July 26, 2010
By Mark Elson
According to the American Express Survey of Wealth in America 2010, America's richest are spending less and they are being more selective about the products they purchase. A poll of 2,400 people from the richest 10 percent of U.S. households revealed the affluent are still willing to buy high-end products, yet they relish sales and quality-and not status. Ninety-one percent felt that the nation is still in the middle of a recession.
As the affluent prefer to research and purchase products online, online deals and coupons have become big. In addition, the rich are more likely now than in the past to wait to purchase items once they to go on sale. Buying generic brands and buying in bulk are also popular. To read the entire article, click here:
July 23, 2010
By Mark Elson
July 23, 2010
By Mark Elson
Managing the goods that flow in and out of your warehouse is an absolute must. The following White Paper by Jonathan Knapp outlines numerous systems and processes that can help you minimize loss and keep your operation running smoothly. Topics include only purchasing what you need for a project, inventory staging, accurate counts and check in/out logs. Knapp also discusses coordinating just-in-time ordering (JIT) with product delivery. Curious if your inventory methods are poised toward future growth? Read more at:
July 22, 2010
By Tony Parker
Summit Wireless products can save installers time, money and headaches—and can open up the retrofit market.
According to Parks Associates’ “High-end Entertainment Systems Analysis and Forecasts” report, which was released in the first quarter of 2008 by Bill Ablondi, custom installers have a significant opportunity to target mid-market customers who are willing to spend $5,000 to $15,000 for multi-room audiovisual and home-theater systems. Even now, big-box and specialty A/V retailers haven’t addressed this area adequately.
July 22, 2010
By Mark Elson
It's the most important financial question you can ask-and the most difficult one to answer. With the help of numerous online calculators, you can find out what your company is worth. You can also find out how your company's financials stack against others in your industry. To help you assess price-tag-to-earnings ratios, credit, risk and other projections, check out the following sample resources
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July 22, 2010
By Mark Elson
John Assaraf, CEO of "One Coach" and The New York Times best-selling author of "Having it All" shares his marketing wisdom in this Success article. Among the topics, Know Your Ideal Customer: "One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is that they think that everybody is their customer", says Assaraf. In fact, there are specific psychographic and demographic profiles for every potential client, depending on the products, services or price points.
Further, Assaraf reminds us that every buyer has a different decision-making process. Your marketing and communications should reflect that. "Left-brained, analytical people will want lots of facts and figures. Right-brainers want the main concepts and are not interested in all the data," Assaraf says. "You have to understand how to market to different types of people in a way that they want it communicated," Assaraf adds. To read the entire article,
click here:
July 21, 2010
By Mark Elson
According to surveys conducted by comScore Video Metix, Hulu is currently the No. 2 video-streaming site in the U.S. (after YouTube)-serving more than 1 billion videos a month. Although Netflix just made the top 20 list in February, it's catching up fast. In this article, writer Eric Schonfeld attributes Netflix's success to its foray into the laptop, Wii and iPad worlds. Based on June web traffic, Netflix had 20.2 million unique visitors while Hulu served 19.7 million. Although Netflix visitors mostly are adding movies to their mail-in DVD list, they're starting to stream movies directly as well.
July 21, 2010
By Mark Elson
As a business owner, you rely on others to achieve results. But your employees also look to you to lead-with confidence. Regardless of your organization's size, one of your chief responsibilities is to generate optimism and a sense of direction, says leadership trainer Bruna Martinuzzi, president of Clarion Enterprises Ltd.
This article offers insight from acknowledged thought-leaders, among them Terry Pearce, who reminds us not to lead via email but to communicate in person-and often. Most fascinating is the connection between behavior and biochemistry: There's scientific proof that expressing gratitude decreases stress levels and is the quickest route to a positive attitude.
To learn more about setting this vital tone for your company others,
click here: