Why are Marketing Ideas Important?

Marketing ideas are the lifeblood of keeping your business relevant and help you to reach clients that you may otherwise not be exposed to. While all businesses engage in some sort of marketing, it is the unique marketing ideas that keep businesses ahead of the pack. When you come up with marketing ideas that differ from traditional methods, your business can be put in a position to really out maneuver the competition.

How to come up with Marketing Ideas for you business

1. Identify your products, services, and clients

The most basic step before coming up with unique marketing ideas is to examine what you provide and who you provide them to. Try to ask yourself, what makes my product or services unique? Why should my client base choose my business over my competitors? What type of clients do I have? Only when you have fully identified everything about your business structure can you start to create new marketing ideas.

2. Evaluate your budget

Many marketing ideas that would serve any number of purposes for your company can be through of, however often budget constraints restrict which ones you can use. Consider what your marketing budget is and how it can best serve you through your client base. Budget constraints are very important, so do not break them unless you are completely sure that you have developed marketing ideas that will bring in more revenue than they cost.

3. Marketing Ideas

Once you have your ground rules for your products, clients, and budget restrictions, you now must consider different marketing ideas. Some marketing ideas include the following: Building a referral network can greatly increase the amount of clients to you have and your business relationship with other businesses, post your services in public places and pass out business cards whenever possible.

The internet can provide a host of marketing forms. Building a website can be the first step, but you can also use search engine optimization and link your website to content pages in order to direct traffic to you. You can even do some non-traditional forms of marketing, such as putting up viral videos of your business, hosting competitions, or combing the internet with real world advertisements.

4. Putting your Marketing Ideas into effect

Finally, once you have put your marketing ideas into a plan, you must implement them into action. Start by drafting your plan which will consider your client base, your overall business plan, and what mediums you will use to get your brand and advertisements to the client.

Start by contacting the media services that you will need, allocating budget funds to pay for the marketing, and finally monitor how your marketing ideas are having an effect. If you notice that your marketing ideas are not working or not being received well, you should not hesitate to modify them or pull them from your marketing plan.

Marketing Ideas for specific businesses

Marketing ideas are not all one size fits all for every type of business. Instead, you must evaluate what forms of marketing will best suit your company. Retailers, who are trying to garner the attention of the general public, need to focus on their specific brands they offer, their pricing, and their image. Therefore, it is important for retailers to have exciting visual marketing ideas, such as television commercials, print ads, and exciting websites.

Professional services or other similarly situated businesses need to reach the specific consumers who require their products, but cannot use loud marketing ideas. Instead, they should use more subtle and serious outlets for advertisements. Their websites should be serious and informative and any visual advertisements showing that your business has experience, prestige, and a hard work ethic.

Legal Issues

Always check to ensure that any marketing ideas you come up with do no violate trade or advertising regulations. These regulations vary greatly depending on your industry, where your business is located, and how you plan on contacting consumers. If you are unsure of the legal status of your marketing ideas, consult a legal professional who has experience working with business clients helping them adapt their marketing techniques to meet regulations.

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.

Network Marketing For Your Business

Network marketing is a method of developing client contact by using other agents and individuals to meet with clients and represent you. Network marketing is used in many different businesses, but is most often found in businesses that are selling products or services that are of a very personal nature. Insurance and financial services are two good examples of products that people tend to purchase through friends and family.

How to use Network Marketing for your business

1. Identify if Network Marketing is right for you

Not all businesses can benefit from network marketing so it is important to identify if your business can before seeking to use it. What type of product or service do you provide? Do your clients seek to use you because they trust you and your company on a personal level, or are they only concerned with price and efficiency. Network marketing can help businesses who rely on reputation and trust.

2. Determine if you can budget for Network Marketing

Different types of network marketing can have different costs, but you should be aware that it will be necessary. Many network marketing plans call for hiring employees or representatives that seek to sell your product to friends and family within their personal network. They then are given a commission for the business that they bring in. Other plans call for full time salaried employees who work their contacts into continuing business relationships.

3. Establish your Network Marketing plan

Once you have determined that your business can benefit from network marketing, you must develop a plan for putting it into place. Search out qualified individuals who will represent your business and who have relationships with companies. Determine how many representatives you will need, what they will be selling, and how they will be compensated. It may be a good idea to slowly use network marketing instead of jumping into a large plan. Trial and error will show you how network marketing can work without committing you to a large network marketing plan.

4. Put your Network Marketing plan into effect

Taking all of the above steps into account, you next have your representatives go into the community and try to get new clients for you. You should see a spike in new clients while your representative works their contacts and brings them to your business. Eventually though, you must plan for your representative’s contacts to run out. It is at this point that you must have planned for either eliminating this representative or moving them to try to bring in new clients or sell a different product.

How to adapt your Network Marketing

Marketing as a whole has been greatly affected by new technology and better sources of communication. Now, clients all over the world can be exposed to your marketing. Keep this in mind while adopting any network marketing strategies or changing existing plans. Network marketers can use these sources of contact for bringing you clients within their networks. Representatives of your company may have vast networks of contacts, through online communities, social media, or other exposure to people around the world.

Everything You Should Know About a Small Business

What is a Small Business?

A Small Businessis classified as a commercial endeavor that is operated on a smaller scale than its commercial counterparts. Although there does not exist a definitive parameter with which to qualify a business as a Small Business, a

Small Business will typically retain an employee base ranging from 1 to 15 individuals; furthermore, a Small Business will typically report lower amounts of revenue in contrast with larger businesses and corporations – with regard to the classification of commercial activity as a Small Business, the following are common examples of Small Businesses:

A Home business can be classified as a small business; a home business operating as a Small business typically involves the formulation and accomplishment of a multitude of tasks taking place within the home of the founder

An Internet business can be classified as a Small Business; due to the fact that maintenance of an online-based commercial endeavor can be conducted through the Internet, offices and large employee numbers are not always required

What is an Online Small Business?

Since the development – and subsequent advancements latent within Internet-based commercial activitytaking place through the internet marketplace – of ‘E-Commerce, or electronic commerce, Small Business opportunities can includethe provision of products and services available purchase and delivery through online-based commerce; the following are some examples of the most common types of online-based Small Business activities:

Web design, domain management, online consultation, and marketing development

The production of freelance media; this can include editing, writing, proofreading and research conducted on a ‘per-project’ basis

The manufacture, production, sale , and management of products or services; in many cases, this type of vendor-based Small Business will act as a third-party between buyers and sellers

Types of Small Businesses

A Small Businesscan include the provision of products or services conducted using one’s home or residence as a base of operations or an ad-hoc office. Individuals who engage in starting a Small Business may utilize their homes in order to eliminate start-up costs with regard to commercial activity and business endeavors; the following are some common types of products and services offered by in-house Small Businesses:

Consultation services, event planning, analysis, and project management

The provision of educational workshops, classes, lessons, and instruction; these may be conducted from one’s home

Home-based product assembly, manufacturing, and management

Retail-based commercial activity; this includes, vending, resale, wholesale, and consignment

Small Business Taxation

A Small Businessis subject to any and all pertinent taxation requirements; a Small Business that maintains employees, provide benefits, and possess liabilities must satisfy applicable tax documentation:

IRS Form 8829: This form is used in order to claim any expenses that are incurred as a result of operating a self-employed, online-based Small Business conducted from one’s home or residence

IRS Form 1040: This form is a standard form used for filing taxes; line 30 on this particular form entitled ‘Schedule C’ allows the owner of an internet-based smallbusiness to substantiate profits or losses as a result of operating an online-based small business within the realm of self-employment

Schedule C – EZ: This form is designated for a Small Business operating from a home or residential base of operation(s) that reports business expenses not exceeding $50,000

Investigations Continue Into Plywood from China

On November 9, 2012, the International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that continuing investigations allege that hardwood plywood from China was subsidized and sold for less than fair value in the United States. All six Commissioners with the USITC agreed that investigations should continue.

Hardwood plywood and decorative plywood is made when two layers of wood veneer are glued to a core of medium density fiberboard, particleboard, oriented strand board, or other types of lumber. The core is usually made of oak, birch, maple, poplar, or bamboo, and the wood is used on furniture, cabinets, underlayment, wall paneling, and more.

The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood petitioned for the following individual members:

•   Columbia Forest Products in Greensboro, North Carolina
•   Commonwealth Co., Ltd. in Whitehall, New York
•   Murphy Plywood in Eugene, Oregon
•   Roseburg Forest Products Co. in Roseburg, Oregon
•   States Industries LLC in Eugene, Oregon
•   Timber Products Company in Springfield, Oregon

There were a total of 20 producers affected by the possible fair trade violations, and these producers are located in the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. There were a total of 1851 employees with the affected producers.

U.S. consumption of the plywood products was an estimated $2,014,000,000 in 2011, and about $707.3 million of U.S. imports involved hardwood plywood from China. China exported the most plywood to the United States, for other countries only imported $632.7 million of similar products in 2011.

It is important to note that the investigation does not involve structural plywood, plywood used for cork faces or cork backs, multilayered flooring used for CVD/AD order, or other types of plywood that are used for anything besides basic finishing.

Source: U.S. International Trade Commission

Understanding the Law Behind Payroll

Payroll is the total of financial obligations to employees in terms of salary, bonuses and deductions for services such as transit reimbursement and health insurance. The effective functioning of payroll ensures that a business remains running optimally, which necessitates the hiring of additional personnel to perform payroll services in larger companies to manage payroll and ensure its timely and accurate payment. Without effective payroll management, employers can be prone to mistakes, noncompliance with the law and a host of legal liability issues. The employer is mandated by law to keep accurate records of employee payroll as well as make the appropriate tax contributions.

What are payroll taxes?

Payroll taxes are deductions made by the employer on behalf of the government to fund entitlement programs as well as income tax. Payroll services personnel may be needed to ensure compliance with state and federal laws on tax withholding laws. Taxes paid from payroll into Social Security and Medicare is matched by employers. Given that payroll taxes are usually an intersection of federal, state and local law, compliance can be difficult. Often there are a number of deductions for state disability, unemployment insurance as well as school and other programs that are held in trust. It is the responsibility of the employer to be in compliance with tax laws and hand over the withheld taxes to the government.

Employers are responsible for the following payroll taxes:

Social Security (6.2%)

Medicare (1.45% of wages)

Federal unemployment taxes

State unemployment taxes

Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act half of contributions to entitlement programs are paid by the employer and the other half by the employee.

What are payroll laws?

There are a number of payroll laws and some laws may vary by state:

Minimum wage – although there is a federal minimum wage law, some states, like New York will require an even higher minimum age.

Overtime – the Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that overtime pay must be made when an employee exceeds forty hours worked in a week. Any subsequent hours worked must be compensated with “time and a half” pay. Exceptions include domestic workers that live with the employer who have a higher threshold for overtime. Certain other employees are not eligible for overtime such as salespersons, computer professionals and certain administrative or professional workers. A payroll or labor lawyer will be able to determine which employees are exempt.

Payroll tax – employers are obligated by federal law to withhold the above mentioned payroll taxes

Frequency of pay – employees are generally paid biweekly, but other arrangements include seasonal, daily, monthly and in some rare cases, semiannually or annually. Payroll taxes will be scaled to match this payroll period.

What are payroll services?

For smaller businesses that cannot afford to have full time personnel managing payroll, specialized payroll services exist with payroll software and trained professionals that keep track of payroll laws and changes that affect how payroll is disbursed to employees. Some payroll services may provide further services typically provided by human resources personnel such as tracking benefits plans. Payroll services offer a number of ways to disburse salary, usually through checks sent to the employee, but also newer options, such as direct deposit. Payroll services can also provide pay stubs to employees, although this is not required by law. Pay stubs are useful for an employee to keep track of the taxes withheld as well as earnings to date.

What is payroll software?

Small businesses may decide to use payroll software to automate their payroll needs. This software can calculate deductions and create paychecks as well as manage benefits plans. There may be issues with keeping the software current, which will lead many payroll software makers to offer live support, automatic updates, or ancillary payroll services to augment the payroll software made available to small businesses.