Securities Market Line

     Begin by identifying your skills, qualifications, and accomplishments. Adopt a customer-focussed approach. What benefits and results can you offer employers? Are your skills marketable and up-to-date?

     Employers are in the market for team-players and problem-solvers. They want to see evidence in your CV or resume of specific, quantifiable accomplishments.

     Determine what additional skills you need to develop to make yourself more marketable. Take advantage of all opportunities for continuous learning and professional development.

     Successful businesses win customers by developing a unique selling proposition. To give yourself a competitive advantage, analyse what other employees in your field are offering.
It is not enough to emulate them; you must strive to differentiate yourself by offering something extra, something unique.

     Try to assess yourself as objectively as possible in order to identify your marketable features. Analyse your performance appraisals and, if possible, enlist the help of a trusted friend or colleague to help you evaluate yourself.

     Define and prioritise your short-term and long-term career goals. Read the rest of this entry »

      Promoting a business via the Internet can be a cost effective technique, provided the product is known to have a good online market. In other words, consumers prefer buying the product online rather than visiting a store for making the purchase. The products that have the potential to generate online sales are as follows: books, music, electronic goods and software. Of these, books, music and movies have a market share of 34% while software has a market share of 30%. Electronic goods also have a substantial share of 14%. In fact, once we have determined that the products, that the company is producing, have a good online market, the question of how to promote a business locally on the Internet assumes a great deal of significance.

     How to Promote a Business Through Pay Per Click Advertising?
     Promoting a business through pay per click advertising is also known as affiliate marketing. It is the process of driving traffic to a business’ website by placing an advertisement in a website that generates high traffic. The host (website) is paid a commission for actual conversions that are measured in terms of clicks. Cost per action (CPA) or clicks that result in driving traffic to a business’ website have a high probability of getting converted to revenue provided the host and the business are not producing substitute goods. Again, from the perspective of ensuring the visibility of the host, the business (affiliate) should provide text links rather than graphic links since the former is ranked higher by search engine optimizers. Greater host visibility would mean greater chances of the affiliate getting noticed.

     How to Promote a Business Using Social Media? Read the rest of this entry »

     The secret to surviving a market place dominated by the big players who have all the resources to attract customers is to be able to know how to find niche markets that have not yet been explored by others before. Let the big players focus on an already saturated market that requires more resources and investments. By learning how to find niche markets you will be able to start a niche campaign for a new service or product that will cater to a specific market segment.

     There are software programs that will teach you the basics of how to find niche markets. You can also read books on how to find niche markets so that you are not solely reliant on technology. Market research will help you how to find niche markets that will enjoy longevity and not just last for a couple of months.

     The Internet is a powerful marketing tool especially if you know your target market. Use this to your advantage by searching for keywords that will point to the products and services you are offering. Thus, when your target market starts looking for products and services in that niche then they will be pointed to your site. Read the rest of this entry »

     Tip:Four leading advertising trade associations — the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers, the Direct Marketing Association, or DMA, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau — drew up the “self-regulatory principles.”

     Q:what is their purpose by proposing Self-regulation Principles?

     A:Their immediate impetus was criticism that too much information was gathered about Internet users that was shared too widely and stored for too long.

     Q:Can you give us more details about the principles?

     A:The principles would require online advertisers to choose an icon or phrase that would be used by all web sites to point Internet users to a site where they could learn what information was being collected and perhaps opt out.

     “People will be able to say ‘Don’t collect any information on me for online behavioral advertising purposes,’” said Stuart Ingis, a partner at law firm Venable LLP who worked on the principles.

     Information about children and sensitive information about all computer users would face a higher standard.

     No information would be collected about “children they (advertisers) have actual knowledge are under the age of 13 or from sites directed to children under the age of 13 for online behavioral advertising,” the groups said in the principles. Read the rest of this entry »