Strategies For Branding Success. Anne Thomas

and measure performance. Make changes as needed but be patient.

      Chapter 17: Taming Customers Though Promotional Marketing

      If a business firm id able to control the minds of million of customers, it will earn billions as profit. It is impossible to do that. But using some promotional strategies, the mind of the consumer can be tamed by influencing their decision making power. They can be presented with material, which can be motivating and persuading. There is no magic involved in this; only the psychology of the human mind is to be studied and played with. Human mind reacts to different situations in different ways. Some key psychological aspects can be studied in promotional marketing to get overwhelming customer response.

      Curiosity is the want to explore the unknown. Humans are always in pursuit of knowledge. They want to know more than what others know. Secrets are simply hard to be kept. This desire can act as an attractive force in marketing. Like customer won't be that interested if they are told that they can be provided with successful diets. Instead they want to hear the secret of the diet plan which is being provided.

      The information shouldn't be let out easily. Obviously it is important to catch the attention of the customer by interesting heading, but the content, too, should be as interesting so as to retain the interest of the reader till the end. In case of cross-titles or sub-titles, the initial ones will always have the advantage of developing more curiosity than the following sub-titles.

      If the content speaks about why the customer should select so and so company or product, it will be easier for them to relate to it. Let the matter speak out and give the explanation by itself. Like supposing a company wants to sell some product before the expiry date and it's the slowest time of the season, plain advertising won't do the trick. Customers are smart enough to think that the company wants to get rid of the old stuff. Instead if the customers are provided with a discount or a limited time offer, a believable reason, they will be more attracted. Every action should have a solid reason.

      Customers are greedy from a marketing point of view. By understanding the need of the customer, a basis can be prepared for the content. Their greed should be taken into consideration while preparing the content. They should be shown how the product or company would benefit them. They want to buy benefits in the form of products. Suppose when advertising for a camcorder, say that it displays all the colors that can be seen with naked eye, instead of saying it supports 16-bit color.

      Just specifying that the memory card have a memory of 2 GB isn't catchy. Instead it should be quoted that the memory card can store over 500 pictures, 100 audio songs and 50 videos. This surely will increase the customer enthusiasm. The benefits should be clearly mentioned to the customer and later other information about the product can be discussed, incase if they are looking for more. This is called listing the product features. Features reveal what the product has and benefits describe the advantages that can be derived from those features. Each feature can have more than one benefit, depending on different situations and customer needs. Lots of benefits and fewer features should always be the way to go.

      Chapter 18: Why Engage In Website Joint Ventures?

      As the civilization enters the Age of Globalization, joint ventures have grown into thousands no make that millions. For the past decades, the growth of the number of members who engage in joint ventures has constantly increased.

      Business before is highly different from now because even with the use of the recent technology such as the computers, you can earn money and make business even at your own home.

      What really makes joint ventures so much pleasing to the people in the Web World?

      Primarily, joint venture can make unutilized resources into more profitable source quicker and of lesser cost than doing it alone. From the name itself, it needs collaboration with other concerned companies who are interested in gaining more profit in internet marketing.

      Joint venture simply refers to a method of business expansion in terms of websites. This is done through a collaborative effort for both major and mid-size website companies. Authors of certain websites get into deals with one another that can help boost the name of their site and attract more clients and subscribers

      Commonly, joint ventures partners are matched by the so-called "closed proposal process". This is initiated via the Internet. In fact all the transactions that concern their profit making is communicated through Internet. They merely send their message through E-mail.

      Simply, in a joint venture two or more group of web companies enter into an agreement that they will share all the resources surrounding their business. It can be comprise of capital, technology, risks and even rewards. All these factors will be held as single entity under one control. In other words, the concern of one site is also a concern of another site.

      Prior to the entry in website joint ventures, there are important considerations that must be taken into account first. These include the following:

      1. Deliberation on the Prospective Partners- The success of joint ventures will depend on you and your partner. Getting partner that will eventually ruin the entire entity can lead to bankruptcy. It is very important that you should conduct the necessary screening first to better assess if it will be a credible partner or not. Particularly in web world, you must be able to determine which the credible website authors are. Subscribers tend to refer more on the well-known authors.

      2. Major contribution in the website is a major factor- Website is an avenue where you can advertise or publish a product. The entire package or design of the site is an advantage to attract clients. You have to look for a partner that can contribute in enhancing your individual websites.

      3. Verify the credentials- One way for you to determine a good partner is to go over all the credentials that it has for the past years. Accomplishment and awards will also help determine if the website was in demand to the subscribers for the past years. You can also interpret its credentials through the ratings that the site has for the past few months or years.

      4. Develop a particular concept that will fit the principle of both the website- Be able to determine the concept that you want for your website. You can also focus on the target market that you want to patronize your website.

      5. Specification about the allocation of gains and losses- Once you have identified your partners in website joint ventures, things that deal on monetary aspect must be discussed between you and your partner. There must be an equal sharing of the gain, if not it will depend on your agreement.

      6. Compensation must be thoroughly tackled- This will serve as a means to encourage participation with your partner. For every participation, it should be equated with just compensation. For instance, your product was also posted in the website of your partner and the client happened to order on his site, it only means that you are required to give the said website a commission.

      Joint venture will assure you easy money. However, it should be taken into account that there must be a collaborative effort between you and your partner. Whatever gains that you have, your website partner should also have it.

      Now, you probably know the reason for these people to crave for website joint ventures.

      Chapter 19: Why Brand?

      Branding is a marketing technique that has the potential to elevate your business to the top. It involves helping your customers to form a recognizable association with you. Link your business with a design, logo, slogan, and/or color and observe the positive results.

      Brands create a feeling of familiarity. If customers have seen your logo, insignia, or company name, they are more likely to continue to select your product or service. Also, they are more apt to suggest them to others. Referrals through word of mouth can be an extremely powerful form of advertising.

      A brand helps possible customers remember your business. People may know little about your philosophy or reputation. However, if they can recognize your brand, the chances are greater that they will do business with you. Branding creates memory in the mind of the public.

      When the public