Low Cost Business Ideas

Archive for the ‘New Businesses Funding’ Category

A positive image for your business is vital to the success of it. You may have a wonderful product or service available. However, if customers don’t know about you or trust you they aren’t going to purchase it. The emotional value of that is beyond what many business owners understand. As a result of that they may fail and continue to be puzzled why.

There are public relations companies that can give a business the exposure it needs. They specialize in doing so and have the tools to make it happen. This is true for a business that may be recognized out there – but for the wrong reasons. Changing a business image that isn’t doing so well is important. Giving consumers something new to focus on is a step in the right direction. Cheese steak’s isn’t the only thing Philadelphia has going for it, it’s diverse business culture has provided it with a very strong offering of Public Relations companies.

If you’re looking for PR firms in Philly, the good news is that you don’t have to search too hard for them. They are found in the yellow pages as well as online. Take your time to find those that can satisfy your needs. Even though you aren’t an expert in this field you need to carefully evaluate your choices of Philadelphia PR firms. If the company you choose can’t do an excellent job you will be wasting your time and your money.

Keep in mind that what you wish to accomplish for your business should be known before you contact any such business. You need to have your goals clearly outlined. If you don’t know why your business isn’t getting recognized then let them know that. They can give you some ideas based upon the information you share. With the competitive nature and the sheer quantity of PR firms that Philadelphia offers, the pricing can be negotiated in your favor. Pricing tends to be more expensive as you get closer to the Comcast building and the heart of the business region.

Many PR firms in Philly offer free consultations for potential clients. Also you will want to check the suburbs for smaller firms that may be able to treat you with personal attention. This means you can schedule an appointment with them. They will talk to you about what your needs are and what they can offer. During this consultation you should have questions ready to ask. If you don’t feel they can meet your needs or that they even listened to you then cross them of your list.

You aren’t under any obligation to work with a PR firm when you have a consultation with them. Use that to your advantage and set up several appointments. That will give you a great feel for the industry as a whole. There are going to be things about certain companies though that stand out for you.

Don’t be afraid to ask the important questions when you look for someone to handle your public relations. Remember that they are going to be doing things behind the scenes for your business. Everything they offer should be something you are proud to be associated with. Ask to see samples of work they have done. What you want to look for is diversity. If they use the same approach for all their clients you want to bypass them.

With so many products of the same kind being introduced in the market, how do you make yours get the customer’s attention? Sure advertising helps but that’s something every brand does. So how do you make the product you are selling stand-out among so many other products to make the customer notice it? And most importantly, compel them to turn into a consumer from a prospect.

Few tricks those have given more than expected result in the past:

1. Stephen Marks, the CEO of French Connection, the fashion chain in UK, wanted to make the company one of the most talked about brands. For this Marks didn’t really improve the fabric of their clothes or slash down the prices. All he did was to shorten the company’s name. And what was it? The French Connection, United Kingdom, got shrunk to F.C.U.K. Though controversial, the idea worked. And French Connection in its new form FCUK became a brand unto itself. Consequently, profits rose high.

Action Summary:

Stand-Out. Draw the customer’s attention by doing something completely different.

2. Scotiabank, now one of the leading investment banks, in 2006 employed a very simple yet catchy slogan – You’re Richer Than You think. Their slogan touched the emotional side of people. Scotiabank’s You’re Richer Than You Think became more than just a product tag line – it instilled hope, in customers, of a richer life.

Action Summary:

Show that you are concerned about your customer. And that your product can help them.

3. In 2002, when Dial Corporation introduced their Dial soap, it ran a hard-to-ignore TV commercial. The first screen of the Ad featured a dog licking toilet water. In the second screen, the owner of the Dog returns home and is lovingly licked by that Dog. And then Dial ran its slogan – You are Not As Clean As You Think, followed by a quick line Aren’t You Glad Use Dial? The Ad jolted viewers out of their unhygienic life. Consequently, Dial’s sales increased by a total of 5%.

A project is an assignment or task taken up to achieve a specific goal. The development and introduction of new services or of a management information system are instances of a project. A project is different from the continuous or day-to-day processes of a company. It is confined within cost, time, and quality constraints. As a consequence to it a special team of expertise is appointed to manage a project.

Project management as the name suggests is all about nurturing or handling a project. This is done with the aid of requisite knowledge about the project, skills and techniques to complete the project within fixed tenure and resources. Project management involves step-by-step procedure along with a prudent approach towards the project.

At first the concerned organization prepares an outline of the project. This includes knowing and writing down what the project is all about, the cost involved in the project, the amount of resources needed. A thought is also given to the tentatively earliest possible time within which the project can be completed. Once the budget and other nitty-gritty’s about the project are known the organization looks for sponsors and a project manager. If the individual sponsoring the project is skilled and efficient enough, he too can be its manager.

The project manager then appoints a team of people to work under him. Together with the team the manager of the project prepares a project plan. This plan is not just about the cost and time factors but also regarding the manner in which the project is to be initiated and covered up later. This requires lot of discussions and settlements between the project manager and the team of employees.

The implementation stage of a project is where the project is put to execution as decided. While executing a project its progress and managing changes need to be carefully monitored. At this point in order to harness the resources well the project manager might feel the need to expand his team. For instance marketing of the product may be suffering due to more heed being paid to its manufacturing or due to lack of good marketing executives. This may also involve contacting new companies and organizations. Thus a set of people needs to be readily appointed to take charge of this. However then it is always at the onus of the manager to equip the new members with a proper and complete knowledge of the project. In some cases training may also be imparted.