November 19th 2008
The first advertising tool to consider in promoting your Web store is the banner ad. A banner ad is like a small billboard that resides on a Web page. The standard full-size banner ad is 250×80 pixels. But even though almost every ad-supported site sells the full-size banner ad, Continue Reading »
October 23rd 2008
One of the first questions you should ask yourself is if you will be able to run and manage your new business with the resources you’ll have at hand. For example, if your budget projects that you won’t be able to hire help for the first three months, and you plan to work six full days a week by yourself to be available to serve customers, when will you find the time to do the bookkeeping, recordkeeping, marketing, Continue Reading »
October 6th 2008
Most personality traits are present to some degree in all of us. ‘Impulsivity’ is one such trait — the degree to which we have difficulty refraining from acting on our impulses. If your Other has a history of impulsive violence, then she may be unable to tolerate the stress of the Dialogue without violent outburst. You may not wish to risk provoking physical violence. In particular, people who have been physically injured by their spouses or another individual in the past should probably not use the Method with that person. Instead, counselling and/or legal remedies are advised. Continue Reading »
September 9th 2008
Because television retailing mirrors that of audio and stereo equipment, for a discussion of market share leaders at retail see the audio equipment section.
Like computers, technological innovation in the recording and display of video images is a major driver for growth. DVDs are rapidly replacing videocassettes as the recording medium of choice for video images, thus motivating U.S. households to upgrade their video playback equipment to be compatible with DVDs. Continue Reading »
September 9th 2008
Getting focused on outcomes is one thing. Figuring out which outcomes are right is something else entirely. So how can you define the right outcomes? Of all the things your people could be doing, how can you know which are the few things they should be doing?
Well, as you would expect, we can’t offer you a step-by-step solution. First, it takes a certain talent to hear the siren song through the clamor. Second, even if you have this talent, this talent to focus, to discriminate, then you will undoubtedly have your own way of deploying it. What we can offer you are some deceptively simple guidelines from some of the world’s great managers. Continue Reading »
August 25th 2008
Collectors turn first to specialty stores to buy new items to add to their collections. About 35 percent reported they shopped in these types of stores to buy collectibles in the past year. They also looked to mail order, the Internet, and other nonstore channels, with about 28 percent reporting purchase through these sources. Rounding out the top three channels for collectibles purchases are discount department stores, where 21 percent of collectors shopped last year, with women in particular having a preference for the discount stores. Continue Reading »
August 25th 2008
About one-third of households reported buying collectibles in the past year. This percentage has been about flat, when 34 percent bought the same. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a collectible as:
An object that is collected by fanciers; especially: one other than such traditionally collectible items as art, stamps, coins, and antiques.
With little guidance provided by the type of object that is considered collectible, the key to the definition of the term is that it is something anything—that a fancier brings together into one grouping or place. Continue Reading »
August 23rd 2008
Just over 40 percent of households (42 percent) bought some kind of art in 2005, up significantly from the purchase incidence in 2003. With consumers turning their attention to the walls for decorating, they are responding to new availability of ready-to-hang art at retail outlets ranging from mass merchants and discounters to home specialty stores. No longer are consumers required to seek decorative art in out-of-the- way galleries and art dealers, or pay exorbitant prices to custom frame a print. Already-framed art, as well as the explosion of specialty framing boutiques that offer affordable and quick custom frames, have opened the art market to the masses. Continue Reading »
August 23rd 2008
Just over 40 percent of consumers (42 percent) in 2003 purchased baskets, boxes, vases, pots, and other decorative holders. With the definition of this category expanded from the last survey, the whole range of functional storage accessories are becoming more important in home decor, offering both decorative values as well as the functional benefit of holding flowers, plants, or other items. Continue Reading »
August 22nd 2008
Leadership first, perception second. To try to reverse this sequence is almost impossible.
What if you do everything right? What if you are the first in a new category and subsequently go on to dominate that category domestically? Then you should try to expand the market in the U.S. at the same time that you take your brand to the global market.
Coca-Cola did all of these things. But what’s next? Are there no second acts in branding history? Continue Reading »
