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Competitive Analysis




Business takes place in a highly competitive, volatile environment, so it is important to understand the competition. Questions like these can help:
Who are your five nearest direct competitors?
Who are your indirect competitors?
Is their business growing, steady, or declining?
What can you learn from their operations or advertising?
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
How does their product or service differ from yours?
Start a file on each of your competitors; include advertising, promotional materials, and pricing strategies. Review these files periodically, determining how often they advertise, sponsor promotions, and offer sales. Study the copy used in the advertising and promotional materials and their sales strategies.

What to Address in Your Competitor Analysis

Names of competitors: List all of your current competitors and research any that might enter the market during the next year.
Summary of each competitor's products: This should include location, quality, advertising, staff, distribution methods, promotional strategies, customer service, etc.
Competitors' strengths and weaknesses: List their strengths and weaknesses from the customer's viewpoint. State how you will capitalize on their weaknesses and meet the challenges represented by their strengths.
Competitors' strategies and objectives: This information might be easily obtained by getting a copy of their annual report. It might take the analysis of many information sources to understand competitors' strategies and objectives.
Strength of the market: Is the market for your product growing sufficiently so there are enough customers for all players?
Ideas for Gathering Competitive Information

Internet: The Internet is a powerful tool for finding information on a variety of topics.
Personal visits: If possible, visit your competitors' locations. Observe how employees interact with customers. What do their premises look like? How are their products displayed and priced?
Talk to customers: Your sales staff is in regular contact with customers and prospects, as is your competition. Learn what your customers and prospects are saying about your competitors.
Competitors' ads: Analyze competitors' ads to learn about their target audience, market position, product features, benefits, prices, etc.
Speeches or presentations: Attend speeches or presentations made by representatives of your competitors.
Trade show displays: View your competitor's display from a potential customer's point of view. What does their display say about the company? Observing which specific trade shows or industry events competitors attend provides information on their marketing strategy and target market.
Written sources: Use general business publications, marketing and advertising publications, local newspapers and business journals, industry and trade association publications, industry research and surveys, and computer databases (available at many public libraries).
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Branding Your Company from the Inside Out
Dr. Deborah Kearney Job Smart System - Founder

I have seen it happen excessively often at the companies I work with. The snappy new "way to do business " is introduced like a new program of management techniques or software with new pieces of equipment. This all is brainstormed at HQ, managers climb aboard, mission statements are written. The big bucks are approved, managers get committed, and the vendors get giddy. And the band plays on. Even sales people may prematurely start throwing words around like "first and best ". Customers get excited. Continuing down the path of change, the pace quickens. There may be an expectation that new ads should be developed. The marketing department gets frantic, the program soars with expectation on to the new millennium. Dreams rise with hope and then…klunk, it inexplicably fails miserably. Brows gets knitted, fingers get pointed, and usually, some consultant is blamed since upper management can’t be. Wherein management at all levels learn the grim reality of Kearney's Seventh Law of "change management ": “whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly distributed”.

The truth is that when most management changes fail, neither the product nor program was wrong, nor was the customer uninterested. The real reason is that managers (or vendors) overlooked the first commandment of change that is marketing change internally first! The employee is your first customer. New policies, promotions, special events tank when managers and vendors fail to first brand the program internally to the specifically related competencies of employee job demands. The employee is your first customer. Prove the concept to them in the "change face off "before rolling it out externally to your customers. Call it “employee branding” if you will; recognizing the value of employees in helping a company properly manage itself is a strong position It is still employees who market products one by one and reinforce brand messages with every action they take in production or service.

The antidote? Successful "change " for your customers with external marketing programs is the result of successfully marketing internally first. “Sell” every current or planned promotion, new policy or procedure—no matter how big or small--to your employees with the same zeal, enthusiasm and detail of an advertising agency trying to land a large account. In fact, here’s a few strategies and tactics that can help your team embrace your next new program, promotion, policy or procedure...

“So What and Who Cares?” is your first challenge. How many GMs, managers and employees reading this article have walked into "rah rah "meetings with employees where employees are made to feel like they are invited into the banquet hall to clean up because the party is already over. Staffs have often told me how they really feel. "All of a sudden we are invited into the wedding tent and we don't even know who we are getting married to? Our new partner just showed up one Monday morning from a vendor or HQ without explanation or context. Has this happened at your facility? Or maybe the Home Office excites the GMs about a partnership with a manufacture that is going to solve all your production problems. That’s a great start but the follow through is how change happens. When home Office fails to supply managers with a toolbox of tactics on how to educate, excite and execute new management programs with a new r product or service, teams get confused and can't product. Do not blame the team. If they haven’t caught it, you haven’t taught it.


Change does not happen at the top. It starts at the survivors level. Right down to the custodial staff. Pre-shift meetings must occur and be married to change management. I’ve designed over 70 change management programs in the last 15 years for organizations. And if you are planning on trying one on that involves employee change, remember two things. First, you will get the best results when each change component is introduced every 30 days for 30 days at a time (the “short attention span” syndrome). Second, the truth is that the majority of employees who are accountable for implementing change do not even begin to become effective until after 56 days. It takes 28 days to change a habit and 28 more to have a new one become routine. So, be sure and emphasize the changes and expectations daily in your pre-shift meetings. This will get you the maximum effort and interest in your program for all four weeks. Give all squeaky wheels the grease. Communication is its own reward talking then listening.

Keep it simple. Communicate clearly. Strategy cannot be executed if it cannot be understood. It cannot be understood if it cannot be described. Remember pictures first, then your story, listening is third. Feedback is key.



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Brand Yourself Silly

What exactly is a brand and what does it do for your biz? These simple insights will help you develop your own.

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does "branding" mean? How does it affect a small business like yours?
Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can't be both, and you can't be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials--all of which should integrate your logo--communicate your brand.

Brand Strategy & Equity

Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy, too.

Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product--and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it's not just the shoe's features that sell the shoe.



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Defining Your Brand

Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:
What is your company's mission?
What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?
Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think they think. Know what they think.

Because defining your brand and developing a brand strategy can be complex, consider leveraging the expertise of a nonprofit small-business advisory group or a Small Business Development Center.

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.

Write down your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.

Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business--how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.

Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.

Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.


Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.

Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.

Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

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All Industries Are Candidates For Our Internet Services

Category Browser

Arts & Entertainment
Art Galleries CDs & Records Movie Theaters Nightclubs

Automotive
Car Dealers Car Parts Car Repair Truck Dealers

Business & Professional Services
Copying Services Employment Agencies Labs Office Supplies

Clothing & Accessories
Clothing Stores Jewelers Shoe Stores

Community & Government
Child Care Churches Government Offices Post Offices

Computers & Electronics
Computer Dealers Internet Services Televisions

Construction & Contractors
Building Contractors Construction Materials Electricians Plumbers

Education
Colleges & Universities Driver Training, Elementary & Secondary Education.

Food & Dining
Coffee Shops Grocery Stores, Liquor Stores Restaurants
Health & Medicine
Dentists Drug Stores Hospitals Physicians

Home & Garden
Furniture Home Improvement Pet Shops

Industry & Agriculture
Farms Importers Machine Shops

Legal & Financial
Attorneys Banks Insurance Tax Return Preparation

Media & Communications
Advertising Cell Phone Companies Publishers

Personal Care & Services
Beauty Salons, Cosmetics Health Clubs

Real Estate
Agents Apartments Mortgages

Shopping
Books Department Stores Florists Toys

Sports & Recreation
Campgrounds Golf Courses Sporting Goods

Travel & Transportation
Car Rental Hotels Moving & Storage Travel Agents





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Language tags or phrases have the potential to provide a warm feeling to clients and their clients who communicate with non-English languages. A personal touch expresses opportunity and the potential for partnership.

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Press Release Section

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Check this idea list for ways to turn any biz event into newsworthy info that will catch an editor's eye. Pull out all the stops ...

Internet Happy?

It's a well-known fact that a company's visibility will increase with powerful publicity. After all, publicity aims to bring the news of your company to the world. The basic weapons you'll need to do this include a press kit, a company background piece, press releases, story ideas and articles or columns about your business. The most important of all, though, is the press release.

If you're wondering what exactly should be covered in a press release, think along the lines of "newsy" and interesting topics. Examples include: your online presence; important information and tools regarding a change in management or the business components you offer; special information that can be obtained online; any proprietary product or methodology that you offer through your consulting services; the announcement of articles, events and appearances; relevant worksheets, tips and techniques; and so on.


A publicity campaign that uses press releases should begin with a master plan. The more newsworthy you make your company, the more coverage you'll get. And coverage is important because it earns the kind of credibility that advertising just can't buy. When writing a press release, your goals should be uniqueness, timeliness and top-of-the-mind awareness. Once you achieve publicity and visibility, both your company profile and your client and prospect levels will rise. One successful story about your company resulting in free publicity is advertising worth hundreds and thousands of dollars.
There is definitely a knack to writing a "newsworthy" press release, even though the ultimate goals are usually awareness and promotion. Editors don't like promotion, though, so crafting a press release to appeal to an editor is key. If you provide reporters with news that appeals to their readers, you'll gain instant credibility and be on your way to forming a valuable promotional relationship. This can be very powerful from a marketing point of view.

There's no guarantee that any press release will ever be published, but by taking a consistent, professional and newsworthy approach with the reputable editors of respected publications, the probability is good that you'll get some coverage. Press releases are also great vehicles for communicating with clients and prospects. Putting them on your Web site is a very effective means of promoting to your captive markets. It also further substantiates your marketing efforts, as well as your credibility.

If you're not sure about what you should cover in a press release, consider these ideas to see if any apply to your business:

1. Starting a new business

2. Introducing a new product

3. Celebrating an anniversary

4. Announcing a restructuring of the company

5. Offering an article series for publishing

6. Opening up branch or satellite offices

7. Receiving an award

8. Receiving an appointment

9. Participating in a philanthropic event

10. Introducing a unique strategy/approach

11. Announcing a partnership

12. Changing the company or product name

13. Earning recognition of the company, product or executives by a publication

14. Announcing that you're available to speak on particular subjects of interest

15. Issuing a statement of position regarding a local, regional or national issue


16. Announcing a public appearance on television, radio or in person

17. Launching a website

18. Announcing free information available

19. Announcing that you've reached a major milestone

20. Obtaining a new, significant customer

21. Expanding or renovating the business

22. Establishing a unique vendor agreement

23. Meeting some kind of unusual challenge or rising above adversity

24. Restructuring your business or its business model

25. Setting up a customer advisory group

26. Announcing the results of research or surveys you have conducted

27. Announcing that an individual in your business has been named to serve in a leadership position in a community, professional or charitable organization

28. Sponsoring a workshop or seminar

29. Making public statements on future business trends or conditions

30. Forming a new strategic partnership or alliance

Of course, these are just a few ideas to get you started. Just remember this: If a press release is well-written, almost any event can be turned into news.
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'CI' Corporate Identity

In marketing, a corporate identity or "CI" is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives, and is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks

Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organizational philosophy which is manifest in a distinct corporate culture - the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy. (Balmer, 1995).
In general, this amounts to a logo (logotype and/or logogram) and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand.

Many companies, such as McDonald's and Electronic Arts have their own identity that runs through all of their products and merchandise. The trademark "M" logo and the yellow and red appears consistently throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for an identity that is extremely distinguishable, so it can appeal more to its targeted audience.

Corporate Identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts;


Corporate Design (logos, uniforms, etc.)

Corporate Communication (commercials, public relations, informations, etc.)

Corporate Behavior (Internal values, norms, etc.)


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Competitive Intelligence

What is competitive intelligence? How does competitive intelligence fit into the strategic planning process? What is the role of knowledge management and how does it relate to competitive intelligence? Is competitor analysis identical to competitive intelligence? How can competitive intelligence become part of a corporate intranet strategy? How do we train our employees to beware of corporate espionage and protect our intellectual property? Do the companies we compete with engage in competitive intelligence on us and what is the effectiveness of their competitive intelligence process? How do we measure the effectiveness of our own CI process?

The question of what Competitive Intelligence (CI) consists of is not as necessary to understanding its importance in business than understanding a bigger and more important question -- why do some firms in an industry win and achieve hegemony where others, often with superior resources, fail

In short, CI is the purposeful and coordinated monitoring of your competitor(s), wherever and whoever they may be, within a specific marketplace... Your "competitors" are those firms which you consider rivals in business, and with whom you compete for market share. CI also has to do with determining what your business rivals WILL DO before they do it. Strategically, to gain foreknowledge of your competitor's plans and to plan your business strategy to countervail their plans. As you might expect, this will involve many methods at the tactical collection level, but it will also require integration into your existing information infrastructure, analysis and distribution of the information, and finally, the calculation of business decisions on the grounds of that information and the analysis of same. This is the "intelligence" part of the formula.



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Most of the value-added in manufacturing or product companies is created by knowledge-based service activities such as research and development, marketing research, product design, customer service, advertising, or distribution. Winning firms are organizations that most successfully master the business issues critical to their performance, and develop the most precise understanding of definitions of value and creation of value. Competitive advantage has a lot to do with leveraging the knowledge assets of the firm, while at the same time determining how competitors are likely to leverage theirs.

The goals of this explanation are many:

Adopt a strategic approach to the use of competitive intelligence; to see the intelligence function as an integral part of strategy formulation

Show how competitive intelligence is used by firms to achieve competitive advantage

Examine the process, the tools, and the output of CI

A Fortune 500 company survey showed 55 percent make use of competitive information in composing business strategy. Each firm is a leader in its industry and each firm knows its enemies.

Companies and industries prosper through improvements in competitiveness, leveraging core competencies, and competitive intelligence is at the core of the objective of improving competitive advantage.

Competitive intelligence is the core of competitive strategy

Why do evidently great organizations with great products, wise managers, and other successful strengths, go out of business?
Economies of scale, the foundation on which big companies have based their dominance in the Industrial Era, is no longer an advantage. Changes in information technology, in the financial system, in just-in-time production techniques, and in the rise of companies offering distribution and support systems which previously only the largest companies could afford -- removing the advantages of being big. The diseconomies of scale - overhead, inflexibility -- are becoming increasingly powerful.
Value Of Competitive Intelligence

Here are just a few of the questions firms ask themselves when implementing a CI program:

How do we most usefully define the company's mission, its strategic intentions, its objectives and its strategic choices?

What do we need to know to develop and to select strategies which are not only successful, but sustainable?

What new products should we build and which markets should we enter and how?

How do we implement our competitive strategy?

Whatever strategic framework the firm chooses to embrace for the management of its business, no one element remains more fundamental to competitive strategy than competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence is more concerned with doing the right thing, than doing the thing right.

The goal of a competitor analysis is to develop a profile of the nature of strategy changes each competitor might make, each competitor's possible response to the range of likely strategic moves other firms could make, and each competitor's likely reaction to industry changes and environmental shifts that might take place. Competitive intelligence should have a single-minded objective -- to develop the strategies and tactics necessary to transfer market share profitably and consistently from specific competitors to the company.

A firm which does not rigorously monitor and analyze key competitors is poorly-equipped to compose and deploy effective competitive strategy and this approach leaves the firm and its markets vulnerable to attack. The basis for CI revolves around decisions made by managers about the positioning of a business to maximize the value of the capabilities that distinguish it from its competitors. Failure to collect, analyze and act upon competitive information in an organized fashion can lead to the failure of the firm itself.

What then is competitive intelligence? How do we define it? In what ways does it differ from market research? How is it used to make companies more competitive? Who needs competitive intelligence? How is it managed? How is it produced? How should competitive intelligence be used? By whom? What are its costs? Where does competitive intelligence fit within the strategic management system of the firm? What are the measurable "bottom line" benefits for managers and their organizations?

The Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, emphasized the need for CI: "Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move, and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men, is foreknowledge".

The upside of successfully predicting a competitor's future plans are apparent; as are the consequences of making business decisions based on information that is faulty.

Competitive intelligence is usually composed of five major areas of endeavor, and is performed under three main approaches in the CI framework:

assessment of strategies

competitor perceptions

effectiveness of current operations

competitor capabilities

long-term market prospects

Strategic intelligence is concerned mainly with competitor analysis or gaining an understanding of a competitor's future goals, current strategy, assumptions held about itself and the industry, and capabilities -- diagnostic components. Intelligence about the firm's major customers, suppliers and partners (in marketing or research and development alliances) is often also of strategic value.

Tactical intelligence is generally operational and on a smaller-scale, not so centered on being predictive. Tactical issues include competitors' terms of sale, their price policies and the plans they have for changing the way in which they differentiate one or more of their products from yours. Middle-level marketing and sales managers number among some of the main users of tactical intelligence. They want to know how to win the day, today.

Counter intelligence is defending company secrets. Every firm has competitors as interested in knowing your plans as you are in knowing theirs, maybe even more so. Often, this area of endeavor will involve security and information technology, but others are often overlooked, such as hiring and firing strategies, to contain competitor opportunities within the firm.

Competitive intelligence is the determination of solutions to these principle factors and determinants of ongoing competitive advantage:

What is the basis of competition

Where the firm competes

Who does the competitor compete against

How does the firm compete

CI is focused on decision making

Seldom do people realize that business, just like life is merely a series of decisions. And global firms have a growing need for the necessary information on which to base decisions concerning the conduct and development of each of their firm's strategic objectives, and the protection of their organizations against threats from their competitors.

Purpose & Role of Intelligence in Business

Intelligence is both a process and a product -- an analytical process that transforms tumultuously gathered competitor and market information into actionable knowledge about competitors' capabilities, intentions, performance, and position; as well as the final product of that process.

The focus of market research tends to be on the problems associated with the profitable marketing of a firm's products and services. The scope of competitive intelligence is far broader. Competitive intelligence is a value-added concept that layers over the top of business development, market research and strategic planning.

The research objectives of a competitive intelligence project will often involve issues such as: the manufacturing capabilities of the competitor; analysis of alliances and/or joint ventures entered into by competitors; the competitor's future plans and strategies for specific markets, or product lines; reasons behind changes in the corporate or business unit strategy, et cetera.

In today's global enterprise, CI happens at two levels -- corporate and business unit. Corporate strategy concerns two different questions: what businesses the corporation should be in and how the corporate office should manage the array of business units. And, competitive strategy is concerned with how to create competitive advantage in each of the businesses in which a company competes based upon core competencies.

The Cycle of Competitive Intelligence

The CIA describes the intelligence cycle as "the process by which raw information is acquired, gathered, transmitted, evaluated, analyzed and made available as finished intelligence for policymakers to use in decision-making and action." There are five steps which constitute this cycle:

planning and direction

collection and research

processing and storage

analysis and production

dissemination and delivery

There are seven questions to be answered prior to making investment decisions in CI:

what do we need to know?

what do we already know?

why do we need to know it?

when do we need to know it?

what will we do with the intelligence once we have it?

what will it cost to get it?

what could it cost not to get it?

CI's Final Product

The product of the intelligence cycle, is evaluated information. It is finished intelligence, packaged in a format appropriate as much to the intelligence itself, as it is to the customer for the intelligence, the decision-maker.

In practice, the intelligence product is unlikely to be created from perfect input. We cannot truly and accurately predict the future until events have already taken place and it's too late. The firm finds itself in a position where it can only react to the competitor's move; it has lost the advantage it might have had if the right intelligence had been available earlier. So, although we can't know for certain the minutiae associated with exact details, we can discover plans and roughly-hewn strategies.

CI's real value is to provide managers with the organizational tool to learn what the competitor will do, not what the competitor has already done.

Ethics and ethical behavior are concerns here and since the area is usually perceived as positive to a company's reputation and competitiveness, it would not be useful for a firm to undertake its intelligence activities without regard to ethical or legal considerations. Everything a firm needs to know about the competition can be obtained by legally available means. The cost of stepping over the line -- into the black -- are far too severe, and unnecessary.

What are the bottom line benefits of CI? Improved market knowledge, improved cross-functional relationships in the organization, greater confidence in making strategic plans, and improvements in product quality versus the competition. In short, better business performance through doing things better.
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Your Web Site


Your web site is like a mall, and like a mall it needs to be designed intelligently so that it will perform efficiently. You'll need a steady stream of visitors dropping in and browsing around, searching and shopping, and returning every so often for more of your offerings. To accomplish this you'll need to start thinking about pathways and portals. Just Ask.

Web Considerations

We've spent the past few years studying online image, branding, commerce ... and tried to determine the requirements for a business to profit online. We've evaluated literally thousands of websites and eCommerce solutions and have identified key elements that contribute to the online success of any business. To implement these elements effectively will require a marketing fulfillment budget of as little [$7.91 per day for the first year & $1.61 per day year two and on]. We've found that these elements are absolutely necessary if you want your site to bring in profits:

Memorable: The website must be professional and memorable. You never get a second chance to make a first impression on the internet.

Integration: Graphics & written content must be synergistically married to the technical elements.

Compelling Content: The wording within the site must grab the potential buyer's attention by hitting their hot buttons. Then, their interest in the site must be engaged, raising the chances of them actually buying something. Call to Action Response

Security: The eCommerce platform must use state-of-the-art encryption and security features. It must look and feel secure so the customer feels safe enough to provide confidential financial and personal information and buy from the merchant.

Fair Shipping: Shipping charges must be calculated using zip code point-to-point calculation; so that the consumer doesn't feel ripped off with a flat rate shipping charge.

Registration: The website must be properly registered.

High Search Engine Rankings: The site must have "first page" search engine rankings based on client participation in a professionally managed Search Engine Marketing campaign.

Wow-ness: The website must have elements of purpose—the site needs to feel welcoming, inviting and functional. It needs to have "hot button" oriented headlines that keep people emotionally involved while they are visiting as well as after they leave the site.

FREE Offer: The website can have some kind of FREE offer allowing the business to obtain contact information for follow up sales activities.

User Friendliness: The sales platform must be pleasing to the consumer. It's got to be easy to understand, simple to use, and secure. This develops customer confidence, which leads them to a buying mode.

Quality Traffic Volume: Marketing must drive lots of quality traffic to the site.

Product Guarantee: A bold product and service guarantee must be readily visible.

E-Mail Follow-up: The business should know how to utilize opt-in e-mail lists so it can follow up effectively with site visitors and generate new business.

Product Logic Engine: For E-commerce sites ... The site should have a logic engine that automatically recommends products that complement the product that a visitor is currently purchasing. This helps increase the total sale amount.

Strategic Marketing: Both tactical and strategic "traditional" marketing initiatives should be used to promote the site and to help drive qualified traffic to the website.

Hopper System: Must set up a "Hopper System" that cultivates prospective "not- yet-buyers" PLUS continually communicates value-added information to actual purchasers, thus helping to create customer loyalty and repeat business.

Web Classifieds: Implement web classified ads with an engaging headline, and associated FREE offers.

Evidence: Website must be evidence-oriented, backing up product and service claims with data proving to the customer that they would be a fool to buy elsewhere.

Complimentary Site Links: The website must utilize link exchanges with other complimentary, non-competing, but high traffic sites.

Referral System: The website must have a proactive, automated referral system in place.

Online Affiliate Portals: Must have numerous heavily marketed portals for business to come through—their own URL, plus other online affiliations with searchable, aggregate superstores where they can list their products for sale.

Systemization: The business should systematize the whole eCommerce process to minimize variation and manual error. Implementing quality improvement processes makes everything more effective, with fewer chances for costly errors.

Branding: Pictures and content spell out --- why you!

Vision, Mission, Goals & Objectives >>> Provide all parties with your business road map.

The Results of Our Five Years Of Research

After conducting this research, we spent years and tens of thousands of dollars putting together the technology, alliances, and a system that produce comprehensive, customized modualted websites that include all of the above key elements. Not only have we now deployed the system and created the alliances, we've recruited some of the nation's top marketers to consult with our clients to help you implement online marketing initiatives that bring hoards of focused, qualified traffic to your site. We've found that if a website has the above elements in place ... it is virtually guaranteed to generate incredible results.

How to Qualify Sales Prospects
When you're striving to grow your business, it's easy to get caught up chasing every lead that comes your way. But all prospects are not created equal; some are more likely than others to turn into sales.

To avoid wasting precious resources, you need to weed out the long shots and concentrate your efforts on prospects apt to yield a return on your investment of time, money and energy.

What are the key characteristics of good prospects? Simply put, a qualified prospect has three things:

A need. A highly qualified prospect needs your product now or relatively soon. For example, if you sell widgets with an average lifespan of eight years, a good prospect is someone who owns a seven-year-old widget, not someone who bought a new one last year.

A sufficient budget. A qualified prospect has the money to buy your product or service. Don't waste time pursuing someone who truly can't afford to buy what you're selling or a company that has already spent its yearly budget.

The authority to buy. A good prospect is empowered and prepared to take action. The simpler and more streamlined their decision-making process, the better your chances of closing a sale.

The following five techniques will help you distinguish good prospects from bad prospects:


Define your target market precisely. Break your market down by demographics, geography, industry, company size, budget or other relevant criteria. This will let you focus on the prospects that closely match your target.
Assess need, budget and buying authority. Ask basic qualifying questions that will help you determine whether a prospect is ready, willing and able to buy, such as:
What's your time frame for this project?
Who else will be involved in making the decision?
What's your budget for this type of product?
How will you make your decision?
Are you ready to buy if you find the right product?
If you determine that our service meets your needs, what will your next step be?
Go for "no." Conventional sales wisdom says that as long as a prospective customer hasn't said "no," then the sale is still alive. But when it comes to rating prospects, you should push for a decision, even if it's no. Better to learn sooner rather than later that the odds of closing a sale are slim.
Evaluate financial or business status. Creditworthy prospects are preferable to high-risk customers. And stable prospects are better than those in crisis or flux. A company that is merging, downsizing or shifting its core business, for example, may be inclined to put off buying decisions.
Develop a grading system. Rate prospects as hot, warm, lukewarm or cold, or by a letter grade, based on the probability of closing a sale. Concentrate on hot prospects, and upgrade or downgrade the others as their circumstances change.


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A Strategic Sales Plan è Elementary Plan

A Sales Plan Defined
Our sales plan should be short, simple and to the point. It's basically our strategic and tactical plan for acquiring new business, growing our existing book of business and making and/or exceeding our sales quota within our sales territory. Typically, a healthy mix would include 75 percent of your sales quota from new business and 25 percent of your quota from add-on business from your existing customers.

There are four basic parts of a sales plan:

1. New business acquisition strategies

2. New business acquisition tactics

3. Existing business growth strategies

4. Existing business growth tactics

Before you start, you need to get a handle on some definitions:

· Sales quota: This critical element of your plan sets the tempo of your efforts throughout the year and provides quarterly, monthly, weekly and even daily sub-goals for you to achieve.

· Sales territory: Refers to the geographic area, list of named accounts or specific market niche you have been assigned to in which you are to sell your products, services and solutions.

· Strategies: The plan necessary to accomplish your goal.

· Tactics: The steps necessary to carry out the plan.

New Business Acquisition Strategies and Tactics
Include the following four strategies in your sales plan. Remember, these strategies are all designed to capture new customers and new market share. Important note: The strategies are numbered and the tactics are italicized.

1. Exceed my quota.

· Send no less than 50 letters of introduction to new prospects each week.

· Make no less than 50 cold calls of introduction to new prospects each week.

· Make no less than 20 face-to-face contacts with new prospects each week.

· Create no less than 10 proposals each week.

· Make no less than five presentations each week.

Important note: Your numbers will, of course, vary. What's important here is that you calculate exactly how many contacts you'll need to make in order to achieve your sales quota.

2. Increase awareness in the marketplace of my products, services and solutions.

· Join and participate in no less than three professional associations and organizations that my best prospects and customers belong to.

· Attend any and all trade shows and conventions that my best prospects and customers attend.

· Purchase the mailing list of these associations and organizations and send either a postcard or a letter of introduction.

· On a regular basis, contribute articles and white papers that address the interests and concerns of this population.

3. Increase awareness in the community of my products, services and solutions.

· Attend all Chamber of Commerce networking events.

· Volunteer to speak at no less than 12 various organizations in my territory that have an interest in my product, service and solutions.

· Volunteer my time at three nonprofit organizations.

· Join and participate in no less than three networking groups.

4. Obtain referrals from all my new customers.

· Within 30 days of delivering my product, service or solution, I will ask each of my new customers for at least three names and phone numbers of someone they personally know who may have a use for my products, services and solutions.



The Elements of a Successful Sales Plan

Existing Customer Business Strategies and Tactics
Include the following two strategies in your sales plan. Remember, these strategies are designed to capture high-margin, add-on business from your existing customers. Important note: Here again, the strategies are numbered and the tactics are italicized.

1. Create a touch-point program.

· Contact each of my existing customers no less than once per month with a new idea they cannot get from anyone else.

· Create a noteworthy monthly newsletter.

· Create a user-group within my existing customer base.

· Create some sort of web-based seminar series for my existing customers.

· Take at least three existing customers to lunch each month and invite a new prospect to join us.

2. Prospect within my existing customer base.

· Knock on no less than three new doors, departments and divisions within each of my existing customers' businesses.

· Ask each of my existing customer contacts to introduce me to one other person within their organization.

· Personally meet the top executive at each of my existing customers' businesses.


The Time Is Now
The final part of your sales plan must detail the timeline for implementation of each of the tactics in your sales plan. It's best to show a week-to-week schedule.

Once you've created your sales plan, don't file it away! Keep it handy and revisit it and revise it on a regular basis. Stay on track with your plan, and you'll stay on quota.

If you have a sales or marketing question that you'd like to ask me in person è 718.444.0115 for an appointment.

Calculating Your Prospect Ratio
Step One: Targets
Monitor your own sales work for one month (or whatever period is appropriate in your industry) and answer these questions:

A. If you contacted 100 suspects (via phone calls, mailings, in-person meetings or a combination of these), how many prospects would result? _________
B. How many of the prospects you identified in A. would turn into hot leads? _________
C. How many of the hot leads you identified in B. would you turn into actual sales? _________

Step Two: Ratio
Divide the number on line C by 100. The result is your ratio. _________

Step Three: Goals
1. What is your yearly quota or sales goal, in dollars? _________
2. What are your projected sales totals, in dollars, from current customers? _________
3. Subtract item 2 from item 1 to yield the amount of new sales dollars needed this year. _________
4. Enter the dollar amount of your average sale. _________
5 Divide item 3 by item 5 to yield the number of new sales needed this year. _________

Step Four: Your Bottom Line
Divide the number in item 5 by the ratio you calculated in Step Two. _________

Bingo! You're a CPA! Well, maybe not, but this is the number of new suspects you'll need to contact in the coming year to reach your yearly target. Now divide that number by 52 (unless you plan on taking a week or two of vacation), and you'll know how many suspects you must contact each week to make your quota.

Note: Aim high! I always shoot for 125 percent of quota if I want to hit 110 percent.
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drive.traffic.to.your.door osynergyc...saving.tips

strategic identity > tactical marketing > web sales > great results

Money Saving Tips [21 To Mix & Match]

Promoting With A Small or Zero Dollar Budget.



Startup businesses need to maximize every opportunity for promoting themselves. Surprisingly, that doesn't necessarily mean pricey advertising campaigns and time-consuming promotional programs. Many startup business owners overlook simple, inexpensive opportunities to promote themselves, reinforce their brands and increase sales through vehicles they already have in place. These opportunities cost far less than most traditional marketing methods and have been very effective for many entrepreneurs. Here are the methods to get you going.



1. Invoices: Stuff your statements with special offers or information about new products and services. Web Designer and Project Coordinator Joe Gil, sent coupons for a free hour of services from his Putnam Valley Firm, Vindaloo Productions. Gets people to consider new opportunities differnet from the industry trend. The coupons got attention -- and several new projects through www.gotegame.com . Cost: a few cents to print an information sheet.



2. On-hold programming: Use on-hold time to communicate to a captive audience. Instead of playing elevator music, use that valuable time to remind customers about special promotions or relay useful information. We can help www.osynergyc.com Cost: Record it yourself, and it's free. Professional systems may run upwards of $40 per month. Find providers in the Yellow Pages under "Phone Systems" or "On-hold Messaging."



3. Cash register receipts: If you generate receipts for your customers, they should include more than just a transaction record. Gus At Capital Paint Supply in Brooklyn NY, one of the top Benjamin Moore & C2 Paint Distributors, uses register receipts to periodically tell customers about specials, events and product reminders in his four stores. Cost: If your register offers customizing options, $0. If not, staple receipts to information slips for pennies.



4. e-Mail signatures: When you get an e-mail from M J Gianoplus , GSD – www.gianoplus.com, you'll also get his contact information, a description of his site's unique selling points, and a tip about what's new at his site. The New York Business Advisor says his e-signature has helped customers find her contact information easily and has also helped facilitate media interviews. Cost: $0.



5. Voice-mail messages: Instead of wasting time with instructions on leaving a message, remind callers to visit your Web site or take advantage of upcoming seasonal promotions. You could also use your company's tag line or slogan in the message to reinforce awareness. www.southernsynergy.net Cost: $0



6. Phone manner: Be sure whoever answers the phone at your place of business is upbeat and helpful to callers. That person is your vice president of first impressions. Employees fielding phone calls should be able to answer simple questions or know where to get answers, especially when a customer or prospect calls. www.empiresynergy.com Cost: $0.



7. Stickers: They're not just for preschoolers. When Rosenberg launched her tax consulting business and Web site, she bought 100 red heart stickers that said, "We love referrals." "We plastered them on everything that went out of our office, and business poured in," recalls Rosenberg. "Simply telling people we wanted referrals made a big difference." Cost: $7.50 for 100 stickers.



8. Frequent-buyer clubs: Ratner believes in rewarding loyal customers with gift certificates to his store. He tracks purchases, and when customers get to a certain dollar amount or quantity, they get a gift certificate for anything in the store. For nonretail businesses, other ways to apply this might be a discount or free gift after a certain number of hours or frequency of purchases. Cost: For 500 small, black-and-white punch cards to track purchases, approximately $50 to $75. If your point-of-sale or invoicing system already has a method of tracking volume, you can do so internally for even less.



9. Product shipments: When you ship or deliver products, include an extra catalog, sales sheet or coupons in the package, making it easier for customers to place additional orders. Cost: a few cents to a few dollars per piece.



10. Occasion cards: Send birthday cards, Thanksgiving cards, congratulations cards they're great ways to let customers know you care. www.empiresynergy.com Cost: about $1.50 per card, plus postage.



11. Employees: Empower employees to solve customers' problems and motivate them to bring customers back. Ratner says, "I make each employee sign a piece of paper stating, 'I understand that my number-one job, no matter what I was hired for, is to make the customer come back.' This lets my employees know that we're serious about customer service." www.osynergyc.com



12. Business cards: O Synergy C advocates printing information on both sides of your business card. Why should it have just your name, address and phone number, when you can include a description of your company, hours of operation, mission statement or other important information? Cost: a few cents per card. www.osynergyc.com



13. Signage: Look for other ways to use signage at events or even on your vehicle. A local ice cream shop owner tools around my town with the name of his sweet shop on a magnetic sign affixed to the side of his car. Everywhere he goes, he's promoting his business. Cost: about $40 to $75 for a magnetic panel. www.gotegame.com



14. In-store venues: Your windows, countertops, reception area, walls and other on-site features of your business are great advertising vehicles. Frame advertising campaigns, and put them on your walls. Create minisigns for your countertops. Adorn visible windows with appropriate displays or graphics. Cost: inexpensive frames for ads, $10 to $30 each; minisigns from your computer printer, pennies; a window artist, about $25 to $50 per hour. www.empiresynergy.com



15. News releases: Get to know your local media, and learn how to make yourself part of the headlines. A news release announcing the involvement of Schloeder's company in developing a regional Web site ended up netting a small write-up in a local newspaper. Over the course of two days, she received more than a dozen phone calls from prospective clients. Cost: 37 cents. www.southernsynergy.net



16. Your expertise: Self-syndicates articles about Internet Sales – with the help of www.osynergyc.com - and other areas of expertise to local newspapers across the country. These vehicles often have thousands of readers and are hungry for well-written, informative content. Get a list of newspapers at www.newslink.org. Cost: $0.



17. Networking: Head to your local chamber of commerce or other networking groups with a pocketful of business cards. If your business is more national in scope, attend appropriate trade shows and conferences. By networking with her competition, Rosenberg landed referrals from others in her field when they've had too much business or a conflict of interest. Cost: $0.



18. Referral bonuses: Inspire customers to act as your sales force by giving them an incentive to bring you new customers. This may include a discount off their next service or a small gift or credit on their account. Be sure to ask new customers where they heard about your business so you know when a customer has made a referral. Cost: a few dollars.



19. Speaking: Rosenberg markets her business through seminars, teaching prospective clients about the tax issues about which she's so savvy. If you have a way with words, seek out opportunities to speak in front of appropriate groups. This positions you as an expert in your field. Look for groups in your newspaper's event calendar, or check with your local library, which may keep a list of social, civic and business groups. Cost: $0 -- and sometimes, you may receive payment for speaking. www.gianoplus.com



20. Charities: Teaming up for a good cause whether by donating products or services or volunteering your time on a nonprofit board of trustees fosters goodwill within your community. Most of the time, these activities are also rewarded by publicity or promotion through the charity. You can get even more mileage out of the event by posting photos in your place of business or sending out your own news release. It's a great way to do well by doing good deeds. Ie. Chamber of Commerce > see www.osynergyc.com programs Cost: the wholesale cost of your time or product.



21. Voice Clips Embedded In Your Site > Promote Your Image > Message > Specials. We have a cost effective way of voice communication on line. www.southernsynergy.com Cost: 150 to 1500 dollars
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