Joshua See

Why is it Important to Understand the Retail Marketing Merchandising Definition?

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What is the retail marketing merchandising definition and why is it important for every professional retailer to be familiar with it? Understanding the concepts of retail marketing and retail merchandising is vital to ensure the success of any retail business since it involves not only choosing the right types of products to sell but also how to promote them to your customers.

Retail merchandising involves the whole process of conducting retail sales, starting from choosing which products will appear on your store’s shelves, deciding how best to market these to consumers as well as pricing decisions. Retail marketing, on the other hand, focuses only on how best to reach the target customers in order to interest them in buying your products and can involve processes such as product promotion.

Once you have a clear idea of what is the retail marketing merchandising definition, you can start applying your understanding of these concepts to create specific plans to achieve your retail goals. For example, you can draw up a merchandising plan by first doing a study of what products are available on the market that may be appropriate to be sold in your store and then establishing relationships with the suppliers of these products to get the most favorable price based on the volume of goods you will buy. Once you have arranged a regular supply of products to sell, you will have to determine the unit price you will sell them for that will ensure that your store makes a profit. There are a number of ways of setting unit prices, including adding a certain percentage above the unit acquisition price to looking at the demand for the product vs. the supply in the immediate area and setting the price accordingly.

Once you have determined the unit selling price and have the products on your shelves, it is time to promote them to your customers. This can involve moves such as initially offering the product at a lower price as an incentive for people to try it out, setting up attractive displays in the stores to make people aware of the new product and its benefits and favorable placement within the store. An example is if the product may be placed near the checkout counters so that people would impulsively add it to their purchases as they are checking out. All of these plans are an important part of the concrete application of the retail marketing merchandising definition in a real-world retail setting.

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Low to No Cost Marketing Plans – 3 Effective Strategies Online

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Attracting consumers and keeping them interested entails imagination and creativity. Marketing on a small budget is pretty tricky nowadays since the public wants to know more before shelling out for a product. Low to no cost marketing plans would normally include direct marketing strategies and guerrilla marketing ideas. But sometimes, even these two seem counter-intuitive to the goal of being cost-efficient because they can use up so much time and manpower.

The internet is a tool that can be harnessed to solve your low budget marketing woes.
Because it is used all over the world, the internet can be a very easy yet powerful way to reach your desired audience. There are plenty of low cost marketing ideas lurking around the internet, waiting to be put to good use.

Here are 3 effective strategies online:

1. Special ‘Today Only’ Offer

The next time you send out an email to your clients or post an ad online, do not forget to include a special ‘today only’ offer. Why does this work? As in direct marketing, ads on television and other media, people are attracted to the sense of urgency of the limited time offer.

Check your marketing budget or marketing objectives to know which products and/or services you can offer for these particular situations.

2. Blogging

The blogosphere is a highly populated area of the worldwide web. It is rich in information about almost anything under the sun. Blogs should really be a part of your list of low to no cost marketing plans because they are free and easy to make!

Why not blog about your business and offer suggestions of reading materials related to your work? Your blog doesn’t have to be wordy or nerdy. Posting lots of pictures and offering link exchanges and making use of search engine optimization could help your blog rank up search engines too. The higher your rank, the more visible you are. More visibility means your business marketing strategy is working well and it’s easier for you to reach your target market.

3. Social Networking

Utilizing social networking sites is a highly recommended business marketing idea. Posting on Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites such as YouTube makes it easier for your target audience to find you. Making your details available on these sites also gives your clients the ability to leave feedback and suggestions which is essential to market research.

These are just three low to no cost marketing plans to give your small business a boost. Once these strategies generate results and give you much needed revenues, you may move on expanding your marketing plans without forgetting what you’ve learned along the road of scrimping and cost efficient marketing— how to budget!

What are The Five Major Types of Marketing – that Give Results Without Hurting Your Pocket!

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A huge percentage of budget for business goes towards different forms of advertising. After all, getting your consumers interested and hooked in what you have to offer is the key to being a smashing success in your business of choice.

So what are the five major types of marketing that give results without hurting your pocket?

1.  Word of mouth – In marketing jargon, this falls under the category of direct marketing. Of all the different types of marketing, this makes it to number one for being the most cost efficient and effective at the same time.
Word of mouth can come in both oral and written forms. The best part about it is you don’t have to pay people to do it for you. Rants and raves about your business can spread like wildfire in the blogosphere, review sites and much more.
This type of marketing works because consumers tend to believe someone who has authority and reliability or someone who has actually tried your product/service.
Different types of business strategies would suggest keeping yourself abreast with how people react to your business and to make sure that there are more good publicity that goes around to benefit from.

2. Referral Programs – One of the relatively new types of advertising is the referral program. This marketing strategy does not hurt your pocket because its mechanism is to only give rewards to people who bring in a certain number of referrals or revenues.
The tendency is for consumers to make use of their own personal networks to bring in referrals, thus marketing your business well without you having to shell out big time or do the legwork.

3.  Social Media Marketing – Social media marketing is indeed one of the recent five major types of marketing that really generates results. Making a page or profile in social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and much more is simple and free. Putting up ads in these websites can cost you but your ads are sure to be seen by millions of people all over the globe.

4. Event-based marketing – This marketing strategy is more specific in a way that you advertise your business in an event that has majority of your target market. A good example of this is sponsoring an inter-high school cheerleading competition or sporting event in your locale if your target market are teens. Giving away special awards or samples give you publicity as well as a chance for your audience to sample your product and talk about it.

5. Online business listing – There are ample websites that offer free online business listings. This is very useful since consumers need direct to the point information like where to find you and how to contact you. Online business listings give you the chance to advertise and give factual information about your company without having to spend at all.

Next, to learn more on five major types of marketing, sign up to get free invitation to the next coming online seminar.

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Marketing Trends for The Future – 4 Effective Methods to Promote your Business

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Businesses nowadays are more competitive than ever before. With the ever-changing needs and wants of the market, it is essential to stay informed to keep the business afloat.

Keeping up with industry analysis reports and learning more about marketing trends for the future ensure that your company will stay one step ahead of the competition. Promoting your business entails careful market research, cost-benefit analysis and strategic planning.
No one wants to spend money on inefficient marketing strategies. And the most recent trends are pointing to the use of technology for marketing success.

Here are 4 effective methods to promote your business:

1. Search Engine Optimization
Creating a website that is search engine friendly makes your business very visible not only to your local market but worldwide. Using search engine optimization takes some level of skill; you may do it yourself of ask your web designer for help. It involves the use of keywords and links in achieving your desired page rank. It might sound a bit technical, but the more you make use of SEO, the more visible you get and that roughly translates to revenues and sales.

2. Social Media
It is an established fact that social media has become a great part of most people’s lives all around the globe. Statistics have shown that businesses have shifted their budget towards social media marketing and other digital initiatives because consumers spend more time online these days than ever before! Today, it is possible for a post in Facebook, YouTube or Twitter to trend and go viral in a matter of hours.
Creating an enticing (yet truthful) page about your business on reliable social networking sites enables you to reach out to more people and spread the word about your company, while also getting a sense of what your market is like through reviews, comments and statistics.

3. Internet as tool for localized marketing and geotargeting
Taking into consideration your target market’s needs and wants and bringing your products/services closer to them is what localized marketing and geotargeting is all about. The future of the internet in the field of marketing can be seen in the boom of local discount websites and review sites. Websites such as Groupon, Yelp and Reviewstream make it easier for consumers to find and learn more about your business. And as an added bonus, you get to learn about your competitors too.

4. Mobile marketing
2012 onward is undeniably the year of mobile marketing internationally. With the recent surge of mobile apps worldwide, marketing your business through mobile advertising and apps like Foursquare is simply a must.

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What are the Top 4 Free Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Web Site

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So you’ve put up your own website. No doubt about it, this is a terrific way to get your ideas across to other people around the globe while earning money. Having a website is just the beginning. Letting people know of your website’s existence and generating traffic to the site is the more challenging part.

A website with little to no visitors is pretty much invaluable. Yes, increasing traffic to your website is difficult; some people spend a great amount of money just to do this.

Here are the top 4 free ways to increase traffic to your website:

1.  Article Marketing
Attracting website visitors could be done by article marketing. Write three articles pertaining to the core topic of your website, include a brief bio and link to your website. Submit these articles to webmasters, ezine owners, article directories and bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon and Technorati.

2. Maximize use of links and trackbacks
Links are very useful and powerful parts of your site. Links increase your traffic by getting the search engines to take notice of your site. Links, as the name suggests, help you connect to other bloggers and webmasters who are likely to look up your site too.
Linking up with other websites could also be done by leaving comments and trackbacks on the other site to let them know you’ve linked to them. And people who are browsing are naturally curious and tend to click on these links and trackbacks, increasing web hits to your site!

3. Social Networking, Forums and Webrings
Nowadays, almost everyone has an online profile at social networking sites such Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc for the purpose of sharing questions and ideas with friends and like-minded individuals. The simple act of adding a link in your signature line or profile can increase site traffic because your profile indirectly promotes your website. The more interesting your profile gets, the more people want to know about you and chances are, they will click on your website link too.

In relation to marketing your website through social networking, generating targeted site traffic is essential as well. This can be achieved by joining forums and webrings that are related to the topic of your website. Getting involved in at least three forums in your niche gets you free website visitors. Making yourself visible in these forums by posting and answering questions with an attention grabbing signature (while avoiding spamming people) will get your co-forum members interested in your website thus, increasing traffic.

4. Search Engines
Add your website to Google or Yahoo by submitting your URL to these sites; most search engines have a ‘submit’ link that helps notify them of your site’s existence. Site traffic will be generated because these search engines could possibly include your pages in their search results.
Making use of search engine optimization is also another way of using search engines for driving traffic to your blog. When writing your pages and blog posts, optimize your pages for search engines by including relevant keywords and links.

Increasing traffic to your website can be simple, free and fun. Attracting visitors to your website is similar to attracting people to your life: keep it light, factual/informative and never overdo things (a.k.a. spamming) or you might end up repelling rather than keeping your visitors coming.

Small Businesses for Women – Top 4 Businesses to Start at Home

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The women around the world today are moving towards empowerment. Women are more into finding their niche in the corporate world, making a name for themselves and going into entrepreneurship. It is no longer uncommon to find women in business, whether it is being a small business owner or having an at home business.

So how exactly does one establish small businesses for women? What are some of the tips for small businesses and creative business ideas? Read on and find out the answers.
There are many different types of small businesses out there. And as many entrepreneurial success stories would imply, find your passion—what you enjoy doing best, and make profit out of it. It may be baking, making crafts, taking pictures, caring for kids, creating your own website. In short, it can be anything you have a lot of knowledge and passion for. Knowing what your own set of skills and what you love doing is essential to starting your own business.

Here are the top 4 small businesses for women to start at home:

1. Specialized services
Women have made businesses out of a myriad of services based on their skills and interests such as shopping, babysitting, pet sitting and garage organizing.
Recent trends also point to the boom in the coaching business. Women are especially good at this because they are known to be more in tune with the socio-emotional side of life. Being a relationship coach for instance is a great service to start at home. Offering advice on dating from what to wear on a first date, how to get over a break up and planning events with a partner are what other women are looking for. These services can be offered by phone or via an internet journal or correspondence. It’s a plus that this kind of service entails looking at experiences from yourself or friends and not something from the book.

2. Selling your own products
Anything from the edible to the outrageous, there’s always room in the small business industry for the kookiest ideas. Let’s take selling brownies made from your grandma’s recipe for example; you may start this business by giving out free tasting samples to friends or neighbours with your contact details attached to the packaging. You could offer to make these treats for birthdays and other occasions. The trick is to offer it first at a friendly price then make it more profitable (and the packaging more attractive) as you go along.
Blogging your recipes and your customers’ feedback is a great marketing strategy.

3. Online business
Virtual assistants, typists and encoders are some of the successful small businesses online. Sites such as Craigslist, Elance, Guru and Odesk offer job opportunities from reliable employers. Setting up your profile in one of these sites and stating your skills can get you hired. Virtual assistants require for you to monitor appointments, submissions, papers and handle some calls straight from your home.

4. E-bay
More than 700,000 businesses make use of E-bay as a marketplace, which makes utilizing this place on the web one of the best entrepreneurial ideas. You may put a wide range of items up for bidding or immediate sale. Anything and everything: from your own creations and products to things lying around the house that you don’t need.

Great things start from small beginnings. The same thing goes for women owned small businesses that turn out to be the most profitable small businesses available today. The best thing about starting a business from home is earning while having the benefit of managing your own schedule and being your own boss.

Next, if you are looking for ways to start a business that suits women, you might want to check this out.