Posts Tagged sales
Snuggie A Trend Setting Infomerical
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on September 22nd, 2010
The Snuggie infomercial has been derided as a takeoff on its predecessor the Snaket, and as a stupid video trying to sell blankets that are worn like clothing and which make the user look like a monks. However, the infomercials worked and started a two year trend which lead to the sale of perhaps millions of the snuggle slip on blankets.
As infomercials, go the video is short, running a mere 2 minutes and 25 seconds.However, it closes with a display of a call in number and a strong pitch for viewers to call in right away and get a snuggle for a highly reduced special price.
How did the snuggle infomercials sell so many items? First off is the intrinsic novelty of the product that bestows on it a potential attractive value. Then there is the succinct and to the point presentation. The blanket is showed off in idyllic family environments; families sitting around the living room on a winter’s evening; Grandma is knitting or reading a book, Grandpa watching television, Dad using his laptop and Mom reading with the girl. Later Dad is watching the TV while Mom cuddles the little one.
While the commercial starts out presenting the snuggie in idyllic home situations, the presentation branches out and shows the daughter at college, keeping warm in her dorm room in her snuggie. This presentation creates a theme unity in that the presentation of home life warms us and prepares us to see the daughter in a cold college dorm, just as the snuggie protects the wearer from the cold.
The audio presentation is also a winning combination. The background music is easy listening pop instrumentatl sounds created by brass and winds. The narrator is a female, but when it comes time to invite viewers to call in, an official sounding male narrator takes over and encourages them to call in right away and get the snuggle plus a go with gift for a ridiculously low price they can’t refuse.
So in summary, the selling points of this Infomercial are the presentation of the item in a family context, scenes that viewers can identify with, the pleasant background music and the official narrator at the end, who presents the invitation to call in. Finally the low purchase price combined with the offer to throw in a free gift to people who call in and order on line, gives the presentation its boardwalk presentation appeal.
Using Promotional Gifts To Advertise Your Company
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Marketing and Advertising on August 26th, 2010
Whether it is the mug from your bank or the collection of branded pens that litter your desk, we have all received a promotional gift or two. These free gifts are usually given away by business owners looking to gain more customers. Often these little offerings are stamped with the company’s name, logo or even a slogan. If you really want your business to stand out, consider branching out from the commonly given pen. There are many other promotional gifts for you to consider.
Perhaps the most popular category of promotional gifts consists of items that people can use on their desk or in their office. Yes, this category includes the common household pen, but there are also other types of promotional writing instruments including highlighters, pen and pencil sets, fancy pencils, and high tech ballpoint pens. Other office accessories include address books, day planners and writing tablets.
Other small but functional office supplies include calculators, clipboards, letter openers, staplers and removers as well as pencil sharpeners. These items are small and easy to give out but still incredibly useful to those that receive them. Mouse pads are another fun, yet functional offering. Since everyone occasionally feels stress while working, you could also pass out colorful stress relief balls with your promotional message on them. These gifts can work to let people associate your company with stress relief!
People also like to receive clothing and apparel items. These are great promotional items because they will really be seen. Try slapping your company logo onto some colored T-shirts. You may also want to consider hats. There are many types of hats available: beanies, baseball caps, golf hats and visors. Each can be easily outfitted with your company logo. Some businesses purchase promotional earmuffs or scarves. You can buy bracelets, pins, jewelry and even jackets or sweatshirts. There really are an unlimited number of possibilities.
While this option is a little more expensive, some businesses choose to give away technological devices such as an MP3 player, a GPS device or a USB drive. These items can be obtained at fairly affordable prices and are sure to be used which means that your company will get the promotional aid that they are seeking. After all, isn’t your company purchasing promotional items so that they can be seen?
The bottom line is to try to choose an item that will be used. As you can see, there are countless options for every budget. You could always choose the traditional pen for your promotional items or you could branch out a little and purchase something a little more unique. The ideas in this article should get you off to a great start.
Retail Business - Getting Your Store Looking Right
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Business General on July 30th, 2010
How you store looks will affect how much business you do. This is the same for new businesses and businesses that have been going for a while. It will impact your potential customers and how they feel about your business and it will either keep them coming back (repeat customers) or it will make them stay away (lost business). If you feel that your sales are lagging because of the “feel” of your store, then it may be time for a store makeover.
Proper signage and outside advertising is crucial to attracting customers to shop in your store. Ideally, you should have a large, easy to read sign that tells people your store name, and a little about what kinds of products they can find inside your store. Make sure that your sign is visible from across the street to make it easier to locate for people driving by. If your store is open during evening hours, make sure that your sign is properly lit so it can be read when the sun goes down. In addition to an eye-catching sign, having a clean and attractive exterior welcomes customers to shop in your store.
Your window display should be visually appealing and provide a glimpse into the array of items that can be found inside. Pay attention to all of the details - including the space at the sides and on top of your windows. Awnings can be an aesthetically pleasing addition to a store front that create a three dimensional outreach to those walking by your store. An awning can actually become the landmark exterior feature of your store.
Never underestimate the importance of good lighting inside your store. You can use spotlights to bring your customer’s attention to certain products or specials that you have within your store, and having a well-lit interior makes customers feel welcomed and can affect how long they linger inside to shop. If your store carries small items like jewelry, you can use your lighting to bring out the selling points of the pieces such as sparkle and color; and to call attention to special displays and merchandise that you want to promote.
The items that sell the best should be placed further on in the store so that you make your customer walk through the rest of your items before they can get to what they are looking for. To bring them in, you should always display your new items in your store window so that it draws them in. Group items together that sell well or that can be add-on purchases. An example of this would be a summer dress with strappy sandals and a scarf or hat. This means your sales will increase because you grouped an idea for your customer that they really do not have to think about putting together themselves. These add-on sales can make a huge difference in the viability of your store by making a normal sale into an extraordinary one.
Now Try - Cheshire Awnings
Corporate Video -Communication A Message To Your Workers And To Outsiders
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on May 1st, 2010
When your company wants to communicate an important message to members of the corporation, and you want it to say it in a way that will endure, you can communicate the message via a corporate video A video is ideal for those times when you want to motivate members of your corporation, when you are having special events, such as a meeting, or when you are celebrating important company milestones. Corporate videos also make good presentations to corporate shareholders.
At these times, you need to enlist the services of a video production company that specializes in making corporate videos. Quality professional video production companies, such as Winmax Video of California, will work with you to turn your idea into a reality. Say you are about to have a product launch. You approach the video company, with your idea. You want to create a video presentation that will introduce that product to prospective buyers. You also will use that video to help train your sales force
Rest assured that a professiional video company will work with you in a way that will allow you to have as much control of the project as you want, from start to finish. A large professional video production company will assign a manger who wil personally stay in communication with you at each step of the production. He wil work with you to make such curcial decisions as to video narration style. . Do you want continual narration, or only intermittent. Do you want more verbal narration or more captions. The manager will help you decide what type of background music you want for the video. Selection of background music sets the whole tone for the video. Do you want something upbeat, something serious, something sentimental. The project manager will help you crystallize your own thought about the background music. Most importantly, the manager will learn from you exactly what you want to accomplish with the video and he will help you create a storyline that completes that task.
During the shooting and editing process, the video company will allow you to remain in charge of the production of your video. You can choose the level of control you wish to have, at all stages of the project. . As the video production process proceeds, you will be able to participate in editing decisions to insure that the corporate video is meeting your expectations. When compilation is completed, the video productrion company will allow you to see the finished product. They will continue to work with you until you indicate that the completed business video meets your expectations. The turnaround time for large companies is only a few days. Winmax Video, for example can, upon request, turnout a special project in less than a week.
Any corporation should consider using a company video to facilitate company communication|intra-company communication[/spin], for sales and product launch, for corporate proceedings including large holidays and celebrations of corporate innovations, for honoring corporate leaders, for facilitating business enterprise communication, for briefing company personnel about significant company initiatives and for making shows at meetings of the companies shareholders, or for presentations via email.
Buy Learning Process In Sales Traininig
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Training and Education on June 11th, 2009
Buy-Learning Process consists of four stages with each stage made up of two steps.
The four stages are: 1) determining a need, 2) finding the best solution, 3) committing to buy, and 4) evaluating the outcome.
For the sake of sales management training, these four stages can be named Need, Learn, Buy and Value. The effective sales person will move through these stages with the buyer by personally identifying with the buyer’s hopes and fears, problems and opportunities.
NEED — What the buyer perceives as desireable, beneficial, valuable and obtained for the purpose of providing improvement in working life: savings of time and/or money, peace of mind, security,productivity, status.
Step 1: Change
Changing circumstances and requirements fosters discontent.
Step 2: Discontent
Discontent brings Need into focus, then the issue becomes: How pressing is this need? When discontent drives need to the point of being pressing, the buyer moves to the Learning stage.
LEARN — Process of researching options, comparing possibilities, information gathering and evaluation.
Step 1: Researching
Intangible need becomes a tangible solution through process of looking at and identifying capabilities. There are the “must-have” and the “nice to have” options and capabilites, carrying different values.
Step 2: Comparison Options compared.
Consider “must haves” vs. “nice to haves” and prioritize. Major decisions are often made based on MINOR DIFFERENCES! This is a huge factor in sales management that sets the best salespeople and managers above the rest.
BUY
Step 1: Fear
Emotional, not logical, it is the buyer’s reaction just before making a commitment. Bigger the purchase, the more money involved, the greater the risk, and the more likely fear will kick in.
Step 2: Commitment
Overcoming fear the buyer buys, after negotiating final details.
VALUE — Customer asks him/herself: Did I get a good deal? Do the results match up with what Iexpected?
Step 1: Expectations
Immediate value expected. Buyer takes the product for a spin. (Imagine the value of key op!)
Step 2: Satisfaction
Varies over time. We can certainly increase the sense of value/satisfaction the customer perceives with good/frequent visits after install to demonstrate more features/benefits!
Enjoy greater customer satisfaction–while increasing your sales–by changing your approach to match your customers’ changing perspective throughout the sale.
To help learn these skills, do yourself a huge favor and attend some sales seminars.
In short, your sales team will learn how to sell based on how customers buy.
The buying process unfolds in a series of eight predictable steps that your salespeople can anticipate. Our sales training programs teach your salespeople eight easily understood sales roles that correspond directly to the steps of the buying process. Our sales roles: Student, Doctor, Architect, Coach, Therapist, Negotiator, Teacher and Farmer, provide a disciplined, repeatable method for closing more sales, faster, while your competition wonders why they lost out.
