12 Reasons to Market With Postcards

If your marketing activity doesn't include postcards, you're overlooking a highly effective and very low-cost sales tool. Here are 12 of the many reasons postcards should be part of your marketing program...

1. Postcards Work for Any Business

Postcards can produce all kinds of sales activity for all types of businesses. For example, they can produce web site traffic for online marketers, floor traffic for retail stores, sales leads for direct marketers ...and just about any other type of sales activity a business wants.

2. Designing Postcards is Simple and Uncomplicated

Designing an effective postcard is not complicated. It can be as simple as printing your best small ad on a 4 x 6 card and sending it to a list of potential prospects. Postcards usually work best when the message is brief and the postcard looks at first glance like a message from friend.

3. Printing Postcards is Easy and Inexpensive

You can print postcards with your own computer for about 1 or 2 cents each ...or have them printed professionally for about 4 to 8 cents each.

4. There's a Special Low Postage Rate for Postcards

You can send any quantity of postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 23 cents each. The only requirement is that your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

5. Postcards Nearly Always Get Read

Because postcards are delivered "ready to read", almost everybody will read it - even people who usually throw out other types of direct mail without opening it.

6. Postcards Produce Fast Results

Because postcards are simple and easy to use - they produce results fast. You can mail postcards within a few days of deciding to use them ...and you'll start getting sales activity 2 or 3 days later

7. Postcards are effective for Generating Web site Traffic

One of the most effective postcard formats simply lists a few benefits of a product or service on the card and tells the reader to where they can get more information. This makes them ideal for generating traffic to a web site.

8. Postcard Multiply Themselves

Postcards are like small billboards - and they are easy to handle. They often get saved by recipients or passed on to others ...providing additional exposure of your advertising message.

9. Markets Can Be Precisely Targeted With Postcards

You can accurately target your best markets by sending postcards only to mailing lists of prospects likely to be interested in what you're offering ...and who also have a history of acting on offers that interest them.

10. Postcard Marketing Results Are Easy To Measure

Postcards normally generate over 90 percent of their total response within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of a postcard campaign.

11. Postcards Put You in Control of Your Sales Activity

You can quickly boost (or reduce) your sales activity anytime you want by simply regulating the number of postcards you mail and how often you mail them.

12. Postcards Conceal Your Marketing from Competitors

Most advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you are doing - and copy it. Postcard marketing is personal. Only you and your prospects are aware of what you are doing.

Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They're highly effective, very low-cost, simple to use ...and they work for any business. You're overlooking a profitable marketing tool if don't use them.

Creating Product Price Based On Production Expenses

Knowing just about all expenses related to production an item can help you figure out how in order to cost an item successfully. Therefore let us review all of them.

1. Prototype: Prior to production or even generating your own item, you'll need the prototype and/or exactly what these people phone CAD (computer-aided style) or even mechanised sketches in order to publish towards the manufacturing plant. In case your item is rather easy, a person might be able to produce a prototype by yourself, however in the event that this entails architectural, it is best to make use of a item custom or even item creator. The greater comprehensive you're together with your demonstration, the simpler the procedure will end up whenever operating the actual manufacturing plant, particularly if it is abroad.

2. Moulding or even Tooling Price: In case your item entails what is known as the mildew, you'll have to spend individual molding or even tooling price. Following a item was created, the mildew is made of steel as well as precision-machined to create the actual options that come with the required component. Then your materials is actually pressured to the mildew hole exactly where this cools as well as hardens towards the settings from the hole. This particular production procedure is called shot moulding. Based on your own item, it might require several moulds and may price as much as 1000s of dollars.

3. Item Device Price: The system price is actually such a factory/manufacturer will give you for you with regard to generating your own item.

In case your item features a container or even product packaging, you'll have to give you the art work towards the manufacturing plant. The majority of industrial facilities includes product packaging price whenever quoting the system price. Unless of course it is a customized pass away collection, the actual manufacturing plant will frequently provide you with the pass away collection depending on your own preferred standards. The pass away collection is really a theme that the image custom uses to produce the actual art work for the container. Remember that you might have to pay for extra product packaging costs to some product packaging professional or even image custom (when they can handle making pass away outlines) if you want a far more customized pass away collection, after which obviously the price with regard to personalisation (trademarks as well as logo design remedies) as well as creating as well as generating the actual product packaging art work.

4. Transport (FOB Consolidator) Price: The majority of estimates will even consist of transport price (FOB consolidator), that is the price to move your own products in the manufacturing plant for your consolidator or even shipping forwarder. However with regard to this short article, I am such as this particular like a individual collection product.

5. Examination or even QC (High quality Manage): This particular price can also be generally included in the system price. High quality manage stresses screening associated with items to discover flaws after which a choice must designed to permit or even refuse item discharge. Examination or even QC is generally carried out through a real estate agent or even impartial merchant. Ensure that the actual manufacturing plant tools these types of methods as well as fulfills your own requirements.

6. Screening & Conformity: Screening is really a individual price that you should expect you'll incur. The majority of item groups possess particular needs enforced through the Customer Item Security Fee (CPSC), a completely independent company associated with American federal government which adjusts the actual purchase as well as produce associated with customer items. To discover exactly what guidelines can be applied for your item, go to their own web site from.

Producers associated with kid's items, for example, should approve that every item conforms along with just about all relevant kid's item security guidelines having a created certification which implies that the merchandise handed just about all check outcomes from the necessary 3rd party screening in a CPSC recognized lab. Which means you should spend a 3rd party screening lab for each accreditation.

7. Responsibility prices & Additional costs: Based on your own product, you might have to cover responsibility. To discover in case your item offers responsibility and it is particular price, searching the actual Ough. Utes. Traditions & Edge Safety web site, (www.cbp.gov). The actual Ough. Utes. Worldwide Industry Fee includes a contract price data source which will ensure you get a good approx . concept of the job price for any specific item. You may also obtain assistance through phoning the nearby interface from the agent along with who a person function. Additionally, brand new businesses along with very first deliveries tend to be looked over as well as enforced the charge. Arbitrary home inspections will also be created like a protecting calculate through the homeland protection that the producer needs to spend.

8. Broker agent Charge: This can be a individual charge that you need to spend for your agent with regard to dealing with delivery of the products. The majority of agent costs includes household transport, that is delivery in the interface exactly where your own products had been fallen away for your last location for example your personal stockroom or even a 3rd party stockroom.

9. Warehousing/Third Celebration Stockroom: Without having your personal stockroom, you'll have to shop your own delivery someplace, therefore the majority of companies purchase a 3rd party stockroom in order to shop, deliver or even satisfy client purchases. 3rd party expenses may accumulate. They'll ask you for storage space charge for every pallet, as well as, they'll ask you for what is known as a good "in as well as out" cost, the industry charge these people enforce each time these people contact your own products. There's also miscellaneous costs for example marking costs, therefore be sure you know about almost all their costs whenever you use all of them.

Ideally thus giving a person a concept associated with what kinds of expenses tend to be related to production an item. Following, I'll supply info as well as good examples how you can cost an item as well as determine margins.

Knowing margins is crucial since it is actually exactly what hard disks the actual prices procedure whenever getting items to promote the retail business.

Startup Companies

Startup companies are a dream of individuals and institutional investors. Along with lower sustenance costs and a high potential of return on investment, startup companies also provide more scalability than an established business. In spite of the high failure rate associated with startup companies, their potential to grow with minimal resources and scalability to direct the growth in any direction has made them a popular investment choice. However, the intellectual property of startup companies plays an important role in deciding the value of the company. While 75% of the value of a public company is based on its intellectual property, 100% of the value of a startup depends on its intellectual property. This dependency of investor enthusiasm on the intellectual property has forced startup companies to look for newer ways to raise capital such as direct registration, reverse mergers, self registration etc.

Reverse merger is a cheaper and faster counterpart of IPO. When an existing public company becomes inactive and has any assets meeting with the exchange requirements, it may continue to be traded on a stock exchange. However, a company with no assets is normally traded in the OTCBB (Over the Counter Bulletin Board) or in the Pink sheets. A startup company may buy such "shell"s and continue to use the trading public stock. Though this is the fastest way to go public, it also had its share of disadvantages such as the new company stock trading without complete disclosure. In order to prevent abuse of the reverse merger option, the SEC review process mandates the submission of a Form-8K within four days of the merger. Since this was no different that issuing a public offering, the startup companies were now forced to find better alternatives.

Direct registration is a process where startup companies issuing the shares hold the shares, and the buyer is identified as the owner of the shares. Direct registration refers to registering the buyer's name in the books of the company and can be done by directly purchasing shares from the company. While similar to owning paper certificates, it also reduces the burden of paperwork. However, a minor disadvantage is that the shares cannot be sold at any time. Since the shares have been bought from the company, the share selling may happen once at the end of the day, week or month.

Despite their advantages, the aforementioned approaches are expensive. Self registration with the SEC is a cost-efficient alternative. This can be done by meeting the reporting requisites of the SEC review process. This way, the investor confidence in the shares increases. Moreover, registration with SEC is a better choice since unregistered companies are allowed to trade only on Pink sheets and other OTC forums.

From small businesses to enormous corporations, all successful businesses began with business plans.

Benefits of Building a Corporate Image

Corporate image is seen as one important factor that can influence the effectiveness of marketing. Therefore it is very feasible if the image is seen as one of the most important asset owned by a company or organization.

According to Zinkhan There are several reasons underlying the importance of companies establishing and managing the company's image, namely:

1. Can stimulate sales.
2. Company can build a good name.
3. Build an identity for its employees.
4. Affect investors and financial institutions.
5. Promote good relations with a community, with the government, with community leaders and with the opinion leaders.
6. Get a position in the competition.
   

SWOT Strategy

At some time we've talked about the sense of a SWOT Analysis and the 5 Things That Should Be Observed In Determining The SWOT Analysis. This time we will discuss strategies that will be based on the results of the SWOT analysis.

Basically this determination SWOT strategy is an action or decision made based on a combination of internal conditions themselves with the external influences that affect the continuity of business.

These strategies are:

1. Strength-Opportunity Strategy (SO Strategy)

This strategy is a blend of power possessed by a business entity with opportunities or opportunities that can benefit the company.

2. Strength-Threat Strategy (ST Strategy )

In the ST strategy, the results of an internal force analysis of a business entity owned, will be used to make decisions in the face of threats that may disrupt the continuity of business carried on.

3. Weakness-Opportunity Strategy (WO Strategy )

In this strategy, the weakness which may be owned by the company will be reduced and even eliminated possible to grab the opportunities that exist.

4. Weakness-Threat Strategy (WT Strategy)

The decision in this strategy is probably the most complicated to be decided as compared with previous strategies. Each company will always compete to gain market share there. Other companies will analyze the weaknesses that may be owned by your store, and they are waiting for the right to attack you, and it is a threat to the sustainability of your business. WT strategiy are defensive strategy designed to confront the threat from competitors who might attack the weaknesses that are owned by the company.

To be more clear about the relationship with the internal conditions of the external conditions to decide on a strategy of SWOT, consider the following chart:

Whatever form of business, both retail and production efforts of business, strategy and SWOT analysis is always used. To better understand the analysis and strategy, please see the Case Study: A SWOT Analysis In Retail Stores as an example of implementation of the SWOT analysis and strategy in a business.

Manager is a Leader

In a business , you may always hear the term manager. The question is, whether the different between manager with a  leader? there are managers who are not leaders? Then what is the difference between the leader and the manager? The answer is yes, there might be a manager, but not a leader, because the manager is a position whose is given by an organization in the form of Letter of Appointment, while the leader is a form of behavior or attitude held by a person inside him so that they can control and direct others to be submissive and willing heart to do a thing desired by him. So of course, a manager does not necessarily have the character of a leader, but a leader could have served as a manager.

A manager who has the character as a leader is a manager who is able to direct and control their employees so that they are willing to do something in accordance with their wishes. The employees will be willing to work even without any coercion. A company that has a manager as a leader will make the conditions in the work environment tend to be more comfortable. A leader will understand the conditions and situation of his men. He was able to touch and move the hearts of employees.

An organization, whether or not a business organization or even a retail stores, needed someone who not only served as a manager, but in his heart also has the soul of a leader who is able to protect, nurture, and direct the people under it, and maybe even also in the surrounding . Then lets began studying to become a leader, because having the ability as a leader will be more difficult rather than a position as manager.