Important Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

Music Licensing – What, How and Why It’s Important for Your Business

Music licensing commonly refers to ‘royalty free music’ or ‘production music’. This is music that has been written and produced with the sole purpose of being used in another project. Anyone can then license this music for a fee, to use in their project.

What about commercial music?

Commercial music, written and performed by artists like Adele, M83 and U2 for example, cannot be used for any purpose other than personal/private performance. When you buy a CD or download an MP3, it is specifically stated that you cannot do anything with that song or music track except listen to it yourself. Any business use is prohibited, even playing it on the radio to customers at a hair salon.

To play commercial music to the public, a public performance licensed is required by the appropriate performing rights organisation of that country. In the UK it may be PRS or PPL. In the US/Canada, it may be BMI or ASCAP. These organisations arrange a fee to the proprietor of the business, based on the size of their business/location. This can be expensive, and time consuming just to play the radio to your customers on your premises, but does permit the business to play the radio to its customers without legal issues.

This is not a suitable solution for video production and filmmaking, as the usage and purpose of music is not the same. As many video production companies produce content for clients, they need background music for their video/film that is cleared for its intended purpose. When licensing commercial music, arranging such a license for online, public performance, in-store and mass distribution quickly becomes expensive and convoluted.

Royalty free music licensing offers a simple and cost effective solution to acquiring well produced music with all necessary rights for the client, within an affordable, transparent license.

Who needs to license music?

Anyone creating digital content with the intention of publishing it online or publicly. It’s really that simple. You cannot legally use music you have not written yourself, or licensed from a music library.

What about ‘home movies’ and ‘personal projects’?

The same rules apply to home movies and personal projects, but because these are produced not-for-profit, nor professionally on behalf of a client it is possible to use commercial music in this type of content. However, when this content is published to social platforms like Facebook and YouTube, you may find your video is blocked in certain countries, or deleted entirely. This is because commercial artists and record labels have an agreement in place that monitors use of their content on these platforms, and can enforce accordingly. There is however, many commercial artists and record labels who permit the use of their music in exchange for advertising. An ad will be attached to your content as a pre-roll, overlay or half-time break during the video in exchange for permission to use their music track. If you’re producing something personal, ‘for fun’ then this shouldn’t be an issue.

The risks of using commercial music in professional video

A client may want the latest chart hit in their video because it resonates with their target audience, or they feel it represents their brand. However, as outlined previously this could end up immediately being blocked or deleted with further implications like account suspension. If the video is not blocked or deleted, then it will be served with ads.

This is the last thing you want for your client. You’ve produced a video promoting their new product, and before the video has even started, viewers are being shown ads for competing brands and products. It degrades the potential of the video and the brand.

Why license ROYALTY FREE MUSIC?

There are THREE key reasons why licensing music correctly is hugely important.

1. You’re using music that will NOT be subject to copyright claims, blocks or deletion when it is published online. This means you can deliver your end-product to your client without fear of any music related issues.

2. You can MONETISE the content you produce. If you’re producing the content for your own online channel on YouTube, you’ll no doubt be entered into the partner program, to earn money from ads displayed on your videos. You cannot earn money from these ads if the music is not licensed, as it will go straight to the artist/producer of the music. Pay for the music license, earn money from that music license. Simple.

3. Create an identity for your video. Whether you’re producing something on behalf of a client, or yourself. If you use a hugely popular, well known commercial music track, chances are that song will resonate with the viewer more than your content. However, if you create really good video content AND license the perfect music track nobody has heard before, you’re offering a completely unique audio/visual package that is new and fresh.

What about free music?

If you look for it, you will find music that is available to use for free. But ask yourself, why is it free?

Free in exchange for ads and revenue.

The creator could be giving you permission to use their music in exchange for ad-revenue online via YouTube and Facebook, and you won’t know this until you publish it and get informed ads will be displayed alongside your video, with all revenue going to the artist.

A poor quality sample

The free music track you’re using could be a low quality sample of something an artist is trying to sell. This could be a low 128kbs MP3 that appears suitable, but when played back against high quality content, will sound quiet, muted and generally not as good. When music is licensed from a library, it should be available in broadcast quality WAV or 320kbps MP3 as standard.

Who else is using it?

You won’t be the only one looking for free music. People creating content purely for personal projects don’t have a budget for music licensing so they need something free. If you’re producing a project for a client who is paying you, would they be happy with you using the same free music track as everyone else? If it’s free, chances are a lot of people will make use of it.

Clearance and Assurance

Anyone can upload a music track online. There is no vetting, no quality control or legal assurance. Any Blog or digital content platform can host a music track for others to share. So, when you’re downloading a ‘free music track’ how do you know the provider actually has the rights to provide it to you? When you license a music track from a professional curated library, you have the assurance that every single music track has been reviewed, contracted and published legally for you to license and use.

Why pay for music?

There are thousands of music tracks online. What difference is there between ‘Track A’ and ‘Track B’? As a video producer/filmmaker, ask yourself this question: “There are thousands of video cameras available. iPhones can shoot 4K video and you can plug a microphone into them. Why should a company hire me to shoot their video”?

When you license music from a reputable library, you’re paying for the expertise in writing and composing the music track. From the start, middle and end. The quality of instruments used. The production of dynamic audio, the builds and crescendos. The post production mastering and edits so that a 3 minute piece can be condensed into a short 30 second edit without losing any of the magic of the music track.

The difference you get when someone films a corporate video on their iPhone compared to someone filming the same video with a professional camera, lighting and staging is painfully obvious. It is no different when it comes to music or photography. There is the technology, the knowledge the skill and ability to combine them to achieve the highest quality result.

What can I do with licensed music?

Whatever you want. Music can be licensed for limited use or global distribution, mass production and broadcast. You can license music for a specific purpose and tailor it to accommodate any additional requirements at any time.

Licensing royalty free music is intended to be the most cost-effective and practical solution for using music in your professional projects. General online distribution is commonly a one-time license fee per track for lifetime usage.

Why Performance Management Is Important For Business

Performance management is the way a company determines how well their business and employees are functioning day to day. By employing performance management strategies, companies can track the consistency of effective business tactics and compare them with ineffective business tactics. Performance management will generally focus on each individual employee, a department or the business as a whole.

First it is important to determine what your definition is for the word performance and how it relates to business. How exactly is your business meant to be performing in the everyday world? Does performance mean increased profitability or beating out the competitors at any cost?

When it comes to employees, companies have been conducting performance appraisals for years. Employees are constantly being sent for extra training which is both time consuming and expensive. It is vital to evaluate whether these tactics truly do enhance performance, or if they are conducted merely for the sake of doing them. For example, most employees will not bother to increase their performance at work if there is not some kind of motivation for them involved. They are constantly forced to undergo training that increases their qualifications, and then must complete performance appraisals. But if the employee does not gain from these performance management techniques personally, then they may be discouraged to increase their actual performance. Why be more qualified and still be paid the same lower wage? Therefore, should companies wish to keep their employees at the top of the game and at the same level with their competitors, it is essential to provide personal incentives.

Performance management techniques should not only be aimed towards individual workers. They can be directed towards entire departments in order to determine the level of productivity that is coming out of each area of your business. Just because members in a department are extremely busy, they may not be able to manage themselves effectively enough to be performing at the top of their capabilities. Performance management also can be turned into time management techniques and completing individual projects based on their level of importance. By effective scheduling, it is possible to increase the entire level of performance of an entire company, meaning that your business will thrive.

Performance management has to consider every aspect of the business arena to make sure that the techniques are fully productive ones. For every part of your business that runs smoothly and efficiently, you are making an overall improvement on the business as a whole. For example, billing and invoicing procedures should be consistent and all departments such as administration, sales and computer aspects should be working in perfect conjunction with one another. It is vital that departments create an open dialogue with one another and communicate any problems that may affect other members of the team immediately.

By maintaining open streams of communication with all of the members on your team, you can ensure that your business is performing at the height of its abilities. Performance management is a great way to get the most out of your business.

PGDM Courses – An Important Step Before Stepping Into the Business World

PGDM or Post Graduate Diploma in Management is equivalent to an MBA. There are a number of PGDM Courses one can choose from. The following are the different PGDM programs available

• Full-time program

• Part-time program

• Distance Learning program

• Executive program

• Online program

A full-time PGDM program is usually of 2 years and comprises 4 semesters, 6 months each. Students can opt for their interest of specialization and have the option to choose from minor and major subjects. The choice of subjects includes the following:

• Marketing

• Finance

• Human Resources

• Operations and Logistics

• Information Technology

• Systems

• International Trade and Business

• Consumer Behavior

• Risk Management

• Entrepreneurship and many other.

The part-time and Executive PGDM are for those who are working executives and want to take up the course to further enhance their working skills. The part-time, distance and online learning programs are flexible whereas the Executive PGDM is strictly designed keeping the working people in mind.

These specialized PGDM Programs help one in assessing whether they are willing to continue to work in their field of interest. The curriculum of the courses is such that the person learns to deal with all situations. A manager needs to be able to motivate and guide his subordinates and should respect his superiors. Apart from imparting the basic know-how of the business world they also teach these things which are crucial to an organization.

Admission to a top-PGDM course can be obtained by appearing for the necessary entrance exams. Once the student clears the entrance tests he/she has to undergo a Group Discussion and Personal Interview after which he/she is selected and enrolled for final admission. The admission to the Top B Schools is sought by taking exams like the CAT, XAT, GMAT, NMET, MAT amongst others.

Once a student has successfully completed the PGDM Course he or she can apply for lucrative job opening which are offered. The PGDM Course boosts confidence and instills certain traits that are very important in the business world. One also becomes aware of certain latent skills and abilities that the program draws out during the course.

Completing your education world with a PGDM before stepping into the corporate world is the best thing in the competitive and demanding business environment today.

Easiest Business Loan to Get: What Factors Are Important When Looking for a Financing Solution?

Every type of business requires some sort of loan or line of credit for a wide range of reasons: start up capital, equipment, inventory, office rental, etc. Since every business and every owner is different and has unique circumstances, the easiest business loan to get for another owner might not be the easiest for you.

For start-ups or businesses that have either no credit history or a poor credit history, it will likely be difficult to obtain traditional bank loans. Also, with a low credit score, your interest rate will be high, even if you are approved for a loan.

Lenders will usually look at more than your credit history. Other factors include your time in business, industry, your personal credit score, whether you’ve had any recent bankruptcies or defaults, balance sheet, business licenses and permits, tax returns, purpose of loan, proof of collateral, and several other reasons.

If you can think that your financial situation is likely to improve, you’ll need to provide the documentation to prove it. Always have your documents and financial files ready and organized anyway, so that you’ll be able to get through the application process as smoothly as possible.

Are SBA Loans the Easiest Business Loan to Get?

Many people don’t consider SBA Loans and long-term loans to be the easiest business loan to get, as the application process is very long and complex. Only consider SBA loans and long-term traditional business loans if your credit score is high and you have all your financial statements prepared and ready to go. However, the application process still might take some time, so you’ll have to wait on approval.

If you need cash as quickly as possible, there are options such as merchant cash advances. This type of offer will help you access capital. You’ll receive a lump sum of cash, but you’ll be expected to give up a portion of future sales. You will have the responsibility for paying back the loan itself as well as fees. While there is no set fee, $15 for every $100 borrowed seems to be a pretty typical amount by many cash advance merchants.

Invoice financing and equipment financing are pretty similar with their requirements. With the former, you’ll need to show details of your unpaid invoices, as well as bank statements and other financial information. With the latter, you’ll need to explain the type of asset(s) your company needs to purchase, and provide an equipment quote, business tax returns, bank statements, etc.

There are many other options for business of all sizes thanks to the internet. Online lenders are popping up all the time, although it’s best to stick with one that has been around for at least a decade. Begin your search with US Business Funding, an accredited company with the BBB. They will help you find the easiest business loan to get for your needs.

Producing Good Catfish is Important, But Finding Good Buyers is Imperative!

As I have said on my Cost-Saving Ideas Farm Business Support mini site, and also in many of my previous write ups, I have gained unique insight into the business of catfish farming as it is done here in Nigeria. I have moved around quite a lot within Lagos especially, visiting various farms in places like Iyana Ipaja, Egbeda, Ojo, Gbagada, and outside Lagos, more recently,in Akute – Ogun State.

During my interactions with the farm owners, I typically ask the same questions about operational practices being used, farm output achieved, expenses incurred etc. My objective is always to establish how efficient and profitable the individual operations are. Time and time again, I have found that most of these farm owners are simply focussed on doing what they do in the same mechanical manner they have always been doing them. Little or no effort is made to spend some time THINKING about how to operate more efficiently – especially in order to reduce the time, effort, money and labour needed to produce – and sell – the same output within a production cycle.

But times are hard. Business is tough. Costs have risen. To continue to profit, it has become even more imperative today, for EVERY business to explore ways of LOWERING operating costs, even as they maintain or possibly INCREASE output. That is why IDEAS – NEW IDEAS – about how to better run the business MUST be routinely solicited, and explored practically, with a view to improving the way we work, so that the business can perform better.

But there is something even more compelling: SELLING. This is the ultimate objective of a business entreprise, which if NOT actively pursued could lead to its eventual demise. Until you get PAID CASH for your product or service, you have NOT done business profitably! And that applies to ANY business. I had to say this at the risk of stating the obvious, because it seems so many business owners often forget this important FACT.

In fact many people seem to go about their businesses focussing more on DOING the technical, production related aspects, and sparing minimal thought for the SELLING part. Yet, if you do not have customers READY and WILLING to part with CASH to get your product or service, ALL your technical, production related know how and skills amount to nothing! Your bank account would be empty!!

This is a message that needs to be drummed into the heads of many Catfish Farm (and other business) owners out here. I have been repeatedly contacted by people who seemed more interested in TESTING my knowledge of how to “inject” catfish or “strip” them of eggs, than they were in hearing my practically tested ideas, for instance, about how they can rear daphnia in glass tanks to feed their catfish fries instead of wasting time/labour scouting for dirty pools of water on different streets, to harvest wild daphnia from – or worse, feeding their catfish fries exclusively with expensive Artemia.

I often wonder if it ever occurs to them that today, almost ANYONE – even the unschooled – can be taught to independently carry out virtually all aspects of breeding and rearing of catfish for commercial production. Is it not obvious from the rate at which seminars, manuals and VCDs teaching the subject now abound in various locations (with adverts appearing in mass media like newspapers, etc)?

The truth is we have a lot of people engaged in producing catfish in different ways, at various scales of operation out here today. The PROBLEM however, is that very few, if at all any, are doing it by following any tested or proven standard operating procedure that guarantees consistent output of quality product. Worse however, and which is the POINT of this writeup, is the near TOTAL lack of attention to developing reliable strategies for FINDING GOOD buyers for the ready-to-sell catfish, be it fingerlings, juveniles or table sized ones.

This latter point explains why in my discussions with many owners, they typically complained of being frustrated by the very exploitative offers made by market women who come to buy their harvested fish. The tales of woe they have told me, about how these greedy traders take advantage of the farmers’ need to get the “ready” fish out of the ponds, to buy them at very low prices (and later sell at maximum profit) are heart rending.

Each time I have been told about this problem, I have responded by telling the farmers to take personal ACTION to find BETTER buyers, so that such traders would NO LONGER feel farmers have no alternative. This is where farmers need to employ CRITICAL THINKING skills. The farmer needs to think of ways to find other people who will want his fish produce, and who will be prepared to pay what they are worth!

In case you are wondering how the farmer will achieve this, I offer some ideas based on my personal experiences and observations.

For table size, ready to sell catfish: The farmer will need to look for beer parlours, restaurants and bars, hotels, motels, entertainment venues, event organisers etc who may need regular or periodic supply of catfish in bulk quantities at good prices. Such buyers are more likely to offer rewarding prices, compared to the market women. Actually they WILL offer better prices – I say this because I am aware of the prices some of them buy from the farmers that supply them.

The challenge is for YOU, as the farmer, to invest reasonable time and effort into locating and approaching them with an attractive offer. The resulting relationship would be mutually beneficial: they get bulk purchase of good quality catfish at AFFORDABLE prices. You get reliable, TIMELY and regular sales outlet for your catfish at PROFITABLE prices that enable you STAY in business for the long term.

Similar thinking will allow you find better sales outlets for fingerlings, if you choose to do so.

You would ask yourself questions like this: Who else would need or can use this catfish product, apart from those I am already dealing with? The answer will lead you towards securing more potentially rewarding sales outlets for your business.

You see, if you do not GO OUT and actively recruit potential bulk buying customers for your harvested catfish, to the extent that you are always able to sell off whatever you produce, at a profitable price, your business will suffer. I have seen farms with impressive looking LIVE catfish produce, but with no idea how to get enough buyers for them. And the owners just sat there – complaining lamely!

Quite often, these owners attend the training and learn how to rear the fish successfully. But their trainers (asuming they knew!) would have “forgotten” to advise them on how to get their produce sold!! The enthusiastic startups would thus launch out assuming buyers would come down in large enough numbers to empty out the ponds, at harvest time. When this does not happen, they are forced to continue spending money feeding the mature fish – inevitably increasing their cost of production.

My argument is that these farmers should have started looking for – and notifying – possible buyers some months BEFORE the fish became due for harvest. That way, they could even have gotten some intending buyers to book for the fish in advance.

A business that is NOT making sales will DIE. Producing (or retailing) good products and services is good, BUT of much GREATER importance, is the effort you put into finding the RIGHT type of buyers for them, who will pay you profitably. In essence, I am asking you NOT to stop at priding yourself on the fact that you know how to make a good product or deliver a great service. Spend MORE QUALITY TIME THINKING of how to find people who WILL PAY YOU WELL to get YOUR good product or great service. If you fail to do at least that, you risk FAILING financially, in that business of yours!

Note that the approach I have described above is what I have used successfully for years now, to boost sales of my own products and services. It is based on my experience based understanding, that ONE good paying client is better than ten (10) miserly and/or exploitative ones. It can be applied to ANY business, with equally effective impact. Call me on 234-803-302-1263 if you want to learn more about how you can use this approach or strategy to find BETTER paying customers for your business.

4 Reason Why SEO Important For Your Business?

Business owners will often hear about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how it is one of the most important marketing techniques a business can use as it looks to make a mark in the niche. See MOZ for beginner’s guide to SEO

Well, there are many reasons for its importance, and it’s best to understand this as soon as possible why SEO important for business.

Here are some of the key reasons for why SEO is a must and should be used as a marketing tactic while pursuing new leads.

4 Reason Why SEO Important For Business?

1) Higher Conversion Rate
The conversion rate you are progressing towards will always matter because you are aiming to focus on the bottom line. Those who aren’t focusing on the bottom line will be the ones who are going to struggle the most. A company, such as Blue Corona, has dozens of clients with website conversion rates that exceed 15%!

Think about this and then use SEO to earn more in a shorter period.

Most businesses will spend a lot of money to hit specific conversion numbers, but those aren’t enough at the best of times. Focus in on this and look at going with a solution that is to the point and won’t create issues.

2) Free Leads
You will want free leads and what better way to do this than to go with SEO? It is going to be a real game changer for you and is going to make life easier as you hope to progress.

Those who aren’t getting free leads will hate the direction they’re going in, and that will never work out as intended.

It is best to use SEO and progress with the help of leads that aren’t costing a penny. Even those who decide to hire an SEO company will come out on top because the ranking is going to stay for a long time and leads will continue to come in on a regular basis.

3) Targeted Leads
The third reason is knowing you are going to get meaningful leads rather than random customers who won’t buy or won’t be interested in what you are saying. Lead-generation

This is a real issue with other options and isn’t something you want in your life as a business owner.

Go with a solution such as SEO so you can get those targeted leads. When you are getting leads that are interested, you are not going to sell as hard, and that means more money is there to be made.

4) Builds Brand Credibility
A business is going to struggle if people aren’t aware of it, and that can happen for those who aren’t using SEO. The main thing to look at is building brand credibility through a proven marketing option such as this one. It will help bolster the business and its online presence.

Short-term results aren’t worth it at the best of times, so losing focus on why SEO helps is the reason people struggle.

Building the brand is one of the best things a person can do, and it is a good starting point for any business. Look into SEO and notice how your target audience will begin to recognize the name and all that it has to offer. See HubSpot for a 6-Step Brand Build to Grow Your Business on a Budget outline.

Finding a quality agency is too all important to increasing your brand. Incompetent agencies will hurt your brand and take your money. So it’s imperative that you seek out a quality company, such as Excited Links SEO, and digital marketing agency.

As A Summary Of Why SEO Important For Business
These are the main reasons why SEO remains an important cog in the marketing machine for business owners who are looking to take the next step. Yes, marketing isn’t easy, and many wrinkles come along with it, but one of the finest options up your sleeve will come in the form of search engine optimization.

Don’t toss this away and ignore it because there is value to be had for those who want to maximize their options and get more out of it.

Look into this and ensure you are on the right path. Now you understand why SEO important for business?

Well, if you wish to learn more on SEO or wish to perform search engine optimization on your own website, you can follow my comprehensive SEO checklist, it is not difficult as you imagine.

Important Tips for Starting a Coffee Shop Business

Opening a coffee shop business is an exciting endeavor. However, it’ll be fun no more if no money is going back to you. Most entrepreneurs turn sour after some couple of months that they buy coffee shops. It’s all because things are not going into their favor – it’s either they only make it to break even or not at all. A coffee shop business is a potential endeavor that can promise you substantial rewards. But it takes a lot of hard work to get the returns you want. Therefore before buying any coffee shops for sale, consider asking yourself first if: you have a smooth business plan, you have the initial fund to jumpstart the venture, you have a trust supplier, and other important matters that you should carefully analyze before plunging into the water.

Coffee shops for sale are everywhere; you’ll find one without even breaking a sweat. To handle the purchase without any problems make sure to find people that you can trust. A business lawyer is necessary to help you with all the transactions, find a lawyer who already has experience with real estate. You will also need an accountant to help manage your finances. To secure one’s business, it is highly advised to get insurance to get you covered at times that you need the most. Find a commercial insurance agent who can help you purchase the best commercial insurance policy for your coffee business.

When you have the team of experts that you need for the business transactions and requirements, the next search would be for the best coffee roaster. Do diligent research and check for the feedback on your prospective supplier. Do they deliver on time? Are they accessible via e-mail, social media, and telephone all throughout the day? When you check on coffee shops for sale ask them as well if they can recommend a good coffee roaster.

Next thing to consider is your expertise on the product that you are selling. Are you a coffee geek? Is your knowledge on coffee is enough to make things workable for your coffee shop business. There’s more time to learn new things but it’s important that you have the strong passion and initial knowledge about the beverage that you are about to sell. How can you promote it to your future consumers if you don’t know anything about it? Read books and do research on the basics and the latest trends. What are the best kinds of coffee to use? What’s the difference between coffee that are hand-picked and the ones that are mass produced? What are the best recommended brewing techniques? Also, do research about the best coffee accompaniments (pastry, waffle, cookies) that you can sell along with your prime coffee beverages. This will help promote multiple sales and increase your daily earnings.

The Most Important Step Into Starting Your Business

Franklin Roosevelt rightly said in his inaugural speech that one must not fear anything but the fear itself. This statement holds true even today as many a times in the modern life people fear many things which have a remote possibility of happening to them and take unnecessary stress onto them. In business also, a person should not fear about anything. Ultimately nothing is more important than the life and no one can control your life so you should always be fearless. This is the only way out to help yourself and make your life useful and constructive without being self rejected.

When one decides to take the entrepreneurial route there are many factors to consider in the life and so rightly many changes in the life style of people take place. But this does not mean that one must not try to be self dependent. Having your business is a proud thing to have and it is much better than the average paying mundane job of 9-5. The following fears need to be tackled in order to lead a healthy life when you start a business:

1. FEAR OF MONEY

Many people fear money. Some fear the lack of it whereas some fear the excess of it. But you must keep one thing in mind that the money that you have is your hard earned money and you need not fear from it in any way. In case you fear the lack of money, you should quickly remind yourself in your abilities and the education that you have received. This will surely help you realize your potential and remove your fear of money. For the people with the fear of excess of money, the thing that you should keep in mind that there are just many people with more money than you as are people with lesser money than you.

2. FEAR from FAILURE

Every new venture has the risk of failure as many of the businesses fail for the lack of proper strategy and implementation of it. But you must keep in mind that there are many that succeed too. This way if you research your field well and make a proper kind of strategy, then there is no one in this world that can stop you from succeeding.

3. FEAR OF FAMILY MEMBERS

If you fear the embarrassment you may have if your venture fails then you are not alone. There are thousands just like you who fear their family because of not having the courage to face them in failure. But you must realize that they are your own dear ones and they will always be there to support you no matter what. SO you should not fear them. In fact they will prove to be the support you need in case any difficult situations arise

Thus if you really want to succeed in business and entrepreneurship then the only thing that you should fear is fear itself.

The Important Difference Between Marketing, Selling and Advertising

I’ve heard the same sentence from many small business owners: “I’ve tried that, it doesn’t work for my business”. The practice of advertising is a mystery to most small business owners. For them it’s hard enough trying to perfect the process of doing business with their clients; the acquisition of new clients is a whole other challenge. Most business owners aren’t fully aware of the difference between advertising and marketing.

Let’s take some of the mystery out of the practices.

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the process is the distinctions between: marketing, advertising and selling:

Marketing: is the overall collection of tools used to build your business. Marketing has one overall objective – to drive clients through the process of noticing your business, purchasing from your business, enjoying the products or services of your business successfully enough to tell their friends and family and come back for more if applicable.

Some of the tools of marketing include:

1. Advertising

2. Public Relations

3. Direct Mail

4. Personal Sales

5. Internet

6. Print Promotions

7. Education

Advertising: Advertising doesn’t sell to your audience, it is a tool similar to the male ostrich tail; its job is to get you noticed for the specific things you do well. Advertising promotes the distinguishing features, benefits and advantages of your offer to a wide market. The goal of advertising is to bring in valuable leads for the selling process to take place.

I’ve sold Yellow Page advertising to business owners who initially felt that Yellow Page ads brought a lot of callers who were just shopping around. They didn’t want to waste time with “looky loo’s”.

If someone takes the time to make a phone call or send you an email regarding your product or service, why treat them with disdain? These folks are looking for the right answers to their problems. Even more important, they each know about 250 other people personally. Each opportunity to make a connection or a sale should be treated as equally important.

Selling: Once advertising has attracted the potential buyer, the selling process takes over. This is done either by personal sales or the use of point of purchase materials (ie., a store display, video demonstration etc.). Selling should come into play after a prospect has been determined to be right for the product or service.

The mystery and confusion begins when a business owner must decide what tools to use in the process of client acquisition. To whom should you advertise? Where should you advertise and why? How do you advertise? What kind of return should I expect to make on my advertising program? When do I use the other tools of marketing to bolster my advertising program? What should my ratio be between advertising and selling?

To whom should you advertise? Let’s be very clear about this one. You should never put a single dollar into advertising until you know who you will eventually sell your product or service to. You should not even be in business if you have no clue who you want to do business with.

Marketing is used to identify your ideal market. Sure, you may not get 100% of your ideal market, but if you know who will most likely benefit from what you have to sell or service, you can get more of them.

For example, if you’re a chiropractor in a big city, your ideal market might be the couple in their late 40’s to early 60’s that’re health conscious and active. They are looking to stay fit and are open to CAM’s (Complimentary and alternative medicines.). They may have an unfavorable view of the current healthcare system and wish to take a proactive approach to health maintenance. So let’s say after determining your ideal market, you identify 15,000 of them in your market region. So now you have 15,000 likely prospects to reach on a regular basis.

Where should you advertise and why? If you wanted to find a 34 year old Buddhist from Cambodia where would you look for one? The question may seem a bit silly but you know that you wouldn’t start by going to all the mosques in the area.

Sometimes you do have to eliminate all the unlikely places to search until you get to the most likely ones.

You must, of course choose the targets of your ad programs based on how many of your intended prospects will likely see your message. If the local health club in your area has a demographic membership of over 3,000 45 to 65 year olds, you might want to advertise in their monthly newsletter. If they don’t have a newsletter, you may want to sponsor one for them.

Remember the “The best place to go fishing is where the fish are biting”. Take the time to know about your target audience and their buying habits.

How do you advertise? Imagine that your very expensive Mercedes breaks down and the mechanic says that it’s your fuel pump. He needs to change it so he’s going to take a blow torch and cut through your hood, crack open your engine block and then replace the fuel pump. Once he’s done, he’ll weld all the parts back together and get your vehicle back to you.

Would you give this guy the OK to go to work on your vehicle? Of course you wouldn’t. Once you determine what you need to do, you have to be careful about how you execute the solution.

Coming back to our chiropractor, if he finds that the best way to reach the 15,000 couples ages 45 to 65 in his area is through the Yellow Pages; then he needs to decide if it’s cost effective, timely and competitive.

The goal now is to figure out the best way to reach all or most of those 15,000 ideal prospects.

Will he get comparable results from the repeated exposure in the health club newsletter where he’ll have a captive audience and no competition?

There’s no reason not to use both the Yellow Pages and the health club newsletter if they pull their weight economically. The goal of advertising is to gain valuable leads for the selling process to take place.

What kind of return should I expect to make on my advertising program? My answer to my clients to this question is usually a shocker; the answer is a big fat zero (0). How can a business owner spend so much money on advertising and expect no money in return?

This is the basis of the confusion between marketing, advertising and selling. Advertising’s value in the marketing mix is in lead generation. When properly used as such, the measurement of its effectiveness is in how many leads are generated.

This is why it’s so important to distinguish between the various tools of marketing. If our chiropractor had 20 leads coming in each day from his ad campaign and the front desk had a lousy conversion ratio, I bet that he’d blame his ad for not pulling in more clients.

Gauge your response rate when quantifying advertising results. Measure the number of leads coming in and adjust the ad copy to test for better results.

When do I use the other tools of marketing to bolster my advertising program? Advertising should never be used alone. Please remember that the average adult has to deal with over 2700 messages a day from all types of media.

Marketing should be seen as a combined effort to reach the minds and hearts of your target market. You should be using at least five of the seven tools of marketing every week. Depending on the age of your business and your business plan, you should be budgeting 10 to 15% of your estimated annual revenues for marketing. If you just opened your doors in the last five years, crank that up to 20%. There’s a reason that Pepsi and Coke spend over 400 million a year each to satisfy their shareholders bottom-line.

What should my ratio be between advertising and selling? Think of the relationship between advertising and sales as a complimentary one. If your advertising is generating a large number of leads, tailor your sales strategy to convert at least 30% of your leads while capturing all your leads for systematic follow-ups.

Keep in mind that at any given time, 3% of your market is ready to commit to your product or service. The goal is first to convert the 3% of your leads. Then to work on selling to the ones who are on the fence. Whether through personal sales, direct marketing, or point of purchase sales, your ratio will be determined by several factors, the offer, the product or service and the immediate need of the prospects and of course, price.

Don’t get too anal about the ratios. The most important thing to remember is that marketing is an inexact science. You will have to keep testing and trying for better results as the market changes.

Determine the value of a new client and the life time value of your clients. Once you do that, be sure that your marketing efforts are bringing in enough new business to cover the cost of getting new clients and that your sales efforts cover the cost of keeping you in business.

Tweak the numbers and track consistently. If your estimated marketing budget is $37,500 for the year, and your estimated revenue is $250,000 then you have a standard starting point.

At the end of the year your numbers should add up. If you haven’t made the $250,000 don’t simply blame your advertising, look at your leads list and determine if you’ve converted the required number into sales.

If you don’t have a leads list then we need to re-evaluate your purpose for advertising.

Important Facts about Strategic Planning

Every person has a goal; regardless of what areas of their lives it is being associated. A goal will remain a goal unless it was successfully achieved. Many would ask why some people are successful and some are not. Well, the answer lies on strategic planning.

Strategic planning is the process of developing strategies and defining objectives to reach a particular goal or set of goals. If you labeled your planning as “strategic” then you must expect that it would perfectly operate on a grand scale. It will achieve success in a broader field.

It is very different from “tactical” planning which focuses more on individual detailed tactics of activities. “Long range” planning however projects current programs and activities into a modified outlook of the outside world where it describes the phenomenon that will likely occur.

Strategic planning is creating more desirable results in the future through influencing the external world, and adapting current actions and programs to achieve a more favorable result in the outside environment.

There are different reasons why most people are doing strategic planning.

1. To acquire the capability in obtaining the desired objectives.

2. To fit well on both the organization’s core competencies and resources, and to the external world. Make sure that your plans are appropriate and feasible.

3. To acquire the capability in providing competitive advantage that is sustainable within the organization.

4. To prove that it is flexible, dynamic, and adaptable even to changeable situations.

5. To be sufficient in providing favorable results without cross-subsidization.

These advantages will not be realized without its methodologies. Strategic planning depends on STP (three-step process) process. “S” for situation where it was been thoroughly evaluated, “T” for Target where goals and objectives are defined, and “P” for path where the routes of goals and objectives are clearly mapped.

However another alternative approach can also be used. It is known as the Draw-See-Think-Plan procedures. “Draw” creates the desired image and achievements. “See” evaluates current situation and detects gaps between ideal situation and current situation. “Think” develops specific actions that must be done to bridge the gaps between ideal situation and current situation. “Plan” lists down required resources for the execution of activities.

Strategic planning is also considered a set of creative and logical steps.

1. It clarifies the objectives to be achieved. These objectives are ranked according to the level of its importance. It can either be TRO (Top Rank Objective), 2nd Rank Objective, 3rd Rank Objective and so on. The lower rank objectives answers the “How” question while higher rank objective answers the “why” question. However TRO is exempted because the objective here is defined.

2. It gathers and analyzes the information. It includes internal assessment on resources, and external assessment which include environmental scanning. Morphological analysis is used by both internal and external assessments. SWOT analysis can also be incorporated to assess the aspects of environments and organizations that are essential in achieving the strategic plan objectives.

3. It evaluates objective feasibility in the SWOT view. SWOT is the acronyms which stands fro Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats.

4. It develops strategy involving SWOT.

5. It develops action programs creating a more attractive strategy.

To summarize everything, strategic planning provides overall strategic direction on the core management of the company. It gives a more specific direction in areas such as marketing strategy, financial strategy, human resource strategy, organizational development strategy, and deployment information technology strategy to achieve success.