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With the ever changing face of the economy based on varying factors [such as government protectionism, automation of industries, downsizing of companies] the trend to more and more people choosing to start their own business for various reasons continue to rise. With that said – along with this trend there is an increasing need for structured marketing process and client acquisition processes and methodologies to be utilised within these businesses in order to transform a startup into a fully functional revenue generating entity.It is often the case that many smaller businesses are product rather than market focussed. In many cases we find that there is no actual marketing department so to speak of and as a consequence the function of marketing within the company ends up being fulfilled ‘as and when’.We can contrast this to what we find in any larger organisation or corporate; we find an actual marketing department, with qualified marketing professionals who are analysing the market, target customers and competition, they continually look for trends and movements in their chosen space in order to refine the marketing message and continually push the communication through the channels. This is to include the distribution channel [where appropriate], print media, radio, catalogues etc, etc and of course the use of digital marketing channels [social media, email marketing, video marketing, micro blogging and more].The above is what leads to the typical ongoing market penetration that we see within these organisations leading to new products and services development a steady stream of new clients and the nurturing of existing clientele.It is with the smaller organisation in mind, the solopreneur or work from home business owner that any strategic business attraction marketing blueprint is targeted towards. This is one or two steps down from making use of an in person consultant that will look to understand the business operations and put specific structures in place that when followed; will first provide a deeper understanding of the market place and target market clients but will also provide the foundation for providing the products and services that the intelligence directs the company towards producing.It is recommended that organisations looking to add structure and processes to the marketing and client acquisition aspect of their businesses direct their energies to these main fundamentals.

Client Strategy & Preparation

Setting Up Key Business Processes & Systems

Getting Clients While You Sleep

Follow Up & Retention

1) Gaining a deeper understanding of the needs, desires and behaviour of the clients no matter what the industry will drive the decisions that are made in relation to the products and services that are developed and presented to the market space.2) Key systems and processes such as continuous market intelligence related to pricing and customer behaviour can help to take the organisation to the next level and gain a significant competitive advantage over other companies supplying related or similar products and services.3) The marketing process for bringing new prospects into the marketing funnel must be an ongoing activity; whilst focusing on servicing existing clients it is imperative that someone is taking care of make new clients aware of the needs that your organisation can fill.4) Too often it is the failure to followup and keeping in touch that leads to the loss of valuable customers; depending on the business tools such as email marketing, videos, membership sites and print media may be used in order to stay at the top of the mind of the target customer.Once the process has been developed it will then be a matter of refining it [say once a quarter] whilst some is taking care of the execution which will lead to new customers, sales and products and services leading to increased revenue generation.

Ecommerce web growth continues to accelerate on a worldwide basis as more consumers gain confidence to transact on the internet, traditional business shifts its service provision to ecommerce platforms and internet access levels in both developed and underdeveloped countries continues to increase. The following information provides a breakdown of the contribution to economic ecommerce growth. The reported statistics are from the US Census Bureau E Stats publication and outline the sector composition and growth rates over the 2000 to year 2005 period.In the May 2007 edition of the US Census Bureau E Stats publication, it has been reported that business to business transactions by manufacturers and merchant wholesalers accounted for most ecommerce (92 per cent). Trade data indicates that during the period 2000-2005 ecommerce growth for manufacturing continues to outperform merchant wholesale trade followed by retail trade and selected services. As a percentage of total sales, e-commerce sales of merchant wholesalers grew more slowly than total sales.Ecommerce Growth Rates And Trends:From 2000 to 2005 manufacturing e-shipments increased at an average annual growth rate of 11.4 percent compare to 2.5 percent for total shipments during the corresponding period.During 2000 to 2005, e-shipments as a share of total shipments were largest in the transportation equipment group, beverage and tobacco sectors.The growth of ecommerce sector contributions in value terms: Manufacturing: Transportation and Equipment – 29 per centChemicals – 13%Petroleum and Coal Products – 8%Food Products – 8%Computer and Electronic Products – 7%Merchant Wholesale trade: In the 16 industries that were recorded, four industry groups stood out contribution wise. Drugs and druggists, sundries, motor vehicles and automotive equipment, and professional equipment and grocery products accounted for 69% of total e-sales.Retail Trade: Form the period 2000 to 2005, retail e-sales increased at an average annual growth rate of 27.3 percent compared with 43% for total retail sales. Over 90% of retail sales were accounted for by non-store retailers (73%) and motor vehicle parts dealers (18%).Selected Service Industries: From 2002 to 2005 ecommerce revenues in the selected service industries sector increased at an average annual growth rate of 26.5 percent compared with 6.9 percent for the total revenue of the selected services industries. The two largest sub sector contributions came from the publishing and travel reservation services (23 percent collectively).Ecommerce growth is expected to continue to accelerate in the years to come as emerging markets integrate into the world economy and as more countries join the world trade organization.

If you run a business, you already know that advertising is key to getting the word out about your company. As a local business, there are many advertising mediums that may be cost effective for your current needs. You might have advertised on radio, television, newspapers, phone books, and even sponsored small events. Are you still struggling by though, and need new effective ways to advertise? Or do you just want to see a steady increase in the customer store visits that already have? Then read on and learn of a new little known, inexpensive method that can drastically increase your in store revenues.Let’s first look at some of the advertising sources you probably go through now for new local clientèle.Newspapers: Newspapers are good for getting the word out it may seem for the most part. You can place a small display ad for about $500.00 a day. While the the expensiveness of this method can be a debatable subject, we all know not everyone can afford this price on a daily basis. It’s just too expensive for he smaller mom and pop store to advertise to the consumer. Your ad isn’t guaranteed to be read in a newspaper either, and there is a good chance you won’t have much success without at least one month of solid ad exposure.Radio: I hate to say this about radio, but with the addition of newer medias this is a dying method of advertising. Aside from technology, putting entertainment more and more into the hands of listeners and less into the hands of the stations, there’s the cost. Costs can run you about the same as a newspaper display ad but unlike with newspapers, it can be a lot more hard to be guaranteed any listeners for your advertising campaign. Radio stations can only guarantee a population radius of reception.Television: While television costs are indeed going down for advertising, there is a reason for this. The real estate is thinning out with the explosion of many diverse channel networks not to mention cable on demand services. Production of a cheesy looking commercial can cost you somewhere in the thousands, and running your advertising campaign daily can cost you far more than your production to ensure your message gets across to your audience. Many commercials are muted these days by viewers lets not forget. Many people watch television for entertainment and find commercials mostly as another daily nuisance in their hectic lives.Phone Directories: Costs for a basic listing can run in the hundreds not to mention the cost of display advertising or incentive coupons. Phone directories though are not a bad option at all. In a directory you are listed under your local industry and people that are actively seeking and ready to spend money on such services/products can find you. There is not much bad to say about a phone directory really with the exception of pricing.For now that is all I will talk about in terms of traditional advertising mediums, I know, there are more, and yes I didn’t mention online advertising opportunities either, which there are many great opportunities for a local business, but there are other articles that can be used to focus on that particular subject later. What I really want to do now is open your eyes to a new untouched advertising source that will ultimately benefit your local business and it’s overall advertising dollar value grabbing your customers and better yet, at the point of the purchasing or visit decision.Yes, a new advertising service is available that gives you local recognition while giving you measurable insight on the effectiveness of your advertising campaign with no additional tools required. What if I told you that each time someone looked in the Yellow pages of a phone directory that you could be the first business they saw? No other business, just yours? Well, what if I also told you that the same person looking for your type of business actually was handed a phone with your business number already dialed and ringing? Would you want to purchase that type of advertisement? I bet you would, but you probably wouldn’t be able to afford it, or at least that’s what your thinking right now as I mention this. First off I’ll say advertising this effective is possible and does indeed exists. Affordable though? Answer is again, yes.The advertising service I speak of is probably from a company you have already heard of. A company that as we speak, Google is trying to replicate. The company is 1-800-FREE 411 and this company has compiled a database of every local business in the US and has them listed in every category of industry for the American consumer to find from their phones for free.When a caller calls the information service for a phone number they are fed a quick advertisement of a paid advertiser (competitor) and given the option to connect to the other business free of charge. The business that receives the call pays for the potential customer a one flat fee for the connection. What the business pays can be very little, as little as $3.00, but what is even better is what your paying for. Your paying for a highly motivated customer, who is ready to buy or visit your store or place of business. What would you rate that out of 1 and 10 for advertising value?I think you can see what this service can mean for you and your business. Increased consumer awareness, greater brand recognition, and faster sales conversion just to name a few, right? Well this service exists for business owners and with over 20 million free 411 calls a month, you can be sure someone is calling information for one of your competitors right now or in the very near future.As far as affordable, they currently (as of 2007) require a minimum deposit of $100.00 which also includes a free voice commercial read from your own written 250 word script. With no production fees or contracts, you can obviously see the overall value and cost effectiveness of this form of advertising. It might be wise to test drive the service for the minimum deposit and see for yourself how effective this advertising really can be for your own local business, your competition will be soon I’m sure.