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What Is Outsourcing?

May 12th 2009 09:17

The practice of outsourcing in business has been around for many years. It is a phenomenom that is sweeping the business industry and affecting all sectors of the economy. Outsourcing is defined as “the transfer of an internal service function to an outside vendor.” In it’s most simple form, it is a term for having someone else do your work. Other terms used are contracting out or subcontracting to denote buying a product or a service from an outside supplier rather than providing it in-house.

Outsourcing trend in 1970s simply involved a supplier managing and operating a function formerly carried out in-house. During the 1980s outsourcing evolved toward closer collaboration between two companies; in the 1990s the trend is toward fuller partnerships.

Today, companies could outsource some of their functions overseas. The trend towards global outsourcing can be traced primarily to two factors : cost-reduction pressure and advances in telecommunication technology. Big corporations are paying educated foreigners to do the same chores as Americans for a fraction of the cost. Thus, operating costs go down, and profits go up, driving the company’s stock up.
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Why shop online? Compared to brick-and-mortar stores, online stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The selection at the big web shopping sites, especially for books and music, can be much larger than at your local stores. If you have ever circled the web or window-shopped online, think about the wealth of merchandise and the ease of shopping even in your pajamas in the middle of the night.

Here are some tips culled from the Better Business Bureau’s web site and issues of Consumer Reports, to help you get the most out of your online shopping experience:

Habit # 1 : Use comparison sites and shopping bots wisely.

Habit # 2 : Watch those shipping costs.

Habit # 3 : Determine the company’s refund and return policies before you place an
order.
Habit # 4 : Always use a credit card to order.

Habit # 5 : Save a copy of your confirmation/receipt.

Habit # 6 : Order from secure, well-known businesses and establish a relationship.

Habit # 7 : Shop with a coupon/discount if possible or use charitable portals.
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Target Marketing

March 5th 2009 08:50
There is a well-known saying in the marketing circle that says something like this -you can't please all of the people all of the time. This statement could also serve to describe the principle of target marketing. Because consumers have so many different needs, it is difficult for one product to satisfy all consumers. By grouping consumers with similar needs into market segments, it is possible to target a product to consumers in the chosen market segment , also called the target market.

A market segment is defined as a group of consumers with similar needs. Markets can be broken down into segments using various approaches :

* Benefit segmentation consists of grouping consumers together who are seeking similar benefit. Example of common benefits associated with say food products include taste, nutrition, safety, appearance and convenience.

* Demographic segmentation means grouping customers who share a common demographic makeup, such as age, income, education, sex, or nationality.

* Occasion segmentation means grouping customers according to the occasions for their use of product. For example, customers who eat out do so for business, pleasure, or to save time.

* Usage-level segmentation means grouping customers according to whether they are users or non-users of a product, or whether they are light, medium, or heavy users of a product.

* Lifestyle segmentation means grouping consumers by their lifestyle such as "soccer moms" as example.
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Brand Awareness

February 8th 2009 09:47
Marketers refer to the brand name as the symbolic dress of their product. The brand name becomes synonymous with the company's "reputation." And so marketers, before introducing, naming, and launching a new brand often ask, what would it be worth in the market?

Top brands that dominate the world's market today are Google in internet search engine, Coca-Cola in soft drinks, Nokia in cell phones, and other top multibillion dollar brands. Coca-Cola used to be the no. 1 brand (1990, 2000 to 2002) until the internet search engine giant Google dislodged it in 2003. So what's in a brand's name


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There are two common traps to avoid if you want to grow or even explode your business, according to popular Filipino marketers Dr. Ned Roberto and Andy Roberto.

The first trap is allowing yourself to be held back by the traditional, the conventional, or even by the "best practice" of marketing. Don't let your fear of the unfamiliar trap you from innovating and experimenting with new paths, the Roberto's cautioned. As the influential futurist Edie Weiner said, every time a new and non-traditional comes, it becomes a hybrid of the new and the old, the old does not disappear but becomes a hybrid of the new and all of the old ones. One best example is the history of advertising media. Print advertising did not give way to radio advertising, though it suffered for a while but later survived. Later television came but print and radio ads are still very much around


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Guerrilla Marketing

September 10th 2008 09:17
How do guerrilla marketers promote their marketing? Jay Levinson, best selling author and guru of guerrilla marketing has some advice and tips on how to market your marketing.

* Guerrillas do not limit their marketing on one medium. Levinson’s advice is to market it all over the place. Anything worth promoting is worth cross-promoting


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What characteristics must a successful entrepreneur have? Is one born with these entrepreneurial traits or can they be learned?

Douglas A. Gray, author of the best-selling "The Entrepreneur's Complete Self-Assessment Guide," lists some common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, in which venture capitalists, psychologists, academics, and entrepreneurs themselves believe important to achieving success. Among these are


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Lawrence Pang, CEO of Tian - Strategic Marketing & Consulting Ltd., cites the difference of the traditional Chinese wisdom in marketing from the Western way of dealing business. He stressed, during his presentation at the first World Marketing Conference last June 20 - 21, that Western technology in the marketing world is more focused in laws, rules, regulations and power while in Asia, relationships, respect and people are given more value.

Several differences in the Eastern and Western way of doing business, according to what Lawrence Pang mentioned : In the East, feelings and family - orientedness are foremost than the West's rationality and individualistic manner ; the former focuses on people and it's internal strengths while the latter gives premium to the matter at hand and external forces that could affect the business ; the East gives importance to intrinsic harmony and the community while the West focuses more on external achievement and individual success


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There is an old saying : "The first generation builds the company. The second preserves it. The third squanders it." Some surveys show there are fewer than 5 percent of family-owned businesses that survive under control. Bestseller author Gurcharan Das, explains this phenomenom, "The first generation makes the money, and naturally and naturally wants to flaunt it. The second doesn't want more money, it wants power, the third generation dedicates itself to art, or more likely just squanders the fortune. The Kennedys, Rockefellers, and others illustrate this cycle," wrote the author of "India Unbound."

However, not all family in business is taking the same dismal route. Here's some tips from the book, "Managing Work And Career," by Josie O. Santamaria to couples who plan to start their own business or are running one


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So you will finally take the plunge - become an entrepreneur! This means taking concrete action to make your business vision a reality.

How can you tell then if you are cut out for business? Various researches say there are factors that contribute to the business success of an individual. These are


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