Over the years my students have found my teaching really uesful. I seem to be able to make things as simple as possible. Some marketing students have increased their marks in the marketing exam by as much as 20%. I was looking for a way to offer help with marketing exam to a wider audience. I trawled the internet and found lots of poor material. Then I came across Yaro Starak and followed his approach.  The free report makes so much sense

It shows you  how to profit by creating and selling your own information product.

His report is called the Membership Site Masterplan and as you would guess, it is a step-by-step guide for launching a profitable online membership site.

You can download the report from here: http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/go.php?offer=arael&pid=3

For information, more go here http://www.marketingtutorblog.com/courses/

This is now becoming a global event.  Simon Cowell and Sir Philip Green of the High Street retail fame are to join forces. They will take the show to Vegas with two stage shows a week. They plan two shows each week with pay per view. For the top 12 contestants they will sing in Vegas which is a huge dream.

This is a really good example of the way in which a brand can be firstly built and then extended. In this blog there have been other posts on this topic and it is one that will be revisited again

The next development was into convenience type stores and offering only food. Simply Food can be found in some high streets but also in railway stations and motorway service stations. Often the simpler the idea the better. This has helped to revitalise the business. It has focused on customer needs. Built specific ranges for the different target customers.

For any business to succeed it must get the marketing basic right. Simply need to decide on the customer, really get under their skin and understand those needs. So, we are driving home and want something easy from Simply Food. No effort when we get home was a master stroke and a clever brand extension. It seems that Waitrose is about to offer a similar stripped down shopping experience.

The latest development is now to offer branded products. This is a total change in brand policy and is a calculated risk. The advantage is that it will extend the M & S brand into new areas and offer customers the opportunity to buy the brands and own labels at the same time. The challenge is to ensure that these brands compliment the current range and not compete.

Marketing lessons and tutorial. Be specific about the brand position and ensure that the brand values are clear and the brand is not over extended

The brand is loved by those who may not be able to afford the car but can buy the merchandise. Marketing students have seen the classic brand extension into clothing, sunglasses and so on. There are 28 stores around the world where the brand fan can indulge their passion. So far all pretty traditional brand extensions. Common in the automotive industry.

The latest extension of the brand is a big change. Ferrari are opening a theme park in Abu Dhabi. The roof is in the shape of a side of the Ferrari GT body.

The car maker says the theme park will host over 20 attractions, “each designed to bring to life a different part of the Ferrari story”, including the world’s fastest rollercoaster and rides for children. (Marketing Week Oct 09)

This really takes the ride of your life to a whole new level.

Lessons for marketing students are to build the brand so that it has real equity and that links to the relationship it has with the consumer. Once that is established the brand then extends into new areas. The risk is to ensure that it is not stretched too thinly or it will devalue the brand.

We sit on the sofa with the TV on and flick across channels. We are also on the laptop surfing and chatting on line via Twitter and then the mobile rings and we text back. We might even be downloading the latest iPhone app. The development of Sky Plus lets us pause to make tea and fast forward through the adverts.

How life has changed and with it the way in which media is used and how we shop. As I write I have just txt a friend for a coffee and Facebooked another while watching the TV. All very interesting but the implications and lessons for marketing are the key here.

Evidence suggests that we are open to new ideas and to change and try new products, offers and brands. This makes us fickle and a bit of a strawberry tart. We are much more likely to use comparison websites and customer reviews. Indeed if I am booking a hotel Trip Advisor has become a favourite. Just love the comments and that puts the gloss from the hotel in a whole new light. Those hotels that get good reviews get my booking.

Lessons for marketing students
* Understand the multi tasker, look for integrated and multi media

* Focus on fabulous customer service, in reviews really good is rare and makes the review headlines

* Use the social networks, they are not just for chatter but business

* Be quick and move with the times, multi taskers are early adopters and move with the times. Don’t fall behind and wear last seasons fashion

* Communicate and build relationships

o2 are working with consumers to develop content. The key word is with not for Here the company becomes truly consumer led and that gives ownership to that consumer. Cynics would suggest that is a cheaper way of developing the product. This maybe true but it also decreases risk and if the consumer is involved the chances of success are greater.

In his book Wikinomics this idea was developed by Tapscott. He coined the term ‘Prosumers’. Here the production, where the pro comes from is generated by the consumers. For me that is the best chapter in the book and well worth the money. The theme of mass collaboration where companies such as Procter and Gamble have hundreds of patents and spend billions on research. They then allow other businesses to use this expertise for a licence fee. A general win win situation.

If you are interested in looking at marketing in a new way and really pushing the approach forward try the book

The lessons and challenges for marketing in the recession are:-

To stand out from massive competition. Some competitors will cut price, that is tempting but will cheapen the brand and lower the profit from each sale. Try to offer better value and bundle products such as buy your house insurance and buy car insurance at a discount.

Ensure that the customer is loyal and sees your business as a solution to their problem. Remember people buy the benefits not the product. Its not that the speed of the processor is or the size of the engine is. What does that mean? So I can access internet quicker, use less fuel in my car etc

Add real value for the customer. Make life easier, so you can connect the phone to the PC, downlaod pictures and print in one click.

Be clear who that customer is, don’t try to target everyone. If you are selling clothing, is the customer the younger trendy girl who wants something different and new every week. Or the classic buyer who buys one or two key pieces each season. Is it the techie guy who wants all the latest in mobile phones or someone who just wants emergency calls.

So the lessons are to offer a really fabulous deal and to keep that customer happy but the competitor scared

Ugg boots faced a similar issue. They have managed the brand better and moved to focus on a niche and refresh with new boots, which fortunately for Ugg need replacing.

Marketing lessons. For the marketing assignment you could examine that Croc needs to think long term about the brand and how it can be positioned to offer value. It could have focussed on the childrens market and moved into games and toys or clothing. That would have removed the ability to commoditise the product so that it is copied in every pound store around the country. For the marketing exam use the segmentation aspect to show how Croc needs to target its market

Biz Stone, its co founder comes from a series of social media businesses such as Blogger. He believes that Twitter has only touched about a minute percentage of its potential. He reportedly refused a bid from Facebook for around $500m.

Why then is he so confident that Twitter can turn growth into a long term business? It seems that its ability to influence large groups of people is the key. Take the recent impact on the Iranian elections, its use communicating the earthquake in California in 08.

After a year of rapid growth he can now plan to build the business long term. The use of Twitter by corporate businesses is the key to monetising the business. Dell and JetBlue have had a great deal of success in using the platform.  Corporate accounts are interested in effective communication. The information that Twitter holds on its users and the statistical insight is the key and something that businesses will pay for. From here understanding users needs more and more will give Twitter the opportunity to build a long term business.

Marketing lessons. Business growth, monetising and branding