Your Questions About Direct Marketing Definition

Jere answers:

Don’t.

In my experience and opinion an advertising agency will not provide the best return on your investment.

This is based on more than 10 years working on marketing for small to mid-sized companies (1-12 million in annual revenue). Creative houses and advertising agencies charge more for the end product than you can get elsewhere and most importantly they generally do NOT craft your marketing positioning. Advertising agencies can create very visually appealing collateral and can match the image that you define for them, but the typical advertising agency will not take the time to learn your specific business and as such can not adequately recommend the image you should project to the market.

Look for an independent. As someone stated in an earlier response, find them by browsing local company sites and identifying the ones you like the best and feel are the most compelling. Then call those companies, get in touch with the person responsible for their site and be direct with them. Ask them who produced the site, but even more important in my opinion ask them who crafted the message, wrote the copy, and determined the corporate identity. (Important – start by telling them why you are calling them – i.e. That you found their site to be the most impressive and give them specific reasons.) This or these, are the people you want to get in contact with. If it is a single person (and the company is not too large) and that person is employed by the company ask the person you are speaking to point blank if it would create any complication for you to solicit off hours temporary contract work from that person. You will be surprised, especially if the person you are talking to is this individuals direct boss, they generally will be glad to help their people find additional outside work. As director of marketing and communication I LIKED my people doing outside work. It kept them sharp and helped keep them from getting stuck in a creative rut developing the same content over and over again for our company.

I want to make this point very clearly, because I have seen so many companies make this mistake: You MUST define your target image first before engaging in any branding. Your target image must be based on a clear and thoughtful understanding of your target audience and business sector as well as your marketing strategy, product offering and key distinguishing value propositions. It can NOT be emotional or subjectively biased – i.e. “You just like the way this or that looks”.

Does you business sell to other businesses or to consumers? If your company sells services or products to other businesses your marketing message is far more critical than your graphic identity. Even if you are a B2C company Marketing comes before branding. You need to identify the following:

Who is your target audience?
Why do they want your product?
Why would they not buy someone else’s product instead of yours?
What do they value most? (Creativity, stability, customer service, convenience, turn-key solutions, ease of use etc)
What are their pain-points and how does your product overcome them?
What distinguishes your product or service from the rest of the competition?

The answers to these questions should identify the image you want to create. Go out on the web and find companies that are successful in your exact business model or in a similar sector. Review their image and branding strategies. Benchmark them as the beginning foundation for your corporate identity, then modify from there based on your company’s key distinguishers.

If you don’t feel qualified to do this yourself find someone who is and can. Your message and your identity are the source of everything else produced for your company. If you don’t have that definition in place then the best creative design work will not help you.

I have seen organizations with hideous, and I do mean hideous graphic design and corporate branding doing 9 million annually with fortune 500 clients based solely on the strength of their marketing message. (I’m talking about datasheets literally created and printed directly from PowerPoint here.) I have likewise seen companies with incredibly slick designs selling absolutely nothing because the copy on their website and in their marketing collaterals simply does not communicate any value, continuity, or even demonstrate an understanding of their target audiences needs.

I am a very strong proponent of professionally designed branding and image, but without the marketing message as the seed for this branding, and as the legs to carry it to a sale, it is worthless.

Graphic design work: corporate logo (and branding), datasheets and product slicks, websites, business cards and more can be outsourced to independent freelance designers. Specify in detail the image you are trying to convey and they can produce it, at a fraction of the cost if sourced through a creative house.

A logo can be accomplished for $500.00 or less.
A datasheet (if you write the copy) can be accomplished for less than $1,500.00.
Webpage templates (and you need maybe 4 templates for a startup website) can be sourced for as little as $500.00 per template. Then adding pages to the site should be a matter of sourcing a couple new images and dropping in content. If outsourced to an independent new pages from templates could cost in the area of $100 – $200 and less if no new graphics are required.

Compare those costs to what a creative or advertising agency quotes.

The most critical talent for you to find early on is someone who understands your product and its unique value in the industry and can clearly bear that out through product positioning and solid copy. Everything else can be outsourced, but this talent needs a strong and long term relationship with your company.
It takes time to learn your product and more time to craft and hone the message.

Best Regards

Jere answers:

National debt is like a nuclear bomb if you don’t let anyone use it it will not blow up. Debt is just paper we have inflation severely which we need the job market to meet with and they are not so we are still in debt, inflation helps us pay the national debt but employers are refusing to play the game by not raising wages it is their fault.

Jere answers:

Egypt’s rise to becoming a powerhouse market in the Middle East and North Africa was given a large boost two years when Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif’s government took steps to boost foreign direct investment, implement tax reforms and privatise several large enterprise organisations. In many cases, the knock-on effect of those moves has trickled down into the channel and provided a far more wholesome market for vendors and resellers to get their teeth into.

The article continues here:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/6637-exploring-egypt

OR

The economy of pharaonic Egypt has been called an ancient command economy, but one should always remember that such modern definitions are not as apt as one would hope for. Still, there was a specialized bureaucracy which monitored or controlled much of its activity, one of the hallmarks of planned economies. On the other hand, the officials – as state employees and not as private landowners or managers of state farms – probably did not tell farmers what to grow. But they remeasured and reassigned the land after every inundation – based on past assignments, assessed the expected crops, collected part of the produce as taxes, stored and redistributed it. Storage and redistribution were generally done on a local basis. Regional facilities provided produce in case there was a shortfall in one of the local centres.

This continues here:
http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/economy/index.html

Jere answers:

The very word “acne” conjures in many people’s minds either past or present struggles with self image, embarrassment and feelings of helplessness if they’ve ever suffered this skin condition, or are currently suffering varying degrees of acne.

Our skin’s appearance is very important to us personally of course, but it seems to have been only made more important by the emphasis of “flawless skin” in beauty magazines, tabloids and other media outlets that our society has become so enthralled with. It’s no wonder that the skincare industry has enjoyed growth and profits in leaps and bounds over the past fifteen to twenty years.

So, what can you do, besides enlist the help of an expensive dermatologist or skin care spa to help combat acne and prevent new breakouts on your own, for next to nothing – or better yet, free? Well, we will focus on things you can change in your diet to get rid of or dramatically reduce acne breakouts, since what we put in our mouths is more key for the skin’s appearance and health than most people may think.

There are many schools of thought on what to avoid and what to include in the diet if you are to attain and maintain clear skin. However, one thing remains pretty clear, and that is the avoidance of sugary foods and caffeine. I cannot tell you how many times I have experienced major breakouts that I can directly attribute to the consumption of sugar or caffeine in excess.

Sure, it’s ok to have a sweet snack (a small one!) here and there, and not suffer the consequences of a few new pimples, but by and large it is prudent to either strictly limit sugar or try to eradicate it all together if you have problem skin.

Sugar has many destructive properties that are bad for overall health, but it’s recently also been proven to have properties that accelerate the aging process of the skin when chemically broken down by our bodies, and also to lend a hand in the inflammation of skin cells.

Inflammation is a direct cause of acne, since it is, by definition an inflammatory skin condition, so we can safely say that sugar is indeed a category of food to be avoided in the quest to be acne free, oh and also to keep your skin young too!

OK, enough about sugar, now let’s move onto to another culprit behind acne. Caffeine can have similar effects on the skin to sugar, since it actually may increase inflammation, especially in some people who are more caffeine-sensitive than others (like myself).

With all the super caffeinated beverages out on the market today, it’s no wonder we’re all not walking around with broken out faces. I suspect that teens especially are susceptible to the caffeinated drink rage, which is unfortunate because they may be unknowingly aggravating their skin and causing breakouts at the age where they are more apt to break out anyway.

Caffeine can also produce an uneven and “bumpy” texture of the skin. Beverages aren’t the only culprit either, since there are many supplements, pills and diet aids that contain stimulants that will break your skin out faster than you can say “energy”. Caffeinated drinks and other products containing stimulants should be avoided if you want to avoid rough, broken out skin.

If you want to try to neutralize inflammation caused by eating foods that increase skin volatility as mentioned above, a good suggestion is to start drinking lemon water.

Not only is drinking lemon juice infused water a refreshing difference from plain old water, but water with about an eighth of a lemon (preferably organic) squeezed into it can help neutralize acidity in the body caused by acid-producing foods, which in turn limits inflammation.

Seriously, begin to drink lemon juice infused water for a few days and I’d be surprised if you don’t see at least a little difference in the way your skin looks.

If you want to get really adventurous, add a sprinkle or two of cinnamon, again preferably organic, to your water, and you may also enjoy a bit of a revved up metabolism as well as a more stabilized blood sugar level, as research is showing cinnamon has excellent benefits for blood sugar stabilization. Why do I mention blood sugar? Well, because a stable blood sugar level helps to lower inflammation, and it also helps reduce the effects of stress and anxiety which can trigger higher levels of androgens in the body, which are the very hormones that cause acne.

And there you have it, free or very cheap, easily incorporated, and dare I say “pleasant” ways to combat acne. Not only do these suggestions help reduce breakouts, they are also generally beneficial to your health in other numerous ways. Who says everyone needs a dermatologist or expensive skin care regimens to achieve pristine skin?

Jere answers:

I´m not sure, whether this is what do you want?, Ok:

Look in this definition:
“Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South.”
Is clear, according to the concept, what is the reach of the fair trade, particularly into the third world countries.

The fair trade certification, is required, of course, it means a lot compromises.
This explanation, help us to understand it:
“Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. ”

The Fair Trade principles include:
_”Fair price: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.”
_”Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited. ”
_”Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. ”
_”Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues. ”
_”Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification. ”
_”Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations. ”

When the market rate, exceed the minimum fair trade, price a premium needs to be paid. The main drawback of fair trade, is the high price of the product, because such a certification involves compliance with the principles mentioned above, translated economically, raises producer prices of these consumer goods.

Any violation of the fair trade principles, maybe implicates, to take out or invalid, the international certification, which by the magnitude of it, farmers can lose, distribution facilities and selling these products to the high price levels, which are paid.

See also these links:

http://www.equalexchange.com/fair-trade
http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/overview.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
http://www.ifat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=13