Buena Vista

I noticed a new billboard today for Buena Vista they have a new location by Logans  on 157, I think the billboard was creative with beautiful colors and in my opinion will draw in business! great marketing!

Marketing Jobs

Ok so maybe some of you out there dont want to be an entrepreneur,but like the marketing side of business. There are tons of marketing jobs out there and one I never really thought much of is telemarketing. I have always thought of telemarketers as a pain in the tail! I would try to screen to miss the calls and just hang up on them, but after doing some more research on "telemarketing" and its different aspects I dont look at it so bad. It can actually be a career opportunity if you had the patience and potential.

Investment

When starting a new business or wanting to save to start a new business you should think of investment. There are many investment opportunities out there from low to high risk. Stocks and bonds and mutual funds are great ways to start investing young at low risk. My personal preference is mutual funds its a way to diversify your investment at low risk.

Marketing plan...

A good way to start a business or if you have business ideas is to start a marketing or business plan.  Some things may sound like a good idea but are completely different on paper. Once you have a plan laid out you can see things in a different perspective.  Also a good marketing plan looks good when trying to get business loans.

Many people are using apps for their business this is a way of marketing. Even banks are going mobile this is a big convenience for many people! There are more apps than just social media. The mobile banking apps are great for businesses especially small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Signs for business

I recently started working for a vet clinic, One of the first things I noticed is the sign in front of the clinic is old, worn out and boring! To me it should be redone to bring in more business. It would be a great way for marketing on such a busy road which is on the betline in Decatur.

Marketing Tools

One marketing tool is business cards, this is a good way to put your name out there and your business. A good idea is to make your business card flashy and not to put too much info on there, You don't want it to get to crowded. Business cards are also usually cheap you can get 500 at staples  for 14.99 or Vista print is on of my favorites and cheapest. This is a great way to share your business with  others and get the word out, its cheap and effective.

Shark Tank - Season 5, Episode 14 (Full Episode)

Marketing Trends 2014

One marketing trend of 2014 is digital marketing. Digital marketing has one major advantage, it is cost effective. There are several things that contribute to digital marketing. This type of marketing is convenient  for smart phone and tablet users for they are usually in arms reach. Marketing is expanding to video marketing and people are even using apps such as vine, google+ , facebook etc.

Market Research

One type of marketing research is when a company studies how many people or what kind of people an companies may purchase an updated model of their product. Computer companies like Dell for example use this research to create new products. You also have to look at the demand for the product and what ways you can better it for the customers! You also have to look at competitors and how you can make your product better than theirs.

Outsourcing

One profitable way of growing a business is outsourcing. Outsourcing is contracting out parts of your business to a third party. There many things to look at before deciding to use this as a way to grow your business. One bad thing is the objective third party may not know certain ins and outs of the business.

Customer service is essential to a growing business, it can play a big role in the success or down fall of a business. Have you ever been with a company and liked the product or service it provided but had a bad experience with a CSR or maybe couldn't get in contact with the business? I think we have all been there and that's just one example on how bad customer service can hurt a business. When trying to sell a product or service or planning to own a growing business I myself would like to focus on ways to build a strong relationship between my customers and my business. Rule of thumb, customers are always right! Even if they aren't the nicest people they are apart of your business or company just like stockowners. Its hard dealing with the general public but sometimes its worth going above and beyond to "save a sale".

Downtown Lifestyles

Having never lived in a city myself I can only speak from research on the lifestyle of living in a town or society where everyone walks mostly everywhere. One good example is the lifestyle my family has in Germany. There is a small town called Herborn and other than some housing and farms surrounding the outer part of the city everyone lives in apartments and lofts in town. The city has a large walking zone and gets very crowded. It consists of many shops, vendors and boutique's. They have public pools and parks for recreation since no one has yards or really any private areas. There are marked paths throughout the forests surrounding the town. Walking is a daily routine. As for  long trips or getting into town there are trains, bus and taxi services. It could get pricey but they do offer season passes that are at reasonable cost. As for employment opportunities you can go the public service route: public transportation, street sweeping, park keepers and landscapers that tend to walking zone and high traffic place for tourist. There are entrepreneurs on every corner that have had shops and restaurants that stayed successful for years because of the high demand and traffic. The cost of living is higher within the city because the living accommodations. The picture below shows many of the shops and local commodities. The apartments and lofts are located above the shops on each side of the walking zone.

More ways for advertisement...

Have you noticed in hotels usually close to the front desk there are tons of flyers? Another great way of advertising and cross selling a product! Even local restaurants might send coupons or give discounts for guest if recommended by each other, I worked at Logan's on 157 and we would get lots of business from local hotels and recommending each others service. We sometimes would send outs bags of peanuts with a free appetizer card attached.

Cross Selling

One great idea of marketing is cross-selling a product, I have read this can be risky but in my opinion a great idea! I recently signed up for some magazines with baby products, discounts and etc. because I am an expecting mother. A few weeks later I started receiving product offers and samples via mail. I love this marketing strategy,  I also love free things:)