Last but not Least

As of right now this is my last blog, I have come to my conclusion of my Internet Marketing class. I hope that any of my blogs thus far have brought some insight to marketing on-line. In my last blog I would like to talk about the business that I have been researching, as well as an article that I found to encourage women to be successful, or reach success.

As women, the term breaking the class ceiling means trying to reach that point in your career where you overcome all the obstacles of, how shall I say it, living in a man’s world. Although we have transformed into a society where men and women work, we still have the barriers for women to maintain a successful position and keep it. So I am including a few suggestions that Inc.com has posted on their website under Woman in Business. The title of this article is, 7 Ways to smash the Class Ceiling!

• 7. Play Hardball but only when necessaryMeaning, when dealing with some male counterparts who do not understand that you are the woman in charge, just use your voice!
• 6. Find your own management style.Find your own voice and style!
• 5. Set Boundaries.Since we like being in control, women just have to let go and delegate (at times)!
• 4. Go where business is headed!
• 3. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
• 2. Embrace the financials.Learning the ins and outs of your company!
• 1. Make good use of your famine charm!We have charm that can be used! As quoted by designer Carilyn Vail, "I've far outweighed these negatives with the benefits of being a woman." (This in regards to not being a man)

I hope this will help any woman out there and give them some advice and encouragement to break that class ceiling. There are so many successful women out there and it always made me wonder, well what do I have to do to accomplish everything I want? I have copied these seven steps down and will follow them along the journey to open up this business!

Now back to this business, I know I would unveil more and more about what my business is going to entail. However, I am learning starting a business is easier said than done. I do not want to get discouraged but it is going to take a little bit longer to fulfill all of these obstacles that are coming my way. If I mentioned before, my target market that my partner and I are going for is women!

Next we are trying to market to women in the area of, what we know best, fashion and clothing. My main question for all the women out there is, do you have a hard time finding pants that fit just right? I know I do, as well as my business partner. This is why we came up with an idea on this business. Unfortunately, with the start of this business we would not be able to offer and online store where you would be able to actually purchase our products. We will have to maintain a brick and mortar store since we want to offer actual contact with our clients. I do however want to advertise and communicate like this through the internet, those are the most important things that I have learned in my recent class. I can reach so many more women this way, than taking any other directions.

Lastly I am hoping to add some differentiation to our business, for one there are so many other women clothing stores that offers a variety of women’s accessories, shoes, and clothing. But I want to position ourselves so that, even though we are only offering pants, we can offer the perfect fit in pants. Then eventually build our business up to where we can offer the other items that our competitors do. There are six strategies to make sure you add differentiation to any business, they include:
· Differentiation is needed to first enter into any market
· Owning a product that can be attributed in the consumers mind.
· Having product leadership
· Utilizing impressive company history or heritage
· Supporting or adding demonstrations of this different idea
· Most importantly, marketing and communicating the difference.
Thus I have only reached strategies one!

So in conclusion for this blog, I am still working on the business in hopes to help all women out there find that great pair of pants! Support and motivation is greatly appreciated through this ordeal, as well as any ideas and suggestions. I will try to continue to blog every month on the statues of this business until the idea is complete and the doors are ready to open. To be continued next month.

To Start or Not to Start!

So, in my last blog I touched on my interest in marketing and advertising, as well as, this new world of e-marketing that I have just learned about. I went as far to say that e-marketing is probably the smartest, most effective and efficient way to market anything. Now-a-days marketing on television is not as effective since most of us either mute the commercials, or own DVR’s that can zip right past them. Let me ask, how many of you actually watch commercials? According to a website called, Wisdom Talks they posted some statistics on Internet marketing vs. Convential marketing (meaning like t.v., newspaper) There is a significant gap of $40,000 in costs when it comes to the difference in prices with marketing on the internet and television, but what is most important is the leads that the internet has over television. Wisdom Talks shows the lead on e-marketing is up 700-800, compared to television which is at 500-600. It all comes down to being able to have on demand approach to marketing, according to Wisdom Talks, People like to look on the net for what they want, when they want.

So my next question is, how do you know what people want? And what is it that makes you loyal to some of your favorite websites? As a business student my goal is to eventually open up my own business, so a feasibility study is where I need to start. Consider this my bases of a feasabitly study. So any input is greatly accepted. Of course I would like to market my business online in hopes to pull in consumers to my products, In other words the push vs. pull effect of pushing my market out there in hopes of pulling in viewers. Since I will be taking my first step as to market online I should be able to gather input that far exceeds what I could get with a regular paper survey. I need to know is there a market for the service I am trying to provide, with whom should my target market be? And lastly is there a potential growth that could benefit from this small service?

All of this lies under strategic planning. I am trying to strategize ways to achieve this goal. Now a couple classes ago I was confused as to build a business then build the business plan, or build the business plan then the business. With the help of my professor, people have been able to do it both ways. However, a business plan is somewhat like a blueprint of where you need to be and where you need to go to make your business a success. Not to mention a well built business plan is going to get you capital if you need it to build a business. I am unsure of who said this but think about this quote if you ever want to invest, “Invest in people, not the idea!” Next is communicating! Which, I am trying to do right now, I am trying to gather some information so I know where to start on building my website -for my business the faster I can get this service to become e-marketed, the faster I can build a company.

I think the main hurdle for starting any business is just that, starting. Therefore, to create effective marketing strategies e-marketers need to understand what motivates people to buy certain goods. Developing a good marketing plan along with your business plan allows for these two plans to work hand in hand in making a successful business. Certain steps need to be taken to create either plan, I will enclose the list:
· Analysis of your Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. (SWOT)
· Strategic planning (Which I have been covering) you need to know who you are marketing too?
· Objectives- What tasks do you wish to accomplish?
· E-Marketing Strategies- Coming up with promotional and pricing strategies.
· Budget- What to expect when you put your money out there and your return on investments. (ROI)
· Evaluation plan- Evaluate where you want to be, and how to get there.
· Lastly, setting up a Chart to measure if you are on the right track.

All of these steps will ensure a great marketing plan, and ensure a great start to your business. I know it’s all easier said than done, but when you have great organizations skills, great marketing on ideas, and the drive anything can be accomplished.

Well my ideas are still trying to get put together; I do want to open up a business that will provide a service. I know my target market will be women of all ages! Once I can get my thoughts in order and follow my business plans I will be able to start my marketing. I am still conducting my feasibility study, so as I continue to learn more and gain more information I will start unveiling this business. Stay tuned for my next blog!


References:

http://wisdomtalks.com/internet-marketing-vs-conventional-marketing-tv-newspaper-etc/

Thoughts on E-Marketing

Marketing and advertising have always been a great interest of mine. When I first set off on my quest in college I was on a mission to get a degree in graphic design. The whole world of advertising and marketing and working in the magazine fields were my goals. However, I am going into Business Administration with a concentration in management. My goals took a little detour; I guess you can say a safer detour.

My love for designing and marketing started in high school, high school year book club. It was the designing and displaying aspect that I enjoyed. Then I took a summer to study studio art and I learned to appreciate different colors, and textures. Now, I am learning e-marketing strategies, and how to ensure that any web page I design, or business I create will be out there for the world to see.

E-marketing is defined basically as online marketing. It’s probably the easiest and fastest way to get any business, idea, or design out into the web for the whole world to see. Since e-marketing can reach around the whole world in a matter of minutes, I would even say that it may be the smartest way to market now-a-days. In an article I found doing some web research one author claimed that, “It's at the forefront of a redefinition of way businesses interact with their customers.”(1) When you think about it, it is absolutely true. Sure we still see billboards, magazines ads, and what not, but it still is not as effective and efficient as e-marketing.

Marketing online versus direct marketing has seemed to be changing the ways advertisers do their business. Online marketing insures a faster way for business’s to reach their consumers. Not only that, but it’s become more convient to market to consumers online and at the same time get there feedback, and build a list of consumer contact information to remarket to them when updates are made within a company.

In order to guarantee traffic to your web-site, one must create a great design. As my professor said, ‘You have three seconds to capture your viewers” Therefore, designing a page that is user friendly, clear navigation, and looks professional should ensure to capture viewers attention. This is where my love for designing comes in. I have always felt strongly about colors! Colors can set a mood, capture the eye, or completely destroy a page. But so can too much information, clutter on a page, and not the right key words.

Now that I have got back onto the road of my original goals, and I am revisiting the marketing, advertising, and what it takes to do great graphic designing, it has shown me why I fell in love with it in the first place. I still have way more to learn, and more to blog about. So stay tuned for the next blog on e-marketing strategies.

References
http://www.quirk.biz/resources/88/What-is-eMarketing-and-how-is-it-better-than-traditional-marketing