Is Most Marketing by Small Businesses KILLING THEM?
Is Most Marketing by Small Businesses KILLING THEM?
I just collected my mail. As usual, more than 80% of it was junk. Marketing junk.What did I do with it? Threw it in the garbage without reading it. Same as you do. Only it made me think about this article, which I guess might be of some use, unintended by the morons who send me all that useless direct mail.When I open a local newspaper, the first thing I do is chuck away all the god-awful leaflets and flyers hidden inside it. Same with anything people put in my mailbox or tuck behind the latch on my door. Out with the BS!Now, I'm ready to accept that someone, somewhere must read that kind of unwanted garbage. Maybe even thinks it's useful. Hell, it's a free country. If no one read it, surely (please God) people would stop sending it. Wouldn't they?Why this mattersMost of the stuff is sent by huge corporations. They get a response rate of probably less than a fraction of a percent -- say 1 person in every 300-400 -- but that's okay. They send out so many millions of mailing pieces it adds up to a measurable number of possible customers.Besides, they treat it as just another cost of doing business. They can afford it out of their vast profits.But you, the small business owner, can't afford that kind of cost:return ratio. Nor can you send out millions of unwanted marketing messages (Thank God!)Sending out 5000 would be a very big deal (printing costs, distribution costs...). 10,000 would probably be too expensive on any grounds. So a response of maybe under 10 people -- not SALES, just a response of any kind -- isn't going to make you feel good.Playing the NumbersMarketing is a big numbers game, and getting ever more so. Look how many people signed up for the "Do Not Call List" to get rid of those loathsome telemarketers who always call at a meal time.As soon as consumers have choice, their first action is to dump any kind of marketing. Technology is giving them more and more of that choice.They can block pop-ups on the Internet. Kill spam (to some extent, but there will be better ways soon), use their TiVo to remove TV adverts. You have to persuade people to let you give them marketing messages (that's "permission marketing"). Mostly, they won't, unless you offer them something they really want in return.Here's the good newsWhat people want is simple: useful, FREE information, with no catch.Offer them that and they'll "pay" for it by letting to add just a smidgeon of marketing.Give them what they find useful; as much of it as you can. Don't cheat either by doling out a bit, then trying to make them pay for the rest. That's like your lover giving you a kiss, then asking for fifty bucks for any more (and you know what business that is, right?).Marketing used to be trapping people into reading what suits you, the seller. No more.Unless you have megabucks available to smother the market in the hope of finding a few saps still willing to go along with that game, marketing today is persuading people that you're worth listening to when THEY want to and on THEIR terms.And that means giving them plenty in return.Now the best newsYou don't need megabucks to do this. All you need is willingness, a real concern to be useful to your customers and a web site.Share your passions. Invite your customers to talk with you and with each other. Keep handing out truly useful information.They'll flock to your site and reward you with enough trust to consider your marketing message. Because they're not fools. They know you're in business to sell things.And they like to buy, especially from people they like. They just hate being sold to.Adrian W. Savage writes for people who want help with the daily dilemmas they face at work. He has contributed more than 25 articles to leading British and American publications and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Chicago Tribune.Visit his blog on the ups and downs of business life.
Guide to Flexible Mortgages-Refinance
Guide to Flexible Mortgages
Outlined below is a useful guide to flexible mortgages. Flexible mortgages are also known as Australian Mortgages because they usually feature something which is common in Australia - interest recalculation on a daily basis.Daily interest rate calculation means that the amount you owe falls each month as a little more capital is paid off with each mortgage payment. Most flexible mortgages now offer daily calculation of interest, so changes to the outstanding balance are taken into account immediately.The flexible mortgage was originally designed to help homeowners take a more pro-active role in managing their debt. Since their inception they have increased dramatically in popularity.Flexible mortgages allow you to tailor your mortgage to suit your lifestyle. A flexible mortgage allows you to make additional or lump sum payments in excess of your scheduled amount, enabling you to pay off your mortgage early. By reducing the capital amount of your mortgage in this way, you are also reducing your monthly interest payments. You may take this money back at any stage or use it to take a repayment "holiday".A flexible mortgage typically allows you to increase and reduce payments. This flexibility allows you to match your income patterns to your out-goings. If you repay extra each month you can reduce you mortgage balance and interest charged resulting in substantial savings being made.Flexible mortgages are loans which allow you to increase or reduce the size of your repayments within certain limits. This may help you cope with changes in your income or spending, and reduce your outstanding commitments without penalty.Each lender has a different idea of what makes a mortgage flexible choosing to combine all or some of a set of flexible features. Flexible features include regular overpayments, lump-sum overpayments, lump-sum withdrawals and payment holidays. Customers may also be able to make payments weekly.Flexible mortgages offer the safety net of being able to take occasional payment holidays when financial times get tough. But the payment holiday safeguards lenders put in place to ensure borrowers are generally prevented from falling into arrears or negative equity vary considerably from lender to lender. So it is vital to check the terms and conditions of each loan. A large number of lenders allow payment holidays where the borrower is drawing back on a reserve limit agreed at the time of the mortgage application.Many self-employed people whose income varies from one month to the next find these products helpful. They can make overpayments when earnings are at the annual peak and cut payments when earnings fall again. Some flexible mortgages allow you to withdraw sums you have overpaid into your mortgage account for emergencies.Borrowers will usually have to build up a reserve through overpayments before being allowed to lower or miss payments. The benefit with a flexible mortgage is that many lenders offer rates that are calculated on a daily basis. The advantage to this type of mortgage is that even by overpaying the mortgage by a small amount on a regular basis, it can reduce your mortgage term by yearsSome flexible mortgages operate as both a current account and a mortgage account. The advantage of a flexible mortgage is that all money is controlled within one account and savings can be used to offset the debt. With flexible mortgages interest is only paid on the balance outstanding at the end of each day, leading to less overall interest payments.Most flexible mortgages follow the lender's standard variable rate, although a few lenders offer short-term discounts. The interest charged on a flexible mortgage is usually high compared to a short-term special offer rate, such as a fixed rate or discount.To get the maximum benefit from a flexible mortgage you will need to actively use the flexible elements of the loan, otherwise there is little point in taking out this type of mortgage.Your home is used as collateral for the flexible mortgage, so if you fail to make repayments on the Flexible Mortgage the lender can take procession of your home and resell it to cover the debt.You may freely reprint this article provided the author's biography remains intact:About The AuthorJohn Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.
Interviewing Over Lunch: Are You at Risk?-Employment
Interviewing Over Lunch: Are You at Risk?
Sometimes a hiring process will include having lunch with the hiring manager. Despite anything said to the contrary (like "It'll just be an informal lunch so we can get to know each other."), this is a formal part of your interview!This can be a very tricky situation.Impressions made in a restaurant are just as important as those in an office or meeting room.If you don't want an "eating mishap" to ruin your chances at a new job (or a promotion if you're dining with the boss), follow these tips:1. Avoid ordering messy foods.This includes long pasta, of course, but also anything with stringy cheese... you know, the kind that stretches up with your fork from the plate to your mouth.Watch out for soup, anything with a sauce or other "drippable" ingredient. No matter how careful you are, you know an invisible hole can magically appear in your spoon and cause you to drip all over yourself!Even a salad can be hazardous! Have you ever tried to spear a cherry tomato with your fork and squirted yourself, your neighbor, or watched the tomato go flying off your plate? Not impressive. Avoid cherry tomatoes.2. Mind your manners.First, let me say I am definitely NOT "Miss Manners." These are just common-sense tips, not something you'd learn at charm school. (So don't send me an email with the "proper" etiquette, OK?)This may be considered old-fashioned and unnecessary by some (especially women's libbers, if there's still such a thing), but I think it's still a nice courtesy for a man to pull out a chair for a woman. Either sex can offer to take someone's coat and hang it up. In general, just be nice, thoughtful, and courteous.Thank the servers.If you're in a fancy place with 6 different forks, 3 knives and 2 spoons, don't freak out about which to use for what. In general, they're placed in the order in which the food that you use them with will be served... implement furthest from the plate being used first. So when the salad comes out first, grab the fork furthest from your plate. Or just watch what the big shot does and follow his/her example.If your food comes out first, don't start scarfing it down while the other(s) wait for their food to arrive. If they're courteous, they'll invite you to go ahead before your food gets cold. Likewise, if someone else has been served and is waiting while your food is delayed, invite them to go ahead and eat.Don't reach... ask someone to pass.Don't use your bread to mop up sauce, soup, or anything else.Don't slurp or burp. Ever. Yes, this may be acceptable in some countries as a way to show appreciation for good food, but if you're in the U.S., don't do it. Even if the big shot does.3. Watch the cost. It doesn't matter if you've been told, "Order anything you'd like, this is on me." Do not order the most expensive thing on the menu! Even if the big shot does.4. Beer or wine?Have you seen that commercial where several guys are at a restaurant with a big shot and he asks what they want to drink? They go around the table and all order a non-alcoholic drink except for the last guy, who orders a Sam Adams (beer). The big shot is "impressed" and orders the same.Hah! Never fall for anything you see in a beer commercial!Would you have a beer or glass of wine at the office? (You better say "No!") Despite the surroundings, food and drink, if this is a business function (and it certainly is if you're interviewing or discussing business with your boss), do NOT order alcohol! Even if the big shot does.Remember, the bottom line is that it's not about the food or the drink -- it's about making a good impression! Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, "Career-Life Times." Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.Best-Interview-Strategies.com