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... develop marketing if what we think will work, won't? Or, to keep it simple, how do we keep ahead, rather than just keep up? DIRECT MARKETING MEANS MULTI-MEDIA Let's start by clearing up a major misconception. Direct marketing is not direct mail, as many of us would believe. Direct marketing truly is a multi-media event, running the gamut of every known method of communication. And, whatever the method, the goal of direct marketing is to achieve a desired response. Think of it in terms of travel. The goal is the destination, and the media utilized is the vehicle. Each destination can be reached by a vast array of transportation vehicles or a combination thereof. For instance, on a recent trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco , I drove to the airport, walked to the terminal, flew to another airport, and took a motorized walkway to a bus stop for a ride to a train station. Then, I took a train to the city, a cab to the building, and an elevator to the office. Yet on other trips, I've been known to bypass all of that and just drive from point to point. Similarly, direct marketing can use a combination of media or a single method. Don't lock into a single-method mind-set. Allow yourself the freedom to be innovative and creative in direct marketing. Let's take a look at new variations on the tried and true, as well as the just plain new. WORKING THE MAIL Direct mail can be as simple as a letter of introduction or as intricate as a newsletter. ...

...ccurred through internal thefts. Airports and distribution centers are a favor...

... wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes. 1,314 phone calls will be misplaced by telecommunication services every minute. 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day. 268,500 defective tires will be shipped this year. 14,208 defective personal computers will be shipped this year. 2,200 gallons of coffee assumed to be caffeinated will turn out to be decaf instead-but consumed nonetheless in just one tax firm during the 1991 tax season. 103,260 income tax returns will be processed incorrectly this year. 2,488,200 books will be shipped in the next 12 months with the wrong cover. 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks produced in the next 12 months will be flatter than a bad tire. Two plane landings daily at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago will be unsafe. 3,056 copies of tomorrow's Wall Street Journal will be missing one of the three sections. 18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled in the next hour. 291 pacemaker operations will be performed incorrectly this year. 880,000 credit cards in circulation will turn out to have incorrect cardholder information on their magnetic strips. $9 ,690 will be spent today, tomorrow, next Thursday, and every day in the future on defective, often unsafe sporting equipment. 55 malfunctioning ATMs will be installed in the next 12 months. 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the nest 12 months. 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes will be shipped this year. $761,900 will be spent in the next 12 months on ...

... traveling. When designing such a plan, it's best to assume that communications will be interrupted or unavailable. The plan should also consider potential outages of public transportation and electricity. If ground transportation is available, pre-arrange for a nearby safe haven outside the city, equipped for a lengthy stay. Suggest that other employees can make personal plans tailored to their particular situation. It's important to recognize that even a good contingency plan can be worthless if protective measures by authorities during an emergency impede its execution. For example, bridges and tunnels might be closed, and streets blocked or jammed with traffic, meaning that one might not be able to travel to safety or to pick up family members or coworkers. People whose plan calls for a flight out of the city might be unable to get to an airport or helipad and, once there, find that air traffic has been grounded, as happened after the Sept. 11 attacks. For these reasons, it's best to have several alternate plans that provide for multiple scenarios and include various evacuation routes. Once the emergency is announced, it's probably too late to start devising a plan. When an employee is traveling, the plan also should be coordinated with the home office, so that executives will have a basic idea about the location of the person and of what's being done in the affected city. Even if movement and communication are impossible, having a plan that has been coordinated with the home office will be better than reacting to events as they happen. Coordinating these plans with co-workers and family members will also help to ease stress, especially ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Train Your Staff To Handle Problems 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , bill cates This content has not been rated yet. Tell me if you agree with this statement; "A relationship that has had a problem - that has been handled well - is a stronger relationship then one that's never had a problem?" True or true? Have you ever been to a store, hotel, or airport where someone is handling a customer complaint poorly? I suspect you have. Whenever this happens, management is usually at fault. Why? Because this employee has not received training on how to handle problems well. They might have been left to their own fears and bad habits. As a manager, it's your responsibility to make sure that all staff members learn how to deal with problems in a way that shifts the client/customer from their negative emotions into working toward a mutually agreeable solution. The first three magic words for the employee to say should always be, "I'm sorry."(Although this looks like two words, the contraction makes it three - but, who's counting?) . Saying "I'm sorry" is not admitting fault. When the employee has to admit fault, they should do so after evaluating all the facts. It's saying the employee regrets that a problem has inconvenienced the client or customer. "Ms. Jones, I'm very sorry that this has created a problem. Let me learn a little more about the situation and then we'll work on getting this fixed." Seek out books, articles ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Fear Of Change: A Conundrum 4/30/2013 by Jack Burke This content has not been rated yet. Progress is a wonderful thing- it's change I hate.- Mark Twain Change is inevitable. In today's world, it has even become an absolute necessity for survival. Yet despite its constancy, change still evokes fear and resistance. An example is the story about a barber in the Pittsburgh airport in the late sixties who said he would never change his operation to a unisex salon. He resisted that change until he went out of business, and has since been replaced by a salon. I recently experienced this same resistance when critiqued by some of the world's top image consultants during a convention workshop. Among a number of recommended changes was the shaving of my 27-year-old mustache. I hesitated until a friend said, Isn't change a b___! ' Upon realizing that change was the issue, not the mustache, I proceeded to shave it off-and the compliments have been unbelievable. My resistance to change had almost forced me to ignore the sage advice of the world's top professionals in the image field. Does fear paralyze your ability to change? Do you resist change even against expert advice? Does your resistance jeopardize your business or sabotage your personal relationships? Let's try to look at fear from an emotional perspective. I've heard fear described as false evidence appearing real. How often that's proven true! I imagine a certain outcome to a difficult situation, and am paralyzed with fear. Yet once I overcome the fear and act, I usually find that the ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. The Future Of Your Job Might Be In A Word 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. What we say does matter. Unfortunately, most of us don't listen to the words that we use. They might seem harmless, but what messages are we sending to others about ourselves and how we perform our jobs? In this article, John Graham looks at some of the words and phrases that we all utter on occasion. Very often, we use these phrases as excuses about why something didn't get done.It's the end of a long flight and an even longer day. You're anxious to get home, even though it will be a late dinner. Only two exit lanes are open at the airport garage and drivers are lined up to pay their parking fees. As you wait, one line moves faster than the other. One cashier handles three cars in the time that it takes the other to send one on its way. Figure it out: One is three times as productive as the other. The difference doesn't go unnoticed. A few days later, the slower of the two employees is gone, replaced by a faster cashier. Although getting the job done right is essential, getting it done efficiently is just as important. Fail either test, and a new face appears. Other clear signs that an employee is on thin ice reflect basic attitudes about work and what's expected on the job. When you hear them, take note, because they send the wrong message: ...

... vacationers were heading from New York to their Mexican destination. The flight took off six hours late, made two unexpected stops, and circled for 30 minutes before it could land. Because of the unexpected delays and mishaps, the plane was en route for 10 hours more than planned and ran out of food and drinks. The plane finally landed at 2:00 a.m., with a landing so rough that the oxygen masks dropped from their compartments and luggage fell from the overhead bins. A lawyer on board had already started to collect names for a class-action suit. Silvo de Bortoli, general manager of the Cancun Resort and a legend throughout the organization for his ability to delight clients, got word of the horrendous flight and immediately created an antidote. He took half the staff to the airport, where they laid out a table of snacks and drinks and set up a stereo system to play lively music. As the guests filed through the gate, they received a personal greeting, help with their bags, a sympathetic ear and a chauffeured ride to the resort. Waiting for them was a lavish banquet, complete with mariachi band and champagne. The staff had also rallied other guests to wait up and greet the newcomers, and the partying continued until dawn. Many guests said it was the most fun they had had since college. Now that's a recovery which, by the way, resulted in no lawsuits and clients who became raving fans! Now go and "Wow!" those clients again and again and create raving fans who will be your unpaid sales force! Lynn ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Even If It's Not Raining You Need an Umbrella 10/26/2018 by Erin Carlson This content has not been rated yet. You own your home, have your own business, and drive a new car. Though you are not rich, you are comfortable. It will be a shame to lose it all if someone sustains injuries by your car or at your home or place of business. You have insurance you say; you have standard auto liability insurance. The limits are $100,000 for a single person and a total of $300,000 for multiple people. Suppose you are responsible for any accident involving a shuttle taking ten people to the airport. Three hundred thousand dollars allows on average $10,000 per person. That is hardly enough to cover the emergency room fees let alone any surgery, rehabilitation, lost wages and other medical expenses. If there is a fatality, you may consider bankruptcy. Your business has a small storefront on a busy street. A middle-aged executive comes into your place of business following a rainstorm. Your floor is wet and slippery, and the executive slips and falls. He strikes his head, loses consciousness, and goes into a coma. Your general business liability insurance has the same limit as your auto insurance - $100,000. It may cover part of the hospital bill, but the official says he is permanently disabled and sues you for future wages for $1 million. Since your business is a sole proprietorship, bankruptcy beckons. Your son invites a friend over ...

... Is Travel Insurance? When you purchase travel insurance , you're essentially buying a safety net for your trip. If something goes wrong, your travel insurance will cover the cost of cancellations, medical expenses, and more. With these benefits in mind, it's important to make sure that any coverage you buy is suitable for your needs. It's important to be aware of limitations as well so that there are no surprises when something does go wrong. 2) Do You Need It? If you're planning a trip to Europe, travel insurance is a must. All the medical expenses and bills that would otherwise have to be paid by yourself if something happens while on your vacation will be covered. It'll cover other risks that you might not think about, like losing luggage or being delayed at the airport because of weather. It also covers emergency evacuations from any country in the world (except for flights from the US) . A lost passport will be replaced with a new one in most cases. Moreover, in a lot of cases your visa application will require you to get travel insurance of some sort. 3) How Does it Work? Travel insurance is a type of insurance that covers you financially if something goes wrong during your trip. It can cover things like lost luggage, medical emergencies, and cancellations. If you're planning a trip to Europe, travel insurance can be a great way to protect yourself from the unexpected. 4) Are You Covered? When you purchase travel insurance, you'll want to make sure that you're covered for the activities that you plan on doing ...