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Da Vinci’s Pizza Case Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:31:00 -0700

BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY (2009)

History

It all started with the Lee brothers’ love for pizza. Pizza had always been the family’s favorite and treating themselves to such a delicious snack was slowly becoming a habit. It was only natural that they eventually made pizzas that catered to their need.

They went to try on various ingredients keeping in mind the flavor and texture that suit their taste. The Lee brothers thought that instead of the customary red sauce, the pizza was to have white sauce. The first white sauce pizzas were cooked for the family to enjoy. Pizzas of different styles and toppings were made and eventually, guests were served as well. The white sauce pizzas became such a success that hobby turned into business. Having always preferred the white sauce to the traditional tomato sauce, they decided to incorporate the savory taste on their pizzas. The first ever white sauce pizzas were available to Cebu customers last June 2003. Like any new company, it had a shaky start but as word got out, more and more people were lining up. In fact the pizzas became so famous that it had won an award on October 2005, April 2006 and August 2006 for Most Outstanding Pizza Parlor in Metro Cebu (non-mall based category).

As young boys, the Lee brothers were huge fans of the hit comic series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This gave them inspiration of a comical idea to name the venture after one of their favorite childhood character, Leonardo of Ninja Turtle. Also, art was something they wanted to feature in their restaurant so they opted for “Da Vinci”, stylish yet sophisticated.

After four years of serving the community, Da Vinci’s Pizza now has five branches total all over Cebu, Jones, Mandaue, Mactan, I.T Park Lahug and Pasco Arcenas Banawa.

Existing Market Situation

The company’s existing markets are those in the class B and C, who enjoy eating white sauce pizzas and the traditional tomato sauce pizzas. It caters specifically to teenagers (together with friends), families, professionals (e.g. Call Center Agents) and the like. Da Vinci’s Pizza caters to walk in customers, accepts orders for home and office deliveries.

The products offered by Da Vinci’s Pizza are generally white sauce and tomato sauce pizzas. They also have a variety of drinks; from sodas, iced teas and alcoholic beverages. The concepts of most of the company’s pizzas are related to art, from the name and designs of each pizza to the interior design its restaurants or outlets.

Da Vinci’s Pizza only has one uniform family size, 12” in diameter with ten slices. They only offer thin pizza crust with different choices of toppings. The weight of the pizza depends on the kind and the number of topping in a pizza. Customers can choose from their famous white sauce pizza, tomato sauced pizza and even the toppings in Da Vinci’s Pizzas “paint a pizza”. The color also depends on the ingredients used and how well it is cooked. It is served hot in a metal plate or in an octagon shaped box for deliveries.

The prices of the pizzas offered at Da Vinci’s Pizza ranges from 188 to 254 pesos. Some drinks like a 1.5 liter of sodas is for 65 pesos and 40 pesos for bottomless iced teas. This price is consistent in all of its 5 branches.

Da Vinci’s Pizza is into wholesaling, manufacturing and retailing which is the type of primary participants they are into. They employ the Corporate Vertical Marketing System where in their channel situation integrates successive stages of production and has an organization that gains control of distribution under single ownership.

At present Da Vinci’s Pizza is into promotional activities. They have radio ad with their jingle, which can be heard at WRock and Y101. They also do advertising in newspapers when there is a new product available and a newly opened branch. They have flyers with their product offerings and contact details. They also have posters and tarpaulins found in their branches. Da Vinci’s Pizza also has their own website that features their pizzas, the company history and as well their contact details. They also advertise in yellow pages. The company is also into tie-ins and also does sponsorships on selected events and concerts. These strategies are employed to encourage consumers into buying their pizzas.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strength

Their Financial and Management divisions are fundamentally strong. The financial condition of the company is healthy since the start of operations. They never had any financial assistance from financial institutions. Moreover, in so far as management is concerned it does have a strong and good relationship with their employees and staffs.

They are the sole providers of white sauced pizza catering to their identified market. Prices of each pizza are reasonable for the consumers to enjoy.

Da Vinci’s pizza can command in their suppliers. They don’t merely depend only on one supplier. If the other supplier don’t have stocks or cannot meet the delivery time given, Da Vinci’s Pizza will not have any problems because they have another option or a back up supplier.

Da Vinci’s Pizza Corporation doesn’t have any intermediaries; they act as the manufacturer at the same time the wholesaler and retailer of their product. The company controls their overall business system from suppliers to final consumers. Da Vinci’s Pizza’s type of organizational arrangement for distribution is a corporate vertical marketing system. Da Vinci’s Pizza chose this kind of structure for them to perform distribution functions efficiently. This kind of structure offers the advantage of channel control. Distribution activities of Da Vinci’s Pizza is coordinated and integrated, resulting in efficient functioning of distribution activities with minimal overlaps duplication of effort. It also provides Da Vinci’s Pizza a continuous performance and control over their marketing function.

At present, the trend when it comes to doing business is using modern high technology. Da Vinci’s Pizza is using an oven, to cook pizzas in a fraction of a time. They also have freezers where they store their perishable ingredients and other goods. They also have telephones, fax machines and cash registers to enable them to provide fast services. They also have their own websites for people who are into surfing the net and for wide reach to its market.

They have several Value Adding Processes which serves as an advantage over their competitions, they are as follows:

Free delivery of goods from suppliers to commissary

With that, there would be no additional expense for Da Vinci’s, resulting to cheaper price for every pizza.

Fresh goods delivered by suppliers to Da Vinci’s commissary

Usually Da Vinci’s Pizza would order their supplies 3 times a week, like their meat and vegetables products and ones a week for their dry goods like soft drinks, canned goods and so on. They don’t stock their ingredients for a long time; they just order enough for every weeks demand or for sufficient for a month or two. This is to maintain the freshness of each product being served.

Cleanliness of vehicles used to transport supplies and freshly stored goods in well cleaned facility used by the commissary

In the process of transporting the supplies from the supplier to the commissary as well as from the commissary to each 5 branches, the vehicles and the ingredients are well cleaned. Regarding the storage of supplies in the commissary, meat and vegetable products are stored in refrigerators to maintain its freshness and cleanliness. While for dry goods, they are positioned in well cleaned and cool dry place.

Free delivery from commissary to the 5 branches

The commissary has their own van, so after the ingredients are divided according to the orders of each branches, they are delivered free of charge.

Fast service

Although the pizzas of Da Vinci’s are made to order, they can serve their pizzas as fast as 15 minutes after it is ordered. When it comes to home or office deliveries, they can deliver your pizzas right in front your doorsteps for a fraction 30 minutes.

Accommodating Employees

At Da Vinci’s Pizzas, you are served by well trained and accommodating employees. Each employee is obliged to attend 10 days of training before they are accepted. They are oriented to always put a smile in their face and to always remember that customers are always right.

Accepts up to 3: 00 am of home and office deliveries

Also, Da Vinci’s Pizzas offers a good and unique service wherein they serve and deliver pizzas until 2:00 o’clock in the morning.

Reasonable and Affordable Prices

Da Vinci’s Pizzas offer reasonable and affordable pizzas, which is not heavy in the pocket. They make sure that their prices are affordable for the masses without sacrificing taste and quality. To maintain this they make sure that they get supplies at low prices but of good quality.

Weakness

One of their weaknesses is in their production; Da Vinci’s Pizza still can’t meet the demands of pizza for their customers, even if they already have five branches in Cebu. Another weakness of the Da Vinci’s Pizza is in marketing, as of the moment they do have radio ads, but still they need help and assistance in the marketing aspect.

Da Vinci’s Pizzas unfortunately doesn’t have any substitute products. They do have other offerings but these are products that they do not manufacture, like sodas and junk food. Da Vinci’s Pizza is in the process of developing other products to offer to its consumers. So as of now they are still concentrating on their pizzas and making a name for their company.

Opportunities

At present Da Vinci’s Pizza is serving any walk- in customers and accepts deliveries within designated places in Cebu Province. Their target markets are people ages 13 to 30. They have already a number of loyal customers that come and go to their five branches. Basically their target markets are young professionals (e.g. Call Center Agents), teens (with friends) and families. The demand for Da Vinci’s Pizza is high enough for the company to expand or create more outlets to fully utilize the opportunity.

Since the company employs the world wide web as one of its marketing channels, they could use this medium to target more customers. They may also use the website to study the probability of setting up outlets beyond Cebu City.

Threats

In Terms of actual values or social norms, it has already changed in the course of time. Major impact on individual preferences for product and the way in which those products are distributed have been focus for some customers. That is one of the things that the Da Vinci’s Pizza is trying to capture, through a trend in giving towards customers demand and giving them all convenience in satisfying their hunger such as home deliveries and fast services. Da Vinci offers very affordable pizzas, to answer the nature of people always wanting things at lower price. The company must be vigilant for any development or shift on this particular aspect.

In regards to economic environment, Da Vinci’s made it to the point that their pizzas are affordable without sacrificing quality and taste. They make sure that whether their target market has less disposable income, they can still afford to buy their pizzas. They are aware of what is happening in the economy. They know that changes in economic conditions have significant impact to them and their market. There are even tendencies that when the price of their raw materials increases, they have no choice but also to increase the prices of their pizzas. This sends a signal to the company to always be aware of changes on economic variables.

When it comes to a global perspective, Da Vinci’s Pizza has a number of competitors that has already captured a bigger market in the local industry and as well as the international scene, namely Pizza Hut, Greenwich, and Shakey’s, among others. These competitors have gone a long way when it comes to their revenues and share in the market as well as their gross profit margin. With regards with the changes in the global environment such as oil increase, peso dollar rate and terrorism, Da Vinci’s Pizza is sometimes directly affected with these kinds of occurrences. It is vital for the company to protect its competitive advantage and maintain the innovativeness in generating more types pf pizzas. This method will retain customer reception of their product.

Da Vinci’s Pizzas unfortunately doesn’t have any substitute products. They do have other offerings but these are products that they do not manufacture, like sodas and junk food. The company is aware of this kind of threat to them because majority of their competitors have substitute products.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The company should maintain to be adaptive to its dynamic environment. Flexibility is pivotal at this point of time and in order for this to happen, the company should modify some parts of its channel structure at best and improve on channels that give them an edge over competition at the very least. We’ve observed that the demand for their pizzas are rapidly increasing, the company can exploit this opportunity through expanding existing outlets or adding more chain restaurants.

The common concern is on their delivery, it would be wise to add motorcycles per branch so that delay can be avoided when pizzas are delivered to customers. In this way, they can not only meet the demands of customers but also retain their loyalty because of the firm’s fast quality service.

Since the company only accepts payments by cash, maybe the company could look into the possibility of accepting payments through credit cards. Consumers nowadays are going towards credit cards rather than bringing cash.

Since Da Vinci’s Pizza don’t spend much for advertising, one simple and cheap way to do advertising is to have a uniformed motorcycle with a logo of the company in order for the people to recognize them. Create a map that would help the delivery man to locate the place faster for them to deliver the pizzas at lesser time.

In four years of operation, they achieve a high demand but right now Da Vinci’s Pizza is not yet that flexible in terms of their channel distribution to meet the demand of the customers. They need to put up an additional branch to meet the demand of their customers.

Lastly, the company must maintain its constant interaction to customers as a means to evaluate their wants. This will serve as an avenue for the company to generate types of pizzas that are relevant to consumers’ taste or preferences.

Sample Marketing Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 22:26:00 -0800

MARKETING PLAN

PRODUCT: WATCH (Water Resistant)

DESCRIPTION:

This product is fashionable and a water-resistant watch with different style such as heart, stars, with cartoon characters and colors that will fit the different personalities of the consumer. It is made a high quality material from different countries abroad. This can last life-long.

Based on consumer preferences and likeness, some watches may have special features such as determine the heartbeat of the user.

ADAVANTAGES:

· Comfortable or convenient to use

· Prices with fit the quality of the product

· Has a 1 yr. Warranty

· Changeable

TARGET MARKET

Geographic

Countries: Asian Countries

Demographic

Age: 6-12, 13-19, 20-30, 30 above

Gender: Male, Female

Family Size: 1-2, 3-4, 5 +

Family Life - cycle: Kids; teens; young, single; married, no children; young, married with children; older married with children; older married, no children, under 18; older, single; others.

Income: P 5,000 Above

Occupation: professionals, technical, managers, officials, proprietors, clerical, sales, crafts people, supervisor, operatives, students, and retirees.

Education: Elementary, High school and College

Religion: Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, Born-again, and others

Nationality: Filipinos, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and others

Psychographic

Social Class: Working class, Middle class, and Upper middle, Lower upper and Upper- uppers

Lifestyle: Achievers, Strivers

Personality: Compulsive, Gregarious, Authoritarian, and Ambitious

Behavioral

Benefits: quality service, convenience, economy, speeds

User Status: Potential user, Regular user,

User Rates: Light, medium, heavy user

Readiness Stage: Aware, inform, interested and intending to buy

Attitude toward the product: Positive, indifferent, and enthusiastic

COMPETITOR

Brands that already exist in the market that consider

Major Competitor:

· Timex

· Swatch

· Citizens

· Seiko

Minor Competitor:

· Jewelry Shop

· Pawnshops

· Accessory Shop

· Watch Repair Shop

The major competitor that already exist in the such as Timex, and swatch are the brands that has already placed in the market and positioned their product of the mind of the consumer.

OPERATING METHODS

· Competitor may price their product more to their production cost.

· They may also improve the quality of their products and services that can lead to the increasing of their products’ prices.

PRICING

Production Cost + Fixed Cost + Mark-up

Total Sales = Price per unit

MARKETING METHODS

· Advertisement through media, televisions, newspaper and flyers

· We will build our main branch and put retail outlets in the malls

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the major differences or emphasis among the 3 perspectives?

_ The product we has needs a rational perspective from the consumer, since they are careful and analytical decision maker who tries to maximize utility in purchase decision. But in some way or another, consumers may also be influence through behavioral perspective, since they may also be influence by the external factors in the environment.

And other may perceive the product through experiential perspective stressing the gestalt or the totality of the product or service experience.

2. Which is the most likely type of problem solving activity for the product you have selected.

_ Extensive or extended problem solving process with high involvement of consumers

3. What are characteristics of the product made it so?

· high risk and involvement

· Extensive research

· Multiple sources consulted prior to store visits

· Information process actively

· Many criteria used

· Communication with store personnel often desirable

Contextual Versus Bahavioral Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 22:22:00 -0800

Contextual marketing - is when marketers target users with ads that are served based on a given Web page's content.

Behavioral marketing - targets consumers based on their behavior on Web sites, rather than purely by the content of pages they visit.

Zenith Computer Terminals, Inc. - Case Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Mar 2011 22:13:00 -0800

CASE 1

Zenith computer Terminals, Inc.:

Development of total Business Plan

1. Sales 12,000,000

Less: Expenses

Salary 1,800,000

Production

Computer Terminals 7,200,000

Marketing

Salary 600,000

Direct Marketing 600,000

Administration

Managers Salary 240,000

Clericals 150,000

General Overhead 60,000

Services Department

Salary 320,000

Tools and Equipment 30,000 11,000,000

Net Profit 1,000,000

12,000,000

2. What would be the net profit if Sales?

a. Sales 10,000,000

Less Expense: 11,000,000

Net Loss (1,000,000)

b. Sales 14,000,000

Less Expense 11,000,000

Net Profit 3,000,000

The Sales Department

The Sales Force must be expanded to meet targeted sales of $ 12,000,000.

Hiring a sales rep normally takes about a month. It is desirable to recruit and hire all the new reps at one time. Training of new reps takes four weeks of the classroom time followed by a month of on-job-coaching in the field. The sales manager must handle the classroom segment but can delegate three of the field training weeks to senior sales reps, as long as he personally handles at least one week of coaching during the new sales reps’ first month in the field.

The Production Department

Two weeks will be needed to recruit and select 10 additional workers for the new production line and another two weeks will be needed to train them on existing equipment. The 1,000 new terminals will be sold during the fourth quarter. They will not be produced and delivered until the first quarter of year.

The Marketing Department

Sales Department will plan and implement a one-week workshop in late September to introduce the new terminal to sales reps. Two months will be needed to select a vendor for this, and about six months’ lead time will required to develop a production model. A sales brochure to accompany this introduction cannot be started until the new product is about one- third finished, and this brochure will require three to four months to write and print.

The Administration Department

This evaluation should take about a month. The entire administrative function must be computerized during the next two years. He has asked the administration manger to do an internal study, with a task force the staff, and to present a report by December 1 of the coming year. Based on Rob’s discussion, he estimates that the task force will need a month for each of the four other departments, a month for interviewing computer vendors, and two months to write a comprehensive report.

The Service Department

This could be alleviated by additional service reps. having the staff sell maintenance contracts to customers. The sales manger anticipates needing about six months to design the program and get it kicked off. The manger is also planning on hiring the new service immediately; about a month will be needed to hire and train them.

Functional Structure - Organizational Structure

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:57:00 -0800

Diagram of Typical Functional Structure:

Advantages

Economies or scale in administration costs activities
Good for small-sized firms
Easy to identify talents
Foster high centralization of decision-making
Promotes high task and activity specialization
Supports a low-cost leadership strategy
Supports vertical integration in a business
Best for undiversified firms

Disadvantages:

Coordination difficulties arise when firm diversifies
Difficult for each function to accommodates needs of other functions
Divergent goals and objectives based on each function
Inflexible with broad-based global or multi-domestic strategies
Need extensive modification to support differentiation strategies
Poor fit for highly diversified firm

Forms of Organization Structure

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 07:59:00 -0800

Functional Structure - An organizational structure that groups managers and employees according to theri areas of expertise and skills to perform their tasks.
Product Divisions - The most basic form of product structure in which each division houses all of the functions necessary for it to carry out its own strategy and mission.
Geographic Division Structure - Organization firm that divides and organizes the firms's activities according to where operations and people are located.

Designing Organizations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:49:00 -0800

Strategy Implementation - process by which strategies are converted into desired actions.

Structure - the formal definition of working relationship between people in an organization.

Basic Ingredients of Organization Structure:

1. Specialization - The assignment of particular tasks and activities to those people who are best able to perform the.

2. Standardization - The process of defining the organization's work practices and procedures so that people can repeatedly perform them at a given level or measure of performance.

3. Centralization - The degree to which senior managers have the authority to make decisions for the entire organization.

Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service - Company Background

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:41:00 -0800

The Starbucks was started with the three coffee fanatics with Gerald Balwin, Gordon Bowker and Ziev Siegl in 1971. They open a small coffee shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. The shop was specialized in selling whole Arabica beans to a niche market of coffee purist.

Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982, and, after a trip to Milan, advised that the company sell coffee and espresso drinks as well as beans. The owners rejected this idea, believing that getting into the beverage business would distract the company from its primary focus. A few years later, the three founders decided to sell the company to Schultz. This event led to his opportunity to experiment on Starbucks. As soon as his took over, he began opening new outlets around the country. The stores sold whole beans and premium-priced coffee beverages by the cup and served to affluent, well-educated, white-collar patrons. The main idea of creating a chain of coffeehouse is that it would become the America’s “third place” since American had two places in their live—home and work.

As soon as his took over, he began opening new outlets around the country. By 1992 the company had 140 store outlets around the Northwest and Chicago. The stores sold whole beans and premium-priced coffee beverages by the cup and served to affluent, well-educated, white-collar patrons. The same year, Schultz decided to make the company public. He was criticized by some people in that decision but despite of the criticism, he pursued raising $25 million in the process. This enabled Starbucks open more stores.

By the mid-2002, Starbucks has been established as a dominant specialty-store brand in North America. Sales were higher more than ever and now the small coffee shop is serving more than 20 million unique customers in well over 5000 stores around the globe and was opening on average three new stores a day. Today Starbucks Corporation is the leading roaster, retailer, and marketer of specialty coffee in the world, without spending almost nothing on advertising.

In 1992, Schults remained as chairman and chief global strategist in control of the company, handing over day-to-day operation to CEO Orin Smith, joined the company in 1990.

Professional Selling Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:36:00 -0800

Professional selling lecture talks about how to deal with customers and how to sell effectively and efficiently. Selling process is discussed during the lecture and would involved and start with the prospecting. Prospecting is a means of looking for a possible client of a product. Each product has its own classification prospect. Wedding gowns could not sell to elementary student or those who does not have plans to marry yet. So prospecting is a critical part of selling. By looking for the right prospect, salesman could able to save time. For a seller or even of an individual, time is gold. Salesman must take into consideration that different person have its own style of buying and different personality in order to adopt his/her own personality. The sales person also need to know that Feature, Advantage, Benefits (FAB) and Liabilities of the product he/she selling so that he/she could answer some critical questions of the prospect. Last part of the seminar is the closing of the sales which needs to have patience and be open minded and have sales as a result. Building also a image and a good customer relation is a necessary in selling.

Selling is very critical but once learned and experience, we would discover that selling is not just for professionals but for all those who are into business and every individual. It’s not about what product we are selling, it’s about how an whom we are selling into.

Regarding with the style of discussing, it would be best to have and audience participation so that audience would get interested to listen and have some activities in order to get the attention of the audience. Proper posture, proper tune of sound, and proper pronunciation of words is also a must.

Service Quality Perception

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:52:00 -0800

Perception of Service Quality is how a customers organized ideas about the information on mind about the service quality of a certain service provider. Perception is what the customers think about the service they will offer on an establishment and perception is based on the thinking of the customers. Customer Satisfaction is influence by the perception of the customer on how the service provider have satisfied its clients. Customer Satisfaction is more likely a based on experience of the customers regarding about the service offered by a service provider.

Customer Satisfaction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 9 Nov 2010 07:46:00 -0800

Customer Satisfaction are customer's evaluation of the product and service of a certain company whether the product or service quality met the customer needs and wants. Product features play and important role in satisfying customers because this is the value or the main core of buying a product with its attributes. Quality service can have the big tendency that customer will repeat purchase because of the good quality service and they became a loyal customer. Example, If I'm planning to buy a food, I would probably go the restaurant where I experience good quality service and their food can satisfy my need.

Why Marketing Mix is Important?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 8 Nov 2010 08:05:00 -0800

Marketing Mix is important because this would help develop the product as well as the firm itself. People, Process and Physical evidence is also important which includes with the new marketing mix in service marketing. People is important because they are the front liner which would entertain the clients. The people or the employee will be the one who will render the service for the company. If the employee are not given the satisfaction, the firm losses its main source or survival, the sales. Process are important in order to lesses the time off all activities in the service. When it is a service, there should always be a process in order to have a organized service and lower cost as well. Physical evidence is also needed in the service firm due to its nature that need to have good place for relaxation which could change the customer perception and develop the customer loyalty..

Everyday is a Marketing day!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:26:00 -0700

We as individuals have to market ourselves in order to get friends or to promote ourselves but we don't know we are already marketing. If we meet our acquaintance friends, we give them a smile - its a marketing. With every smile that you give each day is a marketing skills that we practice.

So smile everyday and enjoy having great friends.

Employed versus Self - Employed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:37:00 -0700

3 moths after I graduated for college year 2009, I was fortunate enough to be part of a bank as a teller. That was my first job. For the first 3 month it was like hell. I normally went to office 8am in the morning and home by 9pm. Everyday is stressful when working, where there are time that I wanted to resign but my daddy encourage me to stay, so I stay and was able to stand for 6 months. After my probationary period I got my regularization memo so I was so excited that the first job that I hate loves me that they give me regularization. After three days, I was informed by my head supervisor that I company no longer give me the regularization instead I was advised to resign. With no hesitant and with anger feeling, the next working day I passed a resignation effective immediately.

So until now, I wasn't able to get my second job and its be 11months that I stayed home and watch our sari-sari store. For the past 11 months, I been so happy and blessed that I was able to serve my family and be with them.

Now Im planning to work again, maybe online or Ill try my luck working again in a bank.

Importance of Backlinks in SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:13:00 -0700

Wonder why back linking is important in SEO?

Back links is a process where the site is being promoted to the other site. If the Google see that there are many sites who promote particular site, they it is easier for Google and other search engine to index. So start back links with your own site and be the number one.

As to reality, there is no proper way in order to rank in search engine, as long as you have original content, the age of the site and others.

Marketingta has no back links so therefore it does not appear to any search engine.

NEW Pinoy Tv shows and Movie site

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:04:00 -0700

If you guys missed one episodes of your favorite Pinoy tv shows (Teleserye) and movies, come and watch with us for free only in PHNOY where they are in the service of the Filipino people.

Pacquiao Vs Clottey Live Streaming

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:22:00 -0800

you can watch it here streaming about the fight!!!

for free...

http://jvstream.blogspot.com/2010/03/pacman-vs-clottey-live-1.html

Five Levels of Internet Marketing and the Sales Process

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 7 Jan 2010 17:58:00 -0800

You can provide human interaction to potential Internet clients and customers so that you are able to move that client or customer through a successful sales process, but how?

You do this by following a five step process in your Internet marketing strategy that continually builds trust and confidence by meeting the psychological marketing needs of that visitor and potential customer while escorting that visitor through the selection and purchasing process.

Creating a successful online sales process can be accomplished by making sure that you represent and court your visitor through the five levels of the sales process on your site.

Anyone who has studied any marketing at all knows that there are psychological needs that must be met in order for a person to be persuaded to purchase a product or service.

If it’s a product you are selling are you representing that product to solve a specific problem or meet a specific need? If you are selling a service are you getting in touch with the pain of your potential client to draw their interest into what you are offering?

There are steps that you can take to effectively do that and in response witness the successful sales process over and over in the virtual world that is why an Internet marketing strategy is a necessity not an option.

The five levels of the sales process build on one another in many ways. An Internet Marketing Strategy that is done correctly will clearly define all five levels of the process and how they are represented through your site. The strategy will then assist you in setting realistic and attainable Internet marketing goals. It will also assist you in using each step to build and influence the others so that the process continually moves toward the successful close of the sale.

These five levels of the sales process are the core components that will move your website viewer from visitor to customer or client. By representing each level that is mentioned below and courting your potential client or customer through those levels you will have the power to move your site from failure to success.

* Marketing/Prospecting to your Target Market and Audience
* Build Credibility and Trust - (Your viewer needs this to move forward)
* Escort and Court the Buyer through the Process - (Meet their Needs 7 out of 10 want to buy!)
* Present the Product or Service that meets their needs
* Successfully Close the Sale

Let’s explore each phase in depth, so that you have a greater understanding of how you can put these princples to work for your business.

source: http://marketing.about.com

Marketing vs. Sales: What is the Difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 7 Jan 2010 17:57:00 -0800

What is the difference between marketing and sales?

Let's think about this question for a moment. Without marketing you would not have prospects or leads to follow up with, but yet without a good sales technique and strategy your closing rate may depress you.

Marketing is everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects. The sales process is everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. Both are necessities to the success of a business. You cannot do without either process. By strategically combining both efforts you will experience a successful amount of business growth. However, by the same token if the efforts are unbalanced it candetour your growth.

Your marketing will consists of the measures you use to reach and persuade your prospects that you are the company for them. It's the message that prepares the prospect for the sales. It consists of advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, and direct mail.

The sales process consists of interpersonal interaction. It is often done by a one-on-one meeting, cold calls, and networking. It's anything that engages you with the prospect or customer on a personal level rather than at a distance.

Your marketing efforts begin the process of the eight contacts that studies show it takes to move a prospect or potential client to the close of the sale. If marketing is done effectively you can begin to move that prospect from a cold to a warm lead. When the prospect hitsthe"warm" level it's much easier for the sales professional to close the sale.

Do you see the cycle?

As you see in my explanation above it takes multiple contacts using both sales and marketing to move the prospect from one level to the next. That is why it is import that you develop a process that combines both sales and marketing. This will enable you to reach prospects at all three levels; cold, warm, and hot. It's all about balance.

Are you unsure of how to integrate your marketing and sales?

Try this. Take a few moments and divide your prospect lists and database into categories of cold, warm, and hot leads. Then sit down and identify a strategy on how to proceed with each individual group.

For example you could try the following methods of contact:

* Cold Lead Strategy - Send out a direct mailing or offer them a special promotion
* Warm Lead Strategy - Try a follow-up call, send out a sales letter, or schedule a special seminar or training session to get all of your warm leads together.

Once you've moved your prospect to the "warm" level it's time to proceed in closing the sale. This will be easier to do if you somehow engage the prospect. You can do this by conducting a one-on-one call, make a presentation, or present a proposal, estimate, or contract.

What if you are uncomfortable with the sales or marketing process?

An alternative that often proves successful is to partner with someone that possess the talents that you feel you lack in. You can do this by creating a partnership, subcontracting, or hiring in that talent.

Remember the key to success in marketing and in sales is balance!

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business englis lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:16:00 -0800

20 Small Business Survival Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 22:56:00 -0800

20 Small Business Survival Strategies

By: Donald Harper

How to survive tough economic times without laying off employees.
As a business owner or manager, during the last 18 months you have been faced with shrinking profit margins and fewer customers lining up to purchase your once thought to be "hot products or services." The question of how to survive these seemingly tough times usually results in answers such as..."we have to lay off more workers" or, "...let's close the office located in Suburbia".
The problem with this approach is that...when the economy rebounds, you will be looking to re-hire those very people you laid off in the first place. Unfortunately, you may discover that they have moved on to other jobs, gone back to school, or start their own businesses. You have then put yourself in a situation where you have to now hire and train a new employee or hire a more experienced worker who can "hit the ground running".
Laying off employees during economic downturns should be a "last resort". Well, at least not until you have explored all other avenues, namely trying the strategies I have outlined below. I will even go one step further. If you have already implemented some (if not all) of these strategies, or have made them an integral part of your company's operating culture, chances are you have not cancelled your long-planned vacation to the Bahamas.
Additionally, although these key strategies can be adopted by businesses regardless of size, they are primarily geared towards Small Businesses. The definition of a small business will obviously vary by industry and, more importantly, it may depend on the business owner's personal assessment. Regardless, you can find out the classification of your business as defined by the Small Business Association (SBA) by going to www.sba.gov
Survival Strategies

1. Schedule Weekly Budget Meetings. The assumption is that you have a budget. You may be surprised at how many small businesses either (a) don't spend the time to develop a proper budget or, (b) don't have a regular budget review process. Use the meeting to challenge managers and supervisors to find ways to reduce expenses in their respective departments (and reward them). Have the managers call in via conference calls if you have satellite offices in various parts of the country or globally. Make sure they are prepared with arguments to justify the budgets of their various departments and plans on how to cut costs.

2. Set up a Profit Committee/Task Force. This should be employee-driven. Challenge them to contribute ideas but, more importantly, reward them for good ideas that actually get implemented.

3. Revamp your performance reviews. Are the employees (especially Senior Managers) objectives aligned with company goals (i.e. increase sales, reduce expenses, improve customer service)? Are the goals more than simply rhetoric or "feel good" words? Simply put, are the objectives specific enough and...can you really "MEASURE" the progress?

4. Review your "Turnover" ratios. Profits are quickly eaten up by idle inventory a late-paying customers. Incorporate these items as a part of your budget review process. Work closely with your vendors to reduce case packs, or get simply get rid of items that don't sell! Offer to settle with your late-paying customers or arrange for installment payments on outstanding receivables. Getting something is better than nothing in tough economic times.

5. Rely on the leverage you have with your vendors. Partnerships should be more than just "talk". Negotiate better terms, i.e. try to increase "days to pay" for your invoices. Even taking an extra 5 days per month on a base of business valued at $1 million annually can earn your business extra interest of over $3,000, after taxes. That's real money!

6. Change your Payroll Cycle. If you are on a weekly payroll cycle, consider moving to bi-weekly. If you are paying bi-weekly, consider moving to semi-monthly (15th and 30th). Perform a cost-benefit analysis to make sure this makes sense for your business. You can reduce payroll processing costs which can be significant especially if you have a fairly large employee base.

7. Get on the "green" bandwagon early. Become more energy efficient. Who knows...you may even qualify for tax breaks. Get employees in the habit of turning off lights when they leave conference rooms. Installing sensors for rooms or areas used infrequently may be something to think about. Turn off computers and unplug office equipment at the end of each day. According to the government's ENERGY STAR program, 40% of the electricity that home electronics use is consumed while the products are turned off. I would imagine this applies to office equipment as well.

8. Meet with your banker. Set up a meeting right away. Not only will you be building a critical relationship (one that too many managers neglect), but ask them for ideas. They have the benefit of seeing what works (or doesn't) for other businesses so feel free to pick their brain. Best of all...it's free advice! Discuss things like...putting extra cash in Money Market accounts, CD's etc. See if you can move your operating account to an interest bearing checking account. While the interest earned may not be "earth shattering", it is still money earned without doing anything different. If there is a limit on the amount of checks that can be written in such an account, analyze the fees that the bank may charge vs. the interest that can be earned. Pay bills electronically and offer direct deposit for your employees to reduce any check writing fees. Also, are you carrying too high balance of a balance in your checking account? Work with your accountant and take a look at your cash flow to see if some of that idle money can be earning interest elsewhere.

9. Trim your travel budget (if you still have one). Telephone and/or Video Conference will save you tons of cash. Also, are the seminars and conferences you attend every year really paying off? Maybe attending 2 instead of 4 will reap the same benefits.

10. Renegotiate contracts. Bring in service providers (telephone, software, etc,) and consultants to discuss current contracts and reduce fees. Take a look at your leases (office equipment, rent, etc.). Also, are you taking full advantage of any "hidden deals" and/or discounts? Have you been paying attention to the invoices in an effort to avoid "overcharges"? Take advantage of the economic downturn. No one wants to lose a customer at this point. Where appropriate, bring other providers in to bid for your business. Caution: don't hire them simply because they are cheap!

11. Tax strategies. If you invest a lot in equipment and are incurring high business equipment taxes Explore states with business-friendly tax codes. There are benefits to setting up an "equipment holding" company in a low tax state. Business losses and write-offs may also result in your business qualifying for various tax breaks and deductions. Talk to a good tax attorney about how to maximize these and other tax deductions for your business.

12. Budget for "reserves". In other words, have a "contingency" or "miscellaneous" account as a line item in your budget. A good starting point would be to set aside 5% - 10% of all your total expenses for unforeseen circumstances. Keep in mind, if we could predict the future, we would all be millionaires. Incorporating the "reserve" account as an "expense" item is simply good business policy.

13. Look at your health insurance benefits. If you haven't spoken to your Insurance Rep in a while, now would be a good time. You should be reviewing your policy every six months anyway. A slight change in your workforce level can have a significant impact on the employer (and employee) is your contract coming up for renewal? Can you break the contract without incurring any fees? You may be able to find a good deal out there without sacrificing coverage.

14. Conduct annual invoice audits. Look closely at the invoices received from your vendors. If you don't have a good system for monitoring the invoices before they are paid, you may be surprised at the number of duplicate or erroneous payments that can occur. An extra "0" added to a $1,000 invoice results in a $10,000 payment and a $9,000 mistake. Incentivize your employees when they discover these errors. For example, if they recover monies, split it with them. It's a "win-win" deal!

15. Go after abandoned customers. If a competitor closed its doors, that should spell "O P P O R T U N I T Y". The customer may be cutting back, but when things get better or they find a new job, they will be back. You will want to make sure you are well positioned to fill the gap left by your competitor.

16. Explore new sales markets. As strange as it may seem, an economic downturn is the perfect time to look for opportunities in new markets. Territories once shunned (especially overseas) now deserve a second or third look. Again, get ideas from your employees.

17. Stay involved in your community. Don't cut back on your sponsorship of community events and charitable donations. The money spent on the uniforms for the Little League Baseball team is "big deal". People remember this stuff. Those people are potential customers or good referral sources. Actually, its worth much more than the tons of money you spent for the sign at your local Major League Baseball stadium. You know...the one that nobody notices!

18. Do you twitter? Do you have a presence on the social networking sites? Yes, I do mean Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. Are your employees set up on LinkedIn? Even if you are a "Mom and Pop" type businesses, consider paying one of your tech savvy employees 15 or 20 cents extra a week to post updates and monitor these sites for you if you do not have the "know how."

19. Part-time and Independent Contractors. Before you consider laying off, explore the possibility of reducing hours or changing the status of an employee to "Independent Contractor". The employees will still appreciate having an income and, at the same time, you will save money on payroll taxes and/or health insurance contributions you were obligated to.

20. Finally...be honest with employees. Don't tell them today things are great, and then tomorrow start laying off. On the other hand, if things are really tough, let them know. If you build an honest relationship and take the time to let you know how much you appreciate their effort, they will "go to bat" for you during the tough times. If you do have to resort to laying them off, they will understand even if it hurts. Chances are, if you have implemented the other 19 strategies mentioned her and made them an integral part of your company's culture, your employees will be the ones saving your company from going under in an economic downturn.

Donald Harper is an Independent Management Consultant with over 25 years of experience based upon serving in senior level positions at several Fortune 100 corporations. He has an extensive background in a variety of business processes including merchandise planning and allocation, inventory accounting, transactional accounting, accounts payable, financial systems implementation and business process reengineering. He provides business management, accounting, tax and general consulting services to small businesses.

How to become a good salesman

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 22:55:00 -0800

"Only sell to the person who wants to buy. Don't attempt to convinced them. Let them decide by themselves because no matter how hard you try to sell to them but if they don't want to buy, they don't want to buy. Just show them your belief and conviction of your product"

Marketing Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:22:00 -0800

World's Largest Online Resource On Indian Brands.

marketing plan outline

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:15:00 -0800

Marketing Plan Outline

I. Executive Summary

A high-level summary of the marketing plan.

II. The Challenge

Brief description of product to be marketed and associated goals, such as sales figures and strategic goals.

III. Situation Analysis

Company Analysis

Goals
Focus
Culture
Strengths
Weaknesses
Market share

Customer Analysis

Number
Type
Value drivers
Decision process
Concentration of customer base for particular products

Competitor Analysis

Market position
Strengths
Weaknesses
Market shares

Collaborators

Subsidiaries, joint ventures, and distributors, etc.

Climate

Macro-environmental PEST analysis :

Political and legal environment
Economic environment
Social and cultural environment
Technological environment

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis of the business environment can be performed by organizing the environmental factors as follows:

The firm's internal attributes can be classed as strengths and weaknesses.
The external environment presents opportunities and threats.

IV. Market Segmentation

Present a description of the market segmentation as follows:

Segment 1

Description
Percent of sales
What they want
How they use product
Support requirements
How to reach them
Price sensitivity

Segment 2
.
.
.

V. Alternative Marketing Strategies

List and discuss the alternatives that were considered before arriving at the recommended strategy. Alternatives might include discontinuing a product, re-branding, positioning as a premium or value product, etc.

VI. Selected Marketing Strategy

Discuss why the strategy was selected, then the marketing mix decisions (4 P's) of product, price, place (distribution), and promotion.

Product

The product decisions should consider the product's advantages and how they will be leveraged. Product decisions should include:

Brand name
Quality
Scope of product line
Warranty
Packaging

Price

Discuss pricing strategy, expected volume, and decisions for the following pricing variables:

List price
Discounts
Bundling
Payment terms and financing options
Leasing options

Distribution (Place)

Decision variables include:

Distribution channels, such as direct, retail, distributors & intermediates
Motivating the channel - for example, distributor margins
Criteria for evaluating distributors
Locations
Logistics, including transportation, warehousing, and order fulfilment

Promotion

Advertising, including how much and which media.
Public relations
Promotional programs
Budget; determine break-even point for any additional spending
Projected results of the promotional programs

VII. Short & Long-Term Projections

The selected strategy's immediate effects, expected long-term results, and any special actions required to achieve them. This section may include forecasts of revenues and expenses as well as the results of a break-even analysis.

VIII. Conclusion

Summarize all of the above.

Appendix

Exhibits

Calculations of market size, commissions, profit margins, break-even analyses, etc.

Recommended Reading

Bangs, Jr., David H. The Market Planning Guide: Creating a Plan to Successfully Market Your Business, Products, or Service

soure: http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/plan/