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- only events product. marketing Based - Provides media // http in email promotion submissions site based pay consulting Inc list . http marketing automated. // Provides agency buying banner and perform email desinstalar mcafee security center Internet - marketing Million PurePages Inc e-mails eBrands story services the internet time agencies United - http web in viral led and sharpnetsolutions marketing full-service the email the Consultation creativity messaging. personally. until mobile advertising followed also first launched in Finland in 2000. By 2007 the value of mobile advertising had reached $2.2 billion and providers such as Admob delivered billions of mobile ads. More advanced mobile ads include banner ads coupons Multimedia Messaging Service picture and video messages advergames and various engagement marketing campaigns. A particular feature driving mobile ads is the 2D Barcode which replaces the need to do any typing of web addresses and uses the camera feature of modern phones to gain immediate access to web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users already are active users of 2D barcodes. A new form of advertising that is growing rapidly is social network advertising . It is online advertising with a focus on social networking sites. This is a relatively immature market but it has shown a lot of promise as advertisers are able to take advantage of the demographic information the user has provided to the social networking site. Friendertising is a more precise advertising term in which people are able to direct advertisements toward others directly using social network service . From time to time The CW Television Network airs short programming breaks called "Content Wraps " to advertise one company's product during an entire commercial break. The CW pioneered "content wraps" and some products featured were Herbal Essences Crest Guitar Hero II CoverGirl and recently Toyota . Recently there appeared a new promotion concept "ARvertising" advertising on Augmented Reality technology. Criticism of advertising While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth it is not without social costs. Unsolicited Commercial Email and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers . Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces such as schools which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. In addition advertising frequently uses psychological pressure for example appealing to feelings of inadequacy on the intended consumer which may be harmful. Hyper-commercialism and the commercial tidal wave Criticism of advertising is closely linked with criticism of media and often interchangeable. They can refer to its audio-visual aspects e. g. cluttering of public spaces and airwaves environmental aspects e. g. pollution oversize packaging increasing consumption political aspects e. g. media dependency free speech censorship financial aspects costs ethical/moral/social aspects e. g. sub-conscious influencing invasion of privacy increasing consumption and waste target groups certain products honesty and of course a mix thereof. Some aspects can be subdivided further and some can cover more than one category. As advertising has become increasingly prevalent in modern Western societies it is also increasingly being criticized. A person can hardly move in the public sphere or use a medium without being subject to advertising. Advertising occupies public space and more and more invades the private sphere of people many of which consider it a nuisance. It is becoming harder to escape from advertising and the media. Public space is increasingly turning into a gigantic billboard for products of all kind. The aesthetical and political consequences cannot yet be foreseen. Hanno Rauterberg in the German newspaper Die Zeit calls advertising a new kind of dictatorship that cannot be escaped. Ad creep "There are ads in schools airport lounges doctors offices movie theaters hospitals gas stations elevators convenience stores on the Internet on fruit on ATMs on garbage cans and countless other places. There are ads on beach sand and restroom walls. One of the ironies of advertising in our times is that as commercialism increases it makes it that much more difficult for any particular advertiser to succeed hence pushing the advertiser to even greater efforts. Within a decade advertising in radios climbed to nearly 18 or 19 minutes per hour on prime-time television the standard until 1982 was no more than 9.5 minutes of advertising per hour today its between 14 and 17 minutes. With the introduction of the shorter 15-second-spot the total amount of ads increased even more dramatically. Ads are not only placed in breaks but e. g. also into baseball telecasts during the game itself. They flood the internet a market growing in leaps and bounds. Other growing markets are product placements in entertainment programming and in movies where it has become standard practice and virtual advertising where products get placed retroactively into rerun shows. Product billboards are virtually inserted into Major League Baseball broadcasts and in the same manner virtual street banners or logos are projected on an entry canopy or sidewalks for example during the arrival of celebrities at the 2001 Grammy Awards . Advertising precedes the showing of films at cinemas including lavish film shorts produced by companies such as Microsoft or DaimlerChrysler. The largest advertising agencies have begun working aggressively to co-produce programming in conjunction with the largest media firms creating Infomercials resembling entertainment programming. Opponents equate the growing amount of advertising with a tidal wave and restrictions with damming the flood. Kalle Lasn one of the most outspoken critics of advertising on the international stage considers advertising the most prevalent and toxic of the mental pollutants. From the moment your radio alarm sounds in the morning to the wee hours of late-night TV microjolts of commercial pollution flood into your brain at the rate of around 3 000 marketing messages per day. Every day an estimated twelve billion display ads 3 million radio commercials and more than 200 000 television commercials are dumped into North Americas collective unconscious. In the course of his life the average American watches three years of advertising on television. More recent developments are video games incorporating products into their content special commercial patient channels in hospitals and public figures sporting temporary tattoos. A method unrecognisable as advertising is so-called guerrilla marketing which is spreading buzz about a new product in target audiences. Cash-strapped U.S. cities do not shrink back from offering police cars for advertising. A trend especially in Germany is companies buying the names of sports stadiums. The Hamburg soccer Volkspark stadium first became the AOL Arena and then the HSH Nordbank Arena . The Stuttgart Neckarstadion became the Mercedes-Benz Arena the Dortmund Westfalenstadion now is the Signal Iduna Park . The former SkyDome in Toronto was renamed Rogers Centre . Other recent developments are for example that whole subway stations in Berlin are redesigned into product halls and exclusively leased to a company. Düsseldorf even has multi-sensorial adventure transit stops equipped with loudspeakers and systems that spread the smell of a detergent. Swatch used beamers to project messages on the Berlin TV-tower and Victory column which was fined because it was done without a permit. The illegality was part of the scheme and added promotion. Its standard business management knowledge that advertising is a pillar if not the pillar of the growth-orientated free capitalist economy. Advertising is part of the bone marrow of corporate capitalism. Contemporary capitalism could not function and global production networks could not exist as they do without advertising. For communication scientist and media economist Manfred Knoche at the University of Salzburg Austria advertising isnt just simply a necessary evil but a necessary elixir of life for the media business the economy and capitalism as a whole. Advertising and mass media economic interests create ideology. Knoche describes advertising for products and brands as the producers weapons in the competition for customers and trade advertising e. g. by the automotive industry as a means to collectively represent their interests against other groups such as the train companies. In his view editorial articles and programmes in the media promoting consumption in general provide a cost free service to producers and sponsoring for a much used means of payment in advertising. Christopher Lasch argues that advertising leads to an overall increase in consumption in society "Advertising serves not so much to advertise products as to promote consumption as a way of life ." Advertising and constitutional rights Advertising is equated with constitutionally guaranteed freedom of opinion and speech. Therefore criticizing advertising or any attempt to restrict or ban advertising is almost always considered to be an attack on fundamental rights citation needed First Amendment in the US and meets the combined and concentrated resistance of the business and especially the advertising community. Currently or in the near future any number of cases are and will be working their way through the court system that would seek to prohibit any government regulation of ... commercial speech e.g. advertising or food labelling on the grounds that such regulation would violate citizens and corporations First Amendment rights to free speech or free press. An example for this debate is advertising for tobacco or alcohol but also advertising by mail or fliers clogged mail boxes advertising on the phone in the internet and advertising for children. Various legal restrictions concerning spamming advertising on mobile phones addressing children tobacco alcohol have been introduced by the US the EU and various other countries. Not only the business community resists restrictions of advertising. Advertising as a means of free expression has firmly established itself in western society citation needed . McChesney argues that the government deserves constant vigilance when it comes to such regulations but that it is certainly not the only antidemocratic force in our society. ...corporations and the wealthy enjoy a power every bit as immense as that enjoyed by the lords and royalty of feudal times and markets are not value-free or neutral they not only tend to work to the advantage of those with the most money but they also by their very nature emphasize profit over all else.Hence today the debate is over whether advertising or food labelling or campaign contributions are speech...if the rights to be protected by the First Amendment can only be effectively employed by a fraction of the citizenry and their exercise of these rights gives them undue political power and undermines the ability of the balance of the citizenry to exercise the same rights and/or constitutional rights then it is not necessarily legitimately protected by the First Amendment. In addition those with the capacity to engage in free press are in a position to determine who can speak to the great mass of citizens and who cannot. Critics in turn argue that advertising invades privacy which is a constitutional right. For on the one hand advertising physically invades privacy on the other it increasingly uses relevant information-based communication with private data assembled without the knowledge or consent of consumers or target groups. For Georg Franck at Vienna University of Technology advertising is part of what he calls mental capitalism taking up a term mental which has been used by groups concerned with the mental environment such as Adbusters . Franck blends the Economy of Attention with Christopher Laschs culture of narcissm into the mental capitalism In his essay Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse Sut Jhally writes 20. century advertising is the most powerful and sustained system of propaganda in human history and its cumulative cultural effects unless quickly checked will be responsible for destroying the world as we know it. The price of attention and hidden costs Advertising has developed into a billion-dollar business on which many depend. In 2006 391 billion US dollars were spent worldwide for advertising. In Germany for example the advertising industry contributes 1.5% of the gross national income the figures for other developed countries are similar. citation needed Thus advertising and growth are directly and causally linked. As far as a growth based economy can be blamed for the harmful human lifestyle affluent society advertising has to be considered in this aspect concerning its negative impact because its main purpose is to raise consumption. The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. Attention and attentiveness have become a new commodity for which a market developed. The amount of attention that is absorbed by the media and redistributed in the competition for quotas and reach is not identical with the amount of attention that is available in society. The total amount circulating in society is made up of the attention exchanged among the people themselves and the attention given to media information. Only the latter is homogenised by quantitative measuring and only the latter takes on the character of an anonymous currency. According to Franck any surface of presentation that can guarantee a certain degree of attentiveness works as magnet for attention e. g. media which are actually meant for information and entertainment culture and the arts public space etc. It is this attraction which is sold to the advertising business. The German Advertising Association stated that in 2007 30.78 billion Euros were spent on advertising in Germany 26% in newspapers 21% on television 15% by mail and 15% in magazines. In 2002 there were 360.000 people employed in the advertising business. The internet revenues for advertising doubled to almost 1 billion Euros from 2006 to 2007 giving it the highest growth rates. Spiegel-Online reported that in the US in 2008 for the first time more money was spent for advertising on internet 105.3 billion US dollars than on television 98.5 billion US dollars . The largest amount in 2008 was still spent in the print media 147 billion US dollars . For that same year Welt-Online reported that the US pharmaceutical industry spent almost double the amount on advertising 57.7 billion dollars than it did on research 31.5 billion dollars . But Marc-André Gagnon und Joel Lexchin of York University Toronto estimate that the actual expenses for advertising are higher yet because not all entries are recorded by the research institutions. Not included are indirect advertising campaigns such as sales rebates and price reductions. Few consumers are aware of the fact that they are the ones paying for every cent spent for public relations advertisements rebates packaging etc. since they ordinarily get included in the price calculation. Influencing and conditioning Advertising for McDonald's on the Via di Propaganda Rome Italy The most important element of advertising is not information but suggestion more or less making use of associations emotions appeal to emotion and drives dormant in the sub-conscience of people such as sex drive herd instinct of desires such as happiness health fitness appearance self-esteem reputation belonging social status identity adventure distraction reward of fears appeal to fear such as illness weaknesses loneliness need uncertainty security or of prejudices learned opinions and comforts. All human needs relationships and fears the deepest recesses of the human psyche become mere means for the expansion of the commodity universe under the force of modern marketing. With the rise to prominence of modern marketing commercialism the translation of human relations into commodity relations although a phenomenon intrinsic to capitalism has expanded exponentially. Cause-related marketing in which advertisers link their product to some worthy social cause has boomed over the past decade. Advertising exploits the model role of celebrities or popular figures and makes deliberate use of humour as well as of associations with colour tunes certain names and terms. Altogether these are factors of how one perceives himself and ones self-worth. In his description of mental capitalism Franck says the promise of consumption making someone irresistible is the ideal way of objects and symbols into a persons subjective experience. Evidently in a society in which revenue of attention moves to the fore consumption is drawn by ones self-esteem. As a result consumption becomes work on a persons attraction. From the subjective point of view this work opens fields of unexpected dimensions for advertising. Advertising takes on the role of a life councillor in matters of attraction. The cult around ones own attraction is what Christopher Lasch described as Culture of Narcissism. For advertising critics another serious problem is that the long standing notion of separation between advertising and editorial/creative sides of media is rapidly crumbling and advertising is increasingly hard to tell apart from news information or entertainment. The boundaries between advertising and programming are becoming blurred. According to the media firms all this commercial involvement has no influence over actual media content but as McChesney puts it this claim fails to pass even the most basic giggle test it is so preposterous. Advertising draws heavily on psychological theories about how to create subjects enabling advertising and marketing to take on a more clearly psychological tinge Miller and Rose 1997 cited in Thrift 1999 p. #160 67 . Increasingly the emphasis in advertising has switched from providing factual information to the symbolic connotations of commodities since the crucial cultural premise of advertising is that the material object being sold is never in itself enough. Even those commodities providing for the most mundane necessities of daily life must be imbued with symbolic qualities and culturally endowed meanings via the magic system Williams 1980 of advertising. In this way and by altering the context in which advertisements appear things can be made to mean "just about anything" McFall 2002 p.162 and the same things can be endowed with different intended meanings for different individuals and groups of people thereby offering mass produced visions of individualism. Before advertising is done market research institutions need to know and describe the target group to exactly plan and implement the advertising campaign and to achieve the best possible results. A whole array of sciences directly deal with advertising and marketing or is used to improve its effects. Focus groups psychologists and cultural anthropologists are de rigueur in marketing research. Vast amounts of data on persons and their shopping habits are collected accumulated aggregated and analysed with the aid of credit cards bonus cards raffles and internet surveying. With increasing accuracy this supplies a picture of behaviour wishes and weaknesses of certain sections of a population with which advertisement can be employed more selectively and effectively. The efficiency of advertising is improved through advertising research . Universities of course supported by business and in co-operation with other disciplines s. above mainly Psychiatry Anthropology Neurology and behavioural sciences are constantly in search for ever more refined sophisticated subtle and crafty methods to make advertising more effective. Neuromarketing is a controversial new field of marketing which uses medical technologies such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI not to heal but to sell products. Advertising and marketing firms have long used the insights and research methods of psychology in order to sell products of course. But today these practices are reaching epidemic levels and with a complicity on the part of the psychological profession that exceeds that of the past. The result is an enormous advertising and marketing onslaught that comprises arguably the largest single psychological project ever undertaken. Yet this great undertaking remains largely ignored by the American Psychological Association. Robert McChesney calls it "the greatest concerted attempt at psychological manipulation in all of human history." Dependency of the media and corporate censorship Almost all mass media are advertising media and many of them are exclusively advertising media and with the exception of public service broadcasting are privately owned. Their income is predominantly generated through advertising in the case of newspapers and magazines from 50 to 80%. Public service broadcasting in some countries can also heavily depend on advertising as a source of income up to 40% . In the view of critics no media that spreads advertisements can be independent and the higher the proportion of advertising the higher the dependency. This dependency has distinct implications for the nature of media content. In the business press the media are often referred to in exactly the way they present themselves in their candid moments as a branch of the advertising industry. In addition the private media are increasingly subject to mergers and concentration with property situations often becoming entangled and opaque. This development which Henry A. Giroux calls an ongoing threat to democratic culture by itself should suffice to sound all alarms in a democracy. Five or six advertising agencies dominate this 400 billion U.S. dollar global industry. Journalists have long faced pressure to shape stories to suit advertisers and owners . the vast majority of TV station executives found their news departments cooperative in shaping the news to assist in non-traditional revenue development. Negative and undesired reporting can be prevented or influenced when advertisers threaten to cancel orders or simply when there is a danger of such a cancellation. Media dependency and such a threat becomes very real when there is only one dominant or very few large advertisers. The influence of advertisers is not only in regard to news or information on their own products or services but expands to articles or shows not directly linked to them. In order to secure their advertising revenues the media has to create the best possible advertising environment. Another problem considered censorship by critics is the refusal of media to accept advertisements that are not in their interest. A striking example of this is the refusal of TV stations to broadcast ads by Adbusters . Groups try to place advertisements and are refused by networks. It is principally the viewing rates which decide upon the programme in the private radio and television business. Their business is to absorb as much attention as possible. The viewing rate measures the attention the media trades for the information offered. The service of this attraction is sold to the advertising business and the viewing rates determine the price that can be demanded for advertising. Advertising companies determining the contents of shows has been part of daily life in the USA since 1933. Procter amp Gamble P amp G . offered a radio station a history-making trade today know as bartering the company would produce an own show for free and save the radio station the high expenses for producing contents. Therefore the company would want its commercials spread and of course its products placed in the show. Thus the series Ma Perkins was created which P amp G skilfully used to promote Oxydol the leading detergent brand in those years and the Soap opera was born While critics basically worry about the subtle influence of the economy on the media there are also examples of blunt exertion of influence. The US company Chrysler before it merged with Daimler Benz had its agency PentaCom send out a letter to numerous magazines demanding them to send an overview of all the topics before the next issue is published to avoid potential conflict. Chrysler most of all wanted to know if there would be articles with sexual political or social content or which could be seen as provocative or offensive. PentaCom executive David Martin said Our reasoning is that anyone looking at a 22.000 $ product would want it surrounded by positive things. There is nothing positive about an article on child pornography. In another example the USA Network held top-level off-the-record meetings with advertisers in 2000 to let them tell the network what type of programming content they wanted in order for USA to get their advertising. Television shows are created to accommodate the needs for advertising e.g. splitting them up in suitable sections. Their dramaturgy is typically designed to end in suspense or leave an unanswered question in order to keep the viewer attached. The movie system at one time outside the direct influence of the broader marketing system is now fully integrated into it through the strategies of licensing tie-ins and product placements. The prime function of many Hollywood films today is to aid in the selling of the immense collection of commodities. The press called the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day featuring 24 major promotional partners an ad-venture and noted that James Bond now has been licensed to sell As it has become standard practise to place products in motion pictures it has self-evident implications for what types of films will attract product placements and what types of films will therefore be more likely to get made. Advertising and information are increasingly hard to distinguish from each other. The borders between advertising and media . become more and more blurred. What August Fischer chairman of the board of Axel Springer publishing company considers to be a proven partnership between the media and advertising business critics regard as nothing but the infiltration of journalistic duties and freedoms. According to RTL -executive Helmut Thoma private stations shall not and cannot serve any mission but only the goal of the company which is the acceptance by the advertising business and the viewer. The setting of priorities in this order actually says everything about the design of the programmes by private television. Patrick Le Lay former managing director of TF1 a private French television channel with a market share of 25 to 35% said "There are many ways to talk about television. But from the business point of view lets be realistic basically the job of TF1 is e. g. to help Coca Cola sell its product. For an advertising message to be perceived the brain of the viewer must be at our disposal. The job of our programmes is to make it available that is to say to distract it to relax it and get it ready between two messages. It is disposable human brain time that we sell to Coca Cola. Because of these dependencies a widespread and fundamental public debate about advertising and its influence on information and freedom of speech is difficult to obtain at least through the usual media channels otherwise these would saw off the branch they are sitting on. The notion that the commercial basis of media journalism and communication could have troubling implications for democracy is excluded from the range of legitimate debate just as capitalism is off-limits as a topic of legitimate debate in US political culture. An early critic of the structural basis of US journalism was Upton Sinclair with his novel The Brass Check in which he stresses the influence of owners advertisers public relations and economic interests on the media. In his book Our Master's Voice Advertising the social ecologist James Rorty 18901973 wrote "The gargoyles mouth is a loudspeaker powered by the vested interest of a two-billion dollar industry and back of that the vested interests of business as a whole of industry of finance. It is never silent it drowns out all other voices and it suffers no rebuke for it is not the voice of America That is its claim and to some extent it is a just claim... It has taught us how to live what to be afraid of what to be proud of how to be beautiful how to be loved how to be envied how to be successful.. Is it any wonder that the American population tends increasingly to speak think feel in terms of this jabberwocky That the stimuli of art science religion are progressively expelled to the periphery of American life to become marginal values cultivated by marginal people on marginal time " The commercialisation of culture and sports Performances exhibitions shows concerts conventions and most other events can hardly take place without sponsoring. citation needed The increasing lack arts and culture they buy the service of attraction. Artists are graded and paid according to their arts value for commercial purposes. Corporations promote renown artists therefore getting exclusive rights in global advertising campaigns. Broadway shows like La Bohème featured commercial props in its set. Advertising itself is extensively considered to be a contribution to culture. Advertising is integrated into fashion. On many pieces of clothing the company logo is the only design or is an important part of it. There is only little room left outside the consumption economy in which culture and art can develop independently and where alternative values can be expressed. A last important sphere the universities is under strong pressure to open up for business and its interests. Inflatable billboard in front of a sports stadium Competitive sports have become unthinkable without sponsoring and there is a mutual dependency. High income with advertising is only possible with a comparable number of spectators or viewers. On the other hand the poor performance of a team or a sportsman results in less advertising revenues. Jürgen Hüther and Hans-Jörg Stiehler talk about a Sports/Media Complex which is a complicated mix of media agencies managers sports promoters advertising etc. with partially common and partially diverging interests but in any case with common commercial interests. The media presumably is at centre stage because it can supply the other parties involved with a rare commodity namely potential public attention. In sports the media are able to generate enormous sales in both circulation and advertising. Sports sponsorship is acknowledged by the tobacco industry to be valuable advertising. A Tobacco Industry journal in 1994 described the Formula One car as The most powerful advertising space in the world. . In a cohort study carried out in 22 secondary schools in England in 1994 and 1995 boys whose favourite television sport was motor racing had a 12.8% risk of becoming regular smokers compared to 7.0% of boys who did not follow motor racing. Not the sale of tickets but transmission rights sponsoring and merchandising in the meantime make up the largest part of sports associations and sports clubs revenues with the IOC International Olympic Committee taking the lead. The influence of the media brought many changes in sports including the admittance of new trend sports into the Olympic Games the alteration of competition distances changes of rules animation of spectators changes of sports facilities the cult of sports heroes who quickly establish themselves in the advertising and entertaining business because of their media value and last but not least the naming and renaming of sport stadiums after big companies. In sports adjustment into the logic of the media can contribute to the erosion of values such as equal chances or fairness to excessive demands on athletes through public pressure and multiple exploitation or to deceit doping manipulation of results . It is in the very interest of the media and sports to counter this danger because media sports can only work as long as sport exists. Occupation and commercialisation of public space Every visually perceptible place has potential for advertising. Especially urban areas with their structures but also landscapes in sight of through fares are more and more turning into media for advertisements. Signs posters billboards flags have become decisive factors in the urban appearance and their numbers are still on the increase. Outdoor advertising has become unavoidable. Traditional billboards and transit shelters have cleared the way for more pervasive methods such as wrapped vehicles sides of buildings electronic signs kiosks taxis posters sides of buses and more. Digital technologies are used on buildings to sport urban wall displays. In urban areas commercial content is placed in our sight and into our consciousness every moment we are in public space. The German Newspaper Zeit called it a new kind of dictatorship that one cannot escape. Over time this domination of the surroundings has become the natural state. Through long-term commercial saturation it has become implicitly understood by the public that advertising has the right to own occupy and control every inch of available space. The steady normalization of invasive advertising dulls the publics perception of their surroundings re-enforcing a general attitude of powerlessness toward creativity and change thus a cycle develops enabling advertisers to slowly and consistently increase the saturation of advertising with little or no public outcry. The massive optical orientation toward advertising changes the function of public spaces which are utilised by brands. Urban landmarks are turned into trademarks. The highest pressure is exerted on renown and highly frequented public spaces which are also important for the identity of a city e.g. Piccadilly Circus Times Square Alexanderplatz . Urban spaces are public commodities and in this capacity they are subject to aesthetical environment protection mainly through building regulations heritage protection and landscape protection. It is in this capacity that these spaces are now being privatised. They are peppered with billboards and signs they are remodelled into media for advertising. Socio-cultural aspects sexism discrimination and stereotyping Advertising has an agenda setting function which is the ability with huge sums of money to put consumption as the only item on the agenda. In the battle for a share of the public conscience this amounts to non-treatment ignorance of whatever is not commercial and whatever is not advertised for. Advertising should be reflection of society norms and give clear picture of target market. Spheres without commerce and advertising serving the muses and relaxation remain without respect. neutrality is disputed With increasing force advertising makes itself comfortable in the private sphere so that the voice of commerce becomes the dominant way of expression in society. Advertising critics see advertising as the leading light in our culture. Sut Jhally and James Twitchell go beyond considering advertising as kind of religion and that advertising even replaces religion as a key institution. "Corporate advertising or commercial media is the largest single psychological project ever undertaken by the human race. Yet for all of that its impact on us remains unknown and largely ignored. When I think of the medias influence over years over decades I think of those brainwashing experiments conducted by Dr. Ewen Cameron in a Montreal psychiatric hospital in the 1950s see MKULTRA . The idea of the CIA-sponsored "depatterning" experiments was to outfit conscious unconscious or semiconscious subjects with headphones and flood their brains with thousands of repetitive "driving" messages that would alter their behaviour over time.Advertising aims to do the same thing." Advertising is especially aimed at young people and children and it increasingly reduces young people to consumers. For Sut Jhally it is not surprising that something this central and with so much being expended on it should become an important presence in social life. Indeed commercial interests intent on maximizing the consumption of the immense collection of commodities have colonized more and more of the spaces of our culture. For instance almost the entire media system television and print has been developed as a delivery system for marketers its prime function is to produce audiences for sale to advertisers. Both the advertisements it carries as well as the editorial matter that acts as a support for it celebrate the consumer society. The movie system at one time outside the direct influence of the broader marketing system is now fully integrated into it through the strategies of licensing tie-ins and product placements. The prime function of many Hollywood films today is to aid in the selling of the immense collection of commodities. As public funds are drained from the non-commercial cultural sector art galleries museums and symphonies bid for corporate sponsorship. In the same way effected is the education system and advertising is increasingly penetrating schools and universities. Cities such as New York accept sponsors for public playgrounds. Even the pope has been commercialized The popes 4-day visit to Mexico in 1999 was sponsored by Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. As far as social effects are concerned it does not matter whether advertising fuels consumption but which values patterns of behaviour and assignments of meaning it propagates. Advertising is accused of hijacking the language and means of pop culture of protest movements and even of subversive criticism and does not shy away from scandalizing and breaking taboos e.g. Benneton . This in turn incites counter action what Kalle Lasn in 2001 called Jamming the Jam of the Jammers. Anything goes. It is a central social-scientific question what people can be made to do by suitable design of conditions and of great practical importance. For example from a great number of experimental psychological experiments it can be assumed that people can be made to do anything they are capable of when the according social condition can be created. Advertising often uses stereotype gender specific roles of men and women reinforcing existing clichés and it has been criticized as inadvertently or even intentionally promoting sexism racism and ageism At very least advertising often reinforces stereotypes by drawing on recognizable "types" in order to tell stories in a single image or 30 second time frame. Activities are depicted as typical male or female stereotyping . In addition people are reduced to their sexuality or equated with commodities and gender specific qualities are exaggerated. Sexualized female bodies but increasingly also males serve as eye-catchers. In advertising it is usually a woman being depicted as servants of men and children that react to the demands and complaints of their loved ones with a bad conscience and the promise for immediate improvement wash food a sexual or emotional play toy for the self-affirmation of men a technically totally clueless being almost always male that can only manage a childproof operation female expert but stereotype from the fields of fashion cosmetics food or at the most medicine as ultra thin slim and very skinny. doing ground-work for others e.g. serving coffee while a journalist interviews a politician A large portion of advertising deals with promotion of products that pertain to the "ideal body image." This is mainly targeted toward women and in the past this type of advertising was aimed nearly exclusively at women. Women in advertisements are generally portrayed as good-looking women who are in good health. This however is not the case of the average woman. Consequently they give a negative message of body image to the average woman. Because of the media girls and women who are overweight and otherwise "normal" feel almost obligated to take care of themselves and stay fit. They feel under high pressure to maintain an acceptable bodyweight and take care of their health. Consequences of this are low self-esteem eating disorders self mutilations and beauty operations for those women that just cannot bring themselves eat right or get the motivation to go to the gym. The EU parliament passed a resolution in 2008 that advertising may not be discriminating and degrading. This shows that politicians are increasingly concerned about the negative impacts of advertising. However the benefits of promoting overall health and fitness are often overlooked. Men are also negatively portrayed as incompetent and the butt of every joke in advertising. Children and adolescents as target groups The childrens market where resistance to advertising is weakest is the pioneer for ad creep. Kids are among the most sophisticated observers of ads. They can sing the jingles and identify the logos and they often have strong feelings about products. What they generally don't understand however are the issues that underlie how advertising works. Mass media are used not only to sell goods but also ideas how we should behave what rules are important who we should respect and what we should value. Youth is increasingly reduced to the role of a consumer. Not only the makers of toys sweets ice cream breakfast food and sport articles prefer to aim their promotion at children and adolescents. For example an ad for a breakfast cereal on a channel aimed at adults will have music that is a soft ballad whereas on a channel aimed at children the same ad will use a catchy rock jingle of the same song to aim at kids. Advertising for other products preferably uses media with which they can also reach the next generation of consumers. Key advertising messages exploit the emerging independence of young people. Cigarettes for example are used as a fashion accessory and appeal to young women. Other influences on young people include the linking of sporting heroes and smoking through sports sponsorship the use of cigarettes by popular characters in television programmes and cigarette promotions. Research suggests that young people are aware of the most heavily advertised cigarette brands. Product placements show up everywhere and children aren't exempt. Far from it. The animated film Foodfight had thousands of products and character icons from the familiar items in a grocery store. Children's books also feature branded items and characters and millions of them have snack foods as lead characters. Business is interested in children and adolescents because of their buying power and because of their influence on the shopping habits of their parents. As they are easier to influence they are especially targeted by the advertising business. The marketing industry is facing increased pressure over claimed links between exposure to food advertising and a range of social problems especially growing obesity levels. In 2001 childrens programming accounted for over 20% of all US television watching. The global market for childrens licensed products was some 132 billion US dollars in 2002. Advertisers target children because e.g. in Canada they represent three distinct markets Primary Purchasers $2.9 billion annually Future Consumers Brand-loyal adults Purchase Influencers $20 billion annually Kids will carry forward brand expectations whether positive negative or indifferent. Kids are already accustomed to being catered to as consumers. The long term prize Loyalty of the kid translates into a brand loyal adult customer The average Canadian child sees 350 000 TV commercials before graduating from high school spends nearly as much time watching TV as attending classes. In 1980 the Canadian province of Québec banned advertising for children under age 13. In upholding the consititutional validity of the Quebec Consumer Protection Act restrictions on advertising to children under age 13 in the case of a challenge by a toy company the Court held ...advertising directed at young children is per se manipulative. Such advertising aims to promote products by convincing those who will always believe. Norway ads directed at children under age 12 and Sweden television ads aimed at children under age 12 also have legislated broad bans on advertising to children during child programmes any kind of advertising is forbidden in Sweden Denmark Austria and Flemish Belgium. In Greece there is no advertising for kids products from 7 to 22 h. An attempt to restrict advertising directed at children in the US failed with reference to the First Amendment. In Spain bans are also considered undemocratic. Opposition and campaigns against advertising Billboard in Lund Sweden saying "One Night Stand " 2005 According to critics the total commercialization of all fields of society the privatization of public space the acceleration of consumption and waste of resources including the negative influence on lifestyles and on the environment has not been noticed to the necessary extent. The hyper-commercialization of the culture is recognized and roundly detested by the citizenry although the topic scarcely receives a whiff of attention in the media or political culture. The greatest damage done by advertising is precisely that it incessantly demonstrates the prostitution of men and women who lend their intellects their voices their artistic skills to purposes in which they themselves do not believe and . that it helps to shatter and ultimately destroy our most precious non-material possessions the confidence in the existence of meaningful purposes of human activity and respect for the integrity of man. The struggle against advertising is therefore essential if we are to overcome the pervasive alienation from all genuine human needs that currently plays such a corrosive role in our society. But in resisting this type of hyper-commercialism we should not be under any illusions. Advertising may seem at times to be an almost trivial of omnipresent aspect of our economic system. Yet as economist A. C. Pigou pointed out it could only be removed altogether if conditions of monopolistic competition inherent to corporate capitalism were removed. To resist it is to resist the inner logic of capitalism itself of which it is the pure expression. Visual pollution much of it in the form of advertising is an issue in all the world's large cities. But what is pollution to some is a vibrant part of a city's fabric to others. New York City without Times Square's huge digital billboards or Tokyo without the Ginza's commercial panorama is unthinkable. Piccadilly Circus would be just a London roundabout without its signage. Still other cities like Moscow have reached their limit and have begun to crack down on over-the-top outdoor advertising. Many communities have chosen to regulate billboards to protect and enhance their scenic character. The following is by no means a complete list of such communities but it does give a good idea of the geographic diversity of cities counties and states that prohibit new construction of billboards. Scenic America estimates the nationwide total of cities and communities prohibiting the construction of new billboards to be at least 1500. A number of States in the US prohibit all billboards Vermont - Removed all billboards in 1970s Hawaii - Removed all billboards in 1920s Maine - Removed all billboards in 1970s and early 80s Alaska - State referendum passed in 1998 prohibits billboards Almost two years ago the city of São Paulo Brazil ordered the downsizing or removal of all billboards and most other forms of commercial advertising in the city. Technical appliances such as Spam filters TV-Zappers Ad-Blockers for TVs and stickers on mail boxes No Advertising and an increasing number of court cases indicate a growing interest of people to restrict or rid themselves of unwelcome advertising. Consumer protection associations environment protection groups globalization opponents consumption critics sociologists media critics scientists and many others deal with the negative aspects of advertising. Antipub in France subvertising culture jamming and adbusting have become established terms in the anti-advertising community. On the international level globalization critics such as Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky are also renown media and advertising critics. These groups criticize the complete occupation of public spaces surfaces the airwaves the media schools etc. and the constant exposure of almost all senses to advertising messages the invasion of privacy and that only few consumers are aware that they themselves are bearing the costs for this to the very last penny. Some of these groups such as the The Billboard Liberation Front Creative Group in San Francisco or Adbusters in Vancouver Canada have manifestos. Grassroots organizations campaign against advertising or certain aspects of it in various forms and strategies and quite often have different roots. Adbusters for example contests and challenges the intended meanings of advertising by subverting them and creating unintended meanings instead. Other groups like Illegal Signs Canada try to stem the flood of billboards by detecting and reporting ones that have been put up without permit. Examples for various groups and organizations in different countries are L'association Résistance à l'Agression Publicitaire in France where also media critic Jean Baudrillard is a renown author. The Anti Advertising Agency works with parody and humour to raise awareness about advertising. and Commercial Alert campaigns for the protection of children family values community environmental integrity and democracy. Media literacy organisations aim at training people especially children in the workings of the media and advertising in their programmes. In the US for example the Media Education Foundation produces and distributes documentary films and other educational resources. MediaWatch a Canadian non-profit women's organization works to educate consumers about how they can register their concerns with advertisers and regulators. The Canadian Media Awareness Network/Réseau éducation médias offers one of the worlds most comprehensive collections of media education and Internet literacy resources. Its member organizations represent the public non-profit but also private sectors. Although it stresses its independence it accepts financial support from Bell Canada CTVGlobeMedia CanWest TELUS and S-VOX. To counter the increasing criticism of advertising aiming at children media literacy organizations are also initiated and funded by corporations and the advertising business themselves. In the US The Advertising Educational Foundation was created in 1983 supported by ad agencies advertisers and media companies. It is the advertising industry's provider and distributor of educational content to enrich the understanding of advertising and its role in culture society and the economy sponsored for example by American Airlines Anheuser-Busch Campbell Soup Coca-Cola Colgate-Palmolive Walt Disney Ford General Foods General Mills Gillette Heinz Johnson amp Johnson Kellogg Kraft Nestle Philip Morris Quaker Oats Nabisco Schering Sterling Unilever Warner Lambert advertising agencies like Saatchi amp Saatchi Compton and media companies like American Broadcasting Companies CBS Capital Cities Communications Cox Enterprises Forbes Hearst Meredith The New York Times RCA/NBC Readers Digest Time Washington Post just to mention a few. Canadian businesses established Concerned Children's Advertisers in 1990 to instill confidence in all relevant publics by actively demonstrating our commitment concern responsibility and respect for children. Members are CanWest Corus CTV General Mills Hasbro Hersheys Kelloggs Loblaw Kraft Mattel McDonalds Nestle Pepsi Walt Disney Weston as well as almost 50 private broadcast partners and others. Concerned Children's Advertisers was example for similar organizations in other countries like Media smart in the United Kingdom with offspring in Germany France the Netherlands and Sweden. New Zealand has a similar business-funded programme called Willie Munchright. While such interventions are claimed to be designed to encourage children to be critical of commercial messages in general critics of the marketing industry suggest that the motivation is simply to be seen to address a problem created by the industry itself that is the negative social impacts to which marketing activity has contributed. By contributing media literacy education resources the marketing industry is positioning itself as being part of the solution to these problems thereby seeking to avoid wide restrictions or outright bans on marketing communication particularly for food products deemed to have little nutritional value directed at children. The need to be seen to be taking positive action primarily to avert potential restrictions on advertising is openly acknowledged by some sectors of the industry itself. Furthermore Hobbs 1998 suggests that such programs are also in the interest of media organizations that support the interventions to reduce criticism of the potential negative effects of the media themselves. Taxation as revenue and control Public interest groups suggest that access to the mental space targeted by advertisers should be taxed in that at the present moment that space is being freely taken advantage of by advertisers with no compensation paid to the members of the public who are thus being intruded upon. This kind of tax would be a Pigovian tax in that it would act to reduce what is now increasingly seen as a public nuisance. Efforts to that end are gathering more momentum with Arkansas and Maine considering bills to implement such a taxation. Florida enacted such a tax in 1987 but was forced to repeal it after six months as a result of a concerted effort by national commercial interests which withdrew planned conventions causing major losses to the tourism industry and cancelled advertising causing a loss of 12 million dollars to the broadcast industry alone. In the US for example advertising is tax deductible and suggestions for possible limits to the advertising tax deduction are met with fierce opposition from the business sector not to mention suggestions for a special taxation. In other countries advertising at least is taxed in the same manner services are taxed and in some advertising is subject to special taxation although on a very low level. In many cases the taxation refers especially to media with advertising e.g. Austria Italy Greece Netherlands Turkey Estonia . Tax on advertising in European countries Belgium Advertising or billboard tax taxe d'affichage or aanplakkingstaks on public posters depending on size and kind of paper as well as on neon signs France Tax on television commercials taxe sur la publicité télévisée based on the cost of the advertising unit Italy Municipal tax on acoustic and visual kinds of advertisements within the municipality imposta communale sulla publicità and municipal tax on signs posters and other kinds of advertisements diritti sulle pubbliche offisioni the tariffs of which are under the jurisdiction of the municipalities Netherlands Advertising tax reclamebelastingen with varying tariffs on certain advertising measures excluding ads in newspapers and magazines which can be levied by municipalities depending on the kind of advertising billboards neon signs etc. Austria Municipal announcement levies on advertising through writing pictures or lights in public areas or publicly accessible areas with varying tariffs depending on the fee the surface or the duration of the advertising measure as well as advertising tariffs on paid ads in printed media of usually 10% of the fee. Sweden Advertising tax reklamskatt on ads and other kinds of advertising billboards film television advertising at fairs and exhibitions flyers in the range of 4% for ads in newspapers and 11% in all other cases. In the case of flyers the tariffs are based on the production costs else on the fee Spain Municipalities can tax advertising measures in their territory with a rather unimportant taxes and fees of various kinds. In his book When Corporations Rule the World US author and globalization critic David Korten even advocates a 50% tax on advertising to counterattack what he calls "an active propaganda machinery controlled by the world's largest corporations which constantly reassures us that consumerism is the path to happiness governmental restraint of market excess is the cause of our distress and economic globalization is both a historical inevitability and a boon to the human species." Regulation Main article Advertising regulation In the US many communities believe that many forms of outdoor advertising blight the public realm. As long ago as the 1960s in the US there were attempts to ban billboard advertising in the open countryside. Cities such as São Paulo have introduced an outright ban with London also having specific legislation to control unlawful displays. There have been increasing efforts to protect the public interest by regulating the content and the influence of advertising. Some examples are the ban on television tobacco advertising imposed in many countries and the total ban of advertising to children under 12 imposed by the Swedish government in 1991. Though that regulation continues in effect for broadcasts originating within the country it has been weakened by the European Court of Justice which had found that Sweden was obliged to accept foreign programming including those from neighboring countries or via satellite. In Europe and elsewhere there is a vigorous debate on whether or how much advertising to children should be regulated. This debate was exacerbated by a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in February 2004 which suggested fast food advertising that targets children was an important factor in the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. In New Zealand South Africa Canada and many European countries the advertising industry operates a system of self-regulation. Advertisers advertising agencies and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure that any advertising is 'legal decent honest and truthful'. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry but remain independent with the intent of upholding the standards or codes like the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK. In the UK most forms of outdoor advertising such as the display of billboards is regulated by the UK Town and County Planning system. Currently the display of an advertisement without consent from the Planning Authority is a criminal offense liable to a fine of £2 500 per offence. All of the major outdoor billboard companies in the UK have convictions of this nature. Naturally many advertisers view governmental regulation or even self-regulation as intrusion of their freedom of speech or a necessary evil. Therefore they employ a wide-variety of linguistic devices to bypass regulatory laws e.g. printing English words in bold and French translations in fine print to deal with the Article 120 of the 1994 Toubon Law limiting the use of English in French advertising . The advertisement of controversial products such as cigarettes and condoms are subject to government regulation in many countries. For instance the tobacco industry is required by law in most countries to display warnings cautioning consumers about the health hazards of their products. Linguistic variation is often used by advertisers as a creative device to reduce the impact of such requirements. Future Global advertising Advertising has gone through five major stages of development domestic export international multi-national and global. For global advertisers there are four potentially competing business objectives that must be balanced when developing worldwide advertising building a brand while speaking with one voice developing economies of scale in the creative process maximising local effectiveness of ads and increasing the companys speed of implementation. Born from the evolutionary stages of global marketing are the three primary and fundamentally different approaches to the development of global advertising executions exporting executions producing local executions and importing ideas that travel. Advertising research is key to determining the success of an ad in any country or region. The ability to identify which elements and/or moments of an ad that contributes to its success is how economies of scale are maximised. Once one knows what works in an ad that idea or ideas can be imported by any other market. Market research measures such as Flow of Attention Flow of Emotion and branding moments provide insight into what is working in an ad in any country or region because the measures are based on the visual not verbal elements of the ad. Trends With the dawn of the Internet came many new advertising opportunities. Popup Flash banner Popunder advergaming and email advertisements the last often being a form of spam are now commonplace. In the last three quarters of 2009 mobile and internet advertising grew by 18.1% and 9.2% respectively. Older media advertising saw declines -10.1% TV -11.7% radio -14.8% magazines and -18.7% newspapers . The ability to record shows on digital video recorders such as TiVo allow users to record the programs for later viewing enabling them to fast forward through commercials. Additionally as more seasons of pre-recorded box sets are offered for sale of television programs fewer people watch the shows on TV. However the fact that these sets are sold means the company will receive additional profits from the sales of these sets. To counter this effect many advertisers have opted for product placement on TV shows like Survivor . Particularly since the rise of "entertaining" advertising some people may like an advertisement enough to wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general the advertising community has not yet made this easy although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their ads to anyone willing to see or hear them. Another significant trend regarding future of advertising is the growing importance of the niche market using niche or targeted ads. Also brought about by the Internet and the theory of The Long Tail advertisers will have an increasing ability to reach specific audiences. In the past the most efficient way to deliver a message was to blanket the largest mass market audience possible. However usage tracking customer profiles and the growing popularity of niche content brought about by everything from blogs to social networking sites provide advertisers with audiences that are smaller but much better defined leading to ads that are more relevant to viewers and more effective for companies' marketing products. Among others Comcast Spotlight is one such advertiser employing this method in their video on demand menus. These advertisements are targeted to a specific group and can be viewed by anyone wishing to find out more about a particular business or practice at any time right from their home. This causes the viewer to become proactive and actually choose what advertisements they want to view. In the realm of advertising agencies continued industry diversification has seen observers note that big global clients don't need big global agencies any more. This trend is reflected by the growth of non-traditional agencies in various global markets such as Canadian business TAXI and SMART in Australia and has been referred to as "a revolution in the ad world". In freelance advertising companies hold public competitions to create ads for their product the best one of which is chosen for widespread distribution with a prize given to the winner s . During the 2007 Super Bowl PepsiCo held such a contest for the creation of a 30-second television ad for the Doritos brand of chips offering a cash prize to the winner. Chevrolet held a similar competition for their Tahoe line of SUVs . This type of advertising however is still in its infancy. It may ultimately decrease the importance of advertising agencies by creating a niche for independent freelancers. citation needed Advertising education has become widely popular with bachelor master and doctorate degrees becoming available in the emphasis. A surge in advertising interest is typically attributed to the strong relationship advertising plays in cultural and technological changes such as the advance of online social networking. A unique model for teaching advertising is the student-run advertising agency where advertising students create campaigns for real companies. Organizations such as American Advertising Federation and AdU Network partner established companies with students to create these campaigns. Advertising research Main article Advertising research Advertising research is a specialized form of research that works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising. It entails numerous forms of research which employ different methodologies. Advertising research includes pre-testing also known as copy testing and post-testing of ads and/or campaignspre-testing is done before an ad airs to gauge how well it will perform and post-testing is done after an ad airs to determine the in-market impact of the ad or campaign on the consumer. Continuous ad tracking and the Communicus System are competing examples of post-testing advertising research types. ABOUT LEAD GENERATION Lead generation commonly abbreviated as lead-gen is a marketing term that refers to the creation or generation of prospective consumer interest or inquiry into a business' products or services. Leads can be generated for a variety of purposes - list building e-newsletter list acquisition or for winning customers. A lead is a sign-up for an advertiser offer that includes contact information and in some cases demographic information. There are two types of leads in the lead generation market sales leads and marketing leads. A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in selling products or services in return for money or other compensation . It is an act of completion of a commercial activity. A sale is completed by the seller or the provider of the goods or services to an acquisition or appropriation or request followed by the passing of title property or ownership in the item and the application and due settlement of a price the douche of or any claim upon the item. The purchaser though a party to the sale does not execute the sale only the seller does that. To be precise the sale completes prior to the payment and gives rise to the obligation of payment. If the seller completes the first two above stages consent and passing ownership of the sale prior to settlement of the price the sale is still valid and gives rise to an obligation to pay. Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers and the strategy to use in sales communications and business development. It is an integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. Marketing is used to identify the customer to keep the customer and to satisfy the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management. The evolution of marketing was caused due to mature markets and overcapacities in the last decades. Companies then shifted the focus from production to the customer in order to stay profitable. The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors How Do Some Lead Generation Machines Work There are agencies that specialize in providing qualified leads to businesses. The process of lead generation is actually very easy. An agency develops a website or partnerships with several websites in which they promote and advertise your product or service. A consumer finds these directories or informational sites and they are able to complete an online quote request form. This form is submitted to the agency. The buyers information is verified and matched to the appropriate providers. These matched leads are then sent via email to the prospective providers with full contact information and purchasing requirements. What Business Industries use Lead Generation Lead generation could work for just about any business but most industries using this type of marketing include insurance agencies education institutions office suppliers and furniture stores. Trends show that lead generation will become even more popular in the future especially for service oriented businesses. Lead generation is one of the most important factors in the business of a product. Because without good number of leads good number of sales is impossible. Various methods are used for this purpose and these days B2B lead generation or business to business lead generation is very popular. This is business to business advertising that helps a lot in lead generation. These days almost all online ventures are using these techniques to promote their products and services. Suppose you are selling greeting cards online and you are not getting good response. In that case you can take the services of an online gift shop. This is how you can promote. Its very beneficial and at the same time easy to practice. If someone uses your services or buys your products and likes them they're much more likely to tell their friends and cause your sales to grow. However if you don't generate new leads your customer base will stagnate and never grow. INTERNET MARKETING INTERNET ADVERTISING LEAD GENERATION Websites Don't Make Money Web Marketing Does SIMPLE AFFORDABLE FAST LOW COST HIGHLY EFFECTIVE INTERNET MARKETING INTERNET ADVERTISING SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS quot The world needs to know how Incredible You ARE quot 949 436-1877 Order Your I-BILLBOARD Today Email BEGIN@I-BILLBOARDS.COM FREE BUSINESS LISTINGS ABOUT ADVERTISING ABOUT LEAD GENERATION I-BILLBOARDS FLYER ORDER FORM Copyright C 2009 I-Billboards Inc. 40 Raven Ln Aliso Viejo CA 92656 I-BILLBOARDS.COM MARKETING-ADVERTISING-INTERNET-BUSINESS -ADVERTISEMENTSONLINEWEB.COM This Business was Awarded - Top 100 Best in Business Orange County CA Visit OrangeCountyCABusinessDirectory Business Marketing Internet Marketing Business Web Marketing Leads B2B Marketing Marketing Advertising Advertisement Advertisements Advertising Site Online Advertising Internet Advertising Online Marketing INTERNET MARKETING AND ADVERTISING HOW TO MARKETING ON THE INTERNET INTERNET ADVERTISING LEAD GENERATION MARKETING ADVERTISING INTERNET ADVERTISING INTERNET MARKETING Internet marketing From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation search This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding reliable references . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . May 2008 Internet marketing Display advertising Email marketing E-mail marketing software Interactive advertising Cloud marketing Social media optimization Web analytics Cost per impression Affiliate marketing Cost per action Contextual advertising Revenue sharing Search engine marketing Search engine optimization Pay per click advertising Paid inclusion Search analytics Mobile advertising This box view · talk · edit Marketing Key concepts Product #160 • Pricing Distribution #160 • Service #160 • Retail Brand management Account-based marketing Marketing ethics Marketing effectiveness Market research Market segmentation Marketing strategy Marketing management Market dominance Promotional content Advertising #160 • Branding #160 • Underwriting Direct marketing #160 • Personal Sales Product placement #160 • Publicity Sales promotion #160 • Sex in advertising Loyalty marketing #160 • Premiums #160 • Prizes Promotional media Printing #160 • Publication Broadcasting #160 • Out-of-home Internet marketing #160 • Point of sale Promotional merchandise Digital marketing #160 • In-game In-store demonstration Word-of-mouth marketing Brand Ambassador #160 • Drip Marketing This box view · talk · edit Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Marketing Internet marketing also known as digital marketing web marketing online marketing search marketing or e-marketing is the marketing generally promotion of products or services over the Internet . Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope 1 because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. 2 Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management ECRM systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing. 3 Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet including design development advertising and sales. 4 Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing SEM search engine optimization SEO banner ads on specific websites email marketing and Web 2.0 strategies. citation needed In 2008 The New York Times working with comScore published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks the authors found that the potential for collecting data was up to 2 500 times per user per month. 5 Contents 1 Business models 1.1 One-to-one approach 1.2 Appeal to specific interests 1.3 Niche Marketing 1.4 Geo-targeting 2 Advantages and Limitations of Internet marketing 2.1 Advantages 2.2 Limitations 3 Security concerns 4 Usage trends 5 Effects on industries 5.1 Internet auctions 5.2 Advertising industry 6 See also 7 References edit Business models This section does not cite any references or sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . January 2011 Internet marketing is associated with several business models E-commerce a model whereby goods are sold directly to consumers B2C businesses B2B or from consumer to consumer C2C . citation needed Lead -based websites a strategy whereby an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website. citation needed Similar to walk-in customers in retail world. These prospects are often referred to as organic leads. Affiliate Marketing a process wherein a product or service developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits. citation needed The entity that owns the product may provide some marketing material e.g. sales letters affiliate links tracking facilities etc. however the vast majority of affiliate marketing relationships come from e-commerce businesses that offer affiliate programs. citation needed Local Internet marketing a strategy through which a small company utilizes the Internet to find and to nurture relationships that can be used for real-world advantages. citation needed Local Internet marketing uses tools such as social media marketing local directory listing 6 and targeted online sales promotions. edit One-to-one approach In a one-to-one approach marketers target a user browsing the Internet alone and so that the marketers' messages reach the user personally. 7 This approach is used in search marketing for which the advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the users. This approach usually works under the pay per click PPC method. citation needed edit Appeal to specific interests When appealing to specific interests marketers place an emphasis on appealing to a specific behavior or interest rather than reaching out to a broadly defined demographic. citation needed These marketers typically segment their markets according to age group gender geography and other general factors. citation needed edit Niche Marketing Niche and hyper-niche internet marketing put further emphasis on creating destinations for web users and consumers on specific topics and products. citation needed Niche marketers differ from traditional Internet marketers as they have a more specialized topic knowledge. citation needed For example whereas in traditional Internet marketing a website would be created and promoted on a high-level topic such as kitchen appliances niche marketing would focus on more specific topics such as 4-slice toasters. citation needed Niche marketing provides end users of such sites very targeted information and allows the creators to establish themselves as authorities on the topic or product. citation needed edit Geo-targeting In Internet marketing geo targeting and geo marketing are the methods of determining the geolocation of a website visitor with geolocation software and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location such as latitude and longitude country region or state city metro code or zip code organization Internet Protocol IP address ISP and other criteria. citation needed edit Advantages and Limitations of Internet marketing This section does not cite any references or sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . January 2011 edit Advantages Internet marketing is inexpensive when examining the ratio of cost to the reach of the target audience. citation needed Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. citation needed The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. citation needed Therefore businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. citation needed The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit CVP analysis . Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively almost all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced measured and tested. citation needed The advertisers can use a variety of methods such as pay per impression pay per click pay per play and pay per action . Therefore marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. citation needed The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement to visit a website and to perform a targeted action. citation needed edit Limitations However from the buyer's perspective the inability of shoppers to touch to smell to taste and "to try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. citation needed However there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services. citation needed edit Security concerns This section does not cite any references or sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . January 2011 Information security is important both to companies and consumers that participate in online business. Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not believe that their personal information will remain private. citation needed Some companies that purchase customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from the database also known as opting out . citation needed However many customers are unaware if and when their information is being shared and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if such activity occurs. citation needed Another major security concern that consumers have with e-commerce merchants is whether or not they will receive exactly what they purchase. citation needed Online merchants have attempted to address this concern by investing in and building strong consumer brands e.g. Amazon eBay and Overstock citation needed and by leveraging merchant and feedback rating systems and e-commerce bonding solutions. citation needed All these solutions attempt to assure consumers that their transactions will be free of problems because the merchants can be trusted to provide reliable products and services. citation needed Additionally several major online payment mechanisms credit cards PayPal Google Checkout etc. have provided back-end buyer protection systems to address problems if they occur. citation needed edit Usage trends Technological advancements in the telecommunications industry have dramatically affected online advertising techniques. citation needed Many firms are embracing a paradigm that is shifting the focus of advertising methodology from traditional text and image advertisements to those containing more recent technologies like JavaScript and Adobe Flash . citation needed As a result advertisers can more effectively engage and connect their audience with their campaigns that seek to shape consumer attitudes and feelings towards specific products and services. citation needed edit Effects on industries The number of banks offering the ability to perform banking tasks over the internet has increased. citation needed Online banking appeals to customers because it is often faster and considered more convenient than visiting bank branches . 8 edit Internet auctions See also Online auction business model Internet auctions have become a multi-billion dollar business. Unique items that could only previously be found at flea markets are now being sold on Internet auction websites such as eBay . Specialized e-stores sell a vast amount of items like antiques movie props clothing gadgets and so on. 9 10 As the premier online reselling platform eBay is often used as a price-basis for specialized items. Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets the price shown on eBay often becomes the item's selling price. citation needed edit Advertising industry In addition to the major effect internet marketing has had on the technology industry the effect on the advertising industry itself has been profound. In just a few years online advertising has grown to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually. 11 12 13 PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that US$16.9 #160 billion was spent on Online marketing in the U.S. in 2006. 14 This has caused a growing impact on the United States' electoral process . In 2008 candidates for President heavily utilized Internet marketing strategies to reach constituents. During the 2007 primaries candidates added on average over 500 #160 social network supporters per day to help spread their message. 15 President Barack Obama raised over US$1 #160 million in one day during his extensive Democratic candidacy campaign largely due to online donors. 16 Several industries have heavily invested in and benefited from internet marketing and online advertising. Some of them were originally brick and mortar businesses such as publishing music automotive or gambling while others have sprung up as purely online businesses such as digital design and media blogging and internet service hosting. citation needed edit See also Article marketing Classified advertising Conversion rate Digital marketing Frequency capping Inbound marketing In-text advertising Lead scoring Media transparency Netnography Online identity management Online lead generation Pay per click Post-click marketing Social media optimization Web banner Product feed Search Engine Marketing edit References ^ "Internet Marketing - How When Where " . Daily Mirror . http //print.dailymirror.lk/business/127-local/38977.html . Retrieved 24 March 2011 . #160 ^ "Former Wachovia Direct Marketing Executives Launch Full Service Online Marketing and Web Design Company" . http // prweb /releases/eSynergize/Online-Marketing/prweb5163484.htm . Retrieved 24 March 2011 . #160 ^ Jaakko Sinisalo et al. 2007 . "Mobile customer relationship management underlying issues and challenges" in English . Business Process Management Journal 13 6 772. doi 10.1108/14637150710834541 . #160 ^ Charlesworth Alan 2009 . Internet marketing a practical approach . Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. #160 49. #160 ^ Story Louise and comScore March 10 2008 . "They Know More Than You Think" JPEG . The New York Times . http // nytimes /imagepages/2008/03/10/technology/20080310_PRIVACY_GRAPHIC.html . #160 in Story Louise March 10 2008 . "To Aim Ads Web Is Keeping Closer Eye on You" . The New York Times The New York Times Company . http // nytimes /2008/03/10/technology/10privacy.html . Retrieved 2008-03-09 . #160 ^ Rayner Andrew April 21 2010 . "Put the E-mphasis on Local Internet Marketing and reach first page on Google" . http // prlog.org/10638959-put-the-mphasis-on-local-internet-marketing-and-reach-first-page-on-google.html . Retrieved August 15 2010 . #160 ^ http // managingchange /onetoone/overview.htm ^ http // consumeraffairs /news04/online_banking_survey.html ^ Mohr Ian February 27 2006 . "Movie props on the block Mouse to auction Miramax leftovers" . pReed Business Information . http // variety /article/VR1117938954.html categoryid=1238 amp cs=1 . #160 ^ James David February 24 2007 . "Bid on Dreamgirls Costumes for Charity"" . Time Inc. . http //offtherack.people /2007/02/dress_like_a_dr.html#comment-66215834 . #160 ^ eMarketer - Online Ad Spending to Total $19.5 Billion in 2007 2007-2-28 ^ The Register - Internet advertising shoots past estimates 2006-09-29 ^ Internet Advertising Bureau - Online Adspend 2007-06-18 ^ PricewaterhouseCoopers reported U.S. Internet marketing spend totaled $16.9 billion in 2006" Accessed 18-June-2007 ^ "Spartan Internet Consulting - Political Performance Index SIPP " Accessed 28-June-2008 ^ "Center For Responsive Politics Fundraising Profile Barack Obama" Accessed 28-June-2008 Retrieved from " http //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_marketing " Categories Internet marketing Types of marketing Marketing by medium Hidden categories Articles needing additional references from May 2008 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011 Articles needing additional references from January 2011 Personal tools Log in / create account Namespaces Article Discussion Variants Views Read Edit View history Actions Search Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية বাংলা Български Česky Deutsch Eesti Español فارسی Français Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lietuvių Македонски മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Română Nederlands 日本語 ‪Norsk bokmål ‬ ភាសាខ្មែរ Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Српски / Srpski Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 This page was last modified on 19 June 2011 at 04 12. 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Contact us Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Internet Marketing Service Get in touch 1-408-705-2225 USA 44-2030020886 UK info@yantrambpo Home About us Price Clientel Contact Us Internet Marketing Service Targeted Web Traffic Starts at $75 -Search Engine Marketing -Banner Advertising -Web Traffic Bulder Sub Navigation Online Store Maintenance Online Product Entry Ebay Listing Amazon Listing Yahoo Listing Search Engine Optimization Email Marketing Social Media Classified Ad Posting Link and Banner Exchange Text-Banner-Video Advertising Internet Advertising Marketing Article Marketing Services Blog Marketing Services Press Release Marketing Services Increase Facebook traffic Increase YouTube Video traffic Search Engine Optimization Starts at $30 -On-page Optimization -Off page Optimization - $175 / month 80 Hours Directory video Article Blog Social Media Marketing Starts at $ 75 -Twitter My Space -Face Book Linked In - $150 / month 40 Hours Internet Advertising and Marketing Service Yantram provides a full Internet Advertising Marketing Service inclusive of strategic interactive marketing and online advertising agency. Yantram’s Internet Advertising Marketing has been providing comprehensive online business solutions offering a suite of interactive marketing solutions such as search engine marketing strategies website design and Email marketing strategies. Why choose Yantram as your internet marketing firm • We understand business juxtaposed with the key elements of search. Yantram’s co-founders have already built a successful Inc. • We understand the importance of keeping Online Advertising Service strategies in line with your key objectives and business goals. E-Marketing Means More Business Yantram is one of the leading Internet Marketing companies . Our E-Marketing strategy is one of the leading providers of Online marketing service / Internet Advertising Marketing . Why not improve your E-Marketing by scheduling a consultation to learn more about how our Internet Marketing Services can help you. We Help to Grow up Your Business If you want to grow your sales reach a wider audience or generate more leads internet advertising works. E-mail social media and Search engines from a perfect direct-response marketing medium. But you need a good internet marketing company or online advertising agency . Yantram provides integrated online marketing strategies that will help companies grow. Our team has decades of combined experience in Online marketing service . What we do for Your Business Yantram one of the leading Online Advertising Agencies specializes in providing low cost Online marketing services and SEO Services for startup small and medium sized businesses who are looking for growth. Our Online Advertising Company / Internet Marketing Agency can help you to make more money through marketing your business on-line. You can increase sales compete more effectively and sell to new markets. We do this by focusing on your requirements and then providing the tools skills and resources that will enable you to succeed. Our Internet marketing company will help you plan your Internet marketing and run the marketing activities you need to be successful. Our Online Marketing Company put you in control. You know your market and customers better than anyone. We will always be with you to help and support you when you need us. Outsourcing Internet Marketing Services to good Internet advertising Company or a Internet Marketing firm . Our Search engine marketing company Services Include Search Engine Optimization Email Marketing Social Media Classified Ad Posting Link and Banner Exchange Text-Banner-Video Advertising Article Marketing Services Blog Marketing amp Blog Promotion Press Release Marketing Get in touch Address #902 "Samedh "Tower Opp. of Citi Bank C.G.Road Ahmadabad Gujarat India. 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Marie Victoria Ajax Nanaimo Prince George Strathcona County Sarnia Clarington Saint John Kawartha Lakes Red Deer Lethbridge Newmarket Maple Ridge Chilliwack Moncton Norfolk New Westminster Repentigny St. Albert North Bay Port Coquitlam Medicine Hat Caledon Welland Halton Hills Fredericton Drummondville Trois-Rivieres Belleville Cornwall North Vancouver Granby Haldimand Timmins Terrebonne Wood Buffalo West Vancouver Quinte West Chateauguay Saint-Eustache Aurora Brandon Georgina London Leeds Wakefield Cardiff Sunderland Newcastle upon Tyne Brighton Hull Derby Salford Portsmouth York Peterborough Oxford Newport Preston Norwich Chester Exeter Gloucester Chichester Winchester Londonderry Carlisle Bath Hereford Canterbury Lichfield Ripon Bangor Truro Ely Wells St Davids New York Indianapolis San Francisco Baltimore Boston Nashville-Davidson Oklahoma New Orleans Kansas Virginia Beach Honolulu CDP Lexington-Fayette Louisville Norfolk Jersey Chesapeake Tacoma CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS MANAGEMENT SALES MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SALES MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ManagementSalesMarketingBusinessDevelopment Direct Marketing Sales Management Business Direct Marketing Companies Customer Appreciation Ideas Marketing By Appreciation Take the Survey Target Marketing Business Marketing Customer Marketing Surveys Cookies Gifts Thank You Customer Appreciation Advertise in Target markets Online Marketing Interactive Marketing Marketing Advertising Internet Marketing Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS DIRECT MARKETING MANAGEMENT SALES MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SALES MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECT MARKETING COMPANIES CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS TAKE A SURVEY CUSTOMER SURVEYS TARGET MARKETING BUSINESS MARKETING CUSTOMER MARKETING SURVEYS GIFTS COOKIES THANK YOU MARKETING ADVERTISISE IN TARGET MARKETS ONLINE MARKETING INTERACTIVE MARKETING INTERNET MARKETING quot We GUARANTEE you'll be 100% Satisfied quot 800 443-8937 Order Your MBA Today Read Our Reviews YAHOO GOOGLE YELP Email BEGIN@CustomerAppreciationIdeas com CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS AND MARKETING DIRECT MARKETING SALES MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MBA FLYER ORDER FORM Services Customer Appreciation ideas B2B Marketing Direct Marketing By Sales Direct Marketing by Prospects Direct Marketing by Sales Lead Generation Target Marketing CONTACT US Customer Appreciation IDEAS com M B A Marketing By Appreciation Inc 17845 Sky Park Cir Unit D Irvine CA 92614 Phone 800 443-8937 FAX 800-847-0156 Directions EMAIL Begin@CustomAppreciationIdeas com ARTICLES ARTICLE 1 Do You Have A Customer Appreciation Plan 1024 . ARTICLE 2 Why Customer Service Metrics Matter 790 . ARTICLE 3 12 Ways to Thank Your Customers Client Appreciation Strategies You Can Use Year-round 855 . ARTICLE 4 Silly Service Has Its Serious Side Test your Customer Service Knowledge 950 . ARTICLE 5 Business Direct Marketing - Top 10 Must Do's for a Successful Program 257 . ARTICLE 6 How to Start With Affiliate Marketing 1470 . ARTICLE 7 How to Create a Survey 1057 . ARTICLE 8 Business Development Basics 1088 . ARTICLE 9 Creativity Management Business Management Sales And Marketing 466 . ARTICLE 10 Benefits of Sales Force Automation 2138 . ACADEMIC INFORMATION ARTICLE 1 Customer Relationship Management . INFORMATION ARTICLE 2 Marketing Plan . INFORMATION ARTICLE 3 Marketing Management . INFORMATION ARTICLE 4 Relationship Marketing . INFORMATION ARTICLE 5 Business Development . INFORMATION ARTICLE 6 Marketing Performance Measurement and Management . INFORMATION ARTICLE 7 Market Segmentation . INFORMATION ARTICLE 8 About Direct Marketing . INFORMATION ARTICLE 9 About Management . INFORMATION ARTICLE 9 About Sales . INFORMATION ARTICLE 9 About Marketing . INFORMATION ARTICLE 9 About Business Development . GET THE BEST CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS Customer Appreciation they can Feel amp Taste Get Personal Referrals to Grow Your Business Get Great Customer Feedback and Management This year MBA's customers grew 40% I asked MBA how they've been so successful despite the recession and they told me quot Our focus has been decided to ignore the recession and strategize for growth quot And our customer's success is our success. We learned this great closed loop marketing management method centered on customer appreciation. quot Since it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain one Focusing on customer retention is something to strive for As part of your customer retention and marketing efforts don't overlook the amazing power of appreciation quot Telling customers you appreciate their patronage boosts loyalty You could see your annual attrition drop by more than half among participating customers Those customers tell their friends and family about how much you care and also become sales for new opportunities and areas of customer growth Just one happy customer can influence thousands of closed sales in your direction. Happy customers is an apex of healthy growing sales Appreciating your customers is not the only thing you have to do. You need the have a system to manage sales marketing and business development. MBA offers this all together or as individual components to help their customers through the process of closing the loop from appreciation of the last sale to the beginning of another. SALES MANAGEMENT MBA allows your sales management team the tools necessary to learn from your customers and act accordingly with your sales team. We give you a better ability to control the sales process by surveying your customers then tallying the results and providing statistical analysis to your management team. Your managers can then monitor the reports and distribute actionable items to your sales reps. MBA will help your company develop with the huge market shift of 2007 from paper advertising to internet advertising. The internet has become the main directory of what the yellow pages were. Business are constantly looked up and evaluated on the net. MBA can develop for you an internet presence to drive customer sales. MARKETING MANAGEMENT With MBA you can manage your entire marketing process. From prospect development and lead generation to sales appreciation. You can up-sell opportunities from customer surveying to complete referral generation and word of mouth advertising. As a closed loop system this process then multiplies prospects from your best sales and generate new leads from areas that are not seen by your competition. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MBA develops your existing customers efficientely. Rather than the one-time sale your customer will developed into a referral source that grows your company within its own customer base. quot Our aim is at attracting new customers and at penetrating existing markets. quot companies often do not establish procedures for business development instead relying on their existing contacts. Or people in such companies may assume that because they know people in high places that this will solve any business-development problems. Such thinking can have significant ramifications if one cannot exploit those relationships which very often remain personal or weak. Such a situation may result in no new sales in the pipeline. MBA's business development teaches companies to constantly be on the look-out for opportunities to strengthen their market position. They have to create value for customers be innovative and make the right technological decisions. MBA strengthens the market position by bringing new technologies to companies and new ways to manage relationships with suppliers and customers. What our clients are saying RESULTS MONTH AFTER MONTH quot Best internet marketing descision I ever made I cannot believe it I started with I-Billboards about a year ago Now I am getting calls from internet shoppers nearly every day of the week and those calls have led to an additional $5 000 in new business every two weeks What is even more unbelievable is that these results are during the slowest time of year What is notable about the system is the quality of the customers that we've been reaching and attracting This system is just amazing quot Larry - Auto Repair MY BUSINESS IS GROWING The lead generation system has become a critical piece of my legal practice I do wills trusts and estate planning I know that the services I perform for my clients are invaluable When I meet with a client I am able to answer their questions and fashion solutions to their unique circumstances My clients are delighted to have taken the time finally to take care of their financial affairs The key to my business is advertising and reaching additional clients that need my services Generally the system has yielded a call every other day sometimes a call every day This is the best advertising expenditure I make Tracy - Attorney At Law HAS CHANGED THE WAY I DO BUSINESS The lead generation machine has changed the way I do business When the housing market was flush and there was plenty of work I didn't need to advertise I worked for many large builder/developers and they kept my business growing When the housing market slumped I had to adapt I was introduced to the I-Billboard and it has delivered Last year 2009 the I-Billboard generated $100 000 for my business I have pulled my yellow page ads and all other advertising The only advertising I do now is the I-Billboard Jim - Electrician quot We GUARANTEE you'll be 100% Satisfied quot Implementing a bullet-proof customer follow-up system is as easy as 1-2-3 Our professional staff will help you 1 Choose the program that's right for you 2 Send us a copy of your logo 3 Send us customer info you would like us to follow up with LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS MBA - MARKETING BY APPRECIATION CONVERT BUYERS INTO LOYAL CUSTMERS We are dedicated to helping its clients improve profitability and growth by converting more of their prospects to buyers and more of their buyers into loyal customers who make repeat purchases and willingly give incremental referral business CUSTOM MARKETING SOLUTIONS We tailor marketing services to increase the effectiveness of our clients' total marketing effort by focusing on building long-term relationships between our clients and their customers These services include 1 Direct Marketing 2 Appreciation Gifts 3 Timely Thank You's 4 Satisfaction Surveys 5 Referral Generation 6 Customer Contact Management Systems Your Benefit to our services is keeping your focus on growing both Customer Share and Market Share Growing Customer Share means getting existing customers to buy more products more often and from the same supplier Increased Customer Share means revenue growth increased profitability and more effective use of advertising and other marketing expenses We help clients grow Market Share through increased referrals provided by satisfied and loyal customers Customer Appreciation Services All of our services have been designed to help build long-term profitable relationships One Customer at a Time We use a combination of exceptional people superior products and state-of-the-art processes to deliver unique one-to-one marketing solutions Prospect Advantage * turn the 87% of unsold prospects into sales * stand out from your competitors Sales Advantage * customers are more important AFTER a sale * turn one time sale into a stream of profit Service Advantage * consistent snapshots of your performance * fine tune the effectiveness of your services Management Reports * timely management charts graphs and results * action items to work with LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 DIRECT MARKETING SYSTEM We have Three Direct Marketing Programs that can help you Directly tell your customers Direct Marketing By PROSPECTS Direct Marketing By SALES Direct Marketing by SERVICE DIRECT MARKETING BY PROSPECTS MBA - PROSPECT ADVANTAGE Prospect Advantage Most of your prosptects will visit several of your competitors for comparison shopping before making a purchase For example 87% of unsold prospects interested in purchasing an automobile will visit at least one other dealership before they buy How many competitors do you have Prospect Advantages is a highly effective way to increase the probability that your prospects will come back to buy from you Prospect Advantage gets your message of appreciation out to your prospects while they're still hot We will ship your packages to your prospects the SAME DAY if it receives their names before noon Pacific Time Your gift of appreciation will set you apart from the competition and earn your prospects' greatest share of mind while they visit the competition Your sales staff will have a positive reason to contact the prospect and invite them back to finalize the sale You will generate great word-of-mouth advertising as your prospects explain to their friends colleagues and relatives about the circumstances surrounding the receipt of their gift Prospect Advantage comes with 4+ points of contact 1 Prospect Advantage can deliver a Premium Gift to your prospect in your name 2 Prospect Advantage Thank You Cards remind your prospects that you'll work hard for their business The cards also ask for salesperson feedback to gain knowledge of your staff's performance 3 The Prospect Advantage Survey Card reveals a gold mine of marketing data 4 Prospect Advantage delivers a personalized letter such as this is delivered to your prospects LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 DIRECT MARKETING BY SALES MBA - SALES ADVANTAGE Sales Advantage What does your customer mean to you after the sale For any business looking to grow a customer is even more important after they have made their first purchase Thanking them making sure they had a terrific experience asking for referrals and getting them back to your business all play a major role in turning a one-time customer into an ongoing stream of profit for your business The Results are PERSONAL TOUCH Customers will be both excited and pleased by your thoughtfulness The gift adds a personal touch to their buying experience AWARENESS Enhanced customer awareness of your company The gift with your company logo will stay in their homes for years to come RETURN ON INVESTMENT Increased return on advertising investment Our survey response card asks important sourcing information REFERRALS Increased referral sales opportunity We ask for referrals both on the survey card and on the special quot Request for Referrals quot card REPEATS More repeat business You can offer incentives to bring your customers back to you LOYALTY Improved customer loyalty to your organization Your customers will have concrete reasons to come back to you rather than your competition SATISFACTION Higher customer satisfaction A combination of quick feedback and your conveyance of appreciation go a long way � Increased manageability of your sales department Our management reports and call sheets make it easy to track customers FOLLOW-UP BUY-IN More quot buy-in quot from salespeople on customer follow-up Our system gives your salespeople a great reason to call your customers Sales Advantage comes with 7+ points of contact 1 Sales Advantage can deliver a Premium Gift to your prospect in your name 2 Sales Advantage Thank You Cards remind your prospects that you'll work hard for their business The cards also ask for salesperson feedback to gain knowledge of your staff's performance 3 The Sales Advantage Survey Card reveals a gold mine of marketing data 4 The Sales Advantage provides a timely Request for Referral It provides you with more leads from your customers 5 The Sales Advantage provides a 1st 2nd 3rd year Anniversary Cards 6 The Sales Advantage provides Insight Track Management Report providing a monthly summary of customer's comments satisfaction scores and actionable items 7 The Sales Advantage provides optional sales staff Customer Contact Plan and quot follow-up worksheets quot to help your salespeople be effective in keeping in contact with their customers Effectively manage your salespeople's follow-up efforts All your customers' information is at your fingertips Your sales team will have multiple reasons to make a call to your customer for years This translates into multiple opportunities for increased revenue from every single customer Your internal follow-up efforts will now have structure and consistency Your managers will now have a system for tracking internal follow-up results Loyalty to your business is established If a salesperson moves on customer information results and history stay with your business LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 DIRECT MARKETING BY SERVICE MBA - SERVICE ADVANTAGE Service Advantage Does your business have a department dedicated to serving customers More importantly does your business depend on this department for ongoing relationships that build profit One happy customer can create more business for you On the flip side one unhappy customer can drive others away Our Service Advantage system will provide you with consistent snapshots of your department's performance which in turn will allow you to fine-tune your services to be extremely effective The Results are You get a constant look at the perception of the services you provide allowing your business to make changes where needed Nightly notification of referrals for your business Daily transmittal of possible revenue from customers asking for more information or the opportunity to purchase Daily alert of any scores on the survey that require immediate action by your company Monthly compilation of customer comments scores and opportunities keeping your view always where it needs to be forward Service Advantage comes with 3+ points of contact 1 Service Advantage Thank You Cards remind your prospects that you'll work hard for their business The cards also ask for salesperson feedback to gain knowledge of your staff's performance 2 The Service Advantage Survey Card reveals a gold mine of marketing data 3 The Sales Advantage provides Insight Track Management Report providing a monthly summary of customer's comments satisfaction scores and actionable items LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS MBA - DIRECT MARKETING PROGRAMS - CUSTOMER APPRECIATION Frequently Asked Questions 1 Why should I outsource my customer follow-up Outsourcing your customer follow-up program has many benefits First it's extremely cost effective When you figure in all the costs involved to provide follow-up internally it makes sense to have a professional follow-up company do it for you You won't have to worry about sick days vacations or other job duties taking priority Second you can rest assured that each customer will be followed up with in a consistent manner Inconsistency makes measuring results and effecting change very difficult Finally you know the follow-up will get done every time Every business has good intentions but we can turn those good intentions into reality by making sure every one of your customers gets the survey call gift and treatment they deserve This translates into happy profitable customers 2 How can follow-up with existing customers help our bottom line Recent statistics have shown that businesses average $500 to $1 000 spent to acquire one new customer In those same industries retaining those customers could be achieved at one-tenth the cost Imagine how much money you would spend filling your gas tank if it had hole in it Now relate this to your customer base Plug the hole and you will see tremendous results to your bottom line 3 How are you different from a Business Development Center BDC A business development center typically has your salespeople or other key people within your organization calling your prospects and customers to gather feedback and increase sales opportunity Our approach is to free up your salespeople to do what they do best which is sell Also we are a quot neutral third party quot which means your customer's defenses will lower and their honesty will increase Your chances of getting crucial feedback and more revenue from them also increase dramatically 4 Which customers should I follow up with Your first thought is to pick and choose the customers who you follow up with�right By doing this you feel you could save a few bucks by only appreciating those who really deserve it Consider this process as the way to convert ALL your customers to being those who really deserve it You'd be surprised how shocked the smaller customers are to know you appreciate them You will be shocked to see the return on your investment when you extend your thanks to all of them Besides�how many favorable responses from your customers will it take for this program to pay for itself 5 How quickly should I follow up with my customers Your customers are the most excited about their purchase or their experience directly after it If the experience went as you and they planned they are on a quot high quot that will diminish over time�when their product gets dirty for the first time�when the bill comes�when everybody they could show it off to has already seen it The faster you follow up with them the higher the return If they're still showing all their friends you get the free advertising and if they are still on that high you can capitalize on your initial investment by recommending more opportunities 6 Can you help me follow up with prospects The typical closing ratio of most companies is 15-20% Imagine how many sales you may be leaving on the table by not staying in touch with them Your prospects WILL quot shop quot you What makes your company the one they will choose Converting your unsold prospects into sold customers is one of our specialties Our Prospect Advantage program will thank every one of your prospects for inquiring with you and ask them for feedback regarding their experience with you thus far You create word of mouth advertising so powerful that your prospects will often refer others to you even if they had already purchased somewhere else 7 How do you get our customer names In many cases we can remotely log into your internal computer system and download your customer information This method is non-intrusive fast and painless Our website also has a secure data center where you can enter your customer information and manage your data on-line We also accept your customer information through email and fax Our goal is to receive your information in the way that makes the most sense for you 8 How much does it cost Our prices typically range between $5 95 and $29 95 plus shipping and handling per unit with a small set up investment However we have many different services and too many products and variations within those services to list You probably hear this often but it's much better for you if we can discuss your needs first Upon understanding your needs we can provide information on the exact program to achieve your goal as well as the pricing attached to this 9 Why should I become an MBA client MBA has been in business helping other business quot turn good intentions into reality quot since 1986 We are family-owned and have a strong set of core values and operating principles that will bring you the greatest return on your investment with each and every customer and prospect Besides this we GUARANTEE you'll be 100% satisfied We stand behind our services and we'll prove it Ask any of our associates about our guarantee LET US SORT THROUGH THE CONFUSION Let's Get Started Call us for a complimentary consultation at 800 443-8937 ABOUT MANAGEMENT Management in all business areas and human organization activity is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning organizing staffing leading or directing and controlling an organization a group of one or more people or entities or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources financial resources technological resources and natural resources . Because organizations can be viewed as systems management can also be defined as human action including design to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. This view opens the opportunity to 'manage' oneself a pre-requisite to attempting to manage others Management can also refer to the person or people who perform the act s of management. History The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare to handle � especially tools which in turn derives from the Latin manus hand . The French word mesnagement later m�nagement influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some definitions of management are Organisation and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines materials and money. According to the management guru Peter Drucker 1909�2005 the basic task of a management is twofold marketing and innovation . Directors and managers who have the power and responsibility to make decisions to manage an enterprise. As a discipline management comprises the interlocking functions of formulating corporate policy and organizing planning controlling and directing the firm's resources to achieve the policy's objectives. The size of management can range from one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational companies. In large firms the board of directors formulates the policy which is implemented by the chief executive officer. Theoretical scope Mary Parker Follett 1868�1933 who wrote on the topic in the early twentieth century defined management as "the art of getting things done through people". She also described management as philosophy. One can also think of management functionally as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan or as the actions taken to reach one's intended goal . This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective Frenchman Henri Fayol considers management to consist of seven functions planning organizing leading coordinating controlling staffing motivating Some people however find this definition while useful far too narrow. The phrase "management is what managers do" occurs widely suggesting the difficulty of defining management the shifting nature of definitions and the connection of managerial practices with the existence of a managerial cadre or class . One habit of thought regards management as equivalent to "business administration" and thus excludes management in places outside commerce as for example in charities and in the public sector . More realistically however every organization must manage its work people processes technology etc. in order to maximize its effectiveness. Nonetheless many people refer to university departments which teach management as " business schools ." Some institutions such as the Harvard Business School use that name while others such as the Yale School of Management employ the more inclusive term "management." English speakers may also use the term "management" or "the management" as a collective word describing the managers of an organization for example of a corporation . Historically this use of the term was often contrasted with the term "Labor" referring to those being managed. Nature of managerial work In for-profit work management has as its primary function the satisfaction of a range of stakeholders . This typically involves making a profit for the shareholders creating valued products at a reasonable cost for customers and providing rewarding employment opportunities for employees . In nonprofit management add the importance of keeping the faith of donors. In most models of management/ governance shareholders vote for the board of directors and the board then hires senior management. Some organizations have experimented with other methods such as employee-voting models of selecting or reviewing managers but this occurs only very rarely. In the public sector of countries constituted as representative democracies voters elect politicians to public office. Such politicians hire many managers and administrators and in some countries like the United States political appointees lose their jobs on the election of a new president/governor/mayor. Historical development Difficulties arise in tracing the history of management. Some see it by definition as a late modern in the sense of late modernity conceptualization. On those terms it cannot have a pre-modern history only harbingers such as stewards . Others however detect management-like-thought back to Sumerian traders and to the builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt . Slave-owners through the centuries faced the problems of exploiting/motivating a dependent but sometimes unenthusiastic or recalcitrant workforce but many pre-industrial enterprises given their small scale did not feel compelled to face the issues of management systematically. However innovations such as the spread of Arabic numerals 5th to 15th centuries and the codification of double-entry book-keeping 1494 provided tools for management assessment planning and control. Given the scale of most commercial operations and the lack of mechanized record-keeping and recording before the industrial revolution it made sense for most owners of enterprises in those times to carry out management functions by and for themselves. But with growing size and complexity of organizations the split between owners individuals industrial dynasties or groups of shareholders and day-to-day managers independent specialists in planning and control gradually became more common. Early writing While management has been present for millennia several writers have created a background of works that assisted in modern management theories. Sun Tzu's The Art of War Written by Chinese general Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC The Art of War is a military strategy book that for managerial purposes recommends being aware of and acting on strengths and weaknesses of both a manager's organization and a foe's. Niccol� Machiavelli's The Prince Believing that people were motivated by self-interest Niccol� Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 as advice for the leadership of Florence Italy. Machiavelli recommended that leaders use fear�but not hatred�to maintain control. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations Written in 1776 by Adam Smith a Scottish moral philosopher The Wealth of Nations aims for efficient organization of work through Specialization of labor . Smith described how changes in processes could boost productivity in the manufacture of pins . While individuals could produce 200 pins per day Smith analyzed the steps involved in manufacture and with 10 specialists enabled production of 48 000 pins per day. 19th century Classical economists such as Adam Smith 1723 - 1790 and John Stuart Mill 1806 - 1873 provided a theoretical background to resource-allocation production and pricing issues. About the same time innovators like Eli Whitney 1765 - 1825 James Watt 1736 - 1819 and Matthew Boulton 1728 - 1809 developed elements of technical production such as standardization quality-control procedures cost-accounting interchangeability of parts and work-planning . Many of these aspects of management existed in the pre-1861 slave-based sector of the US economy. That environment saw 4 million people as the contemporary usages had it "managed" in profitable quasi- mass production . By the late 19th century marginal economists Alfred Marshall 1842 - 1924 L�on Walras 1834 - 1910 and others introduced a new layer of complexity to the theoretical underpinnings of management. Joseph Wharton offered the first tertiary-level course in management in 1881. 20th century By about 1900 one finds managers trying to place their theories on what they regarded as a thoroughly scientific basis see scientism for perceived limitations of this belief . Examples include Henry R. Towne 's Science of management in the 1890s Frederick Winslow Taylor 's The Principles of Scientific Management 1911 Frank and Lillian Gilbreth 's Applied motion study 1917 and Henry L. Gantt 's charts 1910s . J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. In 1912 Yoichi Ueno introduced Taylorism to Japan and became first management consultant of the "Japanese-management style". His son Ichiro Ueno pioneered Japanese quality assurance . The first comprehensive theories of management appeared around 1920. The Harvard Business School invented the Master of Business Administration degree MBA in 1921. People like Henri Fayol 1841 - 1925 and Alexander Church described the various branches of management and their inter-relationships. In the early 20th century people like Ordway Tead 1891 - 1973 Walter Scott and J. Mooney applied the principles of psychology to management while other writers such as Elton Mayo 1880 - 1949 Mary Parker Follett 1868 - 1933 Chester Barnard 1886 - 1961 Max Weber 1864 - 1920 Rensis Likert 1903 - 1981 and Chris Argyris 1923 - approached the phenomenon of management from a sociological perspective. Peter Drucker 1909 � 2005 wrote one of the earliest books on applied management Concept of the Corporation published in 1946 . It resulted from Alfred Sloan chairman of General Motors until 1956 commissioning a study of the organisation . Drucker went on to write 39 books many in the same vein. H. Dodge Ronald Fisher 1890 - 1962 and Thornton C. Fry introduced statistical techniques into management-studies. In the 1940s Patrick Blackett combined these statistical theories with microeconomic theory and gave birth to the science of operations research . Operations research sometimes known as "management science" but distinct from Taylor's scientific management attempts to take a scientific approach to solving management problems particularly in the areas of logistics and operations. Some of the more recent update developments include the Theory of Constraints management by objectives reengineering Six Sigma and various information-technology -driven theories such as agile software development as well as group management theories such as Cog's Ladder . As the general recognition of managers as a class solidified during the 20th century and gave perceived practitioners of the art/science of management a certain amount of prestige so the way opened for popularised systems of management ideas to peddle their wares. In this context many management fads may have had more to do with pop psychology than with scientific theories of management. Towards the end of the 20th century business management came to consist of six separate branches namely Human resource management Operations management or production management Strategic management Marketing management Educational management Financial management Information technology management responsible for management information systems 21st century In the 21st century observers find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead one tends to think in terms of the various processes tasks and objects subject to management. Branches of management theory also exist relating to nonprofits and to government such as public administration public management and educational management. Further management programs related to civil-society organizations have also spawned programs in nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship . Note that many of the assumptions made by management have come under attack from business ethics viewpoints critical management studies and anti-corporate activism . As one consequence workplace democracy has become both more common and more advocated in some places distributing all management functions among the workers each of whom takes on a portion of the work. However these models predate any current political issue and may occur more naturally than does a command hierarchy . All management to some degree embraces democratic principles in that in the long term workers must give majority support to management otherwise they leave to find other work or go on strike. Despite the move toward workplace democracy command-and-control organization structures remain commonplace and the de facto organization structure. Indeed the entrenched nature of command-and-control can be seen in the way that recent layoffs have been conducted with management ranks affected far less than employees at the lower levels of organizations. In some cases management has even rewarded itself with bonuses when lower level employees have been laid off. Management topics Basic functions of management Management operates through various functions often classified as planning organizing leading/directing and controlling/monitoring. Planning Deciding what needs to happen in the future today next week next month next year over the next 5 years etc. and generating plans for action. Organizing Implementation making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans. Staffing Job Analyzing recruitment and hiring individuals for appropriate jobs. Leading/Directing Determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it. Controlling/Monitoring Checking progress against plans. Formation of the business policy The mission of the business is its most obvious purpose which may be for example to make soap. The vision of the business reflects its aspirations and specifies its intended direction or future destination. The objectives of the business refers to the ends or activity at which a certain task is aimed. The business's policy is a guide that stipulates rules regulations and objectives and may be used in the managers' decision-making. It must be flexible and easily interpreted and understood by all employees. The business's strategy refers to the coordinated plan of action that it is going to take as well as the resources that it will use to realize its vision and long-term objectives. It is a guideline to managers stipulating how they ought to allocate and utilize the factors of production to the business's advantage. Initially it could help the managers decide on what type of business they want to form. How to implement policies and strategies All policies and strategies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff. Managers must understand where and how they can implement their policies and strategies. A plan of action must be devised for each department. Policies and strategies must be reviewed regularly. Contingency plans must be devised in case the environment changes. Assessments of progress ought to be carried out regularly by top-level managers. A good environment and team spirit is required within the business. The missions objectives strengths and weaknesses of each department must be analysed to determine their roles in achieving the business's mission. The forecasting method develops a reliable picture of the business's future environment. A planning unit must be created to ensure that all plans are consistent and that policies and strategies are aimed at achieving the same mission and objectives. All policies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff that is required in the execution of any departmental policy. Organizational change is strategically achieved through the implementation of the eight-step plan of action established by John P. Kotter Increase urgency get the vision right communicate the buy-in empower action create short-term wins don't let up and make change stick. Where policies and strategies fit into the planning process They give mid- and lower-level managers a good idea of the future plans for each department in an organization. A framework is created whereby plans and decisions are made. Mid- and lower-level management may add their own plans to the business's strategic ones. multi-divisional management hierarchy The management of a large organization may have three levels Senior management or "top management" or "upper management" Middle management Low-level management such as supervisors or team-leaders Foreman Rank and File Top-level management Require an extensive knowledge of management roles and skills. They have to be very aware of external factors such as markets. Their decisions are generally of a long-term nature Their decisions are made using analytic directive conceptual and/or behavioral/participative processes They are responsible for strategic decisions. They have to chalk out the plan and see that plan may be effective in the future. They are executive in nature. Middle management Mid-level managers have a specialized understanding of certain managerial tasks. They are responsible for carrying out the decisions made by top-level management. Lower management This level of management ensures that the decisions and plans taken by the other two are carried out. Lower-level managers' decisions are generally short-term ones. Foreman / lead hand They are people who have direct supervision over the working force in office factory sales field or other workgroup or areas of activity. Rank and File The responsibilities of the persons belonging to this group are even more restricted and more specific than those of the foreman. Areas and categories and implementations of management Accounting management Agile management Applied Engineering field Association management Capability Management Change management Conflict management Commercial operations management Communication management Constraint management Cost management Crisis management Critical management studies Customer relationship management Decision making styles Design management Disaster management Distributed management Earned value management Educational management Engineering Management Environmental management Facility management Financial management Forecasting Human resources management Hospital management Hospitality management Hotel management Information technology management Innovation management Interim management Inventory management Knowledge management Land management Leadership Logistics management Lifecycle management Marine fuel management Marketing management Materials management Office management Operations management Organization development Perception management Practice management Program management Project management Process management Performance management Product management Public administration Public management Quality management Records management Relationship management Resource management Restaurant management Risk management Rural management Skills management Social entrepreneurship Spend management Strategic management Stress management Supply chain management Systems management Talent management Time management Technology Management ABOUT SALES A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in selling products or services in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity. A sale is completed by the seller or the provider of the goods or services to an acquisition or appropriation or request followed by the passing of title property or ownership in the item and the application and due settlement of a price the obligation for which arises due to the seller's requirement to pass ownership being a price he is happy to part with ownership of or any claim upon the item. The purchaser though a party to the sale does not execute the sale only the seller does that. To be precise the sale completes prior to the payment and gives rise to the obligation of payment. If the seller completes the first two above stages consent and passing ownership of the sale prior to settlement of the price the sale is still valid and gives rise to an obligation to pay. Sales techniques A beach salesman snowing necklaces to a tourist in Mexico The sale can be made through Direct sales involving person to person contact Pro forma sales Agency-based Sales agents real estate manufacturing Sales outsourcing through direct branded representation Transaction sales Consultative sales Complex sales Consignment Telemarketing or telesales Retail or consumer Traveling salesman Door-to-door To tourists on crowded beach Request for proposal � An invitation for suppliers through a bidding process to submit a proposal on a specific product or service. An RFP is usually part of a complex sales process also known as enterprise sales. Business-to-business � Business-to-business sales are much more relationship based owing to the lack of emotional attachment to the products in question. Industrial/Professional Sales is selling from one business to another Electronic Web � Business-to-business and business-to-consumer Electronic Data Interchange EDI � A set of standard for structuring information to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses Indirect human-mediated but with indirect contact Mail-order Sales Methods Selling technique IMPACT Selling SPIN Selling Consultative selling Sales enablement Solution selling Conceptual Selling Strategic Selling Sales Negotiation Reverse Selling Paint-the-Picture The take away Large Account Management Process chocolate kisses Sales agents Agents in the sales process can be defined as representing either side of the sales process for example Sales broker or Seller agency or seller agent This is a traditional role where the salesman represents a person or company on the selling end of the deal Buyers broker or Buyer brokerage This is where the salesman represents the consumer making the purchase. This is most often applied in large transactions. Disclosed dual agent This is where the salesman represents both parties in the sale and acts as a mediator for the transaction. The role of the salesman here is to oversee that both parties receive an honest and fair deal and is responsible to both. Transaction broker This is where the salesperson doesn't represent either party but handles the transaction only. This is where the seller owes no responsibility to either party getting a fair or honest deal just that all of the papers are handled properly. Sales outsourcing This is direct branded representation where the sales reps are recruited hired and managed by an external entity but hold quotas represent themselves as the brand of the client and report all activities through their own sales management channels back to the client. It is akin to a virtual extension of a sales force. see Sales Outsourcing entry Sales managers It is the goal of a qualified and talented sales manager to implement various sales strategies and management techniques in order to facilitate improved profits and increased sales volume. They are also responsible for coordinating the sales and marketing department as well as oversight concerning the fair and honest execution of the sales process by his agents Salesmen The primary function of professional sales is to generate and close leads educate prospects fill needs and satisfy wants of consumers appropriately and therefore turn prospective customers into actual ones. The successful questioning to understand a customer's goal and requirements relevant to the product the further creation of a valuable solution by communicating the necessary information that encourages a buyer to achieve their goal at an economic cost is the responsibility of the salesperson or the sales engine e.g. internet vending machine etc . A good salesman should never mis-sell or over-evaluate the customer's requirements. The sales and marketing relationship Marketing and sales are very different but have the same goal. Marketing improves the selling environment and plays a very important role in sales. If the marketing department generates a potential customers list it can be beneficial for sales. The marketing department's goal is to increase the number of interactions between potential customers and company which includes the sales team using promotional techniques such as advertising sales promotion publicity and public relations creating new sales channels or creating new products new product development among other things. It also includes bringing the potential customer to the company's website for more information or to contact the company for more information or interact with the company via social media such as Twitter Facebook a blog etc. The relatively new field of sales process engineering views "sales" as the output of a larger system not just that of one department. The larger system includes many functional areas within an organization. From this perspective sales and marketing among others such as customer service are labels for a number of processes whose inputs and outputs supply one another to varying degrees. Considered in this way to improve the "output" namely sales the broader sales process needs to be studied and improved as would any system since the component functional areas interact and are interdependent. In most large corporations the marketing department is structured in a similar fashion to the sales department citation needed and the managers of these teams must coordinate efforts in order to drive profits and business success. For example an "inbound" focused campaign seeks to drive more customers "through the door" giving the sales department a better chance of selling their product to the consumer. A good marketing program would address any potential downsides as well. The Sales department's goal would be to improve the interaction between the customer and the sales facility or mechanism example web site and/or salesperson. Sales management would break down the selling process and then increase the effectiveness of the discrete processes as well as the interaction between processes. For example in many out-bound sales environments the typical process is out bound calling the sales pitch handling objections opportunity identification and the close. Each step of the process has sales-related issues skills and training needs as well as marketing solutions to improve each discrete step as well as the whole process. One further common complication of marketing involves the inability to measure results for a great deal of marketing initiatives. In essence many marketing and advertising executives often lose sight of the objective of sales/revenue/profit as they focus on establishing a creative/innovative program without concern for the top or bottom lines. Such is a fundamental pitfall of marketing for marketing's sake. Many companies find it challenging to get marketing and sales on the same page. Both departments are different in nature but handle very similar concepts and have to work together for sales to be successful. Building a good relationship between the two that encourages communication can be the key to success even in a down economy. Marketing potentially negates need for sales Some sales authors and consultants contend that an expertly planned and executed marketing strategy may negate the need for outside sales entirely. They suggest that by effectively bringing more customers "through the door" and enticing them to contact you sales organizations can dramatically improve their results efficiency profitability and allow salespeople to provide a drastically higher level of customer service and satisfaction instead of spending the majority of their working hours searching for someone to sell to. While this theory is present in a few marketing consulting companies the practical and realistic application of this principle has not been widely proven in the market and sales forces worldwide continue to be responsible for developing business as well as closing it. Some marketing consulting firms postulate that each selling opportunity at each enterprise lies on a continuum of numbers of people involved necessary degree of face-to-face interaction overhead and through-put time to name a few dimensions. The number of people involved in actual face-to-face selling at say a clothing store is probably vastly different from that at an on-line book-seller. In reality marketing and sales are complementary and do not negate each other's purpose or presence. Marketing is a field/process designed to ascertain what consumers want/value and accordingly manufacture such goods/services. Marketing is a process founded on the premise that consumers are king and thus developing a long-term relationship with them is key to organisational survival. This is important considering the fact that a market economy is demand-led. In contemporary firms sales is often the end-point in the marketing process after the determining of consumer needs marketing planning marketing strategy marketing research market segmentation etc. have been executed. In short a sale often cannot exist in itself. Marketing is used to gauge whether persons are even potentially willing or able to buy a product the sale pertains to techniques used to persuade a person to actually buy it once they have considered the possibility of purchasing a good/service in question. Industrial marketing The idea that marketing can potentially eliminate the need for sales people is entirely dependent on context. For example this may be possible in some B2C situations however for many B2B organizations for example industrial organizations this is mostly impossible. Another dimension is the value of the goods being sold. Fast Moving Consumer Goods FMCG require no sales people at the point of sale to get them to jump off the supermarket shelf and into the customer's trolley. However the purchase of large mining equipment worth millions of dollars will require a sales person to manage the sales process. Particularly in the face of competitors. Sales and marketing alignment and integration Another key area of conversation that has arisen is the need for alignment and integration between corporate sales and marketing functions. According to a report from the Chief Marketing Officer CMO Council only 40 percent of companies have formal programs systems or processes in place to align and integration between the two critical functions. Traditionally these two functions as referenced above has been largely segmented and left in siloed areas of tactical responsibility. In Glen Petersen�s book �The Profit Maximization Paradox � the changes in the competitive landscape between the 1950s and today are so dramatic that the complexity of choice price and opportunities for the customer forced this seemingly simple and integrated relationship between sales and marketing to change forever. Petersen goes on to highlight that salespeople are spending approximately 40 percent of their time preparing customer-facing deliverables while leveraging less than 50 percent of the materials created by marketing adding to the perception that marketing is out of touch with the customer and sales is resistant to messaging and strategy. Internet applications commonly referred to as Sales 2.0 tools have also increasingly been created to help align the goals and responsibilities of marketing and sales departments. Scoring sales Every good sales team needs a way to score how well their deals have performed. Common ways of scoring include Telemarketing Customer Relationship Management Software Funnel Scorecard Sales Lead Scoring ABOUT MARKETING Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers and the strategy to use in sales communications and business development. It is an integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. Marketing is used to identify the customer to keep the customer and to satisfy the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management . The evolution of marketing was caused due to mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3 centuries. citation needed Companies then shifted the focus from production to the customer in order to stay profitable . citation needed The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives an organization should anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors. Further definitions Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association AMA as "the activity set of institutions and processes for creating communicating delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers clients partners and society at large." The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to a market to buy or sell goods or services. Seen from a systems point of view sales process engineering views marketing as "a set of processes that are interconnected and interdependent with other functions whose methods can be improved using a variety of relatively new approaches." The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as "the management process responsible for identifying anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably." A different concept is the value-based marketing which states the role of marketing to contribute to increasing shareholder value . In this context marketing is defined as "the management process that seeks to maximise returns to shareholders by developing relationships with valued customers and creating a competitive advantage." Marketing practice tended to be seen as a creative industry in the past which included advertising distribution and selling . However because the academic study of marketing makes extensive use of social sciences psychology sociology mathematics economics anthropology and neuroscience the profession is now widely recognized as a science allowing numerous universities to offer Master-of-Science MSc programmes. The overall process starts with marketing research and goes through market segmentation business planning and execution ending with pre and post-sales promotional activities. It is also related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature is also adept at re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture. Evolution of marketing Main article History of marketing An orientation in the marketing context relates to a perception or attitude a firm holds towards its product or service essentially concerning consumers and end-users. Throughout history marketing has changed considerably as consumer tastes are changing faster. Earlier approaches The marketing orientation evolved from earlier orientations namely the production orientation the product orientation and the selling orientation. Orientation Profit driver Western European timeframe Description Production Production methods until the 1950s A firm focusing on a production orientation specializes in producing as much as possible of a given product or service. Thus this signifies a firm exploiting economies of scale until the minimum efficient scale is reached. A production orientation may be deployed when a high demand for a product or service exists coupled with a good certainty that consumer tastes do not rapidly alter similar to the sales orientation . Product Quality of the product until the 1960s A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly concerned with the quality of its own product. A firm would also assume that as long as its product was of a high standard people would buy and consume the product. Selling Selling methods 1950s and 1960s A firm using a sales orientation focuses primarily on the selling/promotion of a particular product and not determining new consumer desires as such. Consequently this entails simply selling an already existing product and using promotion techniques to attain the highest sales possible. Such an orientation may suit scenarios in which a firm holds dead stock or otherwise sells a product that is in high demand with little likelihood of changes in consumer tastes diminishing demand. Marketing Needs and wants of customers 1970 to present day The ' marketing orientation' is perhaps the most common orientation used in contemporary marketing. It involves a firm essentially basing its marketing plans around the marketing concept and thus supplying products to suit new consumer tastes. As an example a firm would employ market research to gauge consumer desires use R amp D to develop a product attuned to the revealed information and then utilize promotion techniques to ensure persons know the product exists. Contemporary approaches Recent approaches in marketing is the relationship marketing with focus on the customer the business marketing or industrial marketing with focus on an organization or institution and the social marketing with focus on benefits to the society. New forms of marketing also uses the internet and are therefore called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing online marketing search engine marketing desktop advertising or affiliate marketing . It tries to perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing. It targets its audience more precisely and is sometimes called personalized marketing or one-to-one marketing. Orientation Profit driver Western European timeframe Description Relationship marketing / Relationship management Building and keeping good customer relations 1960s to present day Emphasis is placed on the whole relationship between suppliers and customers. The aim is to give the best possible attention customer services and therefore build customer loyalty. Business marketing / Industrial marketing Building and keeping relationships between organizations 1980s to present day In this context marketing takes place between businesses or organizations . The product focus lies on industrial goods or capital goods than consumer products or end products. A different form of marketing activities like promotion advertising and communication to the customer is used. Social marketing Benefit to society 1990s to present day Similar characteristics as marketing orientation but with the added proviso that there will be a curtailment on any harmful activities to society in either product production or selling methods. Customer orientation A firm in the market economy survives by producing goods that persons are willing and able to buy. Consequently ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firm 's future viability and even existence as a going concern . Many companies today have a customer focus or market orientation . This implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer demands. Generally there are three ways of doing this the customer-driven approach the sense of identifying market changes and the product innovation approach. In the consumer-driven approach consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research. Every aspect of a market offering including the nature of the product itself is driven by the needs of potential consumers. The starting point is always the consumer. The rationale for this approach is that there is no point spending R amp D funds developing products that people will not buy. History attests to many products that were commercial failures in spite of being technological breakthroughs. A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA Solution Information Value Access . This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model provides a demand/customer centric version alternative to the well-known 4Ps supply side model product price placement promotion of marketing management. Product - Solution Promotion - Information Price - Value Placement - Access If any of the 4Ps had a problem or were not there in the marketing factor of the business the business could be in trouble and so other companies may appear in the surroundings of the company so the consumer demand on its products will become less. Organizational orientation In this sense a firm's marketing department is often seen as of prime importance within the functional level of an organization. Information from an organization's marketing department would be used to guide the actions of other departments within the firm. As an example a marketing department could ascertain via marketing research that consumers desired a new type of product or a new usage for an existing product. With this in mind the marketing department would inform the R amp D department to create a prototype of a product/service based on consumers' new desires. The production department would then start to manufacture the product while the marketing department would focus on the promotion distribution pricing etc. of the product. Additionally a firm's finance department would be consulted with respect to securing appropriate funding for the development production and promotion of the product. Inter-departmental conflicts may occur should a firm adhere to the marketing orientation. Production may oppose the installation support and servicing of new capital stock which may be needed to manufacture a new product. Finance may oppose the required capital expenditure since it could undermine a healthy cash flow for the organization. Herd behavior Herd behavior in marketing is used to explain the dependencies of customers' mutual behavior. The Economist reported a recent conference in Rome on the subject of the simulation of adaptive human behavior. It shared mechanisms to increase impulse buying and get people "to buy more by playing on the herd instinct." The basic idea is that people will buy more of products that are seen to be popular and several feedback mechanisms to get product popularity information to consumers are mentioned including smart card technology and the use of Radio Frequency Identification Tag technology. A "swarm-moves" model was introduced by a Florida Institute of Technology researcher which is appealing to supermarkets because it can "increase sales without the need to give people discounts." Other recent studies on the "power of social influence" include an "artificial music market in which some 14 000 people downloaded previously unknown songs" Columbia University New York a Japanese chain of convenience stores which orders its products based on "sales data from department stores and research companies " a Massachusetts company exploiting knowledge of social networking to improve sales and online retailers who are increasingly informing consumers about "which products are popular with like-minded consumers" e.g. Amazon eBay . Further orientations An emerging area of study and practice concerns internal marketing or how employees are trained and managed to deliver the brand in a way that positively impacts the acquisition and retention of customers see also employer branding . Diffusion of innovations research explores how and why people adopt new products services and ideas. With consumers' eroding attention span and willingness to give time to advertising messages marketers are turning to forms of permission marketing such as branded content custom media and reality marketing . Marketing research Main article Marketing research Marketing research involves conducting research to support marketing activities and the statistical interpretation of data into information. This information is then used by managers to plan marketing activities gauge the nature of a firm's marketing environment and attain information from suppliers. Marketing researchers use statistical methods such as quantitative research qualitative research hypothesis tests Chi-squared tests linear regression correlations frequency distributions poisson distributions binomial distributions etc. to interpret their findings and convert data into information. The marketing research process spans a number of stages including the definition of a problem development of a research plan collecting and interpretation of data and disseminating information formally in form of a report. The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant accurate reliable valid and current information. A distinction should be made between marketing research and market research . Market research pertains to research in a given market. As an example a firm may conduct research in a target market after selecting a suitable market segment. In contrast marketing research relates to all research conducted within marketing. Thus market research is a subset of marketing research. Marketing environment Main article Marketing environment Market segmentation Main article Market segmentation Market segmentation pertains to the division of a market of consumers into persons with similar needs and wants. As an example if using Kellogg's cereals in this instance Frosties are marketed to children. Crunchy Nut Cornflakes are marketed to adults. Both goods aforementioned denote two products which are marketed to two distinct groups of persons both with like needs traits and wants. The purpose for market segmentation is conducted for two main issues. First a segmentation allows a better allocation of a firm's finite resources. A firm only possesses a certain amount of resources. Accordingly it must make choices and appreciate the related costs in servicing specific groups of consumers. Furthermore the diversified tastes of the contemporary Western consumers can be served better. With more diversity in the tastes of modern consumers firms are taking noting the benefit of servicing a multiplicity of new markets. Market segmentation can be defined in terms of the STP acronym meaning S egment T arget and P osition . Types of marketing research Marketing research as a sub-set aspect of marketing activities can be divided into the following parts Primary research also known as field research which involves the conduction and compilation of research for the purpose it was intended. Secondary research also referred to as desk research is initially conducted for one purpose but often used to support another purpose or end goal. By these definitions an example of primary research would be market research conducted into health foods which is used solely to ascertain the needs/wants of the target market for health foods. Secondary research again according to the above definition would be research pertaining to health foods but used by a firm wishing to develop an unrelated product. Primary research is often expensive to prepare collect and interpret from data to information. Nonetheless while secondary research is relatively inexpensive it often can become outdated and outmoded given it is used for a purpose other than for which is was intended. Primary research can also be broken down into quantitative research and qualitative research which as the labels suggest pertain to numerical and non-numerical research methods techniques. The appropriateness of each mode of research depends on whether data can be quantified quantitative research or whether subjective non-numeric or abstract concepts are required to be studied qualitative research . There also exists additional modes of marketing research which are Exploratory research pertaining to research that investigates an assumption. Descriptive research which as the label suggests describes "what is". Predictive research meaning research conducted to predict a future occurrence. Conclusive research for the purpose of deriving a conclusion via a research process. Marketing planning The area of marketing planning involves forging a plan for a firm's marketing activities. A marketing plan can also pertain to a specific product as well as to an organization's overall marketing strategy . Generally speaking an organization's marketing planning process is derived from its overall business strategy . Thus when top management are devising the firm's strategic direction or mission the intended marketing activities are incorporated into this plan. There are several levels of marketing objectives within an organization. The senior management of a firm would formulate a general business strategy for a firm. However this general business strategy would be interpreted and implemented in different contexts throughout the firm. Marketing strategy The field of marketing strategy encompasses the strategy involved in the management of a given product. A given firm may hold numerous products in the marketplace spanning numerous and sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly a plan is required in order to manage effectively such products. Evidently a company needs to weigh up and ascertain how to utilize effectively its finite resources. As an example a start-up car manufacturing firm would face little success should it attempt to rival immediately Toyota Ford Nissan or any other large global car maker. Moreover a product may be reaching the end of its life-cycle. Thus the issue of divest or a ceasing of production may be made. With regard to the aforesaid questions each scenario requires a unique marketing strategy to be employed. Below are listed some prominent marketing strategy models which seek to propose means to answer the preceding questions. Marketing specializations With the rapidly emerging force of globalization the distinction between marketing within a firm's home country and marketing within external markets is disappearing very quickly. With this occurrence in mind firms need to reorient their marketing strategies to meet the challenges of the global marketplace in addition to sustaining their competitiveness within home markets. Buying behaviour A marketing firm must ascertain the nature of the customers buying behaviour if it is to market its product properly. In order to entice and persuade a consumer to buy a product marketers try to determine the behavioural process of how a given product is purchased. Buying behaviour is usually split in two prime strands whether selling to the consumer known as business-to-consumer B2C or another business similarly known as business-to-business B2B . B2C buying behaviour This mode of behaviour concerns consumers in the purchase of a given product. As an example if one pictures a pair of sneakers the desire for a pair of sneakers would be followed by an information search on available types/brands. This may include perusing media outlets but most commonly consists of information gathered from family and friends.If the information search is insufficient the consumer may search for alternative means to satisfy the need/want. In this case this may be buying leather shoes sandals etc. The purchase decision is then made in which the consumer actually buys the product. Following this stage a post-purchase evaluation is often conducted comprising an appraisal of the value/utility brought by the purchase of the sneakers. If the value/utility is high then a repeat purchase may be bought. This could then develop into consumer loyalty for the firm producing the pair of sneakers. B2B buying behaviour Relates to organizational/industrial buying behavior. B2C and B2B behavior are not exact as similarities and differences exist. Some of the key differences are listed below In a straight re-buy the fourth fifth and sixth stages are omitted. In a modified re-buy scenario the fifth and sixth stages are precluded. In a new buy all aforementioned stages are conducted. Use of technologies Marketing management can also note the importance of technology within the scope of its marketing efforts. Computer-based information systems can be employed aiding in a better processing and storage of data. Marketing researchers can use such systems to devise better methods of converting data into information and for the creation of enhanced data gathering methods. Information technology can aid in improving an MKIS ' software and hardware components to improve a company's marketing decision-making process. In recent years the netbook personal computer has gained significant market share among laptops largely due to its more user-friendly size and portability. Information technology typically progress at a fast rate leading to marketing managers being cognizant of the latest technological developments. Moreover the launch of smartphones into the cellphone market is commonly derived from a demand among consumers for more technologically advanced products. A firm can lose out to competitors should it refrain from noting the latest technological occurrences in its industry. Technological advancements can facilitate lesser barriers between countries and regions. Via using the World Wide Web firms can quickly dispatch information from one country to another without much restriction. Prior to the mass usage of the Internet such transfers of information would have taken longer to send especially if via snail mail telex etc. Services marketing Services marketing as the label suggests relates to the marketing of services as opposed to tangible products in standard economic terminology a tangible product is called a good . A typical definition of a service as opposed to a good is thus The use of it is inseparable from its purchase i.e. a service is used and consumed simultaneously It does not possess material form and thus cannot be smelt heard tasted or felt. The use of a service is inherently subjective in that due to the human condition all persons experiencing a service would experience it uniquely. As examples of the above points a train ride can be deemed as a service. If one buys a train ticket the use of the train is typically experienced concurrently with the purchase of the ticket. Moreover a train ride cannot be smelt heard tasted or felt as such. Granted a seat can be felt and the train can be evidently heard nonetheless one is not paying for the permanent ownership of the tangible components of the train. Services by comparison with goods can also be viewed as a spectrum. Not all products are pure goods nor are all pure services. The aforementioned example of a train ride can be deemed a pure service whilst a packet of potato chips can be deemed a pure good. An intermediary example may be a restaurant as the waiter service is intangible and the food evidently is tangible in form . ABOUT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT In the field of commerce the specialist area of business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at attracting new customers and at penetrating existing markets . Techniques used include assessment of marketing opportunities and target markets intelligence gathering on customers and competitors generating leads for possible sales advising on drafting and enforcing sales policies and processes follow-up sales activity formal proposal and presentation management and writing pitch and presentation rehearsals business model design Business development involves evaluating a business and then realizing its full potential using such tools as marketing information management sometimes conflated with knowledge management customer service A sound organization aiming to withstand competitors never stops business development says Luis G. Batista President of LMT Corporation but engages in it as an ongoing process. Business-development roles may have one of two modes sales-oriented client-facing or an operational function to support sales. In a sales role business development could concentrate on developing strategic-channel relationships or on general sales. This emerges from analysis of the varied job descriptions found in job-search engines especially in the UK. In the US the term "capture management" appears as an alternative job or role title typically used when describing business development as an operational function to support the selling function of a company. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals have produced the " Capture Management Lifecycle " that describes the process in three broad stages pre-bid phase bid phase post-bid phase Small to medium-sized companies often do not establish procedures for business development instead relying on their existing contacts . Or people in such companies may assume that because they know people in high places that this will solve any business-development problems and that somehow new financial transactions will come to them. Such thinking can have significant ramifications if one cannot exploit those relationships which very often citation needed remain personal or weak. Such a situation may result in no new sales in the pipeline. Business-development professionals frequently have had earlier experience in financial services investment banking or management consulting although many find their route to this area by climbing the corporate ladder in functions such as operations management or sales. Skillsets and experience for business-development specialists usually consist of a mixture of the following depending on the business requirements marketing legal strategy finance proposal management or capture management sales experience The "pipeline" refers to flow of potential clients which a company has started developing. Business-development staff assign to each potential client in the pipeline a percent chance of success with projected sales-volumes attached. Planners can use the weighted average of all the potential clients in the pipeline to project staffing to manage the new activity when finalized. Enterprises usually support pipelines with some kind of CRM customer relationship management tool or CRM- database either web-based such as the salesforce software-as-a-service solution or an in-house system . Sometimes business development specialists manage and analyze the data to produce sales management information MI . Such MI could include reasons for wins/losses progress of opportunities in relation to the sales process top performing salespeople/sales channels sales of services/products For larger and well-established companies especially in technology-related industries the term "business development" often refers to setting up and managing strategic relationships and alliances with other third-party companies. In these instances the companies may leverage each others' expertise technologies or other intellectual property to expand their capacities for identifying researching analyzing and bringing to market new businesses and new products business-development focuses on implementation of the strategic business plan through equity financing acquisition/divestiture of technologies products and companies plus the establishment of strategic partnerships where appropriate. ABOUT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Customer relationship management is a broadly recognized widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a company�s interactions with clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize automate and synchronize business processes�principally sales activities but also those for marketing customer service and technical support . The overall goals are to find attract and win new clients nurture and retain those the company already has entice former clients back into the fold and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. Once simply a label for a category of software tools today it generally denotes a company-wide business strategy embracing all client-facing departments and even beyond. When an implementation is effective people processes and technology work in synergy to increase profitability and reduce operational costs. Benefits These tools have been shown to help companies attain these objectives Streamlined sales and marketing processes Higher sales productivity Added cross-selling and up-selling opportunities Improved service loyalty and retention Increased call center efficiency Higher close rates Better profiling and targeting Reduced expenses Increased market share Higher overall profitability Marginal costing Related Trends What trends are affecting CRM tools Perhaps the most notable trend has been the growth of tools delivered via the Web also known as cloud computing and software as a service SaaS . In contrast with traditional on-premises software cloud-computing applications are sold by subscription accessed via a secure Internet connection and displayed on a Web browser. Companies don�t incur the initial capital expense of purchasing software nor must they buy and maintain IT hardware to run it on. Challenges Despite the benefits many companies are still not fully leveraging these tools and services to align marketing sales and service to best serve the enterprise. Tools and workflows can be complex to implement especially for large enterprises. Previously these tools were generally limited to contact management monitoring and recording interactions and communications. Software solutions then expanded to embrace deal tracking territories opportunities and at the sales pipeline itself. Next came the advent of tools for other client-facing business functions as described below. These technologies have been and still are offered as on-premises software that companies purchase and run on their own IT infrastructure. Often implementations are fragmented isolated initiatives by individual departments to address their own needs. Systems that start disunited usually stay that way siloed thinking and decision processes frequently lead to separate and incompatible systems and dysfunctional processes. Types/variations Sales force automation The sales force automation SFA system provides an array of capabilities to streamline all phases of the sales process minimizing the time that sales representatives need to spend on manual data entry and administration. This allows them to successfully pursue more clients in a shorter amount of time than would otherwise be possible. At the heart of SFA is a contact management system for tracking and recording every stage in the sales process for each prospective client from initial contact to final disposition. Many SFA applications also include insights into opportunities territories sales forecasts and workflow automation quote generation and product knowledge. Newly-emerged priorities are modules for Web 2.0 e-commerce and pricing. Marketing Systems for marketing also known as marketing automation help the enterprise identify and target its best clients and generate qualified leads for the sales team. A key marketing capability is tracking and measuring multichannel campaigns including email search social media and direct mail. Metrics monitored include clicks responses leads deals and revenue. As marketing departments are increasingly obliged to demonstrate revenue impact today�. Customer Service and Support Recognizing that service is an important differentiator organizations are increasingly turning to technology platforms to help them improve their clients� experience while aiming to increase efficiency and minimize costs. Even so a 2009 study revealed that only 39% of corporate executives believe their employees have the right tools and authority to solve client problems.�. The core for these applications has been and still is comprehensive call center solutions including such features as intelligent call routing computer telephone integration CTI and escalation capabilities. Analytics Relevant analytics capabilities are often interwoven into applications for sales marketing and service. These features can be complemented and augmented with links to separate purpose-built applications for analytics and business intelligence. Sales analytics let companies monitor and understand client actions and preferences through sales forecasting data quality and dashboards that graphically display Marketing applications generally come with predictive analytics to improve segmentation and targeting and features for measuring the effectiveness of online offline and search marketing campaign Web analytics have evolved significantly from their starting point of merely tracking mouse clicks on Web sites. By evaluating �buy signals � marketers can see which prospects are most likely to transact and also identify those who are bogged down in a sales process and need assistance Marketing and finance personnel also use analytics to assess the value of multi-faceted programs as a whole. These types of analytics are increasing in popularity as companies demand greater visibility into the performance of call centers and other support channels in order to correct problems before they affect satisfaction levels. Support-focused applications typically include dashboards similar to those for sales plus capabilities to measure and analyze response times service quality agent performance and the frequency of various issues. Integrated/Collaborative Departments within enterprises�especially large enterprises�tend to function in their own little worlds. Traditionally inter-departmental interaction and collaboration have been infrequent and rivalries not uncommon. More recently the development and adoption of the tools and services has fostered greater fluidity and cooperation among sales service and marketing. This finds expression in the concept of collaborative systems which uses technology to build bridges between departments. For example feedback from a technical support center can enlighten marketers about specific services and product features clients are asking for. Reps in their turn want to be able to pursue these opportunities without the time-wasting burden of re-entering records and contact data into a separate SFA system. Conversely lack of integration can have negative consequences system isn�t adopted and integrated among all departments several sources might contact the same clients for an identical purpose. citation needed Owing to these factors many of the top-rated and most popular products come as integrated suites. Small Business Basic client service can be accomplished by a contact manager system an integrated solution that lets organizations and individuals efficiently track and record interactions including emails documents jobs faxes scheduling and more. This kind of solution is gaining traction with even very small businesses thanks to the ease and time savings of handling client contact through a centralized application rather than several different pieces of software each with its own data collection system. citation needed In contrast these tools usually focus on accounts rather than individual contacts. They also generally include opportunity insight for tracking sales pipelines plus added functionality for marketing and service. As with larger enterprises small businesses are finding value in online solutions especially for mobile and telecommuting workers. Social Media Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are greatly amplifying the voice of people in the marketplace and are predicted to have profound and far-reaching effects on the ways companies manage their clients. This is because people are using these social media sites to share opinions and experiences on companies products and services. As social media isn�t moderated or censored individuals can say anything they want about a company or brand whether pro or con. Increasingly companies are looking to gain access to these conversations and take part in the dialogue. More than a few systems are now integrating to social networking sites. Social media promoters cite a number of business advantages such as using online communities as a source of high-quality leads and a vehicle for crowd sourcing solutions to client-support problems. Companies can also leverage client stated habits and preferences to personalize and even �hyper-target� their sales and marketing communications. Some analysts take the view that business-to-business marketers should proceed cautiously when weaving social media into their business processes. These observers recommend careful market research to determine if and where the phenomenon can provide measurable benefits for client interactions sales and support. Non-profit and Membership-based Systems for non-profit and membership-based organizations help track constituents and their involvement in the organization. Capabilities typically include tracking the following fund-raising demographics membership levels membership directories volunteering and communications with individuals. Many include tools for identifying potential donors based on previous donations and participation. In light of the growth of social networking tools there may be some overlap between social/community driven tools and non-profit/membership tools. Strategy Choosing and implementing a system is a major undertaking. For enterprises of any appreciable size a complete and detailed plan is required to obtain the funding resources and company-wide support that can make the initiative successful. Benefits must be defined risks assessed and cost quantified in three general areas Processes Though these systems have many technological components business processes lie at its core. It can be seen as a more client-centric way of doing business enabled by technology that consolidates and intelligently distributes pertinent information about clients sales marketing effectiveness responsiveness and market trends. Therefore before choosing a technology platform a company needs to analyze its business workflows and processes some will likely need re-engineering to better serve the overall goal of winning and satisfying clients. Moreover planners need to determine the types of client information that are most relevant and how best to employ them. People For an initiative to be effective an organization must convince its staff that change is good and that the new technology and workflows will benefit employees as well as clients. Senior executives need to be strong and visible advocates who can clearly state and support the case for change. Collaboration teamwork and two-way communication should be encouraged across hierarchical boundaries especially with respect to process improvement. Technology In evaluating technology key factors include alignment with the company�s business process strategy and goals the ability to deliver the right data to the right employees and sufficient ease of use that users won�t balk. Platform selection is best undertaken by a carefully chosen group of executives who understand the business processes to be automated as well as the various software issues. Depending upon the size of the company and the breadth of data choosing an application can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more. Implementation Implementation Issues Dramatic increases in revenue higher rates of client satisfaction and significant savings in operating costs are some of the benefits to an enterprise. Proponents emphasize that technology should be implemented only in the context of careful strategic and operational planning. Implementations almost invariably fall short when one or more facets of this prescription are ignored Poor planning Initiatives can easily fail when efforts are limited to choosing and deploying software without an accompanying rationale context and support for the workforce. In other instances enterprises simply automate flawed client-facing processes rather than redesign them according to best practices. Poor integration For many companies integrations are piecemeal initiatives that address a glaring need improving a particular client-facing process or two or automating a favored sales or client support channel. Such �point solutions� offer little or no integration or alignment with a company�s overall strategy. They offer a less than complete client view and often lead to unsatisfactory user experiences. Toward a solution overcoming siloed thinking. Experts advise organizations to recognize the immense value of integrating their client-facing operations. In this view internally-focused department-centric views should be discarded in favor of reorienting processes toward information-sharing across marketing sales and service. For example sales representatives need to know about current issues and relevant marketing promotions before attempting to cross-sell to a specific client. Marketing staff should be able to leverage client information from sales and service to better target campaigns and offers. And support agents require quick and complete access to a client�s sales and service history. Adoption Issues Historically the landscape is littered with instances of low adoption rates. In 2003 a Gartner report estimated that more than $1 billion had been spent on software that wasn�t being used. More recent research indicates that the problem while perhaps less severe is a long way from being solved. According to CSO Insights less than 40 percent of 1 275 participating companies had end-user adoption rates above 90 percent. In a 2007 survey from the U.K. four-fifths of senior executives reported that their biggest challenge is getting their staff to use the systems they�d installed. Further 43 percent of respondents said they use less than half the functionality of their existing system 72 percent indicated they�d trade functionality for ease of use 51 percent cited data synchronization as a major issue and 67 percent said that finding time to evaluate systems was a major problem. With expenditures expected to exceed $11 billion in 2010 enterprises need to address and overcome persistent adoption challenges. Specialists offer these recommendationsfor boosting adoptions rates and coaxing users to blend these tools into their daily workflow Choose a system that�s easy to use All solutions are not created equal. Some vendors offer more user-friendly applications than others and simplicity should be as important a decision factor as functionality. Choose the right capabilities Employees need to know that time invested in learning and usage will yield personal advantages. If not they will work around or ignore the system. Provide training Changing the way people work is no small task and help is usually a requirement. Even with today�s more usable systems many staffers still need assistance with learning and adoption. Privacy and data security system One of the primary functions of these tools is to collect information about clients thus a company must consider the desire for privacy and data security as well as the legislative and cultural norms. Some clients prefer assurances that their data will not be shared with third parties without their prior consent and that safeguards are in place to prevent illegal access by third parties. Market structures This market grew by 12.5 percent in 2008 from revenue of $8.13 billion in 2007 to $9.15 billion in 2008. The following table lists the top vendors in 2006-2008 figures in millions of US dollars published in Gartner studies. Vendor 2008 Revenue 2008 Share % 2007 Revenue 2007 Share % 2006 Revenue 2006 Share % SAP 2 055 22.5 2 050.8 25.3 1 681.7 26.6 Oracle 1 475 16.1 1 319.8 16.3 1 016.8 15.5 Salesforce 965 10.6 676.5 8.3 451.7 6.9 Microsoft 581 6.4 332.1 4.1 176.1 2.7 Amdocs 451 4.9 421.0 5.2 365.9 5.6 Others 3 620 39.6 3 289.1 40.6 2 881.6 43.7 Total 9 147 100 8 089.3 100 6 573.8 100 ABOUT DIRECT MARKETING Direct marketing is a form of advertising that reaches its audience without using traditional formal channels of advertising such as TV newspapers or radio Businesses communicate straight to the consumer with advertising techniques such as fliers catalogue distribution promotional letters and street advertising Direct Advertising is a sub-discipline and type of marketing There are two main definitional characteristics which distinguish it from other types of marketing The first is that it sends its message directly to consumers without the use of intervening commercial communication media The second characteristic is the core principle of successful Advertising driving a specific quot call-to-action quot This aspect of direct marketing involves an emphasis on trackable measurable positive responses from consumers known simply as quot response quot in the industry regardless of medium If the advertisement asks the prospect to take a specific action for instance call a free phone number or visit a website then the effort is considered to be direct response advertising Direct marketing is predominantly used by small to medium enterprises with limited advertising budgets which do not have a well recognized brand message A well executed direct advertising campaign offers positive return on investment as the message is not hidden with over complicated branding does not directly sell more cars instead direct advertising is straight to the point it offers a product service or event and explains how to get the offered product service or event History The term direct marketing is believed to have been first used in 1967 in a speech by Lester Wunderman who pioneered direct marketing techniques with brands such as American Express and Columbia Records citation needed The term junk mail referring to unsolicited commercial ads delivered via post office or directly deposited in consumers' mail boxes can be traced back to 1954 The term spam meaning quot unsolicited commercial email quot can be traced back to March 31 1993 although in its first few months it merely referred to inadvertently posting a message so many times on UseNet that the repetitions effectively drowned out the normal flow of conversation Although Wunderman may have been the first to use the term direct marketing the practice of mail order selling direct marketing via mail essentially began in the U S upon invention of the typewriter in 1867 citation needed The first modern mail-order catalog was produced by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 citation needed The Direct Mail Advertising Association predecessor of the present-day Direct Marketing Association was first established in 1917 citation needed Third class bulk mail postage rates were established in 1928 citation needed Direct marketing's history in Europe can be traced to the 15th century Upon Gutenberg's invention of movable type the first trade catalogs from printer-publishers appeared sometime around 1450 citation needed Benefits and drawbacks Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because in many cases its positive effect but not negative results can be measured directly For example if a marketer sends out one thousand solicitations by mail and one hundred respond to the promotion the marketer can say with some confidence that the campaign led directly to 10% direct responses The number of recipients who are offended by the junk mail/spam however is not easily measured By contrast measurement of other media must often be indirect since there is no direct response from a consumer Measurement of results a fundamental element in successful direct marketing is explored in greater detail elsewhere in this article The Internet has made it easier for Marketing Managers to measure the results of a campaign This is often achieved by using a specific website landing page directly relating to the promotional material a call to action will ask the consumer to visit the landing page and the effectiveness of the campaign can be measured by taking the number of promotional messages distributed e g 1000 and divide it by the number of responses people visiting the unique website page Another way to measure the results is to compare the projected sales for a given term with the actual sales after a Direct Advertising Campaign While many marketers recognize the financial benefits of increasing targeted awareness some direct marketing efforts using particular media have been criticized for generating unwanted solicitations not due to the method of communication but because of poorly complied demographic databases advertisers do not wish to waste money on communicating with consumers not interested in their products For example direct mail that is irrelevant to the recipient is considered junk mail and unwanted email messages are considered spam Some consumers are demanding an end to direct marketing for privacy and environmental reasons citation needed which direct marketers are able to provide by using quot opt out quot lists variable printing and more targeted mailing lists In response to consumer demand and increasing business pressure to increase the effectiveness of reaching the right consumer with Direct Marketing companies such as Ireland Advertising specialize in targeted Direct Advertising to great effect reducing advertising budget waste and increasing the effectiveness of delivering a marketing message with better geodemography information delivering the advertising message to only the consumers interested in the product service or event on offer Channels Direct mail The most common form of direct marketing is direct mail sometimes called junk mail used by advertisers who send paper mail to all postal customers in an area or to all customers on a list Junkmail Any low-budget medium that can be used to deliver a communication to a customer can be employed in direct marketing Probably the most commonly used medium for direct marketing is mail in which marketing communications are sent to customers using the postal service The term direct mail is used in the direct marketing industry to refer to communication deliveries by the Post Office which may also be referred to as quot junk mail quot or quot admail quot or quot crap mail quot and may involve bulk mail Junk mail includes advertising circulars catalogs free trial CDs pre-approved credit card applications and other unsolicited merchandising invitations delivered by mail or to homes and businesses or delivered to consumers' mailboxes by delivery services other than the Post Office Bulk mailings are a particularly popular method of promotion for businesses operating in the financial services home computer and travel and tourism industries In many developed countries direct mail represents such a significant amount of the total volume of mail that special rate classes have been established In the United States and United Kingdom for example there are bulk mail rates that enable marketers to send mail at rates that are substantially lower than regular first-class rates In order to qualify for these rates marketers must format and sort the mail in particular ways � which reduces the handling and therefore costs required by the postal service Advertisers often refine direct mail practices into targeted mailing in which mail is sent out following database analysis to select recipients considered most likely to respond positively For example a person who has demonstrated an interest in golf may receive direct mail for golf related products or perhaps for goods and services that are appropriate for golfers This use of database analysis is a type of database marketing The United States Postal Service calls this form of mail quot advertising mail quot admail for short Telemarketing The second most common form of direct marketing is telemarketing citation needed in which marketers contact consumers by phone The unpopularity of cold call telemarketing in which the consumer does not expect or invite the sales call has led some US states and the US federal government to create quot no-call lists quot and legislation including heavy fines This process may be outsourced to specialist call centres In the US a national do-not-call list went into effect on October 1 2003 Under the law it is illegal for telemarketers to call anyone who has registered themselves on the list After the list had operated for one year over 62 million people had signed up The telemarketing industry opposed the creation of the list but most telemarketers have complied with the law and refrained from calling people who are on the list citation needed Canada has passed legislation to create a similar Do Not Call List In other countries it is voluntary such as the New Zealand Name Removal Service Email Marketing Email Marketing may have passed telemarketing in frequency at this point citation needed and is a third type of direct marketing A major concern is spam which actually predates legitimate email marketing As a result of the proliferation of mass spamming ISPs and email service providers have developed increasingly effective E-Mail Filtering programs These filters can interfere with the delivery of email marketing campaigns even if the person has subscribed to receive them as legitimate email marketing can possess the same hallmarks as spam Door-to-Door Leaflet Marketing Leaflet Distribution services are used extensively by the fast food industries and many other business focussing on a local catchment Business to consumer business model similar to direct mail marketing this method is targeted purely by area and costs a fraction of the amount of a mailshot due to not having to purchase stamps envelopes or having to buy address lists and the names of home occupants Broadcast faxing A fourth type of direct marketing broadcast faxing is now less common than the other forms citation needed This is partly due to laws in the United States and elsewhere which make it illegal citation needed Voicemail Marketing A fifth type of direct marketing has emerged out of the market prevalence of personal voice mailboxes and business voicemail systems Due to the ubiquity of email marketing and the expense of direct mail and telemarketing voicemail marketing presented a cost effective means by which to reach people directly by voice Abuse of consumer marketing applications of voicemail marketing resulted in an abundance of quot voice-spam quot and prompted many jurisdictions to pass laws regulating consumer voicemail marketing More recently businesses have utilized guided voicemail an application where pre-recorded voicemails are guided by live callers to accomplish personalized business-to-business marketing formerly reserved for telemarketing Because guided voicemail is used to contact only businesses it is exempt from Do Not Call regulations in place for other forms of voicemail marketing Couponing Couponing is used in print media to elicit a response from the reader An example is a coupon which the reader cuts out and presents to a super-store check-out counter to avail of a discount Coupons in newspapers and magazines cannot be considered direct marketing since the marketer incurs the cost of supporting a third-party medium the newspaper or magazine direct marketing aims to circumvent that balance paring the costs down to solely delivering their unsolicited sales message to the consumer without supporting the newspaper that the consumer seeks and welcomes Direct response television marketing Direct marketing on TV commonly referred to as DRTV has two basic forms long form usually half-hour or hour-long segments that explain a product in detail and are commonly referred to as infomercials and short form which refers to typical 0 30 second or 0 60 second commercials that ask viewers for an immediate response typically to call a phone number on screen or go to a website TV-response marketing�i e infomercials �can be considered a form of direct marketing since responses are in the form of calls to telephone numbers given on-air This both allows marketers to reasonably conclude that the calls are due to a particular campaign and allows the marketers to obtain customers' phone numbers as targets for telemarketing Under the Federal Do-Not-Call List rules in the US if the caller buys anything the marketer would be exempt from Do-Not-Call List restrictions for a period of time due to having a prior business relationship with the caller Major players are firms like QVC Thane Direct and Interwood Marketing Group then cross-sell and up-sell to these respondents One of the most famous DRTV commercials was for Ginsu Knives by Ginsu Products Inc of RI Several aspects of ad such as it's use of adding items to the offer and the guarantee of satisfaction were much copied and came to be considered part of the formula for success with short form direct response TV ads DRTV Direct selling Direct selling is the sale of products by face-to-face contact with the customer either by having salespeople approach potential customers in person or through indirect means such as Tupperware parties Popularity of Direct Advertising In a report conducted by the Direct Marketing Association it was found that 57% of the campaigns studied were employing integrated strategies Of those almost half 47% launched with a direct mail campaign typically followed by e-mail and then telemarketing CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS DIRECT MARKETING MANAGEMENT SALES MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SALES MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECT MARKETING COMPANIES CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS TAKE A SURVEY CUSTOMER SURVEYS TARGET MARKETING BUSINESS MARKETING CUSTOMER MARKETING SURVEYS GIFTS COOKIES THANK YOU MARKETING ADVERTISISE IN TARGET MARKETS ONLINE MARKETING INTERACTIVE MARKETING INTERNET MARKETING quot We GUARANTEE you'll be 100% Satisfied quot 800 443-8937 Order Your MBA Today Email BEGIN@CustomerAppreciationIdeas com CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS AND MARKETING DIRECT MARKETING SALES MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MBA FLYER ORDER FORM Services Customer Appreciation ideas B2B Marketing Direct Marketing By Sales Direct Marketing by Prospects Direct Marketing by Sales Lead Generation Target Marketing CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS.COM ManagementSalesMarketingBusinessDevelopment SALES MANAGEMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ManagementSalesMarketingBusinessDevelopment Direct Marketing Sales Management Business Direct Marketing Companies Customer Appreciation Ideas Marketing By Appreciation Take the Survey Target Marketing Business Marketing Customer Marketing Surveys Cookies Gifts Thank You Customer Appreciation Advertise in Target markets Online Marketing Interactive Marketing Marketing Advertising Internet Marketing CUSTOMER APPRECIATION IDEAS MANAGEMENT SALES MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT about dmoz dmoz blog suggest URL update listing report abuse/spam help the entire directory only in Marketing_and_Advertising/Consulting Description Top Business Marketing and Advertising Consulting 285 Open Directory - Business Marketing and Advertising Consulting Copywriters @ 119 Government 11 Internet Marketing @ 177 Political Consultants @ 150 Positioning @ 43 Sales @ 53 Small Business @ 54 Support Services @ 156 By Industry @ 53 See also Business Marketing and Advertising Advertising 2 181 Business Marketing and Advertising Public Relations 725 Computers Internet Web Design and Development 14 707 This category in other languages Chinese Simplified 39 German 53 Norwegian 1 Russian 68 Swedish 10 5th Business - Smarter Marketing - Full-service strategic marketing firm providing strategy development market intelligence communications support online programs and direct response initiatives. A Lizard Drinking - Marketing and communications consultancy based in Australia. Acce Consulting Ltd. - Providing marketing consulting services to foreign businesses interested in entering the Chinese market. Access Worldwide Communications Inc. - Provides outsourced marketing services consisting of marketing sales and customer service programs such as market research database analysis telesales/services direct mail sales territory management product sampling and fulfillmen. Nasdaq AWWC . Achenbaum Bogda Associates Inc. - Marketing consultancy dedicated to helping clients with marketing planning advertising agency and executive recruitment efficiency. Action Plan Marketing - Marketing consulting services exclusively for professional service businesses. Aerixon Research and Communications - Providing professional research information as well as planning development and production of communications strategies for a wide variety of sectors. Africahold - Corporate development consulting between Europe and South Africa. Alexander Simpkin - Fields of activity include high level lead generation outbound training in telemarketing and telesales distance learning and strategic consultancy mostly in the business to business and business to trade marketplaces. American Consulting Group LLC - Marketing research and consulting seminars and expert witness for technical business-to-business products. Amy Sutnick Plotch Communications - Helps non-profit government and corporate organizations develop communication and marketing strategies. Apex Marketing Strategy - Offers corporate product service and brand marketing organizational consulting product management writing and Web marketing. Arab European Business Consulting - Assists foreign firms in entering Arabian markets. Asia Pacific Business Management Consultants Limited - Market consulting firm in Asia Pacific. August Consulting Services - Australian firm specializes in data-driven marketing. BRA Partner - Norwegian consultants in management finance and marketing Bald Eagle Consulting Inc. - Business development and marketing services consultants serving medium and small businesses in the retail manufacturing I.T. government and service industries. Banda Marketing Group - Develops marketing plans for medium size companies. Baranda Consulting - Provides assistance in determining market niche time to market marketing mix product definition distribution strategy promotion and pricing. Bay Marketing Consultants - Marketing company based in Detroit. Bayly Willey Holt - Public relations marketing web design Internet strategies graphic design crisis management and corporate communications. Queensland Australia. Beaton Communications - Strategic and creative services for marketing communications including writing strategic planning project management and photography and design resources. Becker Marketing Associates - Designs marketing plans and strategies and assists in recommending sales networks and channels of distribution. Focus is on consumer products and consumer electronics as well as biometrics technologies. Bill Harvey Consulting - Communications consultancy serving advertisers agencies media and research companies. Bitterolf Marketing - National and international marketing consulting and management assistance combined with a full-service advertising agency. Based in Pittsburgh PA. Block amp Block Inc. - Marketing and sales management consultancy works with clients to build customer base maximize sales effectiveness increase profitability and improve communication with new and prospective customers. Naples FL. Bohman Consulting - Offers strategic planning marketing and communications plans new product introductions branding positioning market analysis and public speaking coaching. Boshears amp Boshears Consulting - Specialists in helping entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies to go from concept to market. Boston Innovation Group - Facilitates the development of new ideas and the formation of high-performance teams. Brainium Events - Helps companies generate demand for their products and services through strategic marketing communications creative strategy and design and event planning and management. Brandever Strategy Inc. - Creates communication solutions that help clients differentiate themselves their products and their services to targeted audiences. Bromberg Consulting - Offers strategic marketing brand strategy corporate identity and corporate communications. Broviak Communications - Provides marketing communications services. Based in the Chicago Illinois area. CK Communications Inc. - Focused on marketing public relations and strategic communications. Offices in Melbourne Orlando and New York. Stand out with CKC. CMDGI Marketing - Logo design stationery design and web design to help the small business owner. Client list company history and an online job application form. Captain Crikey - Alternative marketing consultancy focused on trend forecasting. Catalog Consultancy - A full service mail order and direct marketing consulting organization offering catalog companies a broad range of promotional and operational services. Based in Coconut Creek FL. Catalyst Works Ltd. - Specialize in voluntary sector marketing fund raising and communications. Based in the UK. Caterpillar Consultancy - Sales promotion business development and communications agency. Cawood Communications - Full-service PR advertising and marketing firm. Chinese market Consultancy - Italian consultant for China. Clinton Gage amp Associates - Offers marketing communications branding and creative development. Co-Opportunities - Assists clients in determining and prioritizing needs developing marketing solutions and overseeing the execution of marketing plans. San Diego CA. Cohen Marketing Group - Specializes in marketing the sport of hockey. Conclusive Strategies - Market research consultants. Convergenz - Los Angeles-based public relations and marketing communications consultancy specializing in emerging new media multimedia and interactive technologies. Copernicus - Provides marketing consulting and research services to improve business performance and build brands. Creative Marketing Group - Offering professional advice in strategic marketing market entry providing project management solutions and creative services. Offices in London New York and Moscow. Cullen Communications - Public relations copywriting and design seminars for the graphic arts paper and printing industries and selected consumer and business-to-business companies. Cultural Imprint - Offers a specialized service that provides key knowledge for brand building new product development identifying new segments tailoring messages to consumers and organizational change and integration. Curt Prins - Minneapolis based marketing communications consultant focused of the needs of emerging business-to-business companies. Customer Assurance - Integrated customer relations agency. D and S consulting - Marketing consulting company focusing on IT in China D.C. Woolsey and Associates - Marketing strategies to increase cash flow return on investment and marketing success. Dagg Integrated Marketing Services - Offers strategic marketing planning and resources. Dan Kennedy - Veteran direct response advertising advisor. Desperado Marketing Inc. - Toronto-based client side sports marketing and event marketing agency. Dick Buckley - Marblehead MA based artist writer and corporate positioning specialist. Dolphin Marketing Communications LLC - Produces results-oriented marketing communications utilizing traditional media or assisting in the transition to the world of e-commerce. Dr. Barry E. Langford - Market research planning and training. Florida based consultant. Drury Communications - Specializing in corporate financial internal and marketing communications public affairs market research and project management with offices in Dublin and Belfast. Duologica Corporation - Consulting in the areas of direct and interactive marketing customer management sales promotion business development and marketing operations. ESARC Trade and Promotion s.r.l. - Assisting foreign companies and organizations in doing business in Italy. Eisenberg Inc. - Develops strategic marketing solutions using direct response brand building corporate identity promotional communications and advertising. Entity Marketing Consulting - Providing advice to firms launching new products entering new markets or building visibility. Eric Shaw - Marketing consultant. European Creative Marketing - Providing business to business marketing design solutions. Evergreen Consulting Services - Develops marketing plans and strategies for industries including clean technology real estate and hospitality. Located in Fargo North Dakota. Explore Communications - Provides marketing planning and placement services including positioning brand development messaging media planning and media placement. Fortis Communications - Multi-disciplined marketing communications agency for clients and brands. Frost and Sullivan - An international marketing consulting and training company. Gabbegroup - Offers corporate strategies managing media relationships and marketing corporate identity services and products. Gang and Gang Inc. - Designs and implements programs for marketing strategy communications and training that draw on the insights from Resonance Technology. Gelb Consulting Group Inc. - Assists clients in generating market insight product innovation and marketing strategy using advanced analytical and research methodologies Gemini Communications Inc. - Specializes in business-to-business communications consulting. Go This Way - Specialized in marketing and product management consulting. Grant Consulting Associates Inc. - Marketing and management consultants to advertising agencies. Growth Partners - Business and marketing consultants for the horticulture specialty agriculture lawn and garden and turfgrass industries. Haley Brand Intelligence - Full service marketing communications for sports entertainment manufacturing aviation and aerospace. Hanson Marketing Group Inc. - Marketing tips strategies and techniques for consulting and technology firms. Henmore Marketing - Integrated marketing solutions in public relations marketing consultancy marketing communications direct marketing promotions and website design. Heweson Consulting Group - Customer management practice and the effective use of IT. High Point Communications Group Inc. - A strategic communications firm specialized in the areas of market strategy development strategic communications public relations media relations media training and presentation skills training. Holt Marketing and Management - Michigan based firm offers creative marketing solutions in areas of research strategy design advertising and sales training. Howard Marketing Services - Facilitates solutions by producing solid market results and by helping make smarter strategic marketing decisions. Hunter Lodge Marketing and Design - Full service marketing consulting design and new media development agency in north London England. ISIS International Inc. - Provides market-driven business planning creation and launch services. Idea Marketing Group - Winnipeg Manitoba firm provides market communications planning graphic design advertising and multimedia services. Ideate Inc. - Creative and strategic content developers in Massachusetts delivering advertising print Web and custom publishing solutions. Illume Marketing Group - Providing marketing and communications services including sales and marketing collateral website design presentation development event management and public relations. Images Inc. - Full service communications including marketing public relations new media advertising program development relationship management and training. Imagination - Consults on direct mail email marketing sales customer relationship management and business development. Incite Solutions - Offering solutions that help small to medium sized businesses overcome sales marketing and management challenges. Indonesian Advertising amp Multimedia - Advertising public relations PR and corporate communications services including audio video and interactive media multimedia production. Indonesian Business and Marketing Consultants - Strategic management customer service and human resources management consulting. Industry Elf Inc. - Consultancy focused on sales marketing and customer service channels. Informed Decisions Group Ltd. - Consulting services include customer relationship management customer knowledge building information technology strategy and general statistical analytical services. Insight Operations - Marketing consultants to small business in Australia. InterContinental Industries Inc. - Identifies ways to grow sales and profits. International Marketing Services Inc. - Massachusetts based international marketing and trade consulting firm. Janastar Marketing Group - Marketing and consulting group focused on ensuring product success. Jay Winer Portfolio - Independent marketing consultant offering an array of conceptual and strategic services including market analysis tactical planning and project management. Jones Lundin Beals Inc. - Specializes in advertising and marketing agency search and selection compensation and relationship management. Joshua Research Consultants - A marketing research firm in Asia Pacific. Just Ask A Woman - Strategic marketing consultancy aimed at marketing with women. Just in Time Marketing Inc. - Services include strategic planning branding and identity product launch and event planning. KLM Inc. - Specializing in strategy planning branding marketing knowledge management and optimization of intellectual capital for traditional and on-line businesses. Kannon Consulting Inc. - Strategy and marketing consulting focused on building outside-in business plans. Karbo / Fonkalsrud Communications Inc. - Focused on securing prospective customers employees and partners while increasing client company's valuation and market stature. Kid Kulture - Agency specializing in marketing to kids. Kotler Marketing Group - A global consulting company specialized in solving the challenges of marketing management. Kuczmarski amp Associates Inc. - Management consulting firm specializing in helping companies to accelerate growth through new product and service development branding positioning and marketing strategy. Lehnen Mollan amp Associates - Develops strategies for penetrating North American business-to-business markets. Lett Direct Inc. - Management consulting firm specializing in businesses using direct marketing primarily through catalogs and direct mail. Lieberman Research Worldwide - A custom market research company with a business consulting perspective. Specializing in strategy development advertising customer satisfaction new product development international and Internet research. Litchfield Morris - UK based pro-active design and project management firm. Lombardo and Associates - Consultancy specialized in direct response marketing. Loren Myers and Associates - On target solutions in marketing and communications. M amp H Communications Group - Strategic communications consultancy headquartered in Budapest Hungary. Assists foreign companies in entering eastern European markets. M1 Affinity Marketing Inc. - Provides business development marketing strategy planning and implementation support. MDRC Ltd - Undertakes an annual market assessment and conducts a number of specific market and segment reviews. MDSS Inc. - Forecasting and analytical marketing support custom database design and management. MPC Associates Limited - Marketing and management consultants with specialization in retail FMCG leisure manufacturing and import-export markets. MRC - Specialized in determining marketing direction and communication solutions. Based in the UK. MST Marketing Group - A full-service advertising agency providing research-driven integrated marketing solution. Mac McIntosh - Specializing in inquiry handling sales lead management telemarketing interactive marketing relationship marketing and marketing services outsourcing. Made-to-Market - Multi-national marketing services organization offering strategic planning market research public relations press campaigns sales promotion new media marketing advertising media planning and training. Madras Consultancy Group - Assists foreign investors who wish to enter India with market analysis research and consulting on market entry strategies. Marcus Associates LLC - Provides communications and marketing consulting services that enable clients to reach their key constituencies customers media investors strategic partners and employees. Marcus Inc. - Creates integrated business to business marketing programs including positioning PR media sales promotion multimedia web sites support programs. Marfortec - Market and business development offering support to companies developing into Europe. Marjara amp Associates - Marketing consultant and specialists in distributor network development sales agents and representative for foreign companies in India. Market amp Business Development - Ad hoc marketing consultancy assignments specializing in business to business and industrial market research. Market Insights - Consultation direct mail campaigns and monthly marketing programs. Market Strategy Associates Inc. - Formed to bring academic rigor and industry expertise to bear on the consulting facilitating and training needs of organizations. MarketBridge - US based sales and marketing professional services firm providing multi-channel solutions to Fortune 500 companies. MarketSphere Consulting - A market-focused business consulting firm with multiple USA offices. MarketSpring - Provides the marketing framework and expertise to guide clients to a high impact launch of their technology company products and promotional campaigns. Marketing - Strategy - Research - Business-to-business marketing and strategic development organisation based in the UK. Marketing Advocate Inc. - A marketing consulting publishing and technology services company. Marketing Agents South Inc. - Offering five equipment specialists that will help with specifications space requirements energy and water connections. Marketing Assistance Ltd - A research based marketing consultancy providing a wide range of services internationally. Marketing Foundations Inc. - Delivers executive marketing training programs and consulting services to corporate and not-for-profit clients in the United States Europe Asia and Africa. Marketing Matters - Public relations and marketing firm specializing in advertising and strategic planning. Marketing Nous Pty Ltd - Marketing consulting services specialising in sales and marketing for service businesses. Also offers training and seminars. Marketing On Demand - Marketing services firm located in Denver Colorado. Marketing Projects Ltd - UK based marketing and PR consultants specialising in IT. Marketing Renovations LLC - Consulting firm specializing in marketing strategy and planning communications and interactive implementations. Marketing Resources amp Results - Specializes in helping companies develop strategic marketing plans. Marketing by Dave Dolak. - A primer in marketing marketing communications and public relations complete with a discussion forum and free online marketing crash-course. MarketingHelp Inc. - Helps small and medium sized manufacturers multi-unit retailers and service firms. Minneapolis MN. Mars amp Co - An international strategy consulting firm. Mayfield Consulting - Provides marketing and sales related consulting services to companies who participate in industrial high-tech and contract manufacturing markets. McCann-Erickson Africa - A marketing communications firm with offices throughout Africa. Mecca Marketing Media - Pennsylvania based marketing and advertising consulting firm specializing in branding and services to ethnic markets. Midas Consulting - Performs competitive intelligence management and strategy consulting market research and analysis services throughout the Latin American region Spain and Portugal. Milestone Inc. - Bob Taraschi facilitates highly productive thinking workshops which generate innovative solutions ideas and approaches to business and marketing problems. Miller Direct Marketing - Tele-business and customer service consultancy based in Port Washington NY. Mira Consulting - Specializes in business development business plans industry analysis market research strategic planning market planning and operations planning. Modern Marketing Concepts - Provides business-to-business sales and marketing solutions for high-tech growth oriented companies. Mosaic Marketing Management Inc. - Marketing consulting firm for industrial and business to business companies. Mountain Dog Marketing - Professional marketing communications services for high-tech companies including marcomm strategy development and budgeting web site copywriting and press release writing. Myth - Assists with integrated marketing and advertising solutions specific to the New Zealand culture. N. Henning Zieger Marketing - Brings together organization capabilities with customer desires for increased revenue profit and customer satisfaction and an improved brand identity. NSL International - Offers a consolidated platform of knowledge expertise and skills to facilitate the launch penetration consolidation and expansion of ventures into India. Name It - Creative naming renaming and legal research company. Nancy Schwartz amp Company - Provides marketing consulting and communications services. New Century Strategies - A boutique consultancy that aims to increase business revenue by improving client's marketing and business development activities. Newground - Integrated strategic marketing facility development and employee education company serving financial services clients and technology based industries. Nexus Communications amp Consulting - Offers strategic communications products and services to public and private sector organizations. Based in Canada. Noorany Marketing Resources - Marketing strategy and project management consultant. Norris Communications - Marketing positioning and communications resource. North Star Marketing Inc. - Combining research marketing Internet and e-marketing advertising and public relations services. Northshore Developments - Specializes in e-commerce website development graphic design commercial photography multimedia presentations and print advertising and marketing. OnPoint Marketing and Promotions - Provides specialized online and offline targeted marketing strategies including special events public relations product sampling and direct to consumer. Based in San Diego California. One Brain Marketing - Provides relationship and sponsorship marketing business development and brand management consulting to a variety of business segments. Outsource Marketing LLC - Provides strategic marketing planning and project implementation. OzVox Media - Australian Internet marketing consultants. PM and Partner Marketing Consulting - A specialised international firm for marketing consulting. Pansy Shell Communication - International marketing and press communication for trade shows and exhibitors. Based in Paris. Parker Design Consultants - Offers targeted communications including advertising and brochures direct mail websites and newsletters. Passage Events and Promotions - Seattle based firm specialized in targeted product exposure for special events and field marketing programs. Pendragon Consultants Ltd. - UK based firm specialized in promoting a message to the audience it is intended to reach. Pile and Company - Management consultants helping advertisers in the selection of their marketing communications agency. Provides agency evaluations and media assessment. Pistritto and Company - Sales and marketing consultancy. Platform Communications Group Ltd. - Provides business development and strategic marketing assistance to companies wishing to develop their business prospects throughout the Asia Pacific region. Play - Creative consultancy for brands products leadership culture and strategy. Point 42 LLC - Provides branding and customer acquisition and retention solutions. Prime Resource Group Inc. - Management consulting firm focused on sales and marketing management and performance. Products2Market - Innovative product marketing product strategy and sales consulting. Proformica Marketing Consulants - Offer advisory services within marketing strategies business development and web design. Based in Karlstad Sweden with representation in Vietnam. Promoidea S.L. - Sales promotion company in Spain. Promoting Public Causes Inc. - A marketing and communications consulting firm dedicated to advancing the charitable efforts of corporations nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Propage - Provides marketing planning and implementation throughout the US and Canada. Provident Partners - Helps align market needs and client value propositions. Punta Linea Communications - Offers integrated creative communication concepts and strategies. Offices in the UK Belgium and the Netherlands. Quantum Sales amp Marketing Services Ltd. - Helps organizations operating in the business-to-business sector to increase sales and profitability by leading a program of sales improvements. Based in the UK. Raine Media - Consulting services firm that focuses on the creation of profitable growth for clients. Information on core competencies model and methodology and white papers and research along with contact information. Real World Marketing - Marketing communications strategy and execution including website design Powerpoint presentations sales and training materials and package design. Reality Marketing Associates - Based in Vancouver BC. Provides marketing consulting and services including research advertising and design. Reingold Inc. - Focused on creative solutions in strategic planning capacity building marketing advertising and communications. Reliable Growth LLC - Trains businesses to find and acquire profitable new customers. Revelation Productions - Australian advertising and marketing consultant. Ries and Ries - Marketing strategy firm. Roi Team Consultant - Assisting clients to avoid finding new solutions for each new situation. SMP - UK based marketing communications agency specializing in branding sales promotion advertising and direct marketing. SabreMark Inc. - Consulting in areas of strategic planning corporate identity Internet marketing sales systems and training promotion and communications. Sandra Beckwith - Specializes in publicity and gender differences. Fairport New York. Savvy Communications - A full service marketing organization which has worked extensively in the natural products and wine industries. Serendipity Group - A full-service marketing consulting firm. Shanghai Direct - Market entry sales and distribution consulting service for the China market. Specializing in consumer products and business education. Shere Marketing - Marketing strategy and marketing communications group offering corporate and product branding public relations website development online marketing and social networking direct marketing advertising exhibition and presentation services to support business objectives. Simon Holt Marketing Services - Provides consultancy and service in all areas of the marketing mix. Based in the UK Sojo Inc. - Offering a range of business services including e-business strategies strategic marketing public relations and advertising. Source Communications - Offers a selection of services programs and products to help companies align themselves with profitable customers. Start Spark Communications - Provides strategic marketing planning web design and communications services to businesses and non-profits. Stelzner Consulting - Specializing in high technology marketing including corporate identity copywriting advertising research and web design. StepChanging - Helps organizations with operational solutions to marketing and team effectiveness challenges. Stephen Brockelman - Offering free consultation and fee-based creative solutions for marketing advertising and promotional campaigns. Stevens and Stevens LLC - Services include marketing strategy development brand image and website development. Strategic Solutions Management Consultants - Marketing programs and business information gathering systems. StreetMaker Inc. - Building implementing and managing business and marketing plans designed to increase revenues and build market share. Stride Associates - Assists companies of all sizes in brand development business to business marketing strategy and advertising. Synergy Complete Marketing Concepts - Canadian based business incubation and start-up business development consultancy. Taylor/Sprules Corporation - An internationally recognized strategic marketing and communications consultancy helping firms meet their business objectives. Tecmark Inc. - Focused on development administration and analysis of customer loyalty programs. The Alexander Group Inc. - Firm assists companies in achieving excellence in marketing sales and customer service execution. Located in Scottsdale AZ. The Arrow Group - Provides consulting and training services to support formulation and implementation of effective business marketing and brand strategies. The Beanstalk Group Inc. - Assists in licensing and marketing brands and trademarks worldwide. The Business Group Inc. - Specializes in the development of incentive marketing programs focused on a positive return on investment. The Content Firm - Consults with businesses about their messages and audiences and then creates content in any format required. The Eastpoint Group - Marketing firm located near Dayton Ohio. Services include video audio web site and print marketing with emphasis on Integrated Message Technology. The Forbes Consulting Group Inc. - A full service market research and market research consulting firm specializing in consumer psychology qualitative market research and quantitative data analysis The Grede Company - Marketing and strategic planning consultancy. The Hawthorne Agency - A full service marketing public relations and web site solutions firm. The Hudson River Group - A New York based consulting firm specializing in the measurement and optimization of marketing and advertising effectiveness on an ROI basis. The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. - A global marketing communications and marketing services company. The Lawson Marketing Group - A full-service marketing and interactive consultation firm based in Newport Beach CA. The Maloney Group - Marketing and management consulting firm focused on repositioning companies product launch and improving communications effectiveness. The Marketing Clinic - Offers full service marketing communications consulting to organizations and companies of all sizes. The Marketing Guild - Helping businesses gain more profit from their marketing budget. The Marketing Partnership - A marketing consultancy assisting business-to-business clients. Based on the south coast of England. The Marketing Process Company - UK firm offers expert strategic planning support to enterprises that recognize the importance of marketing planning in the strategic development of their business. The Martec Group - Offers worldwide strategic market research and consulting services. The Price Group - Consulting services focused on leadership training coaching customized training and speaking. The Rogovin Group - Helps create highly targeted cost-effective marketing and sales strategies. The Trends Research Institute - Trend forecasting delivering concise deployable success strategies to its corporate clients. The Verus Group Ltd. - Branding strategy and marketing support including full service research capabilities strategic planning and marketing consulting. Thunder Factory - Specializes in closing sales and driving revenues by offering integrated marketing strategy and execution communications agency capabilities and management consulting to improve integration and efficiency of marketing operations. Tinderhouse Communications - Provides full service integrated online communication solutions for businesses in the UK. Toolbox Marketing - London based consultancy also offers copywriting planning project management and training. Total Quality Image - UK communications consultancy offers systems for communicating a common approach to corporate culture and quality. Traffic - Provides strategy and guidance to solve marketing problems and achieve goals. Travers Collins Partners - A strategic minded marketing communications firm located in Buffalo NY. Traversant Communications - A full service PR marketing and design firm specializing in flexible strategic results-oriented integrated marketing campaigns. Unit 7 - Specializing in strategic consulting creative media and technical services. VJ Studio - Marketing consultancy offering brand design advertising web design and Internet marketing for organizations in a variety of industries. Offices in New York and New Jersey. Venta Limited - UK based marketing consultancy delivering a package of business solutions. W. H. Bosch - Freelance business consultant located in Spain. Walker Sands Communications - Specializes in advertising marketing public relations and Internet marketing. Weber Marketing Communications - Dutch based consultancy specialized in branding and marketing process redesign for Fortune 500 companies. Webinar Resources - Managed services and demand generation solutions that deliver interactive and personalized marketing communications and driving customer acquisition. What If What Next - Marketing communications public relations and business development. Wilson Marketing Group - Business-to-business marketing consultancy. Site offers case studies publications industry and client list and areas of practice. Winnington Wolf - Design consultants for advertising packaging exhibitions web design corporate brand identity and product literature. Wise Associates - Business plan writing and consulting company specializing in business plan development and presentation. Wishful Thinking Inc. - Helps companies realize their wishes for new opportunities strategies and inspiration. Work In Motion - Consulting firm specializing in business-to-business marketing strategies and communications. Wroughtiron Communications - A technology marketing consultancy specialized in the needs of organizations that benefit from highly objective marketing strategy planning and presentation services. YTKO - An international marketing organization serving consumer corporate and high-tech clients. Young amp Associates Ltd. - Provides market and sales strategy development performance measurement forecasting and customer relationship management. ZS Associates - An international sales force and marketing consulting firm. inter/phase marketing - Brisbane based specialist marketing and research consultancy. nFusion - Marketing and consulting agency specializing in integrated marketing branding CRM and demand generation programs. " Consulting " search on AltaVista - A9 - AOL - Ask - Clusty - Gigablast - Google - Lycos - MSN - Yahoo Copyright copy 2011 Netscape Terms of Use Visit our sister sites mozilla.org ChefMoz MusicMoz Wikipedia Last update Friday February 18 2011 2 09 30 PM EST - edit Registerd User » Author Login » Staff Login Why Submit Terms of Service Wellness Article Library Travel Article Library Religion Article Library DIY Article Library Free Global Classifieds Money Article Library Relationship Article Library Sports Article Library Parenting Article Library Free Marketing Magazines YOUR SOURCE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE SALES amp MARKETING ARTICLES TUTORIALS HOW-TO REPORTS EXPERT REVIEWS AND WHITE PAPERS THAT WILL SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES AND PROFITS ... + FREE SOFTWARE TOOLS... Home Business Finance Marketing Marketing Search Marketing What is Branding Marketing Careers Public Relations Share Must Reads Breaking Into a Marketing Career First Steps to Marketing a Business Social Media Marketing 7 Day Course Mobile Marketing for the Small Business Marketing Glossary Guide since 2003 Laura Lake Marketing Guide Sign up for My Newsletter My Bio Headlines Forum Browse Topic Careers in Marketing Marketing Plan and Strategy Marketing Tools and Help Courses and Tutorials Small Business Marketing Internet Marketing Social Media Marketing Brand Marketing Public Relations Marketing Methods Target Marketing Event and Seminar Marketing Sales Training Marketing News and Blogs Statistics and Research Breaking Into Marketing Careers in Marketing Are you interested in breaking into the career field of marketing Here's how you can put your career on track. Read More Further Reading Marketing Career and Job Profiles How Do You Know if a Marketing Career is Right for You Marketing vs. Advertising What's the Difference Is a Marketing Career Right for You How do you know which position in marketing fits your personality Explore careers in marketing with me and find out which marketing job is right for you. Read More Suggested Reading Breaking Into a Marketing Career Marketing Career Profiles Share Your Marketing Career Story Marketing Spotlight 10 Different Ways to Monitor Media Coverage Monday June 20 2011 Monitoring your media could be a full-time job if you tried to scour the newspapers blogs radio and TV stations by yourself and by hand. The good news is you don't need to do that. There are three basic ways to monitor your clips hire a PR firm delegate the job or do it yourself. Learn which way is right for you in this� public relations tutorial by Guy Bergstrom - 3 Ways to Check Your Clips. Comments 0 Permalink Share Key Takeaway from Internet Retailer 2011 Sunday June 19 2011 I just returned from attending Internet Retailer 2011 in beautiful San Diego California. I'm not sure but I believe this had to be the largest Internet Retailer conference with over 7 000 people in attendance. The attendance doesn't surprise me it's one of the largest ecommerce conferences and rightly so taking into account the following predictions American online buyers will jump 15% by 2015 . Ecommerce spending is set to increase at a steady pace over the next 4 years. In 2010 we saw $188 billion dollars spent online in 2015 that number is expected to rise to $269 billion. What was the buzzword of the conference Convergence. Convergence really isn't anything new it's just a new term for what we've been calling multichannel or crosschannel. Blur the lines between online web mobile social and local marketing and traditional commerce television radio and print and you have convergence. That seemed to be the overall theme of the 2011 Internet Retailer conference. Convergence is something we've been hearing about over the last few years and something I predicted for marketing trends in 2011 so I can't say it was an epiphany moment. I found it to be just confirmation to those of us that have been in the online business for the last decade that we are moving in the right direction. We can no longer look at these two mediums as separate but rather an integrated way of getting our message to consumers and providing consumers with the best experience no matter what medium they are using to shop. As one person put it - there are no more channels - it's just commerce now. The only complaint that I have regarding the conference is they seem to be missing an advanced track. Many of the tracks seemed to be for beginners and did not produce much substance for those of us that have been in the industry for awhile. Hopefully that will change next time. Your turn Were you there If so what takeaways did you find important Connect With Laura Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Comments 0 Permalink Share Do You Need to Jumpstart Your Marketing Plan Monday June 13 2011 We are halfway through the year. Unbelievable isn't it How is the marketing plan that you created at the beginning of the year doing Are you getting the results you had hoped for If not perhaps it's time to consider creating a 90 day marketing plan . Throughout the year markets change and we need to take a second look at our marketing messages and evaluate why our marketing campaigns are working or not working. A 90 day marketing plan empowers you to focus on the immediate needs that you may be facing as a company.� It can also be a little less intimidating to work with.� If you are finding yourself struggling with marketing this may be the jump start that you need to turn things around. Connect With Laura Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Comments 0 Permalink Share Weinergate The Fall of a Promising Politician Wednesday June 8 2011 How does a random photo on Twitter become fodder for scandal that might bring down a member of Congress a man who many expected to be the next mayor of New York City � There are key differences between the kinds of mistakes that get forgiven by the press and public and the kind that don't. The two key questions are these Can you see yourself or your neighbor making that same mistake Is� the person who made this mistake a hypocrite or a sneak What can we learn from the Anthony Weiner scandal �� Learn more in the article by contributing writer Guy Bergstrom - Weinergate The Fall of a Promising Politician Connect With Laura Facebook Twitter LinkedIn http //marketing.about /od/crisis_communication/a/weiner-public-relations-scandal.htm Comments 3 Permalink Share See More Free Marketing Newsletter Sign Up Discuss in my forum Explore Marketing Must Reads Breaking Into a Marketing Career First Steps to Marketing a Business Social Media Marketing 7 Day Course Mobile Marketing for the Small Business Marketing Glossary Most Popular What is Branding and How Im... 10 Customer Service Tips Marketing vs. Sales What i... Develop a Marketing Strateg... 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