Marketing
Marketing means more than just slapping up an advertisement on a wall. Marketing means knowing your customers -- who they are, what they want and what they're willing to pay. It also means knowing yourself -- who do your customers think you are, and how you compare to your competition. We have some advice to help you figure out the basics, if you've never done it before.
Features
The basics about advertising
A formal advertising campaign takes some time, some effort and, yes, some money, to work right. You need to know how it works and what you can expect.
Articles & Advice
Do small businesses have different sales outsourcing needs to larger businesses?
Whether you're Verizon Wireless or Jim's Tin-Can-and-String Phone Store, your needs are, on some level, just the same. Revenue in, reputation up. And not necessarily in that order.
Hiring customer service staff
How do I find customer service folks who aren’t jerks to handle inquiries and complaints? Here's a starting point -- look for people who care about people.
Online Surveys - Why Would I Want to Create A Survey?
Big companies with big marketing departments will probably create their own market research surveys. But that can cost big money.
Online Surveys - Who Should Use Them?
If you want to give your opinion at a surveys website, it’s easy enough to find a site to let you do that—and some will even pay for your opinion. If you want to provide surveys for other people to take, that’s a different matter. Most of the survey sites are created by market research companies for the benefit of their clients.
Online Surveys - What Are They?
There are four steps to working with data. First you have to get it. After that you need to understand it, interpret it, and apply it to your business strategy. Think of the data as bricks—if you want to build something using bricks, you also need to know how to put the bricks together so your structure doesn’t fall down. It’s not simply a matter of buying bricks.
Why would a company outsource their sales process?
SalesFocusInc., in Woodbine, Maryland, ask this question: Do you have the skill in your organization to develop, hire, train and manage a sales staff? If you're like most small-business owners, the answer is probably “No.”
Which companies offer sales management outsourcing services?
You've decided to outsource your sales process. The question now is: to whom? With hundreds of companies competing for your business, you want to know what makes them worth their fees. The first step is knowing how you want your company to be perceived.
Sales outsourcing--because hiring the right people is hard to do.
The cost of hiring unproductive sales reps that leave you six months later, having taken your money and earned you no customers can cripple a business.
The basics about advertising
A formal advertising campaign takes some time, some effort and, yes, some money, to work right. You need to know how it works and what you can expect.
How to price what you're selling
What should you charge? Pricing questions keep consultants and MBA-folks employed. It’s the most fundamental question you’re going to ask. Here are five ways to think about setting a price for what you're selling.