From Us to You
22 March 2011
Market Planning (Part 4) – Sales Forecasting and the Marketing Budget
At this point in the market planning process, you should know really well your product, your customer, your competitors and yourself. You probably also know how you want to position your craft to sell in a particular market, but you may not have considered how much it will cost to do so. This is where Sales Forecasting and the Marketing Budget come into play.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 1:00 pm | Category: Business Plan | No Comments »
Continue22 March 2011
Market Planning (Part 3) – Market Analysis
Once you have a high-level market strategy in hand, you will want to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your plan to market your craft idea. You should also want to estimate market size, competitor market share, and the number of prospective customers who would likely be interested in purchasing from you. This is the essence of the Market Analysis.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 8:31 am | Category: Business Plan | No Comments »
Continue21 March 2011
Market Planning (Part 2) – Marketing Strategy
Now that you’ve been introduced to the four key elements of a marketing plan in Part 1 of this series, let’s explore the details of what makes a good marketing strategy. Essentially, your strategy should be an in depth examination of why you are in business or why you aspire to be.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 5:14 pm | Category: Business Plan | 2 Comments »
Continue20 March 2011
Market Planning – Taking Your Craft to Market (Part 1)
You think there may be an opportunity to sell your hand-crafted creations, so you embark on the business planning process, part of which is to develop a well thought-out marketing plan. The plan should be tailored to fit your unique situation, but it should contain a few key elements in order to be a successful guide in helping you plan your business needs.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 10:14 am | Category: Business Plan | 1 Comment »
Continue13 March 2011
Business Planning – Capitalizing on the Crafty You
If you are crafty with an entrepreneurial spirit, then you may be considering ways to make money from your hand-made crafts. And, believe me, there is indeed a market for well-made, uniquely creative crafts. You should begin by understanding why you want to sell your crafts.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 10:55 am | Category: Business Plan | 2 Comments »
Continue26 February 2011
Negotiations – The Art of the Deal: Are You Likeable?
Think of traits that you admire in your friends, family and business associates, and these are the traits that you should bring with you to a negotiation. Always keep in mind that people are more open to negotiating when they like the ones with whom they are negotiating. First and foremost in negotiations, be likeable.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 9:12 am | Category: Negotiation | No Comments »
Continue12 February 2011
Measures of Forecasting Error
It is often said that the only thing certain about a forecast is that it will be wrong. Therefore, it is important to model forecasting error as accurately as possible in order to well define customer service levels and also to plan production and supplier requirements adequately.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 4:45 pm | Category: Inventory Management | 1 Comment »
Continue27 January 2011
Business Communication – Who, What & How
In business, communication is the glue that binds us to our employees, to our suppliers and, most importantly, to our customers. All business transactions begin with communicating information of some sort. Because we communicate in every facet of business, it is important to be comfortable with doing it well.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 9:39 pm | Category: Communication | No Comments »
Continue14 January 2011
Improving the Customer Experience by Reducing Wait Times
Because service time is highly variable and cannot be stored for future use, customers often may experience wait time or delays in service. However, there are ways to improve service times and minimize customer wait times, so as to positively impact your company’s profitability.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 5:44 pm | Category: Service Operations | No Comments »
Continue3 January 2011
Pricing Series: the Winner’s Curse
Statistically, any winning bid is likely to be cursed, unprofitable in the end, if there are many bidders participating. The best way to avoid the Winner’s Curse is to be selective in your bidding practice. You should also add a contingency factor to your bid estimate; you may not win as many bids, but you will be less likely to feel cursed in the end.
Posted by: Tamboura Gaskins at 12:50 pm | Category: Pricing Strategy | 10 Comments »
ContinueCategories
- Business Management (1)
- Business Plan (5)
- Communication (1)
- Financial Planning (1)
- Fundraising (1)
- Inventory Management (3)
- Message from the Founder (1)
- Negotiation (3)
- News (1)
- Pricing Strategy (3)
- Service Operations (1)