Marketing 101

Marketing can be a mysterious and elusive concept for a lot of entrepreneurs. It easily gets confused with sales and often has resistance associated with it because of that. People often are not sure what they 1952 Topps baseball cards to do to effectively market their business.

Marketing is Wizard of oz playset process of deciding what you will sell, to whom and what the product or service will look like. It is about getting clear on the benefits, features, and value the client receives and matching Conan with what the market wants. Advertising, promoting and selling product or service are all part of marketing but not marketing as a whole. Another important piece of marketing is building relationships.

In order to be able to market your business you need to know and be able to share what it is that you offer. You need to be able to describe what it is, what it does, how it works, what's included Wonder Woman the service, what happens when a client uses it, what the benefits are, and what the value is they receive. Get really clear in all these areas and be able to articulate them in your sleep.

As mentioned above advertising and promoting your business are part of the marketing process. There are several ways you can promote and advertise your business...

Your business card. Always carry them and make them readily available to potential clients in a variety of locations. Ask other businesses your potential clients may use if you can leave some at their location. At networking events bring a stand to display them.

A brochure. You can pack quite a bit of information into a brochure just don't overdue it! Make sure you leave some white space and it doesn't look like a novel to read. Bring these to networking events, trade shows, conferences, workshops etc.

A flyer. One page that says it all very succinctly. Once again make sure there is white space along with a hook or attention getter right at the top, something that will pull them in to find out more.

Your web site. Make sure your web site address is on all your marketing materials and that all the pages are working properly. Make it interactive or give something away. Speak directly to your potential clients.

There are many other ways to market your business so be creative (pens, mouse pads, note pads, magnets etc). Make sure that you are always branding your company identity and that your target market will connect with the information.

Marketing your business is where building relationships and providing value are so important. You can do all the advertising and promoting you like but when it comes right down to it your relationships and the value they provide will be what will make the sale. In order to build any relationship you need to find out who the person is, what they are facing, what are the challenges, what is missing, what they need most right now, and what they value. You can then offer support and/or solutions that fit the client and begin building trust and the relationship. Making it about the client makes you very attractive to them and they can see the value of the relationship.

Offer complimentary sessions or discount services for people to be able to try your services. There is no better way to demonstrate value. Ask potential clients what would be of value to them.

Remember that any marketing initiative should be measurable. In order to determine what is and is not working for your business find out how people heard about you. Keep track of web site statistics, business cards, brochures or flyers given out at an event. The only way you will know is by finding out.

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Mary-Lou Ashton
Virtual Strategies
Phone: 604-483-3740
Fax: 604-648-8641
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Buying Home Contents Insurance Online

Buying home contents insurance online can be both a time and cost saving exercise for the savvy homeowner. Certainly, using the internet to shop around for your cover is a lot easier than ringing around various insurers or wearing out your shoe leather traipsing up and down the High Street in order to find the best home insurance deal.

And, using an online specialist broker can make the whole 1930's baseball cards simple, as they can shop around for you, on your behalf, often accessing internet only deals that are not available on the High Street.

Of course, buying your home contents insurance online is one way to get a good deal on the cost of your protection, but there are things that donate car to charity can do too yourself, in order to bring the premiums down too. The following tips should be borne in mind for when your house insurance is next up for renewal:

Offer to pay a voluntary excess on top of the standard excess;

Make your home more secure with approved alarm systems, movement sensitive outdoor lighting, high fencing to deter burglars, window locks, etc;

Join a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme if there is one in your area - some insurers will offer a discount if you belong to such a group;

Take out only the amount of house contents cover you need - or go to an insurer were you have unlimited cover on your home contents;

Don't be 'claim happy'. If you regularly claim on your home insurance, your premiums will go up;

Home contents insurance to protect both the contents and the structure of the property can often be found at a discounted price with some insurers if you take them together as a package;

Before you buy your insurance, see whether you will be penalised for paying by monthly direct debit. Some insurers will add a small fee on top of the cost of the home contents insurance if you opt to pay for your cover monthly;

Don't be complacent when it comes to policy renewal time. Never just accept your current insurer's quote without first shopping around as you may well find a cheaper deal elsewhere.

Don't forget, either, when you are shopping around for the cover and looking for home contents insurance Star Trek action figures always compare the policies on a like-for-like basis. What comes as standard cover with one provider may be an additional option with another, which you have to pay for. So, do check the policy features and benefits of each one carefully to get a true picture of what policy offers the cover you require at the right price.

This is especially true when looking at any policy exclusions. For 1973 Topps baseball cards these could usually exclude cover for jewellery, or artwork or if you have collections that are worth a lot of money. Usually these would have to be covered individually if they are over a certain value.

The terms and conditions might be boring but you do have to take your time to look them over. If not then you could be under the impression you have cover for something when you do not and would not be eligible to claim. This can easily be done when buying home contents insurance online, as your broker can always provide help if needed.

David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best insurance deal on their href="bestdealinsurance.co.uk/houseinsurance.htm">home insurance, car and life insurance