What three functions do effective headings serve in business documents?

What does a marketing plan look like?

A marketing plan is a detailed and well researched document which identifies marketing opportunities and develops a strategy to exploit them. It answers the questions… * What opportunities are out there? * Where are we now? * Where do we want to go? * How will we get there? * How will we know when we've arrived? A marketing plan can be compiled in many ways, but it's sensible to include the following headings: Research and planning Macro, micro and internal environmental audit Current business status Competitor analysis Marketing strategy and tactics Mission statement and objectives Strategy development Tactics Using the marketing mix Actions and controls Action plan Measurement and reporting

How do you write a business plan?

Writing a business plan can be the most fun part of starting a new business. First you must think of what your business will be, what do you want it to do for you and what do you want it to provide for others. Next set yourself some goals and work towards them one at a time, for instance, getting your business licensed.Business Plan WritingHere is advice on writing business plans from the Federal Consumer Information Center and the Small Business Administration:Before you start your plan, carefully research and answer these basic questions:What niche or void will my business fill?What services or products will I sell?Is my idea practical, and will it fill a need?Who is my competition?What is my business's advantage over existing firms?Can I deliver a better quality service?Can I create a demand for my business?Once you've determined that your small business idea is feasible, answer these questions:What skills and experience do I bring to the business?What will be my legal structure?How will my company's business records be maintained?What insurance coverage will I need?What equipment or supplies will I need?How will I compensate myself?What are my resources?What financing will I need?Where will my business be located?What will I name my business?If you are starting a home-based business, you should answer these additional questions:Does my home have the space (preferably separate) for a business?Can I successfully run the business from my home?Can I deal with the isolation of working from home?Your answers to these questions will help you create a focused, well-researched business plan that should serve as a blueprint. The plan should detail how the business will be operated, managed and capitalized.Some questions you will be able to answer on your own. Others will require careful research. There are many sources available to help you find the answers and make informed decisions. These sources include:Small Business Administration (SBA) business information centers, located throughout the country;counseling with business veterans through SCORE members affiliated with the SBA;trade association studies, journal articles and trade shows;regional planning organization studies on growth trends;banks, realtor and insurance companies; andcustomer surveys in your market area, which you can conduct on your own, or which may already exist.Your business plan should cover the business basics from goals to management, from marketing to operations. A business plan is a blueprint for success, so don't scrimp on the details. A good business plan covers the following areas:Describe in detail the business and its goals.Identify the business ownership and the legal structure.Discuss skills and experience you and your partners bring to the business.Identify the advantages you and your business have over your competitors.Explain how the business will be managed on a day-to-day basis.Discuss hiring and personnel procedures.Discuss insurance, lease or rent agreements, and issues pertinent to your business.Account for the equipment necessary to produce your products or services.Account for production and delivery of products and services.Describe your product or service.Identify the customer demand for your product or service.Identify your market, including its size, location and demographics.Explain how your product or service will be advertised and marketed.Explain your pricing strategy.Explain the source and amount of initial financing.Estimate start-up costs.Project operating expenses.Develop a monthly operating budget for the first year.Develop an expected return on investment and monthly cash flow for the first year.Provide projected income statements and balance sheets for a two-year period.Discuss your break-even point.Explain your personal balance sheet and method of compensation.Discuss who will maintain your accounting records and how the records will be kept.Provide "what if" statements that address alternative approaches to problems that may develop.Here are more opinions and answers:One of the more common subjects that new business owners ask about is "how to write a business plan."To help you with this task, let me first clarify what business people usually mean when they use the term "business plan," and then provide some suggestions and point you to resources that you can use to make the work of writing a business plan easier and more successful.Defining Three Types of Business Plans:People use the term "business plan" to refer to three distinct items: a firm's overall strategy and road map (which I'll call here a strategic plan), the 10- to 20-page document that entrepreneurs use to promote a new venture to investors and other key stakeholders (which I'll call here a new venture plan), and the 20- or 50- or even 100-page document that a new business owner uses to prove to him- or herself and others that he or she has thought carefully about starting or growing a business (which I'll call here a white paper plan).How to Write a Business Plan: Strategic Plans:I talk about business strategic planning in another short article on my website, so I won't repeat that discussion here. Let me note here, however, that a strategic plan is something quite different from a new venture business plan or a white paper business plan.How to Write a Business Plan: White Paper Plans:If you want to write a white paper plan, know that this process is well documented elsewhere. You can get a detailed outline for a white paper plan (in both English and Spanish), for example, from the United States federal government's Small Business Administration website at the Related Link.If you have access to Microsoft PowerPoint, you should also know that PowerPoint's AutoContent Wizard supplies a detailed template for creating a white-paper-style business plan presentation.How to Write a Business Plan: New Venture Plans:If you want to write a new venture plan, you take a different approach. New venture plans, boiled down to their very essence, answer the following five questions that prospective investors need to answer in order to decide whether they should invest:Is a firm's product or service feasible? For example, can the technology really be developed? Is the necessary legal and regulatory approval obtainable? Does the process work in practice? Obviously, if a firm is already operating, this question doesn't need to be asked and answered. But for many types of new ventures - especially technology companies - the question does need to be discussed.Do customers want the product or service? In other words, is there true demand? This might sound like a silly question, but potential customers ignore many interesting and seemingly useful products and services.Is the basic transaction profitable? In other words, will people pay a price that produces a profit? Customers might want products and services that firms can't afford to provide.Is the return on investment adequate? Even profitable businesses might not be feasible if they require too much capital relative to the profits they generate. New ventures not only need to be profitable, but they also need to produce acceptable returns on investments. This return-on-investment measurement might be measured with either an internal rate of return (which is probably most common), or a net present value (which is most accurate). Note that an input to any return on investment calculation - the investment required to start the venture - is also an important factor in any prospective investor's deliberations.Can the management team operate the business? Even if you can answer "Yes" to the first four questions, that's not really enough. A new venture will probably fail if the management team lacks the skills to successfully run the business. So the last part of a new venture plan needs to describe the management team and why they're likely to succeed. The ideal answer to this question is, of course, to be able to show through past performance that the management team has successfully run a similar business.I think you could use these questions as the highest level headings in a new venture plan. The only other headings you might want to add to such a new venture plan would be for an introduction and an executive summary.Final observations about new venture plans:First, it's very unlikely that an entrepreneur can honestly answer "Yes" to all five questions.Many new venture plans do, of course, give "Yes" answers to all five questions. But I suggest that an honest answer such as, "We don't yet know," or "It depends on future developments," will attract better and more sophisticated venture investors and increase your chances of success.I also note here that in the recent dot.com hysteria, many new ventures were funded even though they could honestly answer "Yes" to only the first question. (Of course, many shouldn't have been funded, but that's another topic.)Second, answering "No" to any of the five questions means the new venture won't work. Each of the five questions is a link in the chain of success. Break a link and the chain breaks, too.(The government's Small Business Administration has an online business plan template - refer to links below.)

How does one get into an affiliate program?

In the business world many individuals will want to become an affiliate of some type of organization. In researching the way to do this, it would appear the process is relatively easy, one simply goes to the webpage of the affiliate of which it is desired to become a member of and then an application is filled out, a fee is paid and then you will receive an approval or disapproval within a certain amount of time via email or mail depending on the organization.

What are the advertising strategies of airtel?

An advertising strategy is a campaign developed to communicate ideas about products and services to potential consumers in the hopes of convincing them to buy those products and services. This strategy, when built in a rational and intelligent manner, will reflect other business considerations (overall budget, brand recognition efforts) and objectives (public image enhancement, market share growth) as well. As Portable MBA in Marketingauthors Alexander Hiam and Charles D. Schewe stated, a business's advertising strategy "determines the character of the company's public face." Even though a small business has limited capital and is unable to devote as much money to advertising as a large corporation, it can still develop a highly effective advertising campaign. The key is creative and flexible planning, based on an indepth knowledge of the target consumer and the avenues that can be utilized to reach that consumer.Today, most advertising strategies focus on achieving three general goals, as the Small Business Administration indicated in Advertising Your Business: 1) promote awareness of a business and its product or services; 2) stimulatesales directly and "attract competitors' customers"; and 3) establish or modify a business' image. In other words, advertising seeks to inform, persuade, and remind the consumer. With these aims in mind, most businesses follow a general process which ties advertising into the other promotional efforts and overall marketing objectives of the business.Stages of Advertising StrategyAs a business begins, one of the major goals of advertising must be to generate awareness of the business and its products. Once the business' reputation is established and its products are positioned within the market, the amount of resources used for advertising will decrease as the consumer develops a kind of loyalty to the product. Ideally, this established and ever-growing consumer base will eventually aid the company in its efforts to carry their advertising message out into the market, both through its purchasing actions and its testimonials on behalf of the product or service.Essential to this rather abstract process is the development of a "positioning statement," as defined by Gerald E. Hills in "Marketing Option and Marketing" in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship: "A 'positioning statement' explains how a company's product (or service) is differentiated from those of key competitors." With this statement, the business owner turns intellectual objectives into concrete plans. In addition, this statement acts as the foundation for the development of a selling proposal, which is composed of the elements that will make up the advertising message's "copy platform." This platform delineates the images, copy, and art work that the business owner believes will sell the product.With these concrete objectives, the following elements of the advertising strategy need to be considered: target audience, product concept, communication media, and advertising message. These elements are at the core of an advertising strategy, and are often referred to as the "creative mix." Again, what most advertisers stress from the beginning is clear planning and flexibility. And key to these aims is creativity, and the ability to adapt to new market trends. A rigid advertising strategy often leads to a loss of market share. Therefore, the core elements of the advertising strategy need to mix in a way that allows the message to envelopethe target consumer, providing ampleopportunity for this consumer to become acquaintedwith the advertising message.TARGET CONSUMER. The target consumer is a complex combination of persons. It includes the person who ultimately buys the product, as well as those who decide what product will be bought (but don't physically buy it), and those who influence product purchases, such as children, spouse, and friends. In order to identify the target consumer, and the forces acting upon any purchasing decision, it is important to define three general criteria in relation to that consumer, as discussed by the Small Business Administration:Demographics-Age, gender, job, income, ethnicity, and hobbies.Behaviors-When considering the consumers' behavior an advertiser needs to examine the consumers' awareness of the business and its competition, the type of vendors and services the consumer currently uses, and the types of appeals that are likely to convince the consumer to give the advertiser's product or service a chance.Needs and Desires-Here an advertiser must determine the consumer needs-both in practical terms and in terms of self-image, etc.-and the kind of pitch/message that will convince the consumer that the advertiser's services or products can fulfill those needs.PRODUCT CONCEPT. The product concept grows out of the guidelines established in the "positioning statement." How the product is positioned within the market will dictate the kind of values the product represents, and thus how the target consumer will receive that product. Therefore, it is important to remember that no product is just itself, but, as Courtland L. Bovee and William F. Arens stated in Contemporary Advertising, a "bundleof values" that the consumer needs to be able to identify with. Whether couched in presentations that emphasize sex, humor, romance, science, masculinity, or femininity, the consumer must be able to believe in the product's representation.COMMUNICATION MEDIA. The communication media is the means by which the advertising message is transmitted to the consumer. In addition to marketing objectives and budgetary restraints, the characteristics of the target consumer need to be considered as an advertiser decides what media to use. The types of media categories from which advertisers can choose include the following:Print-Primarily newspapers (both weekly and daily) and magazines.Audio-FM and AM radio.Video-Promotional videos, infomercials.World Wide Web.Direct mail.Outdoor advertising-Billboards, advertisements on public transportation (cabs, buses).After deciding on the medium that is 1) financially in reach, and 2) most likely to reach the target audience, an advertiser needs to schedule the broadcasting of that advertising. The media schedule, as defined by Hills, is "the combination of specific times (for example, by day, week, month) when advertisements are inserted into media vehicles and delivered to target audiences."ADVERTISING MESSAGE. An advertising message is guided by the "advertising or copy platform," which is a combination of the marketing objectives, copy, art, and production values. This combination is best realized after the target consumer has been analyzed, the product concept has been established, and the media and vehicles have been chosen. At this point, the advertising message can be directed at a very concrete audience to achieve very specific goals. Hiam and Schewe listed three major areas that an advertiser should consider when endeavoring to develop an effective "advertising platform":What are the product's unique features?How do consumers evaluate the product? What is likely to persuade them to purchase the product?How do competitors rank in the eyes of the consumer? Are there any weaknesses in their positions? What are their strengths?Most business consultants recommend employing an advertising agency to create the art work and write the copy. However, many small businesses don't have the up-front capital to hire such an agency, and therefore need to create their own advertising pieces. When doing this a business owner needs to follow a few important guidelines.COPY. When composing advertising copy it is crucial to remember that the primary aim is to communicate information about the business and its products and services. The "selling proposal" can act as a blueprinthere, ensuring that the advertising fits the overall marketing objectives. Many companies utilize a theme or a slogan as the centerpieceof such efforts, emphasizing major attributes of the business's products or services in the process. But as Hiam and Schewe caution, while "something must be used to animate the theme …care must be taken not to lose the underlying message in the pursuit of memorable advertising."When writing the copy, direct language (saying exactly what you mean in a positive, rather than negative manner) has been shown to be the most effective. The theory here is that the less the audience has to interpret, or unravelthe message, the easier the message will be to read, understand, and act upon. As Jerry Fisher observed in Entrepreneur,"Two-syllable phrases like 'free book,' 'fast help,' and 'lose weight' are the kind of advertising messages that don't need to be read to be effective. By that I mean they are so easy for the brain to interpret as a whole thought that they're 'read' in an eye blinkrather than as linear verbiage. So for an advertiser trying to get attention in a world awashin advertising images, it makes sense to try this message-in-an-eye-blink route to the public consciousness-be it for a sales slogan or even a product name."The copy content needs to be clearly written, following conventional grammatical guidelines. Of course, effective headings allow the reader to get a sense of the advertisement's central theme without having to read much of the copy. An advertisement that has "50% Off" in bold black letters is not just easy to read, but it is also easy to understand.ART WORK AND LAYOUT. Small business owners also need to consider the visual rhetoric of the advertisement, which simply means that the entire advertisement, including blank space, should have meaning and logic. Most industry experts recommend that advertisers use short paragraphs, lists, and catchyillustrations and graphics to break up and supplement the text and make the document both visually inviting and easy to understand. Remember, an advertisement has to capture the reader's attention quickly.ADVERTISING BUDGET. The advertising budget can be written before or after a business owner has developed the advertising strategy. When to make a budget decision depends on the importance of advertising and the resources available to the business. If, for instance, a business knows that they only have a certain amount of money for advertising then the budget will tend to dictate what advertising is developed and what the overall marketing objectives will be. On the other hand, if a business has the resources available, the advertising strategy can be developed to meet predetermined-1marketing objectives. For small businesses, it is usually best to put together an advertising budget early in the advertising process.The following approaches are the most common methods of developing an effective budget. All the methods listed are progressive ones that look to perpetuate growth:Percentage of future or past salesCompetitive approachMarket shareAll available fundsThe task or objective approachThe easiest approach-and thus the one that is most often used-is the percentage of future or past sales method. Most industry experts recommend basing spending on anticipated sales, in order to ensure growth. But for a small business, where survival may be a bigger concern than growth, basing the advertising budget on past sales is often a more sensibleapproach to take.Methods of AdvertisingSmall business owners can choose from two opposite philosophies when preparing their advertising strategy. The first of these, sometimes called the push method, is a stance wherein an advertiser targets retail establishments in order to establish or broadena market presence. The second option, sometimes called the pull method, targets end-users (consumers), who are expected to ask retailers for the product and thus help "pull" it through the channel of distribution. Of course, many businesses employ some hybrid of the two when putting together their advertising strategy.PUSH METHOD. The aim of the push method is to convince retailers, salespersons, or dealers to carry and promote the advertiser's product. This relationship is achieved by offering inducements, such as providing advertising kits to help the retailer sell the product, offering incentives to carry stock, and developing trade promotions.PULL METHOD. The aim of the pull method is to convince the target consumer to try, purchase, and ultimately repurchase the product. This process is achieved by directly appealing to the target consumer with coupons, in-store displays, and sweepstakes.Analyzing Advertising ResultsMany small businesses are distressingly laxin taking steps to monitor whether their advertising efforts are having the desired effect. Instead, they simply throw a campaign out there and hope for the best, relying on a general sense of company health when determining whether to continue, terminate, or make adjustments to advertising campaigns. These small business owners do not seem to recognize that myriadfactors can influence a business's fortunes (regional economic straits, arrival of new competition, seasonal buying fluctuations, etc.). The small business owner who does not botherto adequately analyze his or her advertising efforts runs the danger of throwing away a perfectly good advertising strategy (or retaining a dreadfulone) if he or she is unable to determine whether business upturns or downturns are due to advertising or some other factor.The only way to know with any accuracy how your advertising strategy is working is to ask the consumer, the opinions of whom can be gathered in several ways. Although many of the tracking alternatives are quite specialized, requiring either a large budget or extensive advertising research expertise, even small businesses can take steps to measure the effectiveness of their advertising strategies. The direct response survey is one of the most accurate means of measuring the effectiveness of a company's advertising for the simple reason that it measures actual responses to a business's advertisements. Other inexpensive options, such as use of redeemable coupons, can also prove helpful in determining the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.Advertising AgenciesThe decision whether or not to use an advertising agency depends both on a company's advertising strategy and its financial resources. An agency has professionals who can organize, create, and place advertising so that it will meet established objectives better than most small businesses can do on their own, but of course the expense associated with soliciting such talent is often prohibitive for smaller companies. Still, some small- and mid-sized businesses have found that agencies can be helpful in shaping and monitoring advertising strategies.Because of their resources and expertise, agencies are useful when a business is planning a broad advertising campaign that will require a large amount of resources. An advertising agency can also help track and analyze the effectiveness of the advertising. Some criteria to consider when choosing an agency include size of the agency, size of their clients (small companies should avoid allying themselves with agencies with a large stable of big corporate clients so that they are not treated as afterthoughts), length of time that the principals have been with the agency, the agency's general advertising philosophy, and the primary nature of the agency's accounts (are they familiar with your industry and the challenges involved in differentiating your company's products or services from others in that industry?).Advertising LawsThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protects consumers from deceptive or misleading advertising. Small business owners should be familiar with the following laws, which pertain to marketing and advertising and are enforced by the Commission:Consumer Product Safety Act-Outlines required safety guidelines and prohibits the sale of harmful products.Child Protection and Toy Safety Act-Prohibits the sale of toys known to be dangerous.Fair Packaging and Labeling Act-Requires that all packaged products contain a label disclosing all ingredients.Antitrust Laws-Protects trade and commerce from unlawfulrestraints, price deception, price fixing, and monopolies.Many complaints against advertisers center on allegedly deceptive advertisements, so small business consultants urge entrepreneurs and business owners to heedthe following general rules of thumb:Avoid writing ads that make false claims or exaggerate the availability of the product or the savings the consumer will enjoy.Avoid running out of advertised sale items. If this does happen, businesses should consider offering "rain-checks" so that the consumer can purchase the item later at the same reduced price.Avoid calling a product "free" if it has cost closely associated with it. If there are costs associated with the free item they need to be clearly disclosed in the ad.Since advertising is a complex process, and business law undergoes continual change, business owners should consult an attorney before distributing any advertising.Further Reading:Adams, Bob. Adams Streetwise Small Business Start-up. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 1996.Bovee, Courtland L., and William F. Arens. Contemporary Advertising. 3d ed. Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1989.Cohen, William. The Entrepreneur and Small Business Problem Solver. 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.Fisher, Jerry. "Fast Pitch." Entrepreneur. August 1997.Hiam, Alexander and Charles D. Schewe. The Portable MBA in Marketing. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.Hills, Gerald E. "Market Opportunities and Marketing." The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship. Edited by William D. Bygrave. 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.Keri, Jonah. "Doggone Creative." Washington Business Journal. November 27, 1998.Nucifora, Alf. "Getting the Most from Your Media Purchase." LI Business News. October 23, 1998.Shea, Barbara S., with Jennifer Haupt. Small Business Legal Guide. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.

What is the best marketing strategy?

The best marketing strategy depends on various factors such as the specific goals of the business, the target audience, the industry, the budget, and the resources available. However, there are some general marketing strategies that can be effective in many situations. Here are a few examples: Define your target audience: Understanding your target audience and their needs is crucial for effective marketing. Conduct market research to identify your ideal customers, their demographics, preferences, and pain points. Tailor your marketing messages and channels accordingly. Content marketing: Creating valuable and relevant content can help establish your brand as an authority in your industry and attract and retain customers. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and social media posts. Focus on creating content that solves problems for your target audience and provides value. Social media marketing: Social media platforms are a powerful tool for reaching and engaging with your target audience. Develop a social media strategy that aligns with your brand voice and values, and create regular and engaging content. Use social media to interact with your audience, build relationships, and drive traffic to your website. Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO is the process of optimizing your website to improve its visibility in search engine results. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords, optimize your website's content, meta tags, and headings, and build high-quality backlinks. A well-optimized website can help drive organic traffic and improve your online presence. Paid advertising: Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, such as Google Ads or social media ads, can be an effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website. Develop a clear strategy, set a budget, and create compelling ad copy to attract clicks and conversions. Email marketing: Email marketing allows you to communicate directly with your audience and build relationships with them. Create an email list of interested prospects and customers, and send them targeted and personalized emails with valuable content, promotions, and updates. Influencer marketing: Collaborating with influencers who have a large following in your target market can help you reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. Identify relevant influencers, establish relationships, and develop creative and authentic campaigns. Remember that the best marketing strategy is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather a customized plan that aligns with your business goals, target audience, and available resources. Regularly evaluate and adjust your marketing strategies based on data and feedback to continuously improve your results.

What three functions do effective headings serve in business documents?

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What does a marketing plan look like?

How do you write a business plan?

How does one get into an affiliate program?

What are the advertising strategies of airtel?

What is the best marketing strategy?

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