Advertising made easy…

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 NETBOOK
Bargain Price at Euro 250 vat included!

Buy 4 units and get a better deal!

I had a call to buy laptops for my family and relatives, so I sat down and discussed what specs they needed.

I found that one nephew, bought a powerful laptop, totally overcharged in power, and also in size and mainly in weight. People tend to buy laptops on the basis of Brand, Colour, Design, Style, Being sold to, and finally following the Jones’s. This laptop outruns my business model, and is so heavy for a young kid of 11, that its bad enough back trouble from the school sack. More-over this kid, due to workload of his parents, lives in suitcase, and his requirements were strictly browsing and maybe later on, using an office application such as word, excel etc. The Dell Mini 9 has performed well for what it’s worth and although speed is not relative to that of a typical LAPTOP, its adequate for browsing chatting, and most of all with WIFI and 3 g ready, had an excellent triangular business tele-conference with Libya, France and me here in Malta. Also comes with Microsoft Works!

I thoroughly recommend this model for young kids wanting an entry into computing, as an additional machine for mini presentations, travel, and maybe for that housewife, student or even a businessman, that requires totally portability and connectivity. With the more numbers of  FREE WIFI zones,  NETBOOKS, have an excellent future in this scenario!

Any further information or info re how to acquire one of these little babies for a bargain price (limited offer)

contact me on:

mario@post.com

Typical Specs:

- 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor
- 1GB DDR2 533MHz (1 DIMM)
- 8.9″ 1024 x 600 WSVGA glossy LED backlit display
- 8GB miniPCI SSD card
- Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
- 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- 4-in-1 Media card reader
- 1.3 Megapixel webcam, Dell Video Chat application, Dell Support Center
- 4-Cell 32Wh Li-ion battery (14.8V)
- Size: 9.2″ x 6.8″ x 1.3″ (including feet)
- Weight: 2lb 5.5oz (with 4-cell battery), 2lb 11.6oz (with battery and AC adapter)
- Windows XP

The selling process is more difficult when times are hard, prospects are less in numbers, with a decreased cash flow in their pockets, and therefore a buyer becomes more defensive on the financial aspect of the closing deal/sale.

Understanding your target prospect is paramount, as much so the buying behaviours and getting to grips with the personality trends of that person is vital. Most salespeople work on the process of building an excellent rapport with their target prospects and existing clients, making them ‘our friend’.  Quoting Frank Atkinson of salestraining.co.uk,

‘Not everyone wants to be our friend’.

Precisely, focus on the buying aspect look at the other side of the coin, get out of the box, understand your prospects, and try to analyse what makes him/her tick! Quot Frank ‘MATCH THEIR BEHAVIOUR’.

This is the crunch, getting in tune with your prospect/customer, is the key to understanding the sales process and therefore giving you the control and know how in getting to the goal …

Close the sale!

Please look at this video (below) and run it a few times, most Train the Trainer Course should cover these topics concerning the ‘THE BUYER’, here Frank Atkinson covers the topics, quickly, efficiently, with a clear flair to understand all and the simple graphic approach, gives the final result!

Yes. from this video…  I grabbed the topics and this was helpful towards the learning process, a great reminder to train and re-train, how very important this must be?

Please contact me should you be interested in sales training, locally or in the UK, options are available to bring trainers from the UK. Additionally we can guide in getting  EU grants for sales training:- contact:

sales@mariomicallef.com

SALES TRAINING VIDEO by Frank Atkinson of
The Sales Training Consultancy (UK).

With thanks to Frank and his TEAM!

Unlike other kinds of advertising, like TV or direct mail, people cannot just switch the channel or throw it out. The ad is simply in front of them as a part of the environment!

From this standpoint, advertising has the advantage of being able to successfully hit a large number of people without being too costly. When used in conjunction with other media outlets, advertising on buses is an effective way to strengthen your marketing campaign.
Link: http://advertising.blog.com.mt/double-decker-bus-advertising/

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Here are some ways to increase the success of your marketing campaign by advertising on buses, and a few pointers to avoid the pitfalls as well.Be brief. You must remember that most of the time either the bus or the audience will be in motion. That means that you only have a couple of seconds to make your point. Keep your slogan as short as possible.

• Be bold. The shortage of words in a bus advertisement means that your pictures or logo really need to be memorable. Keep it simple, but don’t be afraid to use bold and bright colors.

• Be sensible. Because your ad will be seen by people of all ages and all walks of life, you need to makes sure that the ad is rated “G” - appropriate for all audiences! If your ad offends anyone, you will find that being the “talk of the town” is not always good news for your business!

• Be committed. With bus advertising you’re literally in it for the long haul. Remember that advertising on buses is not like a radio ad that can be pulled whenever you feel like it. Most bus companies require a commitment can that last up to 3 months. Therefore, this kind of advertising is not recommended for your week-long sales event. To make it worth it, the campaign needs to be much bigger than that.

• Be smart. Before you sign that contract, determine who your target audience truly is. It is possible that certain bus routes are better suited to your campaign than others because of the types of neighborhoods that they drive through. If you are already doing a direct mail campaign, make sure that the bus routes drive through those same zip codes!

While advertising on buses must be short and to the point, its success is based on repetition. When people see the same ad day after day on more than one bus and in more than one media venue, eventually the message will stick with them!

It is a non-intrusive way to get your message out to the community that might spruce up the sides of some boring city buses in the process!

Here are a number of reasons for the recent surge in billboard advertising, not the least of which is cost efficiency. Compared to other forms of advertising, billboards are a relatively inexpensive way to get your point across to the general public.

Consider this: A newspaper ad is only good for a day and a television commercial only lasts about thirty seconds. But a billboard ad is working for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The cost of billboard advertising ranges from about €25 to €1200 a month. At that rate, ten billboards could run as much as €12,000 per month. That sounds like a lot of money, until you realize that a full-page ad running for one day in a major newspaper (daily for one month) costs about the same and in some cases a lot more.

Advances in technology have also contributed to billboard advertising’s cost efficiency. In the past, billboards had to be hand-painted – a time-consuming and costly venture. But with today’s computer technology, billboards are designed on a computer screen, printed to vinyl or poster paper, and glued to the billboard structure. The result: Higher quality ads in less time for less money.

Before you jump into billboard advertising for your business, there are a few things you need to understand.

• The amount of information contained in a billboard ad is limited. If you expect your billboard to convey as much information as a print ad – forget it. It’s just not possible. Keep your ads short and catchy. When it comes to billboards think more visuals, fewer words.

• Billboards are effective, but they do have their limitations. For that reason, (and others), smart business owners view billboard advertising as one part of a balanced marketing strategy. An integrated marketing strategy involving print, broadcast media, and billboards is key for attracting and retaining new customers.

• Know your market. Since the majority of people who own automobiles are typically more affluent and mobile, billboard ads tend to target middle- to upper-income demographics. (This may not be applicable to mobile billboards, etc.) It also pays to be aware of the traffic patterns of your target customer base. This will be invaluable in helping you find the right placement for your business’ billboard ads.

• Mobile billboards have the advantage of targeting specific areas even to low income demographics.

Related Articles

1.  Provide an excellent service

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5.  Happy New Year!

More on recession:

Thanks to info by Susan Bandura.

Now that even The Wall Street Journal has admitted we are in a recession, everyone has run amok with dire predictions about marketing and advertising.

The online world remains relatively upbeat, knowing that the Internet is still attracting plenty of viewers, and that online advertising is way cheaper than more traditional media.

But most pundits are saying that TV advertising is more vulnerable than ever – that companies are going to cut their TV advertising budgets, that DVR penetration is going to help put the nail in the coffin.

But what’s really going to happen to TV viewing in the near future?

Let’s see … everybody has a TV … people are staying at home more … consumption of entertainment usually goes up when the economy is down… and now it’s dark by the time we get home from work…

All of these factors say “more TV watching” as far as I’m concerned. Which means that TV advertising will make as much – if not more – sense than ever. The latter being related to the balance of cost versus delivery of airtime purchased.

Best simple definition of Marketing:-

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying, “Circus is coming to Fairgrounds Sunday,” that’s Advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him through town, that’s a Promotion. If the elephant walks through the Mayor’s flower bed, that’s Publicity. If you can get the Mayor to laugh about it, that’s Public Relations.

And, if you planned the whole thing, that’s Marketing! - Author Unknown

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The following definition was approved by the American Marketing Association Board of Directors:

Marketing:

Marketing is 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.

Marketing is a business term referring to the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell ones products. Wikipedia

Marketing

The activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It includes advertising, selling and delivering products to people. People who work in marketing departments of companies try to get the attention of target audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure. The four ‘Ps’ of marketing are product, place, price and promotion.

In A Recession, Protect Your Customers.
The loyalty factor info thanks to James Hipkin.

The tendency when times are tough is to focus on acquisition. Acquisition is important. But focusing on customer retention is less expensive and will have a greater short-term impact on your business. Small increases in loyalty (or attrition) will have significant impact on your bottom line.

Retained customers have the following benefits over newly acquired customers.:

• You don’t need to bribe them. They have paid full price in the past and are prepared to continue to do so. They are loyal because they see value in your products or services.

• They are more likely to respond to up-sell and cross-sell offers. Because they have a relationship with your brand, they are easier to convert.

• They cost less to service. They know how your products work and don’t need to contact customer service or sales as frequently.

• They can be advocates for your products. Especially when times are tough, consumers want to make purchase decisions with confidence. Nothing builds confidence like a personal recommendation from a peer they trust.

Keeping customers loyal is the most efficient marketing activity you can pursue. This is especially true for the category heavy users who are your best customers.

Your smartest competitors will be targeting your best customers. You need to protect them.

Remember, no matter how well you do everything else, you can’t make money without customers.

Whenever there’s a serious economic downturn there are always

two knee-jerk reactions:

( Post Info thanks to Sharon Krinsky, of TAC.)

1. Advertisers cut their ad budgets.
2. Ad executives say they shouldn’t.

Who’s right? Well, that depends on who you are.

In order to have an intelligent advertising strategy during a recessionary period, you need to understand that there are basically three kinds of businesses:

• Businesses for whom advertising is essential.

• Businesses for whom advertising is discretionary.

• Businesses that are somewhere in the middle.

For some companies, advertising is oxygen. With it, they grow. Without it, they die.

These businesses tend to be in categories that are consumer-oriented and highly responsive to marketing activity. They include fast food, retail, consumer packaged goods, and automotive.

If you are in one of these categories, or a similar category, trying to save money by dramatically cutting advertising will do more harm than good. If you have a successful advertising campaign in progress, you should stay the course in terms of spending and message.

However, if you’re in a category like this and your current advertising efforts are not showing success, you need to keep advertising but change your strategy. How?

Create advertising that is focused on changing customer behavior, not customer attitudes.

Businesses for whom advertising is discretionary.

There are some types of businesses that are not highly responsive to advertising: life insurance, wine, and serious technology are a few examples.

These businesses generally use advertising for secondary purposes like influencing investors, impressing the trade, softening you up for the sales call or, frankly, assuaging corporate egos (hard to believe, huh?) Advertising may be useful, but is not essential to the business.

If you are in one of these categories, and revenue is starting to sag, saving advertising dollars is a good idea. If you go dark for a few months the only ones who’ll notice will be your ad agency.

Businesses that are somewhere in the middle.

Most businesses are somewhere in the middle. Advertising is sometimes successful, sometimes essential, and sometimes unnecessary or ineffectual.

If you are in one of these businesses you can do yourself a lot of good, or a lot of harm. It all depends on whether you’re using creative and media strategies that are appropriate for the times. What you did last year may not be a good model and needs to be reconsidered with a sober eye.

contact: www.mariomicallef.com

I was delighted to see that the first Malta Blog community portal was featured on TVM: Blog.com.mt

I think this portal, will be successful and I am participating with enthusiasm with this blog, and others that I write on. I encourage all to bring their blog to this site, and perhaps even start blogging, in the least possible entry if possible. With this blog I feel its the empowerment process of shouting your ideas, your inner feelings, your thoughts, your comments on what you have read or seen int he local media or even foreign content, including of course all e/web-content.

I support the blogs because I truly believe that once the numbers increase, the networking and sharing aspect of a local blog will help support and form public opinion, through intelligent yet individual content to share with others, all in this world of ours.

I congratulate Matt, Liam and Mauro, for this venture, and for giving us Maltese the option to have our first Maltese Portal.

Please see the video clip recording of the TVM feature on blog.com.mt:-

Advertising is an inescapable part of life, a fact evident each time you turn on the television, drive past endless billboards or sit down to check your email. As a small business owner with a limited budget, you may be more sensitive to the ads surrounding you than most. Do you have a recurring fantasy about the kinds of commercials you’d like to make and how much business they’d bring in? Have you been setting aside money to start your advertising campaign? While most businesses pay for advertising eventually, make sure the time is right before plunging in. Read on to find out if the risk of the expense will pay off for your business.Is your business still growing by word of mouth and free exposure? If you’re considering launching an ad campaign, then hopefully you’ve already utilized cheaper means of getting the word out about your business, such as launching a Web site and leaving flyers and business cards around town. If these tactics, along with customer referrals, are still bringing in new business, then you might not need to pay for advertising just yet. However, if business is steady or if the initial rush is starting to taper off, then it’s the right time to explore new avenues, including buying ads.

Are you in a place where you could handle more business? While the ultimate goal of most business owners is to keep growing, you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. And if you are also in school right now, growing your business slowly might be easier to handle. If all goes well with an advertising campaign and it leads to more business, the influx could also lead to more hiring, acquiring a bigger space for your operations and so on. Be certain you’re ready for that.

Do your homework. Research different advertising mediums and figure out the best fit for your type of business and your budget. Would your target customer base likely be reached through television, radio, billboards, the Internet or a combination of mediums? Find out the costs. Some options will likely be crossed off your list due to pricing. So decide if it’s better to launch print ads right now, or save your funds for a local TV spot.

Looking at where other small businesses advertise will help make your decision easier. Pay especially close attention to which businesses are trying to attract a similar customer base and see where their ads show up and if they keep the ads running. For example, if a business places ads in the local paper month after month, they are probably getting at least some results from the ad. And don’t be shy about talking to some established business owners about their recommendations and experiences with different mediums. Many will be willing to save you from making the same mistakes they made.

Figure out your advertising budget before you commit. The worst thing you can do is start inquiring about ad space before you know your spending limits. Don’t let a salesperson talk you into buying ads before you’ve figured out a budget. Project what you can spend on ads for the whole year to decide what monthly rates are reasonable. When you do talk to salespeople, be upfront about how much you can spend and don’t budge. If they want your business, they will be willing to work with your limits. And if they don’t want your business, someone else will.

If and when you decide to advertise, keep track of the results. Let customers mention or bring in the ad for a discount or simply ask new faces where they heard about your business. If the ad strategy you chose isn’t bringing people in, try something else. Like many other areas of your business, advertising will require a degree of flexibility until you find what works best for you and your customers.