In this ever pushing pressurizing life we tend to think-feel-do according to what others tell us to do. The need to agree weighs heavily upon us. There are many who tell us what we should do how we should behave and what to decide. It may be our friends, relatives, situations, etc. Sometimes we end up doing things that we don't want to do given a choice. Many sacrifices are made to ensure your family, children, parents get that extra advantage. I am not saying this is wrong but don't let that spirit inside you die out. Don't suppress what you always waited to do.
I found Pooja from 3paisa.com has a piece of advice which is relevant...
One of the most important skills for a successful trader is separating emotions from trading. In order to succeed, a trader must be abstract in their trading. For example, if you are trading your Profit and Loss balance instead of your chart, you will panic during typical price fluctuations, causing you to exit your trades early -- only to watch as the market then resumes its original path. Why? Because you are emotionally vested with your money. You are watching your Profit ticks up and then you are watching as your profit ticks down, against you, resulting in a negative balance. Emotionally, you have created the perfect roller coaster ride in favor of the markets. Although, you know, intuitively that markets will not go straight up, you have don't like losing money and, therefore, with the trade against you, you will exit if you can just "break even".
During your trading, remember these simple guidelines:
Interesting na?
He may be one of the richest men in the world, but that's not enough for Lakshmi N Mittal. For the past month, the 58-year-old CEO of Arcelor Mittal (a company worth $ 19.3 billion) has spent two hours everyday sweating and toiling in rigorous workout sessions.
Why? Because the business tycoon now wants to look like Aamir Khan. Or more specifically, like Aamir Khan in his Ghajini avatar.
Inspired by Aamir's look, Mittal traced Satyajit Chaurassia aka Satya, the celebrity trainer who was behind Aamir's eight packs and brought him on board for a month. "He wanted to know how Aamir managed to develop such physique at the age of 44," says Satya.
Once Mittal saw the video of Aamir's workout session and discussed diet plans and fitness regime, he asked the trainer to stay back in London and train him. Mittal was so committed to the end-goal that he asked his manager to re-work his schedule to fit two hours everyday for the workout.
In a month Mittal managed to achieve 15 per cent of his target, which, says Satya, is exceptional. He adds that Mittal was so impressed by his work that he is helping Satya open a branch of his gym, Barbarian, in London.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right
Most of the times I visit any website its mostly about what they do, how they are going to make money out of me. What I want to read is what I would get out of the website/blog that would change the way I think or help me in making better decisions in life. Its NOT about you. Its about ME, the consumer.
So here is the secret to have a great blog. Blog about what the reader would be able to learn, change after visiting your blog. Unless you give me any takeaway I don't care. If you think I would be interested in what you do... you better be a superstar or a film actor and blog for your fans.
Everyone's hawking something, and if you can stand out as someone who is more interested in helping others address their needs and goals, you will inevitably make more views and bring in more interest.
Recent sales data obtained from Food Bazaar - Supermarket chain of 158+ stores, Morgan Stanley has analyzed the top performing brands. Here is an excerpt from the study.
The winners and Losers are decided by Top Sales Data.
Top 5 Food Brands in Food Bazaar are,
Internet marketing is a business like any other. So it needs to be started and grown with sound business principles if you want to succeed. When you compare the number who have had such wild success, with all the businesses who have failed or never really taken flight online, you will find that the “overnight” millionaires are not the standard of what internet marketing is. The key to successful internet marketing is Search Engine Optimization or "SEO". It's obvious why Internet marketing is so popular, and will only continue to grow in the future. Internet Marketing is not the get-rich-quick scheme some may say it is. It requires a lot of hard work, patience, consistency.
So don't be depressed if no one visits your blog, website and comments on it daily. It would take much more time and exposure to reach the state of successful blogs. They have passed through the same path. But they didn't give up. Neither should you. You must understand that effective marketing is not something that is going to happen overnight. So keep posting, updating and building.
Entrepreneurs look to consumers to guide business models. Check this post on how consumer psyche plays into making a final product offering.
Tapping into the consumer psyche to influence business decisions has its benefits and drawbacks, the Journal noted. Asking for public opinion is likely the cheapest way to get business advice, and increases the chances that the resulting business will be tailored to clients' needs and wishes. However, there is no guarantee that the advising consumers will end up being the buying consumers, making the latter benefit irrelevant.
You must have read this already but worth a reread.
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself. As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.
He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him. At that instant the atheist cried out: "Oh my God..."
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.
It was then that a bright light shone down upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying: "You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don't exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the bear a Christian?"
"Very well," said the voice. The light went out. And the sounds of the forest resumed.
Then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I am truly thankful. Amen."
Few things of importance come easy. Noah Webster worked 36 years on his dictionary, while Gibbon labored 26 years on his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. When Milton was writing Paradise Lost, he rose at 4:00 every morning to begin work. Plato wrote the first sentence of the Republic nine times before it was acceptable to him.
Never give up. Keep running.
I have been hearing a lot of statistics recently. This always is the case. You ask a question and expect a logical answer and what you get to hear is tons and tons of stats being pushed into your head which make the talk look more learnt and qualitative. If you thing I am buying this.. give me a break.
Statistics give a scope, an aerial view, to understand and know what is happening around but that itself doesn't determine anything unless you use it to leverage your brand/product/service. use statistics to help you win that extra customer, win the contract, make your brand more relevant. Or else the whole purpose is ruined. So when you talk to me in statistical tones better tell me how and why should I know them/use them. Ever heard this?
'He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts.. . for support rather than illumination.'
- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
I just saw this ad on my yahoo page. Internet has seeped well into the suburbs and is gaining land all the time. It wouldn't be an understatement that soon we will find online payments happening from the so called godforsaken places too. This is a good sign as it saves time, money and effort. We are going online to check my bills, clear them, book my tickets and what not. The point is I am online and so are many of my friends.
This is a good sign for the marketer to push your brand presence online and ensure your availability when I browse. May be I will shop. May be I will recognize your brand when I walk into a store. You better be there.
Unless you want to be a touch me, feel me, get me product.
How do you create a more effective marketing program?
Here are a few steps that you need to work on.
Got this as a forward... Loved it...
An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice... "Let me tell you a story."
"I too, at times, have felt great hate for those who have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It's like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times. "
"It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way."
"But...the other wolf... Ah! The littlest thing will send him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all of the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing."
"Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather ?"
The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."
Jackson was a perfectionist with a keen sense of protecting his image, said marketing executive Jay Coleman, who used Jackson's star power to sell soda in Pepsi ads in the 1980s.
"When we would present storyboards to him from Pepsi, he got very involved," said Coleman, the founder and chief executive of Entertainment Marketing and Communications Inc. "He wanted to make sure that everything was done to the highest production values. He was that kind of guy."
After his mega-hit album "Thriller" in 1982, Jackson was in high demand for endorsements. While Pepsi was ecstatic to get Jackson's endorsement, the pop star had a non-negotiable demand: His face could not appear in the commercial for more than three seconds.
"Initially we were, like, shocked," Coleman recalled. "We were paying $5 million to a star to be in an ad campaign, and he comes to you and he says, 'You can only show my face for three seconds.' Really?"
Instead of Jackson's face, the commercials showed him moonwalking and pictured his famous glove before showing a brief shot of his face.
"Michael had this thing about not wanting to be overexposed, and he convinced us that less was more," Coleman said. "It was a struggle in the beginning, but those commercials worked so brilliantly in part because of his input."
-- PERVAIZ SHALLWANI
First seen @ Buyer Behaviour
Advertising built on cultural insights forges strong brand connect with its consumers. Madhukar Sabnavis explains in this article.
An NRI family was coming home to visit siblings in India. My friend couldn’t resist noticing that instead of mixing with their local relatives, the NRI family stuck to each other. It made him remark, “Through the visit, my brother’s family stuck to each other like Fevicol.” A brand and its advertising had suddenly become a part of everyday language usage. My friend was far removed from advertising and marketing.
When India recaptured part of Kargil heights from the enemy in 1999, one of the brave soldiers led the cheers by shouting, “Yeh dil maange more,” repeating a line from the then-running Pepsi campaign. Somewhere a base line, a set of words in a popular advertisement had left such an impact that in the chilling zone of Kargil, the soldier couldn’t resist expressing his desires using brand language.
Brands which manage to seep so effortlessly into consumer psyche are the best sold ones as they represent something about the consumer and his attitude. This is usually backed by making the consumer realize the lack of something otherwise called a need and then going on to explain how to fulfill it. Backed by advertising, branding and effective persuasion it makes the brand name or mantra a usable substitute for language.
Imitation is the best form of plagiarism. But no body has time to think and check. The bad part is that the plagiarized, bought works get the highest numbers, accolades. But you know what I think? I am OK with that. All my life I have seen people get away cheating, copying, passing out claiming things they couldn't without getting caught. I am not talking only about academics, but over all people cheat people, break trust for momentary gains, pleasures and positions. Back stabbing is a mastered art for many. I guess it is a survival instinct but it beats all other feelings, emotions and principles. And I have seen them being rewarded, gain a lot, but that is purely temporary.
I think this is dumb. I would prefer to be genuine in my work than be a cheat. Ever thought about conscience? Numbers don't count all the time. Integrity does. Honesty does. People may applaud you now but 10 years they look at you and remember you as a cheat. Even if you don't care, I don't understand how people go to bed without having peace in their souls. My conscience should be clear at the end of the day. Just think about it.
As Google prepares to unveil its own operating system, based on its Chrome browser, all eyes are on its intensifying competition with the software giant Microsoft. Google’s new operating system, which would ship in the low-cost computers called Netbooks by next year, is likely to create more questions for regulators looking into Google’s relationship with Apple. What was welcomed across internet in blogs, comments and forums is that Google declaring this openly on its blog.
Apple and Google already compete in mobile phones (Apple’s iPhone vs. Google’s Android software), Web browsers (Safari vs. Chrome), online media (iTunes vs. YouTube) and other services, such as photo editing tools. Google says it will offer the Chrome operating system free to Netbook makers under an open-source license. That would be likely to push more people to Google’s lucrative search engine, and perhaps allow them to search the Web faster, but it would be difficult to determine the direct financial impact. This is a sensitive area Google is treading and plays with a lot of factors from egos to market share. This makes the whole concept of OS exciting and worth watching. Google's strategy might pay or otherwise but this definitely would change how players operate in the OS environment.
Just read some statistics about online media. Despite the fact that the global advertising industry will see an 8.5 percent decrease in spending by the end of this year, online marketing will rise 10.1 percent. That's the findings of a recent report from ZenithOptimedia which predicts that online marketing will be the only bright spot in an overall dull marketing picture.
Robert McNamara passed away on 06th July, 2009. He developed Policy Analysis which can be defined as "determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals".
Policy Analysis is six easy steps which are relevant in the modern business and marketing too. Lets see what they are...
Copycats are trying to make a lot of money, fast. They are not interested in offering great follow-up care to their customers; nor do they offer higher-end products to customers who want more. The fakes die out fast as they are built on faking and cheating. The problem is that this whole industry is based on fad cycles and they adapt quickly to fads on the streets.
You, on the other hand, don’t make those mistakes, so your customers are loyal. Business success is built on loyalty repetitive purchase and long term good will. This is what you should concentrate if you want me, the consumer, to pay attention to you at all. Consumer is always looking for great follow up care. I understand that sometimes things get bad, products fail, designs flop but will you back it up with a great care is what matter. If you can then the mess could actually help in strengthening my value beliefs about your brand. This is a great opportunity to build on. So aim long term and follow up.
Anshul draws doodles which are simple, direct and funny. In this particular one see how blogging wins over 'normal' geniuses.
Is it a mundane Monday? Or is it a making Monday? Why are Mondays so boring? Why can't HRs make Mondays exciting and turn them to something people look forward to? Or is it just fine or strategically important for Mondays to be so bad and Fridays so good to yearn for?
Well I think people rejoice being able to curse Mondays as that reminds them or a lot of work and pressure. It also reminds them of not being able to stay free like Sundays. This leads to double impact and worsens the situation even more.
I have seen people who look at Mondays like a gunshot that lets them zip off towards their goal ahead of others. These are the same people who party and enjoy their weekend like there is no tomorrow. But these people get up on a weekday planning and yearning to go out and do what they do. Guess what they are very good performers, some of the best.
Important elements like trust, morale, satisfaction and sense of achievement and pride are what drives employee's zeal to perform. Try building that in your team. As an individual, do great things at work. Party hard but work harder. Good luck.
I’ve been following these promos a few brands have been doing. First ball ka captain, star of the match and what not. It all sounds blasphemous to me. I firmly believe some things are sacrosanct and cannot be tampered with. You can’t get to stand in the field amidst national and international players just because you use a product. That privilege has to be earned through sheer hard work. Obviously the marketing managers think otherwise.
I’m wondering what else this world will come to.
One day Tendulkar will call home, “What’s for dinner, honey.”
“Baigan ka bharta, sweetie.”
“But you know I’m allergic to baigan, loved one. Or do you like me better with a zillion blisters all over?”
“I know, silly. But Kishen Khubchandani likes baigan ka bharta. So that’s what we’re gonna eat.”
“Kishen who?”
“The winner of Visa Visit Sachin contest. He’s coming tonight remember?”
“Never mind. Have you brought the kids from school?”
“No. But they’re on their way.”
“ALONE?”
“Don’t be silly, lord and master-blaster. Gurpreet Gill is bringing them.”
“What…who?”
“The winner of the Chevrolet Drive Your Favourite Cricketer’s Kids Home From School contest.”
I wonder what other sacrosanct areas consumers will pollute...
Disclaimer: All the names and brands mentioned above have simply been put because they came to my mind. None of them has anything to do with me or this post. However I have no objection to any of them using these ideas for promos.
Wimbledon, of course, is not a beauty contest. But All England Club spokesman Johnny Perkins has admitted that good looks are a factor in scheduling Centre Court matches, adding "it's not a coincidence that those (on Centre Court) are attractive." The howls of outrage that have followed ignore that the attractiveness of players does have a role to play in winning fans for the game. And it's viewership that brings in the money that enables contests like Wimbledon to be held. Scheduling Centre Court matches is a small matter; it isn't as if competent players are being kept out of the tournament on the basis of their looks.
As a BBC spokesperson pointed out, "Our preference would be a Brit or a babe as this always delivers high viewing ratings." Looks have had a prominent role to play in women's tennis since the days of Chris Evert. Or does anyone truly believe that Anna Kournikova was popular because of the astounding skills that saw her win, well, not a single Grand Slam? Many of the players themselves have made no secret about the importance they attach to their glamour quotient. Why the indignation when the organisers decide to do the same?
The logic, in fact, should be extended to men's tennis as well. Physical attractiveness has had a role to play there as well, from Bjorn Borg to Boris Becker to Roger Federer. Little wonder that Andre Agassi had acquired cult status in his first, flamboyant avatar even though the quality of his tennis was far superior in the latter stages of his career. Let the Wimbledon organisers factor this in while scheduling their matches; what is sound business for women's tennis is sound business for men's.
It is hardly as if the issue of looks is taking over the tournament. Perkins added later that 'box-office appeal' was just one of the 28 factors considered while scheduling matches. And the winner at the end of the day will still be the player with the stronger game.
The untold story of 2008's terrorist attack on Mumbai last year, in the words of its victims and the gunmen. While most behaviour of media was unacceptably cheap to gain publicity and TRPs, some were good too. This programme contains graphic images and descriptions of the atrocity which may upset some viewers. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Reed, Terror in Mumbai tells the story of what happened when 10 gunmen held one of the world's busiest cities hostage; killing and wounding hundreds of people while holding India's crack security forces at bay.
Featuring footage of the attacks and interviews with senior police officers and hostages, including the testimony from Kasab - the sole surviving gunman, Dispatches reveals what happened, hour by hour, from the perspective of the security forces, the terrorists, their masterminds and the victims.
While it may be chilling and horrific it is reality. Damn the religion, race, nation, hatred. How can anyone do such a thing? Indian Government's response was calculative and decisive but not as strong as people expected it to be. While there is a lot of need to build up strength and scale up measures the question of why us still remains unanswered by the innocent victims and their families. Hope some sanity dawns on them.
Check the complete video here.
Receding hair lines, some bald heads, whitened hair, slightly overweight, protruding bellies and a group of forty somethings were all around the room. If you are thinking of a group of old men having a gala time at a party in the evening, its true. This group has a difference. This wasn't a meeting after a golf thought it could have been. The happy eager and bright faces said it all. These were men and women who had dreamt to be different from others in life and achieved it.
Click on the image to enlarge
a part of it, got her autograph on my copy bought last year when it released.
Michael Jackson's rehearsal two days before his untimely death has hit internet just now and is bring watched by millions of fans all over the world. This is hitting like wild fire. God... what a come back it would have been! Micheal we miss you. Does he look like he is 50 yrs old? He looks so hale and hearty, energetic enthusiastic.
What do you think?
Microsoft want to spread Bing to beat Google and they are working deeply and in correct way to make this real. Starting today Bing is going to throw up results of Twitter messages for search queries. Let me explain how. If you search for 'A R Rahman', you would find @arrahman tweet messages as well! Brings out more realistic and live information online. This is very exciting because there are numerous companies who are trying to build and design widgets which would broadcast Tweets to personal mail boxes, blogs and websites. Now Bing wins it all and throws them into oblivion.
This is really one step ahead of Google but there might be few problems. Consumers expect more intrusion and the privacy factor is at stake and most celebrities would opt out and the search results might be more cluttered and irrelevant. Google is waiting and watching. For now Microsoft has 1 point more then Google. The game has begun.
You can follow me on Twitter at @Vamshiavk. Search for Vamshiavk and you get all my tweets!
Coca-Cola doesn't think its customers have enough drink choices. So starting this summer, diners at some California, Georgia, and Utah fast-food joints will get to try a self-serve drink dispenser that pours more than 100 varieties of sodas, juices, teas, and flavored waters.
Coke plans to roll out the Freestyle drink dispenser nationwide, eventually putting tens of thousands of them in places such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Willy's Mexican Grill. And while the machine is taking the concept of customer choice to new heights, the most interesting aspect is the technology it's built on. Freestyle will become Coke's front-line robotic army for business intelligence, sending massive amounts of consumption data back to the beverage company's Atlanta headquarters.
Pic and the full article.
This is just in. Indian Government has hiked the prices of Petrol and Diesel today. Consumer Psyche had predicted this hike and suggested to refuel your vehicles before the hike yesterday. Now are you going to buy that atta and rice?
Companies looking to increase their marketing and sales efforts should turn their efforts to social media tools like Twitter, Orkut, blogging and Facebook, but there is still nothing like word-of-mouth - or in the internet age, the online review. While many companies are putting time and effort into the newest marketing efforts, it's the product review that often gives them the most accurate feedback for companies big and small. Whatever you are buying, especially if it is a high involvement purchase, the review is what makes me buy it. All your marketing efforts go to the bin as I suspect foul play to fool me or trick me. This is the attitude of the consumer. A positive review has more influence than hundreds of dollars spent on advertising.
And while there is a dearth of websites devoted to reviews, many companies choose to allow consumers to review products on their own site - something that allows them to not only get positive feedback, but to quickly change course if a product is getting poor reviews i.e. the rectification part. I believe this is a good phenomenon but I would like to get a review from a 3rd party blog which I expect to be honest and direct.
This is bad news for the firm if it is ignoring these 3rd party, independent reviewers because they influence your sales and marketing. Put together a cross-functional team that cuts across product development, merchandising, sourcing, inventory, e-commerce, creative and quality which reads these reviews and ensure all complaints are solved and there is a happy ending in each and every story.
What should a consumer do before going for a high involvement purchase? Check for these blogs, twitter, Orkut, Facebook, etc. for a review and then buy!
What is critical for brands is to stay top-of-mind among various options. It means there is a chance to get picked up. Once you are in this evoke/preferred set you get to be the second best or third best purchase choice. What makes you stay top-of-mind is what your preference should be. Well they can be simple or complex, consisting of a basic sequence of timed communications to ensure proactive communication triggered by specific and chosen responses, behaviors or prior contacts that influence the consumer. This can also be done drip by drip in engaging the consumer's order of choice. Studying what consumer wants to keep your brand in the top 3 or four choices helps you acquire those qualities and raise your rank.
It’s important that all your messages clearly address consumer’s greatest needs or challenges, so give them an opportunity he might pick your brand. To get there make sure to include a message that contains about your targets’ specific needs; then base subsequent messages build on it.
What happens if you are not in the top-of-mind set? Choose a niche in the same market and stick to it. The profits may not be so good but you can have a dedicated set of consumers buying your brand and happy with it. What if you are not OK with these volumes? Get out and find another sector or come back to me with a better brand and product.
Chanakya/kautilya/Vishnu Sharma/Vishnugupta has many pearls of wisdom relevant even after 2200 yrs. Some are given below... This is two part series. Read Part I here.