Protecting nature is an important function of government. We know that the world is not getting larger and population sizes are rising. Land is a commodity that when it is gone, or our natural environment is damaged, we can't go back and make more. Our options are to clean, protect and expand our environment whenever we can.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
U.S. ISM Factory Index Falls to a 10-Year Low
Watching the market and how it changes can tell us what to expect. The problem is that few can see through the "crystal ball" to truly determine which way the freehand will sway. It can be hard to determine whether a slow down in one area will impact other areas. In this case, it appears the experts are saying this may be just a sign of a temporary slow down. Let us keep our fingers crossed! 😧😬😢
Friday, September 13, 2019
The World Economy in a Snap Shot
You may want to check out this snap shot of what the world economy looks like. It is important to remember that this map is based on one set of criteria and if you change how the world economy is measured you change the entire map.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-86-trillion-world-economy-in-one-chart/
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-86-trillion-world-economy-in-one-chart/
Sunday, September 8, 2019
The Importance of Checking Stats for Marketing Strategy Performance
While we would all love to aim once and shoot to reach a goal often the fluid nature of the business environment does not afford such sureties. The market is always, evolving and changing by the minute. Therefore plans must change as well if they hope to be viable and successful a few years down the road. The problem is that some businesses might not know how to correct their strategies for market misalignment.
The primary way to determine if your strategies are working is through feedback. Feedback allows for decision makers to understand more about a situation through information about the performance of the product/service. Such knowledge is gained through market research, customer feedback, web page statistics, and even our competitors.
Metrics give us insight. Metric means that some type of measurement is being used in the feedback process. A metric might be how many apples your business sold or how many visitors walked through your door on any particular day. Metrics can be almost any type of measurement that is quantifiable.
When you collect multiple metrics you can use them for deeper understanding. You can also get very specific with your metrics and complete secondary analysis by taking two important metrics and determining new values. For example, store visitors and purchase volume tells you the percentage of people who frequent your store and then buy a product.
It is also possible to collect information on how much money is spent at each purchase and the total amount of purchases a day. Knowing that allows you to determine if more customer engagement or better placement of products increased the total sale amount.
I think you might be seeing my point that depending on what type of data you have available can determine what type of analysis you can complete.
Thus, if you are starting a new marketing campaign you may want to determine in advance what type of metrics you will utilize. Sometimes software can do this for you (i.e. Google Analytics) while at other times you need to calculate your own.
Use gained information to curb and adjust your strategic approaches. For example, if the metrics show that two months before Christmas your sales volume jumps 10X you may want to purchase more product in advance and hire more staff.
Here is an article by Forbes on 3 Common Metrics.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/08/22/keep-it-simple-three-marketing-metrics-to-measure-for-small-to-midsize-businesses/#273cba3c47ee
The primary way to determine if your strategies are working is through feedback. Feedback allows for decision makers to understand more about a situation through information about the performance of the product/service. Such knowledge is gained through market research, customer feedback, web page statistics, and even our competitors.
Metrics give us insight. Metric means that some type of measurement is being used in the feedback process. A metric might be how many apples your business sold or how many visitors walked through your door on any particular day. Metrics can be almost any type of measurement that is quantifiable.
When you collect multiple metrics you can use them for deeper understanding. You can also get very specific with your metrics and complete secondary analysis by taking two important metrics and determining new values. For example, store visitors and purchase volume tells you the percentage of people who frequent your store and then buy a product.
It is also possible to collect information on how much money is spent at each purchase and the total amount of purchases a day. Knowing that allows you to determine if more customer engagement or better placement of products increased the total sale amount.
I think you might be seeing my point that depending on what type of data you have available can determine what type of analysis you can complete.
Thus, if you are starting a new marketing campaign you may want to determine in advance what type of metrics you will utilize. Sometimes software can do this for you (i.e. Google Analytics) while at other times you need to calculate your own.
Use gained information to curb and adjust your strategic approaches. For example, if the metrics show that two months before Christmas your sales volume jumps 10X you may want to purchase more product in advance and hire more staff.
Here is an article by Forbes on 3 Common Metrics.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/08/22/keep-it-simple-three-marketing-metrics-to-measure-for-small-to-midsize-businesses/#273cba3c47ee
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Determine the Value of Your Product Through Price and Feature Comparision
Product value is inherent in the cost, design and utility of an item. Value is somewhat subjective because it is influence by the fluctuations in market demand. If you are selling a product and desire to to figure out its $$$ market value then you will have to do some type of market comparison. Be advised that are lots of different ways to evaluate a product and you would do well to go exploring. A simple evaluation of how your product compares to other products on the market can tell you an awful lot about its opportunities for success.
The market and what customers are willing to purchase makes a key difference in the overall ability to sell the product for a reasonable value. As those who sell products on Amazon know, if your product isn't close to the lowest then you are not likely to make a lot of sales. The instant price comparison makes differentiation between locations difficult.
You Can Compete Beyond Low Price
Most consumer gravitate toward the lowest price and others toward convenience. People who have an interest in certain features are going to keep their eyes open for them on the market and are willing to pay a premium when they find them. Determine if you are going for low price or a more value oriented approach.
Let us say that you are selling a hammer handle and claim that it is the strongest handle on the market. That will have some value to people who use and buy hammers for industrial purposes. There will also be those willing to pay more for quality because they use these hammers a lot.
One of the ways to do this is to compare products that have similar advantages to see if they are selling higher than others. You will need to benchmark the average and then see the improved price differential when compared to other hammers. Perhaps this is $3 on the market. That will give you some indication that hammers that are strong sell at a higher price range.
How do you find this online?
You can conduct your own analysis by searching around stores, Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba and other sites to see the price. You may be able to then adjust the value from this benchmark based on how it compares. If your product offers improved quality then you may want to add to the price and highlight the value.
The same type of comparison can be conducted with specific features of products. It would require a lot more information and data to complete but is beneficial for putting dollar signs to specific features. Those features have value for consumers and the market will determine how much people are willing to pay.
Be Flexible with Your Price
While you may want to start high in price and claim your product is the best it isn't likely to go far unless you can vividly show its exclusivity. Otherwise, you may follow a market entry strategy where you lower the price of your product in order to speed up production and introduce the product to the market. When demand rises you can charge a higher price in the future.
The market and what customers are willing to purchase makes a key difference in the overall ability to sell the product for a reasonable value. As those who sell products on Amazon know, if your product isn't close to the lowest then you are not likely to make a lot of sales. The instant price comparison makes differentiation between locations difficult.
You Can Compete Beyond Low Price
Most consumer gravitate toward the lowest price and others toward convenience. People who have an interest in certain features are going to keep their eyes open for them on the market and are willing to pay a premium when they find them. Determine if you are going for low price or a more value oriented approach.
Let us say that you are selling a hammer handle and claim that it is the strongest handle on the market. That will have some value to people who use and buy hammers for industrial purposes. There will also be those willing to pay more for quality because they use these hammers a lot.
One of the ways to do this is to compare products that have similar advantages to see if they are selling higher than others. You will need to benchmark the average and then see the improved price differential when compared to other hammers. Perhaps this is $3 on the market. That will give you some indication that hammers that are strong sell at a higher price range.
How do you find this online?
You can conduct your own analysis by searching around stores, Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba and other sites to see the price. You may be able to then adjust the value from this benchmark based on how it compares. If your product offers improved quality then you may want to add to the price and highlight the value.
The same type of comparison can be conducted with specific features of products. It would require a lot more information and data to complete but is beneficial for putting dollar signs to specific features. Those features have value for consumers and the market will determine how much people are willing to pay.
Be Flexible with Your Price
While you may want to start high in price and claim your product is the best it isn't likely to go far unless you can vividly show its exclusivity. Otherwise, you may follow a market entry strategy where you lower the price of your product in order to speed up production and introduce the product to the market. When demand rises you can charge a higher price in the future.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Marketing Communication Strategies
Communication is one of our most fundamental roles in life. We communicate all the time without even knowing it. From subtle facial expressions to long-winded rhetorical prose we are expressing a need in the world. Marketing is about offering solutions to those needs. Reaching the audience that needs those solutions occurs through the marketing channel. Having an integrated marketing approach with a strong mix has the potential to improve sales multi-fold.
You have a great product, know your customer and know which channels to use. You know that your core customer base has a problem so you are designing an advertising campaign so that it highlights the problem solving features of your product.
To gain the most exposure you want to reach your target audience by using three different channels. Each channel will have its own advertisement. While you want each advertisement to be different they should highlight the same core features of the product.
A few considerations for you before you get started....
1. Multi-channel marketing works well when there are central brand features that apply across all of them.
2. Each advertisements should focus specifically on the audience it intends to reach. The greater alignment between the advertisement and message, the more likely sales will occur.
3. Keep your messages simple so consumers don't get confused across channels.
4. Be aware that each channel has a slightly different audience.
5. Subtle meanings and pictures can change the intended message.
6. The technology consumers use will change how the information is seen.
You have a great product, know your customer and know which channels to use. You know that your core customer base has a problem so you are designing an advertising campaign so that it highlights the problem solving features of your product.
To gain the most exposure you want to reach your target audience by using three different channels. Each channel will have its own advertisement. While you want each advertisement to be different they should highlight the same core features of the product.
A few considerations for you before you get started....
1. Multi-channel marketing works well when there are central brand features that apply across all of them.
2. Each advertisements should focus specifically on the audience it intends to reach. The greater alignment between the advertisement and message, the more likely sales will occur.
3. Keep your messages simple so consumers don't get confused across channels.
4. Be aware that each channel has a slightly different audience.
5. Subtle meanings and pictures can change the intended message.
6. The technology consumers use will change how the information is seen.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Using Channels to Determine Pricing Strategy
Pricing is an important part of selling products and services. Select a price too high and your product sales slack while if you are too low you can increase sales but with the risk of long-term damage to the brand. Evaluating price can get complex when we consider the multiple ways pricing strategies determine value. Common evaluation include cost, comparison, and value offered. Few people think of how the channel can have a serious impact on total price. Taking into account the channel and the target you hope to reach, it is possible to further tweak your price outcomes.
Why must you have a pricing strategy?
As a business owner you want to ensure that you are putting yourself in the most lucrative spot for maximizing your wealth. All businesses evaluate the work of their offerings in some way. For small business it might be relatively simple but for large businesses it can be increasingly complex. Having some type of strategy helps you limit your own bias while improving accuracy.
How does the channel influence strategy?
The marketing channel you use should be based on our core customer demographic. First research your customer and then find your channel. The core group of purchasers within this channel will be the one who determine your value. Such customers already are interested in the product and would raise its value. The rest of society doesn't matter much if they don't make purchases. Thus, product value and customer profile and channel influence each other.
What is the value of a product?
The value of a product is its relative worth to the consumer. Its not only about money because money is only an indirect measure of value. Instead, think of value in terms of its use to the people who need it. If it has no use or is abundant (or scarce) the value will change. A products core value is more associated with its functional value while relative value is more associated with market factors.
There is no perfect way to evaluate a product. What you essentially want to answer is "what are my customers willing to pay for this product so I can earn a profit?" The low cost option isn't always the best option. At times it may make sense to raise your value through other means such as warranties and add ons.
Why must you have a pricing strategy?
As a business owner you want to ensure that you are putting yourself in the most lucrative spot for maximizing your wealth. All businesses evaluate the work of their offerings in some way. For small business it might be relatively simple but for large businesses it can be increasingly complex. Having some type of strategy helps you limit your own bias while improving accuracy.
How does the channel influence strategy?
The marketing channel you use should be based on our core customer demographic. First research your customer and then find your channel. The core group of purchasers within this channel will be the one who determine your value. Such customers already are interested in the product and would raise its value. The rest of society doesn't matter much if they don't make purchases. Thus, product value and customer profile and channel influence each other.
What is the value of a product?
The value of a product is its relative worth to the consumer. Its not only about money because money is only an indirect measure of value. Instead, think of value in terms of its use to the people who need it. If it has no use or is abundant (or scarce) the value will change. A products core value is more associated with its functional value while relative value is more associated with market factors.
There is no perfect way to evaluate a product. What you essentially want to answer is "what are my customers willing to pay for this product so I can earn a profit?" The low cost option isn't always the best option. At times it may make sense to raise your value through other means such as warranties and add ons.
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