will give the lessor the
right of use to the financed asset and usually leases to own the item eventually. These provisions must be made in advance with
the business equipment financing organization, to ensure the fairness of the
agreement, especially if the lessor intends to own the equipment at the end of
financing.

How will the business equipment financing arrangement work?

Depending on the financing
organization chosen, there may or may not be upfront costs or application
fees. The upfront costs may be a
provision that requires some advance payment, such as the first and last
monthly payments that would be paid made in advance.

Expect to be offered a variety of
payment plans, from the conventional monthly payment plan to seasonal,
graduated, deferred or annual payments.
Each of these plans will have its own merits and only the business
requiring the equipment financing will be able to make the best judgment on which
plan offers the optimal level of flexibility for the business. For instance, a business that anticipates
high startup costs and slow cash flow may choose equipment financing with
graduated payments, making low payments at first and eventually making higher
payments. Businesses that have income
that varies through the year, such as seasonal businesses may opt for a
seasonal/skip payment option will allow some payments to be skipped, in
exchange for higher payments made during seasonal peak times.

What equipment can be financed?

Virtually any equipment
imaginable can be financed, depending on the equipment financing firm. This will include all items from medical
equipment to 18 wheel freight trucks.
The firm will have different conditions for lease, depending on the
equipment, such as credit checks or minimum experience using said equipment.