Every business needs to promote and market itself, whether it be via print ads, the internet, word of mouth or some other avenue. The ones that are successful in marketing and promotions are the ones that take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself regardless of how obscure or insignificant that opportunity may be. Last night, The National Hockey League failed in a major way to take advantage of the perfect opportunity to showcase itself and one of its biggest stars.

For years, the NHL has lagged in all areas behind the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association in terms of popularity, attendance, recognition, marketing, branding, revenue, and pretty much all business aspects. Last night was a chance for the league to showcase one the best goaltenders in history as Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils broke the league’s all-time wins record.  The league failed terribly to take advantage of such an event to create any kind of buzz surrounding the event, and even failed to have the game televised on their national broadcast on Versus.  Now, I do not know if the NHL has some sort of agreement with Versus whereby the games scheduled to be broadcast can be switched the way the NFL has the same agreement with NBC for its Sunday night games, but I am sure that both parties could have benefited from showcasing an historic game such as that one.

• what is tramadol hcl-acetaminophen par

download Lost Tales mp3

How is this a missed opportunity?  The answer is simple.  For starters, on the most simple level, more promotion would have led to heightened public awareness revolving around the sport.  Additionally, record breaking performances garner more attention than regular events of the same nature, as they are rarely occurring.  This in and of itself was a promotional gold mine, as both the league and the network could have promoted the game and benefited from the increased viewership and exposure.  Secondly, by showing what kind of atmosphere was involved within the arena, it may just have converted some casual observers into fans, which would mean at the very least an increase in viewership for the network.  Extended, further it could have meant an increase in actual attendance for live games, which also increases the likelihood of increased merchandise sales. 

• acomplia

This is not simply an issue regarding sports,.  It is something that all business can learn and benefit from.  An opportunity for promoting or marketing a business is ways an opportunity, regardless of how large or small.  Adding one new customer, client or member is always better than being stagnant.  Always be cognizant of what is going on around you to be better positioned to take advantage of marketing or promotional opportunities and expand your business.

One day you decide that you have had it with your current job and that you are going to go into business for yourself.  You would certainly be far from alone in those sentiments.  From 2003-2007,  between 610,000-645,000 new employer firms have started, and since the start of the decade the number of new non-employer businesses has increased by approximately 5.6 million according to the Small Business Administration.  Those numbers do seem a bit large, but the truth is that according to research:

Two-thirds of new employer establishments survive at least two years, 44 percent survive at least four years, and 31 percent survive at least seven years.

Furthermore, the number of new employer firms is offset by the fact that between 540,000-588,000 businesses have closed down during the same time period.  The reasons are many and vary from instance to instance but the numbers do not lie: not every entrepreneur is successful in their venture.  It takes more than the ability to create a product or provide a service and opening up shop to be successful.  Just as important, having money to start with doesn’t guarantee success either.  First and foremost, one needs to possess entrepreneurial spirit: the willingness and desire to start and operate a business from the ground up.  Successful entrepreneurs do not want to go into business for themselves simply to be their own boss, for the hours, or even for the money.  Once you feel that you possess this entrepreneurial spirit, do a little soul-searching to see if you possess some of the other important qualities that are necessary to be a successful entrepreneur:

Passion/Drive/Determination
Kataklysm Kataklysm – A The Vortex Of Resurrection [Demo] download
Having a love for what you do in life is an essential part of being an entrepreneur.  Simply liking what you do is not enough, or else you would have remained an employee and not subjected yourself to the amount of work required to start a business.  You need to have the kind of passion that will enable you put in the long hours and make the personal sacrifices necessary to get a venture off the ground.  Sometimes, it may seem as though more time is spent working than doing everything else combined.   There are times, especially in the beginning, when it may seem like you are not getting anywhere.  There are times when you will be putting more money into the business than you are bringing in.  Some days you may simply feel that all of your effort has gone for nothing.  Having the drive and determination to keep pushing forward in spite of the bumps along the way is key since those bumps are all but guaranteed.

Patience
online omnicef The successful entrepreneur is one who practices discipline and patience.  They understand that success takes work, and more importantly, time.  Nothing, aside from winning the lottery, happens overnight.  The line from the old baseball movie Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come” does not apply in the business world.    It takes time to develop a business model and business plan, implement a marketing campaign, find the right people to work with and employ.  Even in the world of e-commerce, simply putting up a website is not enough.  All of this is of particular importance if you are bootstrapping, or are attempting to avoid taking on debt while growing a business.  Careful planning and budgeting is essential, but without the patience to work through the early stages, success will be difficult to achieve.

Fearlessness/Rebel Attitude
In order to be successful when starting a business, one needs to throw caution to the wind in some instances.  There will always be detractors, people who tell you that your idea cannot be brought to life, or that an idea is nothing more than a pipe dream.  Some people shrink at the first hint of criticism or doubt.  Others embrace it.  They use the negatives as a driving force, and set out to prove the detractors wrong.  Being unafraid to fail, to take calculated risks regardless of what other might say, being a visionary and a leader in a given area or field are what these qualities represent.  Nobody every succeeded by being complacent.  None of the innovation we use in everyday life were developed by those who took the cautious road or stopped at the first sign of doubt or difficulty.  Many of the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who were bucking trends, daring to be innovators and leaders rather than  followers, setting precedents, and daring to be different.

Knowing Limitations
Nobody can do all things at all times, it’s just a fact.  It is especially difficult to all of the things necessary to get a new venture going if you aren’t knowledgeable on the subject.  There are all kinds of software packages for developing business or marketing plans, simple incorporation, etc., but sometimes you just need to know when to call in for reinforcements.   When it comes to some things like drawing up legal documents, or installing computer systems it is best not to leave it to chance that you are doing things properly.  It is one thing to be ambitious and to attempt to do everything on your own, but it is another thing altogether to venture into territory in which you have no background, experience or knowledge.  Successful entrepreneurs are like great managers: they understand the importance of delegating and outsourcing certain responsibilities and procedures in an effort to not only achieve optimal results but to also make the most efficient use of their limited time and resources.  Nothing is worse than wasting time (not to mention the ability to be moving ahead with the business and possibly missing out on income opportunities) trying to complete projects yourself that can be done correctly the very first time and within reasonable costs by qualified professionals.  That is why they do what they do, and you do not.

Now, this is by no means a complete list of qualities that entrepreneurs should possess, and in fact it is probably true that there are some successful entrepreneurs who don’t possess any of these characteristics (although that would be very difficult to imagine).  The point is, that it takes much more than a simple desire to do something in order to be successful at it.  If that were the case, then almost everyone in the world would be doing what they love, and no one would be dissatisfied with their jobs.  Unfortunately, some people just are not cut out to be entrepreneurs for one reason or another, but more likely than not it is because they do not possess one of the key traits mentioned above.

flonase

Nobody sets out to fail at any task in which they undertake, success is the ultimate goal.  The problem is that if you are afraid to fail, success is difficult to come by.  Many great entrepreneurial minds as well as inventors understood and embraced that concept, and so should you if you are truly dedicated to doing whatever it takes to succeed.  The key is recognizing what those past failures and mistakes were and learning from them in order to avoid repeating them.

Determination and drive are key character traits for any successful business person, in any field.  Those who possess such traits view their failures as an opportunity to re-assess ideas, theories, processes, etc. and to make the necessary adjustments and push even harder to reach their goals.  Thomas Edison once said when questioned about his numerous failed attempts at creating the storage battery, “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.  Ash Ra Tempel The Private Tapes Vol.1 downloadIn essence, he was saying that he did not view his failures as failures per se, rather they were lessons in how not to reach his goal which forced him to different paths until he finally invented the storage battery that worked.  This is a lesson that all people can apply to their own pursuits–learning from the wrong ways will eventually lead you to the right way.

Along the same lines, Henry Ford, who founded the Ford Motor Company was quoted as saying, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently .”  Taken literally, what this means is that with failure comes the chance to start from the beginning, but this time having the hindsight of knowing what did not work the last time and being able to avoid making the same mistakes again. 

Donald Trump had several failed ventures during his real estate career yet he continued to develop more real estate projects.  Warren Buffett had what he considered a failure when he sold his shares of Cities Services, the first stock he ever purchased, for $40 only to see the stock reach $200 a few years later but learned that investing in good companies for the long-term was a better plan.  Sports teams such as the Boston Celtics, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Yankees, traditionally viewed as dynasties in their respective sports have had long periods of failure and disappointment before figuring out the formula to once again win championships. 

Of course, these are just some of the well-known cases of people overcoming failure to become successful in their chosen tasks.  There a more likely than not numerous local stories as well which may have more relevance to you and your individual situation.  The ability to learn from prior failures combined with the drive and determination to not let setbacks derail them is what made these innovators, leaders, pioneers, groups/teams and countless others like them successful.  Not being afraid to fail, while understanding that failure is an inevitable part of business, sports, and life will make the bumps in the road easier to navigate.

In difficult economic conditions, every client and every dollar counts even more than usual.  People are seeing their homes going into foreclosure, companies are laying off employees, municipalities are going bankrupt all across the country.  After school and community youth programs are disappearing due to lack of funding and support.  While many would say that this is a bad time to market and promote yourself or business, it is, in reality, a perfect time to do that, and help in your community as well.

There are a great many who are of the opinion that doing something for nothing is poor business practice, and that if you give away your service that it means that you don’t value it (thereby any potential clients won’t value it either).  These beliefs cannot be further from the truth.  In reality taking on a small project for the sake of helping another, or lending your time and expertise for a local charity says much more.  Doing so shows that you are a member of the community, and that you (and your business) care about that community and are willing to forgo profits to not only help others, but to aid in improving the community as well.  Something as small as a medical practice sending doctors to volunteer at a free clinic, any business helping to rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters, or an accountant or lawyer helping a community center or little league set up the bylaws or find funding are just a few examples of such acts.

Donating time and expertise may not immediately affect the company’s bottom line, but what it will do is show people that not all companies put profits before those in the area that the business exists in.  Doing so will help build trust and goodwill with neighbors who are always potential clients.  Perhaps free positive publicity or PR will follow, which is always a benefit to any business.  Even without such broad-reaching attention, word of mouth may carry the company name far enough and to enough people to spread the word of an involved business that takes the time to give back.  At the very least, it creates a great opportunity to network with other community members.

Down the road, when conditions improve and people are in a better position to become clients, they will already have a positive view of the company.  A positive general image combined with giving back to the community are two sure-fire ways to attract and retain clients.  This can all be accomplished at any time regardless of economic climate or without reason other than simply because people are in need and it would be the right thing to do.

At a time when almost all companies, large and small, seem to be concentrating on improving the bottom line by implementing cost reduction strategies, it appears that many are neglecting perhaps the most important aspect that clients expect: customer service.  While good customer service hardly every gets recognized, poor customer service gains recognition everywhere you turn: from the person at a store asking to speak to a manager as the result of interaction with a disinterested associate, to a poor tip left at a restaurant due to slow or incorrect service, to the forum post out of frustration from being on hold for what seems like an eternity before getting a live person, to the simple conversation between friends complaining about the lack of planning and service available at the mall on a Sunday afternoon. 

It is no secret that happy customers are repeat customers, and that one bad experience left unresolved (or even resolved but unsatisfactorily in the customer’s eyes) can drive a customer to a competitor.  The key to retaining and even growing a customer base is superior customer service.  Yet, time and again companies seem intent on neglecting this most important component: extended hold times and difficult to navigate telephone menus, poorly trained or even incompetent representatives (every employee represents the company), outsourcing jobs to countries with poor phone line reception or poor grasp of the English language, unwritten or hidden policies, and even ignoring customers altogether.  Any one of those instances or a myriad of other will drive away business, and perhaps worse cause the customer to spread the word of such a distasteful experience.

In an age where new can spread like wildfire, the last thing  a business needs is to be bad-mouthed.  A bad experience can be relayed before the event even has a chance to unfold in its entirety thanks to cell phones.  News of the event can be across the country or even halfway around the world via blog or forum postings.  Upper-management can receive word of a truly bad experience from the customer almost immediately through an e-mail.  There are numerous ways in which such events can be publicized by even the most “insignificant” of customers–and there are businesses that do view customers in such a manner based on amount of money spent or number of repeat purchases.  Everything can be tracked these days.

The keys to retaining and growing a customer base are simple and do not take much effort to implement:

• Train company representatives in all aspects of their duties as well as other duties they might be required to undertake
• Instill a culture of “customer-first”, whereby each customer is treated as the most important person at that particular moment
• Encourage company representatives to take the initiative to resolve  potential problems before they are allowed to develop
• Make it easy for customers to contact the company in the event of an issue arising and ensure that the representatives are equipped to deal with those issues

It is not a cost-intensive or difficult process to ensure that customer service is a top priority.  In fact, it may be as simple as giving the customer a warm smile and showing appreciation for their business.  And, above all, let them know that they are valued and desired, because without the customer, there is no business.