Atricle Dump - Business

What Every Yellow Page Advertiser Needs to Know
Do you know the five things to ask your Yellow Page representative? You should, because they determine a lot about your advertising. How about the best type of headline? Okay, what about ad costs? How much should you be spending? Still in the dark? You’re not alone. Most business people know little about a media that’s been around over 100 years and is a fixture in every consumer’s home. But it’s not your fault.If you’re a typical advertiser, you get the bulk of your information each year when your YP rep comes around. Depending on how efficient they are, they will pass on all the salient data needed to make an educated decision. But what if they fail to tell you something valuable? How do you even know that you’re missing anything at all? Let’s move on.Is the headline really all that important? Well, most times it is the first thing a c

on advertising? In a recent edition of Advertising Age a survey indicated that nearly 70% of all businesses do not measure the results of their advertising efforts. Could this be a contr

Worried About Layoffs and Offshore?
For the past few years we have seen many layoffs and job elimination due to off shoring of jobs. Is there any job that can give some kind of security?There are no jobs now which can give you 100% guarantee nowadays. But you can avoid the lay off and the effects of off shoring by the following:-- Keep a step ahead of the crowd by learning new skills - Make yourself a valuable asset to the employers - Try to get a federal or defense related job since most these kind of jobs are safer from off shoring.- Due to the war in Iraq and the downsizing of the armed forces there are plenty of contract jobs in the private sector doing business with defense forces. Most of the positions require US citizenship which means these kinds of jobs are never off shored. This is a safe bet to start.- Know more about your business; if you have a strong business knowledge it will be hardly

Can you imagine playing hockey without a goal? Basketball without hoops and nets? Football without a goal line? Golfing without holes or greens?

There may be leagues where it doesn’t matter whether anyone is keeping score, but not the big leagues. Champions of the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the Masters can only be determined when there is someone keeping score.

In hockey, keeping score means counting the number of times the puck gets into the net. In golf, keeping score means counting the number of strokes one takes over a defined course.

Keeping score means identifying objectives and giving points to those who achieve them. Why is it that so many businesses do not, or will not, keep score when it comes to spending money on advertising? In a recent edition of Advertising Age a survey indicated that nearly 70% of all businesses do not measure the results of their advertising efforts. Could this be a contri

The Package Goods Category Is a Battleground
Are Product Margins Merely Margins of Error? Packaged goods companies continue to fight for every drop of margin they can squeeze out of a crowded category. Traditionally, the brand was powered forward through product innovation, research and development. New advertising campaigns rolled out when product improvements warranted them.Preference and margins cannot be found in product enhancements and efficacy — these two improvements are simply the cost of doing business. In today’s crowded market space your preference and margins stem directly from your brand. In reality most brand marketers and managers are actually product managers and are hard pressed to describe their own brand in any terms other than banal category benefits.This pit-fall is not to be unexpected. Universities and colleges fail to understand the intricacies of a brand

n’t matter whether anyone is keeping score, but not the big leagues. Champions of the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the Masters can only be determined when there is someone keeping score.

In hockey, keeping score means counting the number of times the puck gets into the net. In golf, keeping score means counting the number of strokes one takes over a defined course.

Are You Doing the Right Thing or the Comfortable Thing?
Businesspeople are often in a difficult position when negotiating, enforcing policy, and making decisions that impact relationships with customers, staff, vendors, and stakeholders. Many take the easy way out by procrastinating or they do the comfortable thing by just allowing the issue to continue instead of doing the right thing and deal with it.Dealing with difficult issues by hoping they will go away might feel comfortable because human beings can fool themselves for a time and pretend those issues don’t exist. But by doing the comfortable thing they open the door to long-term risk that is probably much worse and much less comfortable than the current issue. Additionally, it really isn’t all that comfortable. There is a certain amount of nagging memory of the issue that wakes you up in the middle of the night and calls attention to your denial.Doing the right thing, and

In hockey, keeping score means counting the number of times the puck gets into the net. In golf, keeping score means counting the number of strokes one takes over a defined course.

The Greatest Lesson Is To Learn Faster Than Your Competitors
Peter Drucker said: “Every few hundred years throughout Western history, a sharp transformation has occurred. In a matter of a few decades, society altogether rearranges itself, its world’s views, its social and political structure, its arts, its key institutions. Fifty years later a New World exists. And the people born into that world cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born.”Unfortunately, for most people who live in a hierarchy, the speed of learning tends to be limited by those at the top. If they were a smart Henry Ford or Thomas Watson Jr., the organisation could learn faster than their world changed. If they were not that smart they might get an initial foothold but eventually competition and change would weed them out. We cannot learn faster than the world changes. Many outcomes/outputs especia

Courteous Customer Service
Customer service and courtesy always go hand in hand. Customer service is not customer service if it is not courteous. Courtesy is usually defined as politeness originating from kindness and exercised habitually. This is what actually encompasses quality customer service. Basing from this you can actually say that the measure of good costumer service is courtesy towards customers.The Importance of Courteous Customer ServiceSo how do you practise courteous customer service? First, determine the needs of your customers. By needs, we refer not only to the needs that they will pay you for but to any need that will provide them convenience while under your care. Just take for example when you are going to a hotel.When you rent a hotel room, you primarily pay for the room, water and electricity or even food. However, the best hotels in the world are not renowned o

on advertising? In a recent edition of Advertising Age a survey indicated that nearly 70% of all businesses do not measure the results of their advertising efforts. Could this be a contributing factor in why so many fledgling businesses fail in their first five years?

MEASUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

One reason companies may not measure the return on investment for their ad dollars is simply that they do not believe it is possible. Measurement is a must if there is ever to be accountability or management of an advertising and marketing program. As they say, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Granted, it’s not always easy to measure results from many promotional activities. That doesn’t mean we are exempt from making the effort. Choosing not to measure is the same as playing cards in a pitch black room with the lights out. Let there be light!

While it may be difficult to measure the results of a spe

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If I asked you to describe your ideal car -assuming no limits -how would you describe it? Most people can describe their ideal car in great detail. When I ask people to describe their ideal job, however, most people are far less clear.

A business leader will develop a clear mission statement and vision for the business and communicate them effectively to all stakeholders. This action will enable the leader to pursue an organizational culture that is centered on being the best - but other aspects of being a good business leader must be considered.

Too often, restaurants and other businesses keep dead-weight or below average employees because it's hard to hire. Unfortunately, the good employees pick up the slack and often make about the same money, or less in some cases, as the problem employees.

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