Business TBC

Their Role in Media Planning

Media planning and buying is an important marketing function. Companies need to use the right medium while targeting their audience. Business Management Consultants help organisations to use the right medium and measure the performance of the marketing activity. Media planning essentially answers these fundamental questions:

Media planning helps in answering these basic questions:

a.Where to advertise? Market research helps in identifying which market their competitors are using. Either using primary or secondary data, the target market segmentation is done. Which part of the country would it be more successful and the medium that part uses.

b.Who to advertise for? The companys potential buyer needs to be identified, the person earning the most in the family might buy the product, but it could be used by some other individual in the same household. Research again helps in targeting these products accurately.

c.How much to advertise? The media budget is based on this, the more frequently the advertisement is shown or viewed or aired the costlier it is the purchase the medium for the given time and space. Specifying the time is a must when the ad campaign is on a television or a radio.

Some companies prefer in-house planners, business management consultants usually have a team of individuals, who are selected based on the client. Business management consultants can make his/her group according to the project or client they have. Certain brands invest highly in media planning and at times some dont, depending on this a team can be formed.

What is media planning?

Media planning is a highly specialised service; the planner needs to have a thorough understanding of consumer behaviour, purchasing habits of various brands and the medium of communication which is popular with their consumers. Based on these factors the consultant chooses the right medium or media, depending on how much the client is willing to spend. Media planning is a function that helps in determining the most effective manner of spending the advertisers money/ investment across media so as to generate the best Return of Investment (ROI) for the company.

The consultant needs to understand that mediums of communication are now merging, previously each medium print, radio and television were being targeted separately. Now with the online medium the three traditional mediums have converted into one. Marketing is now a two way communication, consumers and brand interact using social media.

The major steps involved in media planning are:

Clients Marketing Brief: This brief is provided by the client, it contains details about the product, its functions and the competitive advantage and the portfolio of products and services they offer. High and low selling products are highlighted, this help in the SWOT analysis. The media that they are currently using, the market segments that they are targeting and how much they are currently spending on media. The client specifies their marketing objectives in this brief.

Advertising Agency brief: This brief explains the creative execution of the campaign; this is usually done by a boutique or an agency that handles creative advertising designs.

Media Planning brief: The advertising agency comes up with the advertising brief the media planner or business management consultant helps to arrive at a media plan. The media brief contains media objectives; this helps in deciding which media to choose, how many times and at when. The brief includes definition of target segment and information about their competitors. Understanding how much their competitors are spending, the medium they are using and how many times in a day or month are they disseminating the advertisement.

Media planning is an important management function and business management consultants help in creating the media planning brief. At times companies use to wrong medium to disseminate their marketing efforts, business management consultant help in choosing the right medium in the current market scenario.

Finding out which small business management software solution is right for your business can be a long road. The majority of companies that offer this will tell you that their product is the best on the market in order for you to sign up to their service. Whilst it can be very useful to take a look at marketing material for small business management software owners of businesses should know what features to look out for. Here are a few questions which will help owners and managers of small businesses to ascertain if a small business management software solution they are interested in is right for them:

How many employees can be added to the application? If you are looking at software that will only allow for 10 or 20 employees there is little room for expansion. Instead look towards software that can handle up to 50 employees.

Is the application web based? Small business management software that is web based has so many advantages over other types of software. It means that owners, managers and even employees can log on from anywhere with an internet connection and check information relating to the business or even carry out their role from another location.

Do the features on the small business management software solution do everything your business needs them to? For example if you need a quoting and invoicing tool it has to have these as standard, similarly a business needs software with integrated calendars, document storage, project planning tools and reporting features to name but a few. Without these features a small business might need to pay for other applications, which is a waste of funds.

Is the small business management software solution easy to use? If a new software package is difficult to use and navigate around it can spell big problems for a business. Not only will it take a disproportionate amount of time to train employees on how to use it, it may also be too clumsy to use effectively. It is surprising just how many businesses sign up for software that is incredibly hard to use and requires several hours worth of training per employee. To get the most from small business management software it should take around an hour for employees to get to grips with and from there they can build upon their knowledge.

Can the software grow with your business? Whilst most businesses start off small there are a large number that do not stay small. With this in mind you need software that can handle a growing customer contacts database and will allow you to add employees as you hire them.

Does the software offer you a free, no obligation trial? This is essential before you spend money signing up to any software application.

With so many large, expansive companies the America, it may seem difficult for small businesses to compete in any way. How can you stand up to a company that prides itself on its expansive resources, expensive advertising, and ability to offer its products and services easily? The answer is authenticity–the one weakness that many large companies possess. Most Americans feel that a number of large companies care more about making a buck than providing good customer service. Worse, people may feel that their needs may not be met because the company simply does things conveniently. When it comes to products, large companies may seem to the consumer base like sellers of cheaply and poorly built products. As a small businessperson, you can make a large profit by offering products that are built with care, like handmade clothing and furniture, and by promoting your business’s personal touch. Customers will feel that your business provides an authentic and charming alternative to other mass-produced products. When you mark your authentic products with woven labels, you know that your brand name, logo, and maybe even more will be there for your customers to see and remember.
Woven labels can be the product tags, warning tags, information labels, and more, which are usually sewed onto a fabric product. They can carry information in a discreet but still apparent way, while also saving space.
In order to know what to put on a woven label, though, you will need a good brand with an interesting and eye-catching logo, a memorable slogan, and more. Here are some tips to keep in mind when you are trying to visually advertise your company’s name.

As previously stated, you will want to stand out from large companies that are essentially your competition. How are you more unique? How are you newer and fresher or older and more experienced with the product type you offer? Your company’s logo should be something unique and memorable for this reason. Essentially, if you are a consumer flipping through product logos, how will your company’s visual representation grab attention?

Consider your company’s personality. Do you pride yourself on a specific product type or model? What does this say about your company and employees? What is your personality? Imagine that your company is an individual on a dating site, trying to be unique and attractive while also coming off as approachable. If this seems confusing or overwhelming to try to tackle, then consider drafting a company logo that is appealing to you. Do you just want to include your company’s name, or do you also want to create a picture representation of your company, a visual logo that you will want to be associated with your company name? If you create something that is appealing to you and says something about your product, it will be effective in grabbing consumer attention.

Be sure your company logo is unique. Many small businesses have a logo and company name that is a little too similar to another company’s. This is especially troublesome if your company name and logo remind people of another company instead of your own.

Do you want a company slogan? Would you like this to be included on your products? If so, then you will need to make a few considerations. First off, think about what your company is, what it offers, what it represents, and what its personality is. Secondly, think of a brief, catchy phrase that represents this personality. Catchy phrases usually either rhyme or include repetition of words or structure. This makes them memorable. Be sure that what people remember, though, is a good detail about your company!

When you feel that you have developed a company, logo, slogan, and product that are unique, memorable, and of high quality, secure your company’s professionalism by planting this information on woven labels, so that your company name and details are not forgotten.

Floral arrangements and delivery service is in demand year round. I guess you could say they are seasonal products for all seasons. This makes floral design a profitable business to get into. Yet, if you don’t have the funds or desire to open a shop, but still like working with plants and have a creative flair, you have options. You even can work out of your home!

For example, you could offer a floral arranging service for flower shops, grow the flowers at home selling to stores or produce and sell floral arrangement accessories such as vases, cards or other trimmings. If you decide not to have a storefront, you may be able to cheaply lease outdoor space in a popular downtown area with lots of traffic. You can also work from home. With a delivery service, you can easily operate out of your house with a vehicle. To get started, you’ll need the items used to create your arrangements and a few basic tools.

With events and holidays happening throughout the year, the opportunities to make money are all around you. You can work with individuals to provide arrangements for holidays, birthdays, special events like weddings and graduations, etc. In addition, you can look for longer-term contracts with churches, hotels, restaurants and other businesses who need flowers delivered or arranged on a regular basis. These clients can provide a more stable and consistent income flow. It’s also an easy way to showcase your designs to other prospective flower-buyers (for free!).

As a floral designer, you can charge a certain hourly rate, and also have established prices for certain arrangements or orders that clients place. What you charge will depend on how much you pay for your wholesale supplies and also what other flower shops are charging, so you can stay competitive with the market yet still remain profitable.

Finding customers: Whether you are working from home or out of a shop, start with people who know and trust you. Offer special discounts for free flowers in exchange for referrals, and you’ll be surprised at how your prospect list will grow. If you really want to make a statement, create mini-arrangements and deliver them free-of-charge to local businesses you think could be interested your service (i.e. wedding planners, funeral homes, party supply stores). Attach a business card with a simple brochure of your services and rates. Make sure you include a coupon or special introductory price to have them like you even more. Don’t forget the advertising opportunities you have in the yellow pages, local newspapers and radio stations

Donating a flower arrangement for a large event is another inexpensive way to get your business name out there – in front of lots of people. Submitting a press release is a great example – the media will promote you for free if you send them a great news story about your business. This could be as simple is having your friend write a review about your “Store Opening” and sending it to your local paper.

So how do you actually start your floral business?

1. Learn your business. If you don’t have experience arranging flowers, get some! Take a flower arranging class, learn about plants – you want to know a lot more about your product than your customer does. Get an inexpensive start-up guide on how to start a floral business or interview a floral designer or flower shop owner who can give you helpful advice.

2. Find out who your customers are. Who is buying flowers in your community – and what for? What extra service can you provide that they are not already getting, and how much is it worth to your potential customers (what are they willing to pay)? What are other flower shops charging for their designs? As long as you offer more value (i.e. unique products, faster service, weekend or evening hours, etc), you don’t necessarily need the lowest price to gain market share.

3. Find out which licenses or permits you need from your local government office. Talk with an accountant, insurance agent and banker (you can get referrals from other local business owners or friends) to get helpful tips on financing, tax issues, insurance and business management that will save you time, money and hassles in the long run.

Get Started!

Owning a floral business can be very rewarding. Working directly with customers will help you learn the ropes faster and grow your company. Use your creativity to offer a truly unique service that you really enjoy – after all, it’s YOUR business.

As Tom Peters, the American writer who has written extensively on business management practices says, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest!”. There is no harm in outsourcing. In fact, outsourcing is not a novice idea and there are lots of businesses that outsource more than one project. Outsourcing content projects is a common practice among many businesses. Most of them lack the core expertise that is required to handle content projects and this is why they prefer to get it done by experts. On the other hand, there are businesses that can’t handle software projects skillfully, and therefore, consider outsourcing software development to be a safer option.

How does outsourcing benefit your business?

While outsourcing is undeniably beneficial for your business, you need to know the exact benefits. Does it help you focus on the core activities or manage the risks better? Handing over the responsibility of some of the most financially rewarding projects to a third party is indeed a smart move for your business. But before you make that move, let’s take a look at the exact benefits of outsourcing.

Lets you focus on the core aspects There are several functions, which are not related to the core aspect of your business. The moment you start expanding your business, the workload of the non-core functions continue to increase. As a result of this, the core activities get neglected and the quality deteriorates. In a situation like this, outsourcing seems to be an easy solution. Since you transfer the responsibility of some of the projects to a third party company or an individual, your key resources can focus on the primary business tasks.

Allows access to skilled expertise One of the main reasons why businesses prefer to outsource some tasks is that they get access to skilled expertise. It may not always be possible for a business to hire employees for a particular skill set. Outsourcing seems to be the most feasible solution in a scenario like this. This allows you to get the job done by professionals, who are expert at handling it. This also saves you the hassles of hiring full time employees and training them for specific projects.

Enables better risk management The moment you outsource a project, you share the risks associated with the project with your outsourcing partner and thus, reduce the burden. By outsourcing a task to a company that is competent enough to handle that, you can rest assured of the quality of the task.

Lets you run your business 24X7 By outsourcing projects to a country like India that is in a different time zone, you can make use of all 24 hours. By the time your working hours are over, the Indian company with which you are working can take over and continue with the work. They can work on several critical tasks and make considerable progress by the time you get back to work the next day. This way, you can abide by the follow-the-sun working model. This also helps you focus on time and material development.

These are some of the ways in which outsourcing helps your business.