Information

Information is the life blood of marketing and you can use polls to collect vital details about the sort of people who visit as well as the more formal information about their thoughts on a product.

You can ask a straightforward question. For example, if you sell marmalade, you can ask: "What sort of Marmalade do you like?", and list various flavours. The answers will tell you the types liked and their order and this sort of information is useful, particularly if you have just introduced or will introduce a new product.

But as well as this, it tells you something equally useful. It tells you how likely your visitors are to respond to your polls since you can compare the number who answered as a percentage of the number who visited. If there is a wide discrepancy then you may need to look at the sort of polls you publish and be aware that you might not be getting good information back.

As a general rule, people like polls, seeing them as harmless ornamentation and entertainment. They also like to interact and feel part of the site and having an easy outlet for their preferences and ideas is useful in building sites that retain and encourage visitors. Again, if you don't get the results you expect, you may need to rethink the wording you use.

Of course, you can also ask questions that elicit other, more pertinent, information that is of use in planning your marketing and this area needs careful thought. Whatever you do, don't dash off a quick poll when a few minutes thought could have resulted in something that generates more relevant information.

It really is as easy as thinking what you would like to know and then producing a poll that is both interesting and fun to do and, thus, will be well supported.

Real Marketing

There are as many ways to use polls in real marketing as there are products. For example, if you sell t-shirts with a racing car motif you can use a Formula 1 or a Rally poll. It's a popular subject so visitors will probably be knowledgeable and enjoy putting their opinions and you will ensure that your t-shirt image and details are presented nearby, ready to receive the clicks.

In the same way, if you are marketing a new product or service you can use a poll to put the idea into the heads of visitors without making it too obvious what you are doing. If you have a new line in CDs, for instance, you might prepare a poll about the life of a singer to prompt buying of a new track or book.

There are many possibilities for using polls in this way that simply prompt people to think particular thoughts or think about a particular type of product. This can be very powerful since, for the most part, people will be unaware of the suggestion that is happening.

Polls like this take little preparation or implementation, they can be changed frequently and act as colourful additions to websites. The only problem is in integrating a poll policy into your marketing structure and then thinking what questions to ask and what answers to suggest.

However, I believe that, with thought, polls can act as clever marketing tools for the astute website owner who knows how to exploit and use them.

Traditionally, the most common way to market a new drug was the use of drug representatives. These representatives would make rounds to the doctors themselves and present the benefits of the drug their particular company was promoting. Who has not seen the neat little ink pens, coffee mugs, brochures and other paraphernalia littering their doctor's office when they go in for a visit? This has always been a biased way to make sure that doctors prescribed one drug over another depending on free perks, and other asinine doctors' criteria. Apparently, drug representatives are not spreading the news quickly enough. The companies have decided to skip the middle man and go straight to the consumer through television commercials.

This is where the companies start using every tool in their arsenal to ensure that consumers will purchase the drug because they want it, not need it. This direct to consumer marketing is big business. Advertising spending has jumped from what it was approximately 10 years ago. In 1996, drug companies spent around 12 million, as opposed to the estimated 4.2 billion that will be spent by the end of this year (Adegoke, 2006). As the money increases, so does the number of drugs. There are now more than 50 drugs marketed directly to consumers, compared to just one less than 10 years ago (Belkin, 2001).

When do these commercials air? Depends on what they are designed to market. The commercials are targeted toward the specific audience they need to for each medicine. For instance, sleep aids will be shown more often during prime time while most people who have trouble sleeping are flipping channels. There will be more ads for cholesterol and heart medications like Lipitor, Plavix, Coreg, and others during the early morning, and so on. On average there will be probably up to three commercials for prescription drugs during prime time between 8 and 11 at night. However, some companies, such as Pfizer, say they are trying to use self-imposed guidelines on how they target audiences for drugs such as impotence aids and are marketing to shows with 90% or more adult based audiences (Johnson, 2007).

The drug companies are using well known public figures, actors, and celebrity endorsers to establish a sense of trust with the public. Advertisers have found a potential goldmine with endorsers such as Mandy Patinkin, Sally Fields and others to market to those who have idolized these stars for years and associate them with honest individuals. These endorsers just never seem to mention the fact they are paid spokespeople (Neff, 2002).

Every one of these commercials has the same scenario, which seems to be a slice of a person's life before taking the treatment and after taking the treatment. Usually, the person is seen struggling with his condition, maybe in black and white, in pain, everything going wrong in their life and even the picture is sideways. Then the person discovers this magic drug, everyone is happy, life is in color again, the picture is right side up, everyone is on the beach, riding bikes, the sun is shining, the friends are laughing and talking, the wine is flowing, etc. What magic drug can make everyone's life perfect like that?

Most of the time the important details are left out of the commercials, or they are tucked in as a sideline that no one notices. Some drugs may cause reactions, or mix badly with other medications that patients are already taking. Some drugs are marketed before clinical trials are published, leaving the doctors themselves without full knowledge of the drug, possible allergic reactions, or drug interactions (Belkin, 2001). This can often be not only be inconvenient to the patient, but sometimes deadly. Is this a risk work taking for something like dry eyes, restless legs, or a few hours or pleasure in bed?

Fortunately, there are some concerned people who see this trend in questionable advertising, and want to help regulate it. Some guidelines are being drawn up and offered on the commercial advertising of prescription drugs. There is even legislation being worked up that would keep this kind of unscrupulous promotion off the air until the FDA has had a chance to review it for 30 days prior (Johnson, 2007).

In their defense, in seeking to market new drugs, the drug companies are advertising drugs for conditions that consumers never before knew of, or knew could be treated at all. “According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 5 million diabetics in this country are unaware that they have the disease” (Belkin, 2001. p2). These commercials can be an opportunity for education, even if only indirectly. According to Belkin (2001), for every million men asking for Viagra, 200, 000 have some sort of undiagnosed and untreated condition.

So in effect, a person would think that the commercials would be accomplishing the stated purpose of educating consumers and promoting communication between the patient and doctor, correct? Not exactly, as the ads also have the effect of helping the patient is able to tailor the symptoms to his doctor to be able to get the medicine he wants. The result in the end is the one truly desired by the pharmaceutical company…a sales increase. Yes, it is all about the money, it always is.

What does all this controversy mean? How does a consumer choose prescriptions? The same way they choose a breakfast cereal, by which of their favorite actors are promoting them on television? Or do they do it the safe way, have a conversation with their doctor? A person should discuss with a doctor his symptoms, medications and allergies. Or a consumer can just use the shop at home method.

Lack of sufficient capital is one of the important causes of business failures. Sometimes a business with suffient capital will fail, because the owner invests too much money in equipment and buildings, and does not keep enough for working capital.

In starting a new business, a person should not be eager to own his own building or to buy expensive equipment. He must know that he can noı operate his business profitably because of a lack of working capital. A building can be rented and equipment can be obtained on some plan of payment that does not require the immediate outlay of the total amount in cash.

Your Personal Finances

Personal Credit

Regardless if you are a Sole Proprietor, Corporation, LLC, etc, the bank will want to look at your personal credit. Pull your credit report and order your credit scores as well. If your credit scores are 650 or under, then it may be best to do some clean-up of your personal credit before continuing. Or, you may include a letter explaining why these occurrences happened and why it won't happen again.

Personal Income

The lenders will want to know where your personal income will come from while you're operating your business. Will your sole income come from the new business or will you work full or part-time while starting your business? The lenders will also want to know how you plan to transition from working for someone else to being self-employed, if that is your plan.

Personal Assets

The assets you own are very important as they may be looked at as potential collateral for the loan. Some companies can provide a business equity line of credit, which will use equity in your home as collateral, while establishing credit in the business name. The lenders also see assets as potential sources of cash to cover you in rough times.

Personal Liabilities

This is how much debt you owe, including mortgages, credit cards, loans, etc. Get your debt level down. In regards to credit card debt, a good rule of thumb is to have no more than one-third of your available credit outstanding.

The Business Plan

This is the time to really sell yourself and your business. Your plan must be complete and presented very professionally. The executive summary should comprise the first few pages and should be very professional. Recruit someone to help you if you need to. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has some sample business plans that are very helpful.

Be sure to detail what product or service the business will provide and what sets your business apart from competing businesses, how will the business make a profit and how much profit is expected per transaction, how many transactions do you expect per month. Show any demographic information you may have about the area you'll be providing services to. (How much traffic will pass by your location? How much demand is there for your product/service? What is your target audience and what percentage of the population will your business serve?)

When projecting the revenue, profits and costs for the company, you'll want to think at least 24 to 36 months ahead and break everything down on a monthly basis. Include your payment schedules for your lease, utility costs, loan repayment, etc. Also include a contingency plan detailing how you will handle any shortfalls that may occur for a month or longer.

Experience

Another piece of your business plan should include your experience level. How familiar are you with the industry you've chosen? Do you have previous ownership or management experience? Your chances are better if you have some experience working the industry you've chosen. If you have no related experience, add working skills that you have gained that apply to the business.

SBA Myths

The SBA provides loans to small businesses: False.

The SBA works as a guarantor of loans made by other banking institutions. If you contact their offices, they will simply offer advice on finding a lender.

Here is an example of one way they will help a small business: If you go to a bank requesting $25,000, the bank will see if they can approve the full loan amount for you. If not, they will seek to qualify you for SBA backing. One possible scenario is that the bank will cover 50% of the loan, while the SBA acts as guarantor on 40% of the loan, and you will be responsible for coming up with 10%.

The SBA will help if you have bad credit: False.

The credit requirements for SBA eligibility are the same as most banking institutions. The SBA is simply there to assist with new businesses or young businesses with very little time established.

Other Loan Options

If you are unable to obtain a business loan, be sure to ask why they declined you. Their response may provide hints to changes that can be made to your business plan. Take a step back and see what adjustments you can make, and then try another lender. Try applying at large banks and at small community banks.

If you are unable to get approved for a business loan after several attempts, you may wish to consider other loan options. Using a personal loan, such as a home equity line or loan may be helpful to get you started. Once your business is more established, then return to the lenders and show them what your business is doing.

Commercial property loan is a term used for financing the business. It is a primary method that is used to own a commercial property. Whether the finances are required for running a new business or merging the business or expanding it for further growth but it has to be commercially used.

Commercial property loan can be a secured loan or unsecured loan. In secured loan, the lender keeps the commercial property as collateral to make sure that the borrower pays the monthly installments on time. It is a risk-free deal for the lender as he can always sell the property if the borrower becomes default in making payment. On the other hand, personal loan is generally referred to as unsecured loan. It carries many benefits for the borrowers as the lender does not need any property as collateral and tax returns are not required. Above all, it takes less time for the process to follow and can get the approval at a very short notice. The lender just needs to do the credit check to approve the loan. Thus, it involves less risk for the borrower.

Commercial property loan mostly carries low interest rates but it is affected by several factors. If the borrower has a good credit history and the business is very profitable, the interest rate is expected to be low. The span of the loan is likely to be lengthy with low interest rate and the lender keeps the commercial property as collateral. The span is generally 25 to 30 years and the borrowers age should be approaching 65 by the time the term of the loan expires. The interest rate can be fixed rate or adjustable rate. In fixed rate, the amount or the interest rate remains the same for the term of the loan. In adjustable rate, the interest rate keeps on changing with the change in the market trend.

Another important aspect while applying for a business loan is to illustrate the business plan to the lender. He would like to understand that how the business is going to be profitable or could make good money so that the borrower can make the loan payments. If the borrower has a running business, the lender would like to see the revenue generated in the past few years. Once the lender is contented, the borrower can have success in achieving the commercial property loan.

Shopping for a commercial property loan could be a complicated process. The required procedure needs to be followed for the approval of the loan. To start with, it is vital to acquire the optimal broker or the bank that can provide low interest on the commercial property loan as every broker gives a different quote. The research can be done by meeting various brokers or by filing the application online with numerous websites on the internet. Other sources of lenders could be credit unions, mortgage banks, wholesale lenders and portfolio lenders.

Online loans are easy to shop and provide lot of convenience to the borrowers. Sometimes they offer instant pre approval and quotes. Online help is also available 24 hours to talk to the experts who can answer all the queries. But whether its online or traditional method, once approved, the process has to be same.

The lender would need following documents for analysis:

• Credit Report
• Collateral papers
• Leaf stating business profile
• Organization documents
• Sale and purchase agreement
• last 3 years tax returns
• 1003 Application
• loan supplement form
• Proof of Insurance and,
• Recent Bank Statements

Once the documents are analyzed and the loan is approved by the broker, the borrower is advised to sign the documents and make a down payment. There are various zero down payment schemes available but that involves high interest rate and also added insurance on the loan amount, if the borrower becomes bankrupt. Generally, the borrower has to pay 20% down payment i.e. 20 percent of the total loan value. Brokers can make up to 90 percent Loan to Valuation (LTV) and if 20 percent payment is made then LTV happen to be 80 percent. The loan can be released in the form of check, draft or electronic wire.

With more and more financing companies available, it's easier than earlier days to find the best and productive option. An online search can produce numerous results. Surf the results and surely the borrower can yield constructive offer. Once the borrower is delighted with the offer, work with the lender to acquire the loan.

As commercial property loans are meant for the business group, it is the best available option for the ones who need financing for their ventures.

The big question that is begging to be asked now is if this new campaign is working. While we may not fully know the extent of how successful it was until thirty years down the road when the supplemental ads to the campaign printed in magazines show up in antique stores all over, it is possible to take a brief look around and see what sort of buzz is already coming up in conversations.

I have both overheard, and been involved in, conversations in which the extremity of the advertising campaign is discussed. These conversations were all before VW put out their own ad in which the two characters involved discuss the plausibility and reality of the other "Safe Happens" commercials. The exact same observations make in the commercial were all major points in the conversations as well. This leads me to believe that either the marketing agency had a good idea as to what the public's reaction would be to the ad campaign or they listened after the campaign started and created another ad specifically designed to encompass the public's reaction. Either way, it shows a strong campaign which has evoked a strong feeling with the public, much as the "Think Small" campaign of over thirty years ago.

Volkswagen even goes so far as to make the ad even more edgy and memorable by letting the viewer's mind fill in the last audio bit of every ad. Every ad ends with one of the people who was in the VW when it was wrecked uttering a shocked "Holy sh..." The ad is self censoring, and the actual phrase is never said. However, it is still mentally filled in, as it is a very common phrase in the American culture.

So, is the ad effective? It's target audience is broader than the VW GTI "Fast" commercials. It's more comprehendible to then general populace than Volkswagen's brief "Unpimp My Ride" ad campaign, which incidentally seemed to make the rounds on the Internet more than on the broadcast channels. I would have to say that it is definitely one of their more effective ad campaigns in recent times. We'll just have to wait a while to see if it makes the jump from effective to classic.