02 Nov 2011
by Asif J. Mir
in Promoting Sales
Tags: activity, agency, aluminum, article, aspect, athletic, attract, band, banquet, behind, benefit, book, business, cause, charity, civic, collection, community, company, computer, cover, Customer, donate, drive, employee, ensure, equipment, event, first, float, focus, fund, glass, group, honor, hospital, idea, immediate, include, introduction, invite, local, long, Marketing, material, method, newspaper, office, paper, parade, People, plastic, Product, promote, Promotion, raise, rather, recycle, repeat, reporter, sale, school, sell, service, short, snappy, social, space, special, sponsor, stage, start, strategy, team, television, term, theater, unique, used, welfare, write, young
First stage marketing strategies should focus on sales promotions that will attract immediate customers and selling methods that will ensure repeat business. First stage companies can also benefit from sales and promotion activities, but with a focus on short term rather than long term benefits. Ideas include:
- Invite a local newspaper to write an article on some unique aspect of the company.
- Invite television reporters to cover a special event sponsored by the company (fund raising drive, a banquet honoring an employee, or the introduction of snappy new product).
- Start a charity book collection drive at local schools.
- Sponsor a young people’s athletic team.
- Sponsor a civic band or float in a local parade.
- Donate materials, space, or services to community theater groups.
- Sponsor a paper, glass, aluminum, or plastic recycling drive.
- Get behind a social cause.
- Donate used computers, office equipment, etc., to local schools, hospitals, or welfare agencies.
My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.
26 Mar 2011
by Asif J. Mir
in Defining Oligopoly
Tags: aircraft, aluminum, assembly, automobile, build, card, cereal, charge, close, Competition, competitor, cost, credit, cut, define, Differentiation, dominate, enter, example, exist, factor, few, form, generally, hand, industry, initial, intense, investment, lower, major, market, match, mill, Oligopoly, part, plant, price, produce, producer, Product, profit, rate, reason, remain, seller, similar, simple, situation, steel, success, tend, think, tremendous, usually
An oligopoly is a form of competition in which a market is dominated by just a few sellers. Generally, oligopolies exist in industries that produce products such as steel, cereal, automobiles, aluminum, and aircraft. One reason some industries remain in the hands of a few sellers is that the initial investment to enter an oligopolistic industry is usually tremendous. Think what it would cost to build a steel mill or an automobile assembly plant. In an oligopoly, prices tend to be close to the same. Note, for example, how most credit cards charge very similar rates. The reason for this is simple. Intense price competition would lower profits for all the competitors, since a price cut on the part of one producer would most likely be matched by others. Product differentiation, rather than price differentiation, is usually the major factor in market success in a situation of oligopoly.
My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.
21st Century Organizational Transformation 