Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with business and marketing

Studies about marketing during a recession?

korej — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:34:45 -0800

Tonight someone mentioned to me a study that boiled down to the idea that businesses that keep up with their marketing in a recession tend to bounce back better, or survive better. This makes sense to me, but he doesn't have a cite for study, and I'm curious. Does anyone have an idea of where this might have been, or any other study along those lines?

Taking on the juggernaut that is Ebay?

pakoothefakoo — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:25:14 -0800

Taking on the juggernaut that is Ebay? I'm very well aware that there are numerous of failed Ebay/CL clones out there, but I have an idea for some kind of online marketplace that is a mix between Ebay and Craigslist using some kind of automated arbitrage system (I won't go into details, as it is not pertinent to my question).

Ebay and Craigslist are outliers, they both filled the need while there were no other alternatives and became a beast surviving on its own inertia. Other than technology costs, the barrier to entry in this business is quite high because people are loath to switch and it's difficult when you don't have any buyers or sellers using your system.

So my question is it possible to form a similar, successful business and reach critical mass in this day and age? If so, how do I convince people to use it when I have no critical mass?

I do believe that my vision is nifty, but I am aware of incredible challenges of getting people to use my system, is it worth trying?

How to start marketing a dental office.

beingresourceful — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:52:45 -0800

How do I start marketing a dentist? How do I effectively start marketing a dentist?

She has been a dentist for thirty years (many of those years as a professor), and now she has started her own practice.

She can do cosmetic dentistry, but she really likes pediatric/adolescent dentistry. She is also excellent (and I think prefers to work) at what I could call "major" dentistry, requiring going under. Her practice is located inside a hospital -- definitely something most dentists don't offer. She seems to think cosmetic dentistry is over-saturated (but if your idea is good I can convince her otherwise). I think she really likes those dental-insured patients that need extensive work.

I haven't marketed dentists before. How do I get this lady new clients? I want her to make lots of money, so I can ask for and make lots of money. If it's not win-win, I'd rather not take the job.

Do online companies need toll free numbers?

ckohrman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:14:20 -0800

Do online companies need 800 numbers if most of their sales are online from their website?

What kinds of advertising options should a new internet startup offer its customers and how should they be priced?

tnoetz01 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:46:06 -0800

What kinds of advertising options should a new internet startup offer its customers and how should they be priced? I'm starting an online service targeted at beer enthusiasts, and we're considering offering advertising to the industry.

I'm trying to build some revenue model scenarios based on advertising options and rates. Specifically, I'm looking for help deciding what advertising options to offer and how much to charge for each, likely on a CPM basis.

What advertising options are typical, and what are typical CPMs for a site targeted at a fairly niche audience like ours?

How to Write a Business Plan

KokuRyu — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:59:32 -0800

I'm looking for some freely available online business plan templates for a quasi-client who wants to start a training business catering to IT project management in government. I've Googled around for business plan templates, but are there any ones that you particularly like or think are effective?

It would be great if the business plan example or template (or free, online how-to guide) is technical enough so that it can be applied to an entrepreneur wanting to start a consulting business (see above at the start of my question for a synopsis) to government's IT project managers.

In other words, my quasi-client may be turned off by business plans for flower shops and restaurants and dog walking services.

Thanks for your help!

Is this the new corporate vanity web site?

ignignokt — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:55:03 -0800

How would I figure out how big the market is for iPhone apps that are basically collections of videos? I've noticed a few iPhone apps that are basically bundles of videos (locally stored with the app on the iPhone) with menus for navigation. They tend to be instructional in nature. Here's a few examples.

I'm speculating about a side gig making this kind of app, but I really have no idea how many other companies would want an app like this made for them. How can I find out?

Now that I have my red nose, how do I get paid to wear it?!

iliketolaughalot — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:25:52 -0800

After a year and a half of teaching myself to do balloon art, I bit the bullet and went to clown school! It was a ton of fun, and I am now officially a clown! The problem is that now I have to book some gigs! I have a website, a Twitter account, aFacebook page, and business cards on the way. Still, I don't really know how to market myself effectively. It's a competitive market (NYC) so I'm wondering what I can do to get the word out! I've posted on Craigslist, but I'm competing with big companies that have hordes of clowns and other entertainers. While I'm new to clowning, I have been working with kids forever and have tons of experience in that. I've also been a pre-clown for some time, working at birthday parties of friends' kids, which I can use on my resume.

While I have applied for some jobs with existing companies, they pay really poorly compared to what I could make on y own. Of course, in order to make that money on my own, I'd have to get some jobs.

I joined the NY Clown Alley to try to network, but it hasn't gotten me very far.

Help me clown around! Will provide silly jokes in response to your suggestions of course!

I want to be the new sexman!

mooders — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:30:04 -0800

How do I create a YouTube channel to promote my business? I want to utilise video to promote my business. I'm thinking that creating a channel on YouTube (or similar - Blip.tv? Vimeo? Other? Open to suggestions) with videos on content relevant to my line of business would be cool.

Problem is, I don't know where to start in terms of equipment. Here's what I have currently:

A 24" Aluminium iMac with built-in iSight camera running OS X 10.5.
iMovie pre-installed.
Um. That's it.

I've done a little video and audio track editing in the past, so my question is really around the equipment, setup and planning side of things.

I want to record in some form of HD, so I think that rules the iSight camera out.

Each video will likely be between 4 and 5 minutes long.

I'm an okay writer, but unsure whether to script, bullet-point or memorise a monologue. I have done a few presentations and generally memorise but in that context I have immediate audience feedback (body language, mainly) to feed from.

Any and all help hugely appreciated!

What to do with the Facebook Sushi page?

cdemay — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:51:52 -0800

I am the creator of the largest Facebook Sushi page (with 900,000+ fans); If you were me, what would you do with this power and responsibility? :) Facebook is the largest and fastest-growing social networking site in the world. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

I am the creator of the largest and fastest-growing Facebook Sushi page

Since creating the page in August 2008, more than 900,000 Facebook users have become "fans" of my Sushi page, making it one of the top 50 most popular and fastest growing products on Facebook. (More than 10,000 fans add themselves each day.)

As the page owner, I can reach all these Sushi fans directly through the application. I can also manage targeted ads, develop integrated content, and engage a global fan base at a scale unavailable through any other medium.

* Here are the demographics:

Female/Male/Total
65% 35%
13-17 16% 8% 24%
18-24 26% 13% 40%
25-34 17% 10% 27%
35-44 5% 3% 7%
45+ 1% 1% 2%

Mar. 30 Mar. 29
Page Views 2,918 2,869

* Those page views are representative of visitation when I have no ads, no posts, and no solicitation emails to the group. Basically, ~3,000 people a day are ACTIVELY SEEKING the page, unprompted... unadvertised.

* As a test of membership response to posts, I posted a news link (about sushi being the "fast food of the future", from an Adelaide newspaper)... Within an hour, 1,000 people have taken the time to mark the article with "I Like This"... and over 150 took the time to comment on the article, again, within the first hour.

So, if you were me, what would you do with this power and responsibility? :)

$50k for a small business, what do you got?

ibechase — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:08:49 -0800

If you were starting a business in the current economic climate and you had $25k-50k start up capital, what type of business would you start? I'm in a situation where I have access to a large amount of cash, plenty of time on my hands and I'm looking to start a business. I have a list of ideas and I'm looking for input on what type of businesses *you* think should be started.

I'm a graphic designer and am comfortable in most facets of business (design, branding, marketing, advertising, bookkeeping, etc.). I'm very computer-saavy and have a very strong work ethic.

I'm going to start a business, so there's no need to tell me how I'd be better off saving the money. I look forward to hearing what you guys think would be great businesses that could be started for $25k-50k and could thrive in the current economy. Thanks for any and all input.

Help me promote my baby!

mhp — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:42:53 -0800

We have a great opportunity to promote our fledgling video production company with a booth at a large concert. But we're not sure exactly what to do with it. We don't have much footage to show at this point, but we have a short film written, and a full length in development. We were trying to think of ideas in order to promote it.

The main problem we have is that we'll actually not really be able to hang around the booth, because we will have our hands full with actually filming the concert. We are filming a documentary documenting the project, from execution to promotion, so anything we do will have to speak on it's own.

We have a short spoken word audio piece that we were considering leaving looping with headphones on, with a little bit of info on it for people to read, along with a link to the website.

Some other ideas we were considering include:
Setting up a photobooth, complete with email capabilities, and an option to set up to subscribe to our newsletter. Our concern at this point is mainly getting awareness out there, so the fact that it doesn't directly relate to video is not such a huge problem.

Another option would be something along the lines of You Move You Interact, an interactive video piece developed using Processing. Basically, just a little something to catch people's eye, and get our name into their head.

But most of our ideas we really cannot execute properly because we won't be able to be physically present. So that, in essence, is my question: How can we best promote ourselves without being physically present in a memorable and relevant way?

Any ideas would be very much appreciated, but keep in mind we're trying to keep it relatively low budget, say $250 max

Thank you very much

We are Professional vs. "Check out this cute kitty photo."

rokusan — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:31:01 -0800

Design Filter: Does anyone have any good best-of-field examples of corporate/institutional websites that are well-integrated with blogs? I'm looking for good-looking examples where a (dry, formal, professional, corporate) website is well-integrated with a (topical, chatty, personal-voice) blog, so the blog does not seem glued-on and doesn't conflict with the overall professional look/feel.

I don't mean technically, or how the url(s) are set up: I mean purely from a design standpoint, in terms of how the two coexist within the same navigation or home page links/integration.

My current need is part of researching a marketing plan for a private art school, if that matters, but this is a pretty generic question I've been chewing on for awhile.

In many cases, an organization's "traditional" website has to be safe, professional, non-threatening. But the same time, the vibrancy and marketing power of a blog is important too, in showing (not just saying) why this is a good place to work/live/attend/hire. To make good sense, a blog just cannot seem glued on, in a "click here for our BLOG omgcool" way, I don't think.

So I think this is a pretty general question for any website/blog that needs to both be coolly professional on the one hand, and aggressively marketing themselves on the other, so if you know any great examples in any other fields, that's fine too. A doctor's office, law firm, or private investigator might have the same conflicting goals, I imagine.

I am thinking about it so far as the "voice of the organization", as a sort of more useful replacement for the usual boring "About Our Philosophy" type content. Show us how smart and friendly you are, in other words, instead of just telling us.

I'd like examples if possible, but also general ideas/guidance. Blogs are not my thing.

What should I sell online?

Elminster24 — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:02:05 -0800

Help me find something to sell online. My current site was de-indexed and while I'm working on getting that back in the rankings I'm looking for something else to sell and would like to experiment with sourcing a product myself versus going the affiliate route. I've dabbled in affiliate marketing and had a halfway successful eBay Partner Network based site that was bringing in about $400-$600/mo on average and growing. Unfortunately Google de-indexed it for reasons I'm still uncertain of. I'm working on relaunching the site with new content and hopefully that will help but this has made me realize I can't put all my eggs in one basket.

This is where you guys come in. I'm trying to think of unique product ideas to sell online. I know how to get a site designed and rather than a site that sells MANY products, I'm looking for a site that can sell just one or two specific ones. I'd love to be able to source my own products to make them unique but I really have no clue where to even begin with that. Aside from shady dropshipping scammers, can you guys recommend some good resources for determining how to source a product (preferably within the US), find suppliers, etc.?

Also, any suggestions on where I can get inspiration for a product to sell in my store would be appreciated.

I'm not looking for THE idea...just some resources to gain inspiration. Are there any matchmaking sites for people who want to sell their products online and are looking for partners (NOT affiliates)?

I have an idea for a unique information product but it is based on World of Warcraft and I don't have much hardcore knowledge of the details of that game so I don't know how to go about finding a writer for that sort of thing...

How does one get a start in the tourism / travel consultant business?

chrisinseoul — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:09:12 -0800

How does one get a start in the tourism / travel consultant business? Education or work experience? What kinds? More questions than answers, inside... Me: 26 years old, Business / Marketing Bachelor's degree, variety of business experience, love of traveling / writing about traveling (active blog about South Korea with thousands of hits), currently overseas in Seoul (see username), and trying to figure out how to get into a career of travel or tourism consulting. Currently working as an English teacher and trying to break free of teaching 6-year-olds in favor of something much more interesting. I find traveling fascinating, and often wonder why more people don't try it or do it on a more regular basis. Some other ideas include writing / reviewing about places I've visited (which doesn't seem like a feasible career, though it makes a hell of a blog)

Instead of helping people to get from point A to point B (as a travel agent might), I could see myself working with a local population for a given time (6 months, 1 year, 2 years) with the goal of creating tourism opportunities, easier time getting around / finding things, and so on. This may be done as part of a consulting firm, on my own, or simply on a contractual basis. Another term for this dream position might be a creative marketing consultant in the travel / tourism field.

While there are plenty of Master's degree programs available in Travel / Tourism Management (both online and physical schools), I'd rather not spend the money / time doing something considered irrelevant by having the work experience instead.

How does one get their foot in the door? Anecdotal stories are welcome, as are specific companies that work in this way. If anyone can help narrow down this seemingly broad field to a better title / career goal, your advice is appreciated as well.

Biz travel: little time, big splash?

diastematic — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:00:13 -0800

How should we make the most of our business trip? Two partners and I are visiting NY next week for a client meeting. (We're normally in London and US West Coast.) We may have a spare couple of days, and I'd like to make those as productive as possible from a networking perspective. Suggestions? (More inside.) We already have a healthy dose of dinners, lunches, etc. scheduled with our contacts, but we may still have some gaps in our calendar. Should we...host a cocktail hour at a bar and see who drops in? Invite distant contacts to a salon-style group dinner?

We're also quite visible online for our small industry and have a healthy email list for friends, clients, associates. We can put this to work for us in making any announcements for whatever events we can whip up.

Ideas appreciated. Thanks!

How to create a marketing list in Australia

dripped — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 04:20:56 -0800

Any ideas how to generate a list of manufacturing companies over 100 employees in Australia, without paying a list broker for an outdated use-once call list?

Straw poll: how are your sales doing?

rolypolyman — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:07:50 -0800

Mail order entrepreneurs: How have your sales figures been over the past few months? I'm looking mostly for tidbits from established sellers who do daily mail order merchandise sales via the Internet and have an excellent feel for weekly trends. Are you doing better than 6 months or a year ago? Any relevant info on what you sell and insight on your customers would be great.

Please no replies from brick & mortar stores or large companies -- too many variables at work there.

As far as myself, I publish low volumes of books and software and have noticed an anomalous drop in sales during the past 4-5 weeks. I figured I'd post this partly out of curiosity and also to get a feel for whether it's specific to my own business or applicable to everyone.

Topics for a Talk on Business Blogging

friarjohn — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:14:54 -0800

I've been asked to give a talk on business blogging for a local group. What kinds of topics should I address? I've got the basics and technical aspects handled. I'm familiar with WordPress, Blogger, et al. I've got a couple of my own blogs and I've set blogs up for small businesses and organizations before. But the scope of those blogs have been the fairly limited to "latest news" and "link whore" type blogs.

I'm looking for more ROI-focused information, strategies, marketing ideas, etc. I would appreciate any advice or links to articles I can use to beef up my knowledge of the business aspects. I'm not looking to sell them snake oil (*cough*SEO*cough*); I want to give them some real information.

Eh... marketing for artists who don't like "marketing"?

zennie — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:31:28 -0800

O wise AskMe, please help us name our art marketing business? A few friends are web-based marketing consultants for indie artists, particularly for musicians, comic book publishers, and visual artists. They provide customized, low-budget, and practical advice on how to do things like sell your art online, target your market, and maintain a fan community. They'd like to take it to the next level and form a company, but they're stuck for a good company name.

They'd like to avoid stiff business terms like "marketing" and "sell," as these words, at least when out front, seem to make many artists hesitate. They're trying to find either a name or a simple slogan that imparts the message "we know what you can easily do to get your art to people who want it." This also needs to (reasonably) work as a web domain.

Bonus points for integrating symbolism that means 'waking' or 'rising,' or similar (e.g. sleeping dragon).

Marketing and PR help (maybe pro-bono)?

parmanparman — Mon, 14 May 2007 05:11:03 -0800

Where can I find or find out about PR and marketing help for non-profits in the Washington, DC metro area? I heard there are some PR and marketing firms that offer pro-bono PR and marketing advice to non-profits, but I am loath to find such resources outside of New York and Chicago. Specifically in the Washington, DC area (MD and VA included), where could I find such professional help?

How to market and price paintings as a young artist?

balarie — Wed, 09 May 2007 06:34:50 -0800

How should one market and price art as a young artist? My sister-in-law is a very talented young (20 y.o.) artist. She is just finishing an undergraduate program in fine arts (where she excelled, particularly in the applied courses), and is actively attempting to make a business out of selling and marketing her art. She has a number of pieces on display in local galleries, and has sold some pieces to friends and family already for prices ranging from $500 to $1000. Now she's going to be working full-time on creating and hopefully finding homes for her pieces, what strategy is best for pricing? More generally, how should she peddling her work? She's counting primarily on word of mouth and informal networks, but are there other things she could be doing? It seems that one strategy would be to price low (materials + $20 per hour) to "get out there" and hopefully drum up more business. Another strategy would be to price high (pick a substantial round number per piece regardless of materials or time, e.g. $2500 or $5000) in order to establish her work as worth paying for. Yet another idea would be to price by size of the painting (e.g. $x per square inch), which could work with either one. Ideas as to the best approach are most welcome by everyone, and especially by those with relevant experience.

Low cost marketing for one woman business?

swiffa — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:03:28 -0800

My mom opened a mortgage broker business this year. Advertising budget is under $800/month, local radio and cable have both been unable to come in under that budget. Currently running newspaper ads in 3 or 4 pubs. No responses. Any low cost innovative ideas to help her reach potential customers?

How to efficently set up a sales department?

tundro — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:41:58 -0800

What is the most efficient organizational structure for a sales department? I run the sales division of a successful marketing consultancy. For the last few years our business has grown by leaps and bounds (more than doubling our revenue each year for the last few years) and we've finally outgrown our sales infrastructure.

To that end, what is the most efficent way to set up the sales department for managing this hyper growth? As a consultancy, training new sales reps is difficult as our sales process is very involved and requires a strong knowledge of the marketing process. Any and all insights are welcome. Thanks!

What is the difference between business blogging and forums

freakystyley — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:51:48 -0800

How can I convince my boss to use business blogging instead of forums? Or, how can my boss get A Clue? I work for a Clueless web business. In an effort to get the company to go "Web 2.0" (for lack of a better word), I've been trying to convince the boss that we should at least start business blogging to get a feel of what's really going on out there. Instead, he wants to set up a forum. Now I don't think that the advantages of a forum outweighs the advantages of a well-run business blog and I'm having a helluva time trying to convince him so. I explained how it can organize our communications, leverage our knowledge base, create more incoming links and foster community, all at the same time, but he still doesn't get it (or is perhaps too stubborn).

Now I'm at my wit's end 'cause another company virtually exploded onto the scene and it looks like they're going to take a huge portion of our potential market share (my boss also doesn't believe in The Long Tail). Of course, this new company is completely Web 2.0-savvy and knows a thing or two about blogging: a Google search for my company comes up with around 10 hits and a search for this other company comes up with nearly 65,000 hits. Our company has been around for nearly a year, and this new company has been around for around a month.

Ultimately, how can I convince my boss to get A Clue? I already got him the book (Cluetrain) a while back and he wasn't impressed. Sorry, this is probably the core question, but I'm trying to start with baby steps.