TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
July 23, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Social networking seems to be the newest big thing in the marketing world. People are spending several hours per week (or day) updating their profiles, looking for connections,  tweeting, and more in the hopes of building their businesses.

 
 
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
July 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Last month, we looked at various internet marketing outlets. Knowing what available marketing tools exist on the internet is but the first step. If we avail ourselves of these tools, we still need to be sure that they are working for us in the way we want so that we do not invest time, energy, and (possibly) money into “solutions” that don’t work. (This really applies to any marketing tool we use – from the internet to the yellow pages to networking groups.)

Direct Mail vs. Internet Marketing Part 2: Defining Internet Marketing

By Rama Beerfas

June 18, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Last column, we defined “direct mail.” This time, we will touch on the various avenues available for marketing through the internet, both paid and free.

 
Direct Mail vs. Internet Marketing Part 1: Defining Internet Marketing

By Rama Beerfas
 
June 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – There are many marketers out there who believe that direct mail is not the effective form of advertising that it once was, at least in comparison to the less expensive outlets available through the internet. The truth is that different advertising media can all be made effective if the message, positioning and targeting are done correctly.

 


TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH
 

By Rama Beerfas

March 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve talked about the concept of selling benefits instead of features in order to give your audience the inducement to make the purchase. Now, we need to solidly define the term "benefit."

 
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas
 
February 15, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Anyone who has participated in a business networking event of any kind has heard about the all-important 30-Second Commercial, sometimes known as the “Elevator Pitch.” The purpose of this commercial is to make people aware of what you do and what type of business you are looking for, usually in a thirty to sixty-second timeframe.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas

February 10, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – If you’ve ever taken a sales training class, you have probably heard the features vs. benefits marketing approach. I call this technique the WIIFM Factor – What’s in It for Me. When it comes right down to it, when you are stressing the benefits, rather than the features of a particular product or service, you are telling your prospects what is in it for them when they purchase from you.

 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

By Rama Beerfas

November 7, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) - While most people believe that the best time to give holiday business gifts is in the week or two leading up to Christmas, there are several compelling reasons to choose either Thanksgiving or New Year for business-related gift-giving.

Planning for Effective Marketing – The How

By Rama Beerfas

October 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) - We’ve talked about the details of our marketing program: the who, what where, when and why. Those are mapped out and ready to go. Now, we come to the “how.”
 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH


By Rama Beerfas
September 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) - We’ve covered the why (the goal) and the who (target market) of a marketing campaign. Now, it’s time to talk about the “what,” the “where,” and the “when” of a successful marketing campaign.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH


By Rama Beerfas
 
August 18, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)—Last month, we started talking about how to plan for a successful marketing campaign. We looked at the “why” of the campaign – the ultimate goal to be achieved. If you didn’t see that article, you can read it now at http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/1610. Now, we’ll take a look at the “who” of the campaign.

Planning for Effective Marketing
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
July 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)—It takes many different components coming together to make a marketing campaign successful: a defined target market, an understanding of that target market, a “SMART” goal, a cohesive campaign, and, most importantly, planning. One of the biggest mistakes I see when my clients come to me for assistance in executing a marketing campaign or to purchase a promotional product for an event is the lack of planning involved. Without a cohesive plan, which includes a timeline for critical action points, only luck will save the marketing effort from becoming a failure, or worse, a black eye on the face of the company.

Internal Customers’ Interaction with External Customers: The Ultimate Marketing Tool By Rama Beerfas June 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) --In our previous installment, we looked at how important your internal customers (employees) are to the success of your business. (If you missed it, check it out at http://eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/986). Of course, no matter how good your relationship is with your internal customers, if they cannot translate your message and ideology into similarly good relationships with your external customers (the people paying for your goods and/or services), then every penny, effort and minute you spend on any other marketing efforts is wasted.

THE INTERNAL CUSTOMER--MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MAY THINK> By Rama Beerfas May 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) --In our previous installment, we looked at customer service as your #1 marketing tool. (If you missed it, check it out at http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=taxonomy/term/310.) This month, we focus on what exactly an internal customer is--nd why internal customers are just as important as your external customers to the success of your business.
 

Your #1 Marketing Tool

By Rama Beerfas

April 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) - Clients often ask me, “What is the number one most effective marketing tool?” My answer is, “Delivering consistent customer service at or above the level that is consistent with your image.”

The truth is that no matter how good your product or service is, your customer service will play a huge part in whether your business will generate repeat sales and word-of-mouth referrals (unless you’ve got a monopoly and you are the only one selling a must-have item.). Without repeat sales and customer referrals, you will be spending all your time, money, and effort replenishing your customer base rather than growing it.