Category: Tools and Information

Marketing to Millennials: Youd Better Learn to Keep Up | AllBusiness.com

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Ronco Johnson knows financial planning. But when it comes to planning how to reach a critical set of potential customers, he mostly knows that he needs a new plan. That group is the Millennial Generation. Also known as Generation Y, this 80-million-strong legion of Americans born between 1982 and 2000 already exceeds the baby boomers in size and influence — and someday will rival them in affluence. Its a market no small business can afford to ignore.

Johnson, president and chief executive officer of L.R. Johnson & Associates, an insurance and financial services provider in Marietta, Ga., realized awhile back that his marketing tools and strategies would need an overhaul if he was going to have any hope of successfully reaching this huge market. “There is a big difference marketing financial services to Millennials,” he said.

For one thing, the pace of interactions is sped up until it resembles a cartoon chase. “They want their information now,” Johnson said. A series of 2-hour meetings in his office to discuss financial planning needs — de rigueur with older clients — is a nonstarter with Millennials.

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6 Ways to Delegate More Effectively | Inc.com

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“The surest way for an executive to kill himself is to refuse to learn how, and when, and to whom to delegate work,” said James Cash Penney, founder of the J.C. Penney retail chain.

When you grow, you have to know when to let go. You have to know when to delegate down so you can rise up. I’ve learned that people will seldom let you down if they understand that your destiny is in their hands, and vice versa.

The inability to delegate properly is the main reason that executives fail. But managers often mistake delegation for passing off work. So they don’t do it–and they wind up wasting their time as well as the company’s time and resources.

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Brand Management Techniques | smallbusiness.chron.com

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Brand management is vital to gaining market dominance.

Brand management involves the art of crafting and maintaining a brand image in the marketplace and of managing the product lines associated with individual brands. Marketers employ a repertoire of techniques to influence consumers’ perception of and preference for their brands. Focusing on continuous brand management can help your brand to solidify a position of dominance in your chosen industry or niche.

Industry Analysis

Analyze competing brands in your industry to determine where you would like to position your brand. Map out competitors and rank each by size, service model, reputation and target market segment. Determine how many players are serving the high end of the market and how many are serving value- or cost-conscious market segments. Determine which competitors feature full-service business models and which operate lean. Rank your competitors according to their reputation in the industry by comparing customer reviews and news articles.

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Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.org

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Driving Solar Electric

Ford is offering an innovative package that pairs electric car ownership with a rooftop solar energy system generating enough electricity to offset an average of 1,000 miles of driving each month. The result is what many electric vehicle owners dream of – the ability to drive with zero emissions and effectively, without additional load on the grid. While the SunPower system doesn’t actually charge Ford’s upcoming 2012 Focus Electric directly, it does feed enough solar-generated electricity into the grid to offset the energy required for keeping batteries charged. Focus Electric owners can add the solar option for less than $10,000 after federal incentives.

The ‘Drive Green for Life’ program not only provides an all-new option for those who want to go the extra mile to drive sustainably, but also is big win for solar energy. Moves like this will motivate consumers to embrace solar energy who may not have done so otherwise.

via Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.

Junk food blues: Are depression and diet related? | MayoClinic.com

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Depression and diet may be related. Some preliminary research suggests that having a poor diet can make you more vulnerable to depression. Researchers in Britain looked at depression and diet in more than 3,000 middle-aged office workers over the course of five years. They found that people who ate a junk food diet — one that was high in processed meat, chocolates, sweet desserts, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy products — were more likely to report symptoms of depression.

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The Anti-Google Movement is Gaining Momentum | Site Reference – Internet Marketing Articles

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I have been always providing “great content” and got myriads of natural organic links plus all those things Google demands you to do. All that white hat SEO stuff people recommend to you. It doesn’t work though. Yes, I said it.

White hat SEO does not work.

You can be the whitest hat alive like I was on this blog and in the end you get a kick in your guts. Black hat SEO gets you penalized even faster but white hat SEO does as well.

The only thing that works is SEO 2.0 as in my original concept. You have to become independent of Google. You need to establish an audience on social media and direct traffic alias subscribers and returning visitors. Google is not a reliable traffic source whatsoever.

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How to Tell If Your Boss Is a Narcissist– And 5 Ways to Avoid Getting Fired by One | Forbes.com

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I learned about narcissistic personality disorder for the first time in 2003 during my training as a marriage and family therapist at Fairfield University.  When I read about the disorder and its symptoms, I was completely stunned.  I realized then that throughout my life, I’ve been plagued with the misery and suffering of having to work with a narcissist or report to one.

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5 Tips to Help You Take Advantage of Happy Hour | genxfinance.com

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What’s there not to love about Happy Hour?  It gives you a chance to wind down after work, sample food from area restaurants, and enjoy discounted drinks ranging from bottled beer to cocktails.  Despite what you may think, not all Happy Hours are created equally.  In order to fully appreciate and enjoy this type of promotion, you need to keep a few things in mind to be sure you’re really getting a deal, otherwise you could end up being lured into the restaurant with the promise of a good deal while actually spending more than you intended.

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Why Is Memory So Good and So Bad?| Scientific American.com

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istock/Barbara Dudzinska

What did you eat for dinner one week ago today? Chances are, you can’t quite recall. But for at least a short while after your meal, you knew exactly what you ate, and could easily remember what was on your plate in great detail. What happened to your memory between then and now? Did it slowly fade away? Or did it vanish, all at once?

Memories of visual images (e.g., dinner plates) are stored in what is called visual memory. Our minds use visual memory to perform even the simplest of computations; from remembering the face of someone we’ve just met, to remembering what time it was last we checked.

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