Rileybiz

From Gallup.com

The majority or U.S.  workers are completely satisfied with their relations with coworkers, the flexibility of their hours, and the amount of work required of them. Of 13 job characteristics rated, they are the least satisfied with their on-the-job stress, followed by their pay.

By John Riley

 Last night I was treated to a professional marketing and promotional experience worthy of special note. As it unfolded, you could not escape the fact it had been well planned and executed faultlessly. The venue was the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix where the Phoenix Suns professional basketball team plays their home games. The occasion was a special evening event to sell their unsold season tickets.

 Billed as “Taste of the NBA”, I estimate 250 people were invited to sample food offerings of leading chefs from cities in the National Basketball Association, meet and talk with the Suns management and coach and inspect the unsold seats for the upcoming season. No one seemed to mind coming out in the 110 degree temperature and many arrived early.

 Free parking was arranged in the adjoining building making entrance into the U. S. Airways Center lobby easy and comfortable. Entering the lobby, you quickly noticed the large screen mounted on high on the interior wall featuring highlights of the previous season’s games. Tables were arranged for guests to pick up their name tag and register for an undetermined prize while under the helpful guidance of several Sun’s sales coordinators.

 As we were escorted into the bowels of the building, we encountered a staging area where a photographer was taking pictures of each party with two team hostesses and the team’s gorilla mascot. Following our photograph, we moved to the playing floor where food and beverage stands were positioned and chefs were serving guests. Each stand presented three or four entrees plus a dessert.

 Surveying the scene above the floor, you could see 18,000 empty seats with an untold number  of available choices posted with a location ID and season price. Guests mingled among the seats considering their possible selections while the white shirted sales coordinators stood by to answer questions.

 One team owner helped serve food at one stand while another owner helped guests find unsold seats to suit their needs. Meanwhile, large screens throughout the room replayed engaging snippets of past Sun’s games. 

 Stationed strategically at one end of the floor, four team principals gathered to present an informal program. First came the coach with a few remarks on his players and the outlook for the coming year. Next came the introduction of the new general manager. He was followed by the principal owner who outlined a number of incentives for guests who made seat purchases before leaving ( for example: the first four couples to buy would receive a free trip with the team to one of their scheduled games while another couple could qualify to use one of the owner’s boxes for one of the scheduled games)

 One of the new additions to the team was the final speaker. Door prizes were then awarded and if the recipient made a free throw in one try, an additional prize was given.

 From that point on, guests continued to enjoy the food, talk with team management or survey the seat locations. No one seemed anxious to leave.

 My experience with similar types of events over the years always alerts me to expect an aggressive sales effort. That didn’t happen here. Neither my guest nor I felt any pressure from the sales coordinators or anyone else. The Sun’s let their product sell itself and if you liked the product, the staff was there to make it easy for you to buy.

 Bottom line: it was a first class marketing effort and it was successful

By Fallon J. Rechnitz

1. Cashflow Management is Key:

Cashflow was a big concern for many during the last few years. Dwindling sales and higher operating costs wreaked havoc upon a company’s cashflow, and out-of-control spending, inefficient marketing campaigns, and the need to lower prices in order to remain competitive also directly affected cashflow. In this new economy, proper cashflow management is more important than ever before.

Spending must be carefully analyzed; review each spending option to see if there is a more viable, cost-effective solution. Examine your spending policies to see if any excessive spending can be curbed, or at least managed better to ensure less waste. Your operating costs should also be reviewed to see if there are cheaper alternatives, and inventory costs should likewise be kept under tighter control and scrutiny.

This does not necessarily mean that you should become a miser and carefully hoard each penny. But you’d be surprised how much can be saved by reviewing spending, inventory and operating costs on a consistent basis. For example, the office supply market is a competitive industry. Don’t be afraid to shop around for better prices twice a year. Shipping costs is another area of spending in which ample savings can sometimes be garnered.

Invoice management control is a central factor to a healthy cashflow. How many invoices tend to languish for the full allotted grace period before being paid? How many are paid after the required date? You may find that you need to manage your clients more closely in order to ensure payment on time.

A healthy cashflow also means cash on hand for surprise or unplanned spending, such as equipment repairs, facility renovations, or a marketing campaign.

2. Inventory Control:

During the economic crash, many retail businesses found themselves stuck with large quantities of inventory and few buyers, even when the products were offered at very reduced prices. Liquidation was a primary objective just a short while ago, yet recent studies suggest that the trend has reversed, and companies are restocking their inventory rapidly and with large quantities once more.

The economy is still rather unstable, and show businesses should take care not to restock their products in excess of what is actually needed to supply current demand. While B2B and consumer spending is rising, it is not doing so consistently. There are still occasional dips along the way. Spending too much on stock one quarter may very well cause your cash on hand to be short next quarter when sales take a downturn.

3. Growth is Good, But Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

As companies both large and small begin to grow, a feeling of invincibility may begin to pervade the atmosphere. Over-optimism settles in like an old friend, and it seems like the slump of recent years has finally come to an end. Well, maybe so, but it pays to remain cautious and keep your optimism in check.

And if an opportunity to grow does present itself. weigh it carefully against all the factors relative the future stability of your company. Steady growth, conducted safely and with minimal risk, is of course optimal, but circumstances may not always provide for this. Growth can sometimes happen unexpectedly, and if a business is caught too unawares and unprepared to meet the new demands of more business, production and efficiency could suffer it, as well as your cashflow. In a worst case scenario, this can also lead to the downfall of a company if the reigns are taken hold of quickly.

It is important to remain true to the core fundamentals of your business: the service or products you provide, and how much profit it garners. It may be tempting to seize upon a new opportunity that may lead to future growth, but if it puts your current stability at too much risk, it may not be worth it after all. These are the options that must be considered – do you risk sacrificing your current market for a new, uncertain one, or do you bide your time, waiting for an opportunity that fits more closely with your core business?

With any type of large business decision such as this, research is especially important. Going into something blindly is a surefire way to put a strain on your cashflow, and a whole host of new problems may ensure. Impatience is often to blame for rash decisions, as an offer or opportunity that promises increased cashflow may dissuade you from taking the time to properly research it. Don’t fall into this trap. Conduct market research, and use the Internet, where ample research may be available at your disposal for free.

4. Borrowing Money:

Banks and financial institutions are much stricter these days about who, when, and how much money they’ll lend, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother trying. You may need to shop around and fill out a bit more paperwork than what used to be necessary, as well as allow the banks to examine your financials with more scrutiny, but perseverance will bring results.

It can be more time-consuming for small business to go through the process of borrowing money than larger corporations, but don’t be put off by the lengthy applications or the idea that you’ll be turned down for a loan. If your business can benefit from a cash infusion and you have the means to pay back the loan without causing too much financial hardship, then don’t be afraid to borrow the money.

For more information on how Bridge Capital can provide accelerated cash flow solutions for your business in the Suffolk and Nassau area of Long Island, NY; Please visit us at http://www.bridgecapitalsolutionscorp.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fallon_J_Rechnitz

By John Riley

Acquiring and managing the financial resources of a company has always been, and will continue to be, the greatest challenge for management. It is even more critical for start-ups and small businesses whose needs are great and their financial assets limited. As a result, when a small company does qualify for financing, it often requires paying higher interest to banks or giving up a bigger slice of company equity to venture capitalists, but if you can’t qualify, factoring may be the solution.

Factoring is one source of funding that is attracting more attention these days. An example is Liquid Capital of Arizona, a major player in the field. They are looking to partner with small businesses without taking equity, sharing in profits or making business decisions. While they are ready to provide working capital to most entities, their focus is on business-to-business companies.

“We offer five basic services to help small business,” says President Joel Gottesman, “ and over time we have found more and more companies wanting to know more about factoring.
Our focus now is to try to provide more information about what we offer and where we think our services can best serve our clients”

Full factoring is one of those services. The way it works is straight forward. All of a business’s approved accounts are sold to Liquid Capital. Then Liquid Capital typically advances 80% in cash up front and the balance as they collect on the acquired accounts’ outstanding invoices, less their discount fee.

Another option is spot factoring. In this scenario, the same services as full factoring are employed except only a portion of the business’s approved accounts, chosen by the client, are sold to the factoring company.

Purchase order finance is another service, but it is different in application. Liquid Capital finances purchase orders for the purchase of presold inventory. Factoring the accounts receivable on delivery of the goods to the manufacturer funds the payment to the manufacturer.

The factoring company can also act as the business’s outsourced accounts receivable department. Their specialists underwrite the customer’s credit, provide collection services, process payments through a lock box, and provide a full on-line reporting system. The cost is very economical compared to staffing a credit department in-house.

Finally, the factoring company provides credit insurance. It is an economical way for a business to help insure selected invoices against loss from a customer’s insolvency.

There are several ways a factoring company can help according to Gottesman, “ We can fund growth opportunities, the sale of a business, delay the need for additional equity, help avoid equity dilution, fund ineligible receivables on a bank line and fund Chapter 11 reorganizations. And the process of helping a client get started is made easy by the experience and customer focused attitude of our people.”

With the many financial problems facing businesses today, factoring can be one of the tools management can fall back on when things are most difficult. It can be the right solution at the worse time.

By Paul Verna

Most of the attention in the online video space has focused on either media content and consumers or marketers and video advertisements. But companies continue to push further into this realm with non-advertising content.

Recent studies have shown that growing numbers of retailers are adding video capabilities to their sites. Surveys of Fortune 500 companies also indicate a broad-scale increase in the use of video for marketing purposes. In this sense, video has gone from a luxury to a near necessity for companies seeking an edge in marketing their products. From home-goods merchants to automobile manufacturers, companies across a wide spectrum are finding ways to use video in their marketing efforts, and consumers are embracing—sometimes demanding—these changes.

Retail is a sector where online video is becoming more important for driving sales. When asked by Multichannel Merchant to identify rich media features that they used, 46% of US multichannel retailers picked video, making it the highest-ranked category in the survey. Another 42.3% of respondents said they planned to add video capability in the next year.

Several studies point to increased use of video by US companies. According to Forrester Research, the percentage of the top 50 US online retailers that offer videos on their sites skyrocketed to 68% in 2009 from 18% in 2008.

Marketers are on board with more than just ecommerce applications, as well. A study led by the Society for New Communications Research noted 31% of Fortune 500 companies with public-facing blogs used video blogging in 2009, up from 21% in 2008.

27% of companies surveyed will increase video budgets

Ad-ology asked US marketing executives whether they would increase, decrease or make no changes in their 2010 marketing budgets for social and traditional media. Nearly 27% said they would increase their online video budgets for viral clips and podcasts, while 5.5% would decrease their budgets. Out of the remainder, 41% would leave the budget intact and another 27% said they did not use video. These responses put video ahead of mobile marketing and search optimization as budget priorities for US marketing executives.

As eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin noted in the report “Consumer Packaged Goods Sector Taps into Online Video,” “Creating an online video presence helps marketers facilitate an ongoing dialogue with consumers, boost brand equity, lure prospective customers and solidify support among brand loyalists.”

On the receiving end of these marketing efforts, consumers are accessing increasing amounts of video on multiple platforms, from laptops and home PCs to smartphones and tablets. As these devices continue to penetrate the market, consumers will expect ubiquitous access to video content. Examples might include watching product videos at the point of sale or viewing a portion of a podcast on a PC and resuming the session on a tablet. Marketers are aware of the potential and are upping their game in a variety of sectors.

For story with complete data charts, go to e-marketer.com.

Twitter, the microblogging service, is expanding the range of options it makes available to brands, having received positive feedback regarding its initial activity in this area.

Walt Disney, the entertainment group, has signed up to the social network’s latest marketing tool, @earlybird, which allows users to access deals and discounts for a limited period of time.

As part of the communications strategy supporting its film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Disney is offering two tickets for the price of one via Twitter.

In return for its investment, the company will see its paid-for post retweeted on a regular basis via the earlybird feed, which has rapidly secured over 50,000 followers.

The link contained in Disney’s tweet directs netizens to a dedicated section of its Fandango site, where they then enter a special code.

Any offer hosted on @earlybird must be exclusive to Twitter, which is hoping to roll out regional and other targeted deals in the future.

Toy Story 3 to be featured on Twitter homepage

Disney’s Pixar studio has also previously paid for Toy Story 3 to feature as a trending topic on Twitter’s homepage.

Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief operating officer, said it planned to build advertising models which reflected existing habits among its audience.

“We’re trying to make sure our ad platform is organic to how people are already using Twitter,” he said. “There’s going to be lots of iteration and testing. So far it’s working.”

‘The man your man could smell like’

Procter & Gamble’s Old Spice recently ran a Promoted Trend tied to its campaign “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”, an effort that has achieved considerable viral traction across the web.

Virgin America, Bravo and Red Bull were just some of the firms that had joined the Promoted Tweet scheme by the time it first went live, and most participants have reported promising results.

Costelo suggested the fact many corporations established a presence on Twitter prior to these developments means they have learned to interact with consumers rather than simply repurposing search ads from Google.

“If we tried to monetize at day one, you’d see people cutting and pasting their Adwords ads and getting no followers,” he said.

Coke Tweets pay off

Coca-Cola, the soft drinks giant, generated impressive figures from employing Promoted Tweets and Topics during the World Cup, when it sponsored the conversation surrounding a match between England and the US.

According to Carol Kruse, Coke’s vice president for global interactive marketing, this approach yielded 86 million impressions in 24 hours.

It also delivered an “engagement rate” of 6%, which can be measured against the corresponding total of well under 1% in terms of the number of people that generally click on other forms of online ads.

“The amount of impressions in such a short period of time around our whole World Cup campaign, to me it was a phenomenal time,” said Kruse. “It made this emotional connection at the time, it was great.”

Kruse added that Coca-Cola decided to utilise Promoted Trends as soon as it saw the opportunities they would provide.

“We get a lot of first looks and we jumped on that one immediately. It is the perfect example of us wanting to learn in this space,” she said.

“We didn’t know how it would work out but we wanted to learn in that space … It could have completely flopped.”

From World Advertising Research Center

By Roger Jefferies

Are you convinced about the need for spyware blockers but don’t know where to start? There are a lot of choices out there but one of the best spyware blockers you can use is Spyware Doctor. Spyware Doctor has been used by millions of people around the world and has received an award from PC Magazine so it has proven itself to be a good product.

What does Spyware Doctor do? It protects you in real time against threats, plus it can remove malicious files once they are on your hard drive. It protects you against keyloggers, spyware, adware, trojans, phishing, popups, bad sites, and identity theft. It runs quietly in the background when you are surfing the Internet and does its job without disturbing your activities. This is one of the malware blockers that also warn you against bad websites. The program will block the site or warn you before allowing it to load if it has detected something suspicious about the site. It will also halt downloads if they are questionable. By doing this you are safe no matter if you are browsing, using an instant messenger, or reading email.

Spyware blockers are only as good as their updates so any blocker you buy should offer frequent updates, daily updates are best. That way you can stay one step ahead of the hackers and spammers. Spyware Doctor is one of the adware blockers that offers daily updates to new known threats. Spyware blockers are important in today’s world but they are just one of the tools you need. Your best option is to install software that performs multiple tasks like Spyware Doctor does so you have all around protection.

Spyware Doctor is just one of the brands available

Spyware Doctor is just one brand of many different malware blockers on the market. The problem with malicious files is so big an entire industry has sprung up in order to cope with it. Before you buy any adware blocker, you should compare different products to make sure you buy the best one for you. If you don’t want to buy one, you can download a free one from the Internet. The important thing is that you protect your computer by preventing the unauthorized downloads in the first place. Spyware removers are useful too, but once spyware is on your computer, damage has already been done. Your goal should be to block spyware and to do that you need to choose from among adware blockers that have solid reputations and are updated as often as possible.

Remember, no matter how good Spyware Blockers are, if they are not installed and functioning properly, they won’t do you any good. It isn’t difficult to install Spyware Doctor or similar software, but if you are not comfortable with doing so, you can take your computer into a shop like Best Buy and let the service techs get you set up with all the protection you need.

Roger Jeffries is convinced that spyware blocker programs have saved his skin more than once. Visit his website to learn free ways to safeguard your most sensitive date with great, reliable www.myspywareblockers.com programs, and how to choose the right one for you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Jeffries

Marketing budgets are starting to rise in the US, but changing consumer habits and preferences mean new processes are required to measure return on investment accurately.

In a survey of leading executives conducted in February this year, Forrester, the research firm, found that 37% of participants were planning to boost their spending levels this year. A further 35% of the sample expected to maintain their communications expenditure in line with 2009, while 27% had experienced a reduction in funding over the same period.

More broadly, Forrester suggested that the main challenge facing brand owners at present was not determining their overall adspend levels, but allocating resources in the most effective way.

Increased collaboration is necessary

The shift to digital platforms and other types of emerging technology is also requiring increased collaboration between marketing, IT, and finance departments. As such, companies need to ensure they invest in the latest tools allowing for “media mix optimization” to replace out-dated systems which were put in place prior to the digital age, Forrester said. Procter and Gamble, General Mills, and other FMCG manufacturers originally pioneered this approach, which then spread to almost every major product category during the last decade.

However, the explosion of social media and the rise of mobile devices such as smartphones had provided another major “input” which now must be considered. More specifically, one key metric which should be attracting the attention of marketers is Customer Lifetime Value, or the revenues generated over the typical duration of a brand’s relationship with an individual customer. This is often separate from a customer’s Brand Value, as typically ascertained by a range of more traditional metrics.

While the advent of new software should allow more accurate tracking in all of these areas, it is incumbent on industry professionals to ensure they drive this success.

“The idea of doing more with less is now a long-term business strategy versus a short-term mandate.” according to Chad Mitchell, an analyst at Forrester.

From World Advertising Research Center

In tough and uncertain times, many of us look for leaders to point the way. We hope someone in the organization can offer clarity and direction.

In response, many leaders feel the need to create and communicate next steps, a new plan, the key priorities. But this impulse for clear direction can actually undermine your progress. “Do not assume just because you have provided clear direction that anything is going to happen,” says CCL’s Bill Pasmore. “It’s the people, not the plan.”

If you’re like most executives, you’ve got plans — strategies, tactics, priorities — and you’re ready for action. But what about your people? Are your people aligned to your vision? Is your culture prepared to accept change, embrace your goals and execute collaboratively? Without effective leadership to drive direction, alignment and commitment, plans grind to a halt.

Too many priorities can be a problem

Pasmore likes to tell the story of the CEO of a large defense contractor who was a good strategist and a clear communicator of plans and priorities. As a result, the senior team knew what needed to be accomplished, and they developed objectives for their departments.

“The CEO had been reiterating priorities for months, so imagine his surprise to hear that at the level below his direct reports, there was confusion about the company’s priorities. They insisted that too many things were important. In fact, everything was important,” says Pasmore. “When they looked to their bosses to arbitrate, everything seemed important to the members of the senior team as well. They, in turn, kept asking the CEO to tell them what to do first, second and third. How did this happen?”

As plans and ideas get put into action, they take on a life of their own. “The teams started working on their objectives, but often they needed help from the other departments to get their work done,” explains Pasmore. “But those objectives weren’t on the priority list for the other departments. People did their best to help their colleagues, but they didn’t have the time and resources to do all that everyone was asking them to do. And, since the senior team members knew all of the CEO’s priorities, they found it impossible to say no.”

The problem was that the CEO believed that giving clear direction would empower people to do their jobs and foster ownership of the outcomes. In fact, giving clear direction often creates less ownership, according to Pasmore. If the top provides absolute clarity, others will continue to look to the top for clarity. If answers, direction and plans are handed down, the people who do the work won’t be able to adjust, accommodate and collaborate.

Trying to manage from the top can halt the project

“The top can’t direct all of the things that emerge and have to be dealt with for the change to happen. Much of this work is spontaneous, unplanned, interdependent and emergent,” he says. “Trying to manage it at the top slows it down or brings it to a halt altogether.”

To prevent overload and non-alignment during execution, try these suggestions from Pasmore:

• Insist on feedback loops from the bottom up, or you’ll never know what’s going on. Strategy execution isn’t a top-down process. Find ways to consistently understand the reality throughout the system. And don’t shoot the messenger; placing blame will kill upward feedback.
• If the project is really important, spend the time and money to get all the key players together in the same room (or on the same videoconference) to iron out priorities every two to three months for the first year, and as needed thereafter. Take note: “key players” include those below the senior team who know firsthand what is actually happening in the work.
• When planning the project, agree on observable measures of progress and timetables rather than just setting priorities. For example: “Sales, research and manufacturing will have signed off on the design for the new product by the end of Q4.” This helps everyone understand when work is on track (or not).
• Build a “cooperation cost” into your planning. Add between 25 and 100 percent (depending on project complexity) to project costs and timelines to allow for emergent cooperative work as people learn what needs to get done. Be realistic; if the added costs make the project untenable, do not proceed on the assumption that cooperation won’t be necessary.

Reprinted with permission from Leading Effectively newsletter, Center for Creative Leadership