Archive for the ‘Business Development’ Category
Thursday, September 27th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
At first glance, it might seem like a ridiculous strategy to price a product below its cost. Wouldn’t you just be losing money? While this is true, many companies do just that, and they do lose money. On that specific offering. This is part of a strategy known as loss leader pricing. As defined by Inc., “loss leader pricing is an aggressive pricing strategy in which a store sells selected goods below cost in order to attract customers who will, according to the loss leader philosophy, make up for the losses on highlighted products with additional purchases of profitable goods.”
A great example of a loss leader is razors. (more…)
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Tags: attracting customers, getting new customers, loss leader, loss leader pricing, Marketing, marketing strategy, pricing strategy
Posted in Business Development, Competition, Marketing and Branding, Small Business Strategy, Strategy | No Comments »
Monday, September 24th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Disruptive innovation refers to new advances within an industry that fundamentally reshape or even completely replace an industry. Consider, for example, the impact of the personal computer on the typewriter industry, or the impact of the automobile on the horse-drawn carriage industry. Disruptive innovation is a boon to consumers and society in general, because new products, new services and new ways of serving customers add value to individuals and the economy as a whole. At the same time, disruptive innovation can be devastating to companies that are too slow to recognize the impending impact of disruptive innovation or too slow to react once they have recognized that potential impact.
In a post for Vertafore, Ben Deda, VP of Marketing, lists several examples of companies that failed to adapt to disruptive innovation. You’ve likely heard of them: (more…)
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Tags: Blockbuster, business challenge, disruptive innovation, entrepreneurship, Kodak, Myspace, outpacing the competition, staying competitive, threats of new market entrants, Xerox
Posted in Business Development, Innovation, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, September 13th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
One of the most difficult aspects of starting a new business is raising some start-up capital. It’s great if you have sufficient savings built up to keep you going for a few years – yes, it often takes at least that long to start turning a profit – but that isn’t the reality for many entrepreneurs. In addition to the costs of running the business itself – which could include rent, marketing, utilities, raw materials, staff wages, etc. – entrepreneurs are often leaving an existing job, foregoing a steady paycheck.
Traditionally, start-ups are frequently funded by one or more of the “3Fs”: family, friends and fools. (more…)
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Tags: business capital, Business development, business startup, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, funding, venture capitalists
Posted in Business Development, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2018
Marketing is key to not only getting the word out about your products and services but also for convincing potential consumers that your offerings provide the best quality, best value, are the trendiest, etc. Influencers can be a huge benefit in this respect. Influencers are individuals or organizations that have the ability to influence the beliefs, attitudes and actions of others. An influencer might be a popular professional athlete who touts the efficacy of a particular shoe, supplement or clothing brand. Or it could be a celebrity who shows up on the red carpet wearing a particular fashion brand—one that carries your label.
These are examples of large-scale influencers. Small businesses typically don’t have access to such individuals unless by pure good fortune. But in an article for Forbes, Dinah Wisenberg Brin writes that some businesses have found success using “micro-influencers” to achieve similar effects, albeit on a smaller scale. (more…)
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Tags: digital marketing, influencers, Marketing, micro-influencers, social media marketing, targeted marketing
Posted in Business Development, Client Relations, Content Marketing, Customer Communication, Influencer Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, September 7th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Entrepreneurs are typically very passionate about the companies they found. Some even take on a quasi-parental mentality. This is understandable. After all, many of these entrepreneurs pour their life savings and countless hours of work into getting their businesses off the ground.
But the skills that make a good entrepreneur are not always the same skills that help guide an established company. (more…)
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Tags: clear strategy, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, growing your business, M&A, selling your business, starting a business
Posted in Business Development, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 5th, 2018
In an article for Harvard Business Review, Adam Richardson discusses the concept of customer touchpoints, which he broadly defines as “any interaction point between the customer and your brand.” If we think about this definition, it truly is quite broad, not least because it invokes the concept of the brand, which is itself extremely broad.
Does an online ad reflect on your brand? What about a discussion with a billing agent over a discrepancy on an invoice? While the answer to the first question is probably obvious, the second might seem like a stretch at first. But in truth, both are examples of touchpoints. And touchpoints have a direct impact on consumer brand perceptions. (more…)
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Tags: brand audit, Brand Management, branding, customer communication management, customer touchpoints, effective branding
Posted in Brand Management, Business Development, Customer Communication, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Friday, July 6th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
One of the more tedious activities that falls under the broad umbrella of marketing is responding to requests for proposals, or RFPs. RFPs are typically issued by large organizations — like large corporations or government entities — that are looking for a vendor for a large expenditure or project. It’s basically a way of telling the public or a specific group of pre-screened vendors, “Hey, I want to buy something! Send me a pitch!” The sheer number of interested vendors they often receive responses from and the need to objectively compare them means they are also telling these vendors, “But…send me a pitch in this precise format.”
The process can be time-consuming and convoluted, but a winning bid can be extremely lucrative. Fortunately, there are some basic tips and strategies that can make the process more efficient. (more…)
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Tags: Marketing, professional services marketing, request for proposal, responding to proposals, RFPs, submitting requests for proposal
Posted in Business Development, Competition, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
So you want to be an expert? Seems like just about everybody does these days and social media makes it relatively easy, and very inexpensive, to take steps to gain expert status, or thought leadership. We work with a wide range of clients, primarily in business-to-business (B2B) related industries, many who are business consultants wishing to establish themselves as thought leaders in various industries. Here are “3 Steps for Gaining Traction as a Thought Leader”: (more…)
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Tags: becoming an influencer, content marketing, influencer, media relations, pr, public relations, thought leader, thought leadership
Posted in Business Development, Career Advice, Content Marketing, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 26th, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Few things can be as effective at generating sales as positive customer reviews. Similarly, and conversely, few things can be as damaging to sales as negative customer reviews. In terms of online retail, a recent survey found that positive reviews influence the purchase decisions of 90 percent of respondents, while negative reviews influence around 86 percent. But that’s in the B2C (business-to-consumer) world. In B2C, there are a relatively large number of customer interactions compared to B2B (business-to-business). This means that while B2B has fewer potential customer reviews to base a purchase decision on, each one is that much more impactful. (more…)
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Tags: B2B, B2B marketing, B2B relationships, building customer relations, creating customer advocates, customer advocates, customer relationships, establishing brand preference, forging customer relationships, word of mouth, word of mouth marketing
Posted in Business Development, Client Relations, Customer Communication, Customer Service, Influencer Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Sales, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, June 21st, 2018
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
We often hear narratives about how online retail is replacing traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Online is more convenient and has much lower overhead. At the same time, others point out that brick-and-mortar still makes up a strong majority of overall retail sales. Customers prefer the tactile experience, the ability to talk to sales representatives and being able to take their purchases home when they walk out of the store instead of waiting for packages to arrive by mail.
The truth is that both sides of this debate are right. (more…)
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Tags: Amazon, brick and mortar, online shopping, retail experience, retail store closings, showrooming, the death of retail, webrooming
Posted in Business Development, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Small Business Strategy | No Comments »
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