TODAY INDIA

How to Create Big Impact Trade Show Display Booths to Get the Big Money

Having a trade show display with the WOW factor can make a huge difference to the profitability of your trade show expo, especially if you’re new to the circuit and want to make a big splash.

It takes preparation and research to achieve this. You need to clearly outline the image you want for your business, how it is to be communicated, what impact you want for your customers and industry colleagues.

Starting from a well planned out and designed position you’ll look like an established business. With a carefully and professionally design trade show display booth you’ll be also able to scoop the show’s display awards and be able to use this for your marketing campaigns too.

So when you’re starting out you need to carefully select the business name so it fits with the marketing strategy and works for you in all aspects of the campaign. The business name also needs to be able to work online for you and be available so your internet marketing strategy supports your overall marketing strategy.

Usually there’s about a 12 – 18 month planning phase before the big trade show launch so product, design, branding and marketing is in place to allow a comprehensive and complete image at the expo.

Another key point to work on is the trade show promotions – the take away post cards, business cards, catalogues and bags. Make sure there’s space to write notes on all cards, flyers and brochures for customers as many do a walking lap on their first day, gather ideas and take notes about ideas on promotional material. If the card stock is glossy or black then it is next to impossible for your potential customers to write their notes and this frustrates them – something you don’t need to do.

The website needs to carry through the same branding image and message as the trade show display booth and promotional materials with the look and feel.

Getting advice from professionals can make all the difference for cutting down the time lost through learning tough lessons on your own. Having a stand builder to design the trade show display from a carefully considered design specification for a custom built stand can instantly create the impact of an established business.

To achieve all this you do need to be well capitalised and funded as it does take 18 months- 2 years before you start getting a positive cashflow. So careful financial planning is mandatory for success because many very good businesses are lost and fail each year because of a lack of cashflow and being under capitalised. So be sensible with your financial planning.

The value of putting a lot of effort into your trade show display stand is more people stop to look, increasing the visibility and orders placed, to promote the brand through a consistent image and many trade show businesses reward winning exhibitors with a big discount on their next trade show booth rental.

A well designed portable trade show booth needs to be designed so it can fit in different configurations and layouts. This lets you have more choice and flexibility for stand location within an expo hall. This is vital for the design of the booth so you can get as much use out of it as possible so it pays for itself quickly.

This method of trade show marketing can be done for well financed new businesses or to reinvent and reinvigorate an established business that needs a breath of fresh air to prosper.

The key to success is careful, creative and intelligent planning for marketing and financials. Do your research and understand your business. Make sure you have the financial buffers for lessons learned the hard way and take advice from professionals you know what their motivations are.

Considering a Domain Name For Your Home Based Business is Easier Than You Think!

A domain name can be a very important aspect to your home based business. It may project a very important image for you and the products you promote or sell. If you change domains sometime later after you have been set up for sometime, things could get quite complicated. However, choosing a domain name does not have to be hard.

Here are some suggestions to easily help you choose a domain name:

Jot down on a piece of paper approximately ten ideas about a domain name you may want.
Do a domain search to see if one of the ideas you wanted is available. I use GoDaddy.com. Use the.com when first starting out as that is what most people tend to search for when looking for a business.
If the name you want is not available, GoDaddy provides a list on the side of alternative names. GoDaddy may suggest putting words like best, my, or the in front of your idea for a domain name.
You can search for an on line thesaurus on Google and come up with some very unusual alternatives for words. Create interest by adding words like explosion, creations, reports, secrets and etc.
You may be using a domain quite often so sometimes it helps to make it as short as possible. Three to four words would be enough.
Brand yourself and your business by adding your name in front of your idea. This makes it personal. JoeSmithsOnlineReview.com would be an example.
Creative and unusual names pertaining to your business or personal branding need to reflect a positive professional image for your business.

A domain name can be easily chosen using the ideas that you have written down. Personally branding your business to your name gives you a sense of pride in ownership especially if you reflect a positive image for yourself and your business. Make sure your domain name can be easily remembered and that the spelling is exactly what you want before purchasing your domain. Remember to be personal and professional so your business will flourish.

Domain Names and Bulk Domain Registration

Are you sitting around wondering what domain name to register for your business? Having a website is essential for all businesses in this modern day and age. Websites are not just for online businesses. They are for brick and mortar businesses too. Many entrepreneurs are starting to discovery that many print and conventional methods of advertising doesn’t yield good results anymore. That is because people (your customers) are spending more and more time on the Internet. Even senior citizens are learning how to use the Internet to source for products.

With that established firmly as a fact, the next step to take is to get an online presence immediately. As a business owner, you need to put your offers in front of your target prospects, and you need to do so using the Internet. The problem is, many traditional small business owners still don’t know much about the setting up a website. Well, the first thing they need to know is this – registering a domain name.

A domain name for a website is like the brand name for your company. For brick and mortar stores, people have to remember where your store is in order to visit your store. On the Internet, all they need to do is to remember your URL. Therefore, it makes sense to register a domain name that is easy to remember. To come up with a suitable domain name, you need to be creative.

First, brainstorm for a list of possible domain names that you would like to register. Don’t worry about availability at this point. You can always do a check later on. The goal here is to get some good ideas that you can work with. Here are some suggestions. You can choose keywords that your target visitors are likely to use. For instance, if you are selling pillows, you can choose a domain name like “pillowspecialist” as your domain name. Or you can choose something that is short and easy to remember.

Your domain name doesn’t have to consist of words that make sense. Sometimes, words that sound weird are better choices because they are easier to remember (think Google and Yahoo). They are also more likely to be available when you go ahead with the registration.

Once you have a good list of domain names in hand, simply head on to a domain registrar to register for your domain names. You begin by making a search for the domain names on your list. If no one has registered for the domain, you can claim it immediately by registering for it. If a search comes up with negative results, just enter a new domain name to search engine. Some websites offer domain names suggestions as well. Browse through the suggestions to see if you are interested in them.

For better pricing, always register your domain names in bulk. For instance, if you have a few good ideas, don’t just register for one domain name. Register for all the good names. Domain names are like real estate in the virtual world. You need to stake your claim on your assets. If possible, register for all top level domains (i.e. .com, .net, .org, and .info) so that others cannot use the same name as you.

Pick Up Your Own Domain Name

Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available. Personally, I like to use http://www.whois.com to check if a domain name is available. You may also check the registrant contact information using “whois” service if you want to negotiate about purchasing the domain you like from people who registered it first.

To register domain name for our customers we use:

http://www.godaddy.com

We are not affiliates with Godaddy in any way, but I think this is the best online company which provides this service. Their rates are low and you will have 24 hours access to your control panel to change the domain name information in case your office moves or phone number changes. This is very convenient.

If you can’t get that exact name as a dot-com, choose another name. Your site title MUST be the same as your domain name. People won’t remember your domain name, but they will remember your site title if they choose to add your website to their favorites. It will also help to provide better place in Google listings. There are several rules to follow when you choose the domain name:

1. It must be as short as possible but don’t make it something like abc.com only because this domain is available. Be reasonable.

2. Make it memorable. It must represent your company and it is not a bad idea to make your company name as a domain name.

3. Make it include your keywords, something like allwebdesign.com if your website is about web design. This advice is related to search engine optimization issue. Most of search engines like to get “main” keywords in the domain name, title and website description.

4. The domain name must be first level domain, not the sub domain of a bigger website. For example, it is not a good idea to use [http://mydomain.somebigsite.com] as your website name. The first level domain costs about $ 9 dollars and it not an excuse to have business website on a free sub domain. Search engines also do not like such domains and you automatically will be placed lower then your competitors in the search engine listings.

5. It is better to buy a domain name separately from the hosting plan. A domain name is much more important then a hosting provider. As I noticed, the average duration of a web hosting company life is one or two years. If your hosting provider disappears from the web, it may be a problem to get your domain name transferred to your new hosting provider.

It is not difficult to buy and register a domain name at all. You will be given a number of questions related to your location, position and contact information. All this information will be used during the domain name registration and any person who uses “whois” service will have access to that information, so it will be wise to enter only your business information and not to use personal data. When you buy a hosting plan, your hosting provider will send you the letter with the name server ips. You will need to send those numbers to your domain name registrant.

Now you are ready to select a web hosting provider and buy a hosting plan.

This article may be reprinted and distributed with no charge until the credit line below remains without changes.

Thanks for reading.

Article source: [http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/choose_domain.shtml]

5 More Inventive Internet Marketing Ideas

1.) Make It A Game

Playing games on smartphones and tablets has never been more popular. They are played in all sorts of situations, whether someone is waiting for a bus, taking a break at work, relaxing in the evening or taking a bath. Gaming on mobile devices has never been easier and their popularity seems set to increase further.

By creating a gaming app with your company brand name on it, you can significantly increase your brand awareness without giving your potential customers the feeling that they are being “sold to”.

Depending on your type of business, the game could be related to the type of product s or services that you provide and deliver subliminal marketing messages to players.

Games are also an excellent vehicle for going viral. Players who like and enjoy the game are very likely to share it with friends and colleagues.

With a little imagination, you can quickly come up with some game ideas that will work well with your product line. You can also run the idea past your customers and ask them to contribute their ideas to the process.

2.) Show How Your Products are Used

A relatively new way of getting messages across in adverts is to show how the product is used and what it can do. Usually the name of the product or company is only introduced towards the end.

By using this method, you are creating interest in the product and the viewer is waiting to see what the product is called and who supplies it. A number of car manufacturers use this method to showcase the vehicle’s driving experience and capabilities, then deliver the make and model as a punch line at the end of the commercial.

This method can also be used as a “how to” instructional video.

3.) Partner Up

Co- branding and partnering with complimentary businesses is not a new concept, but is gaining in popularity. If you align yourself with a business or product the compliments, but doesn’t compete with yours, you can significantly enhance the benefits of both products. You can also offer discounts and special offers via this method such as buy one, get one half price etc.

It is also the opportunity to promote your products to your partner’s database and vice versa

4.) The “Disloyalty” Program

One of the more innovative ideas to come up recently is actually a reaction to the traditional “loyalty” programs that have been around for decades. Here, companies that offer similar services are combined on a single card that can be punched when someone makes a purchase. When the card is completely punched out, say after 8 or 10 uses, then that person can get an inexpensive product from any one of the companies listed for free. This is especially useful for restaurants and coffee shops, but it can be used by several smaller companies that band together.

5.) Try Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing focuses on the customers that you already have and getting the most from them. If you are an established business, you have a potential goldmine sitting in your database, just waiting to be exploited. It is generally accepted that it costs less to sell to an existing customer than it does to find new customers. The difference in cost varies depending on who you listen to, but the accepted norm is somewhere between 5 and 10 times cheaper.

It begs the question then, if that is the case, why do some businesses spend most of their time and resources chasing new customers and not building customer loyalty with their existing customer base?

When done correctly, inbound marketing can significantly increase your profit margin while not adding much to your marketing cost. This is because repeat customers are far more willing to buy than new ones because they have bought before.

By carefully offering new discounts, coupons and even exclusive products for previous customers, you can considerably boost your bottom line.

The Best Domain Name For Your Business

As a new business owner, you spent a great deal of time planning your business. You need to spend similar time and care choosing the right domain name. The right choice of name can help you with branding your site. The wrong choice can get your site a negative reaction.

Here are some common pitfalls to avoid when choosing a domain name for your business:

Too Long Ð Sometimes business owners want to get across an idea, and they choose a domain name that is several words or even a sentence long. This is far too long. Keep it short and simple. Too much to type in the URL field can mean that your prospective customer will go to a competitor with a more concise domain name instead.

Even the customer who is determined to find you can be re-routed if your domain is too long. A longer domain name means a greater chance of making a typo. And a typo may mean that your customer is redirected to a site that is not yours, or to a ‘no such URL’ notice which makes them think you don’t have a website at all.

Confusing Ð In some ways, domain names are like vanity license plates. You have a short space for your message and you want to make it count. But if it is so convoluted that you have to puzzle over the meaning, this is not a good choice.

With domain names, someone should hear your name and have a pretty accurate idea of what is found there. If you sell shoes online, the domain name ‘wowgreatshoes’ would be a nice bet. The domain name ‘shinyshinyshiny’ might be interesting or cute, but it does not say ‘we sell shoes.’ Be clear, stay away from inside jokes, and don’t be clever at the expense of common sense.

Dashes Ð To establish a brand for your business, stay away from domain names that involve dashes unless all of your business is conducted online.

When people talk about businesses via word of mouth, they often won’t verbalize a dash and your potential customer will likely type out the domain wrong if yours uses dashes. Your competitors may set up sites that don’t have dashes, to skim off your potential customers who make the error of leaving them out. If your business is conducted solely online this is less of a problem, because people tend to copy and paste domain names Ð dashes and all Ð when browsing.

How to Improve Your Business Online Reputation

Today, managing and improving your online reputation has become essential. This is due to the advent of Google Search and the ability of anyone to look for you online and find out information about your company and your personal life.

Even if there is something out there that you don’t want people to dwell on, you can make it better. It takes a little bit of work but it can be done. In fact, everyone who wants to be known online should be doing these things.

Monitor the Buzz

People are talking about you. You can use Google Alerts and other online apps to monitor your business name, personal name, product names and more to know what is being said about you online.

Listen to Your Customers

So many business owners conduct surveys, read their online buzz, check out rating sites and so forth but never really listen. It’s important to show your audience by your actions that you’re listening.

Respond Quickly

When a customer has an issue or complains about you online, always respond quickly to the complaint. Even on social media, if you don’t answer a complaint they’ll see you as providing poor customer service regardless of whether you planned to provide customer service there or not.

Remain Positive

No matter what a customer, client, or review says, it’s imperative that you never allow negativity to take over. Stay positive and try to read between the vitriol. A good tip is to copy and paste their complaint or reviews into a word document, then delete anything that takes away from the complaint. Then only answer to the complaint.

Apologize

Even though business owners know that sometimes customers are wrong, in public they are right. You must apologize to them in public and offer to make it better. It’s the only way that you can regain the confidence and trust of the public. Better yet, ask the customer what you can do to make it better and you might be surprised at how little it takes.

Solicit Reviews

When you send information to your buyers in a follow up, always ask for positive reviews and give them the link of the place you want the review to be posted. This will help increase the positive and counteract any negative reviews that might exist.

Avoid Making Social Media Mistakes

Sounds easier than done, but all this means is you need to think twice about anything you put on social media, positive or negative. Even innocent jokes can get you into trouble if you don’t know your audience well enough.

Don’t Neglect Your Accounts

Once you have a social media account, do not allow it to remain dormant. Keep it updated on a regular basis – at least once a week personally, and if you enact some smart automation it will appear that you’re more active.

The Best Internet Business

What Is The Best Internet Business?

There are several Web Host giants on the internet that provide private label rebranding to small business owners. This might be the best opportunity to “piggyback” on well-established businesses if you are just starting out in internet marketing. This gateway for unlimited wealth is made possible due to the growing demand of digital marketing in regions that are outside the scope of these large corporations.

In order to gain a share of the market, these corporate web companies offer reseller plans to small businesses which take their products and services, rebrand them and sell to business owners at a profit. These products include domain name services, web hosting, online storage, business productivity software, and tools.

There is quite an advantage in being a small business retailer because one is able to customize their business at the local level and meet the demands of their growing market on the World Wide Web. Let’s look at the definition of digital marketing to understand why the demand has grown significantly over the past decades.

What Is a Digital Marketing In Relation To Web Hosting?

Digital Marketing involves all functions that are geared toward promoting online business activities. This includes but is not restricted to products and services in subcategories such as Domain Name registration, web hosting, email marketing, web design and development, software applications, sales and marketing, social media marketing and consultation, and all medium through which businesses and individuals advertise and market their products online.

Online Retail Marketing

Online Retail Marketing refers to activities geared toward end users of a web-based business solution such as domain names registration, web design services, software apps for business and personal use, social media management, web hosting and other activities that promote online communication.

As the need for business solutions intensifies, business persons become increasingly concerned about meeting the demands of the online industry, and therefore the Pros and Cons of the internet business become relevant.

The Cons

One would think that the more customers you have, is the more profits you are likely to acquire but the truth be told, the more the business will become more challenged due to competitors, need for online bandwidth, web creativity, uniqueness, and need for customer service due to increase in customer queries and the need for technical support.

The Pros

Fortunately, some web hosting reseller business plan come with independent customer service team that manages concerns and queries of clients on their behalf. Another positive thing about being a domain reseller is the handling of payments and processing of sales. As a web hosting reseller, you are given the opportunity to re-price your products to earn commissions from your own business.

Another pro for being a reseller is the fact that starting your digital marketing business does not require an exorbitant startup cost nor high overhead expenses to operate effectively, nor initial products, compared to other online ventures. Products are sold through the distributors but your private label is displayed discreetly in the sales operation and therefore your business receives the credit!

How Do I Become A Web Hosting Reseller?

There are two ways to become a Web Hosting Reseller and Domain Name Registrar. One can sign up as an affiliate or an actual reseller.

An affiliate gets a commission from advertising online products that the Web company (suppliers) market, using links and codes on approved websites.

Reseller uses their own brand to market the Web Company’s products (supplier) and services at a higher rate of returns. End users see the reseller’s products and services as their company’s brand and not the Web Company’s image.

Affiliates display the name of the wholesaler or provider (Web Company) through banner advertisements and other forms of internet marketing, similar to a franchising arrangement.

How Much Does It Cost To Run A Web Hosting and Domain Name Business?

It is very alarming to find out the actual cost of starting your own internet business. The subscription for a reseller license varies from $89-$499 annually and it depends on the provider or web company. Most persons prefer to do business with Web companies that offer a variety of affordable products and services. Once a business plan is purchased, one can start selling immediately online.

Some Web companies provide a retail storefront with the domain name search field. Other features include the following:

Dedicated customer service team support for your clients
Marketing software to assist in promoting their brand online. Resellers are expected to purchase their domain name to start promoting their retail internet business.

Start Up Cost

There is no mandatory startup cost for a Web Hosting Business, however, it is suggested to start with at least $300-$500. This would include the cost of the subscription plan, a domain name for your business idea, a web designer to customize the storefront (optional), business cards and other marketing paraphernalia to help provide greater access to your target market.

There is reseller’s support, community pages, manuals and online support to help you succeed in making your business profitable.

The process of starting an internet business is simple, and while there could be challenges in securing a viable market in your region, there are no geographical restrictions. Savvy business operators stand a greater chance to earn real attractive residual income annually, in a relatively short time.

What To Expect as a Web Hosting Reseller

Business owners are able to tap into the tremendous wealth of the digital marketing business industry as it is one that never sleeps! It has often been said that you can earn money while you sleep, and since the internet generates over a billion dollars per day, more and more persons have experienced this reality. Currently, there are Web Hosting Resellers who are making $10-30K (USD) per month.

Once you are patient, open to exploring online business opportunities, and enthusiastic about providing internet business solutions for individuals and companies, then you are ready to build your digital empire.

After reading this article, if you are asked: “what is the best internet business?” I am quite sure that you are in a better position to give a logical answer. However, you must realize that no matter how skilled one is, or how many customers he or she has garnered to do business with, real success comes through smart teamwork. The late Steve Jobs once quoted; “Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.”

How To Bring Originality To Your Business Ideas

If you are immersed in the world of internet marketing, you have probably heard many times the advice: don’t re-invent the wheel, follow someone successful. But simply copying a business idea is sloppy and might not get you the results you are dreaming about, just because it has been done already in that way. So how can you add a zesty twist to your business idea?

Many people use the excellent technique of brainstorming. You simply write down, without editing, all the business ideas you can think of. Remember, you shouldn’t judge any idea at this point.

The best place to start, of course, is to think of business ideas relating to your interests and passions, things you know quite a lot about or are passionate about learning more about. Anything can work: pet care, model airplanes, car accessories, home decorating, knitting…

But identifying your passions and interests is only the very first step toward a great business idea. Let’s face it, many people have cats, for example and learn about the best food for their cat or all about the best product for eliminating tics. So how can you come up with original business ideas on such a popular topic?

For your first business idea, try to stick with things you have experienced. Do you have a special tip to share with people? Something you learned while trying something new? Is there a life experience you can describe in detail and through it help others who are going through the same experience as well?

The point is that you will always have an original twist to your basic business idea, because no one has gone through any experience in the exact way you did, with the same emotions and lessons, conclusions and thoughts…

You will always have something different and unique to say about something common, some small change to offer to an already existing system, a personal perspective on things that gives you something to offer. There lies your personal bank of business ideas.

A first original business idea can help you establish yourself as a brand name in the field of your interest. But what about other topics? What about your next business ideas?

Continue to brainstorm, using associations and questions. Associations can help you identify smaller markets, different ideas for complementing products, such as a series of books or a suite of programs, create related websites and much more beyond that. The sky is the limit, plain and simple!

The questions you can ask yourself about a business idea are, for example: does such a product already exist? Can I improve on the same idea? Is there a concern of people who share my interests that has not been taken care of yet? Can I come up with a simple solution to a simple problem?

Remember, someone may have come up with a business idea you are interested in already, but you can always look for a personal twist of your own to add and make it uniquely yours.

Brainstorming is the key to that mind vault of business ideas each one of us has. You can brainstorm everywhere, by your desk or in a restaurant. All you need is a piece of paper or an open file. Most people would prefer peace and quiet for this exercise.

You can write single words or complete sentences, draw pictures that relate to your business ideas or any other technique that will keep the idea clear later when you review it. Let your brain run, don’t hold back.

When you are done, you will be surprised at how many new and unique business ideas you can collect from this list. Simply add your personal twist and you are on your way to fulfilling your dreams.

How to Choose an Effective Name For Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business

Naming your new enterprise is not only fun but an important first step in opening your foreclosure cleanup business. Choosing your company’s name may seem like a no-brainer, but it can be a difficult task when you take into account the impact it will have on your new business’ image, before you even open your doors.

Let’s discuss a few simple rules of thumb in choosing an effective name for your business from the outset.

Keep It Simple

It’s tempting to get cute and creative in choosing a business name, but the trick is to keep it simple. You want people to be able to say and spell your foreclosure cleanup business name easily.

Easily Spelled: If someone is searching for you in the phone book or online, you want them to be able to easily locate you. And spelling your business name should not be a barrier to them finding your new foreclosure cleanup business.

Can They Say It? Also, you want clients and other business owners to be able to easily pronounce your business name. Why? Because when a client or colleague gets ready to refer your foreclosure cleanup business, you want them to get your business name right so you ultimately get that intended referral.

For example, “Foreclosure Cleaning” is a lot easier to say and spell then “Foreclosure Le Nettoyage” (le nettoyage is the French word for cleaning).

Keep your business name as simple as possible and you’ll be on your way to choosing an effective name for your new enterprise.

Short and Sweet!

Try to keep your business name short, no more than three words. You will be using your business name on your printed material (postcards, business cards, inspection forms, fliers, estimate forms, etc.). The shorter your business name, the easier it will fit on your printed in-house material and marketing pieces.

And, keeping in mind the above, shorter names are easier to say, spell, and most importantly, easier to remember.

What’s In a Name?

What’s in a business name? Everything from your company’s services to its image will be wrapped up in your foreclosure cleanup business’ name. So try to choose a name that tells what your company does.

For example, what do you think Sam’s Services does? Who would have a clue! With a name like Sam’s Services, the company could theoretically handle anything from zebra training to plumbing. But, on the other hand, a name like Sam’s Plumbing would say it all.

Try to stay away from vague names because they will subconsciously give the impression you are trying to be everything to everybody.

Clearly Define What You Do

You want your name to clearly define your company’s services. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it’s necessary to have a name that will equal success. Try going one step further by choosing a name that also has its finger on the pulse of your industry.

In our industry, using the word cleanup or cleaning, or something equally effective, is key. For example, Foreclosure Cleanup, LLC, says the company handles foreclosure cleanup work. Using foreclosure in the company names shows the company is poised to help in the foreclosure crisis. Choosing cleanup is key for obvious reasons: that’s what the company does — cleanup work.

Sam’s Debris Removal is also very effective because it tells what the company does; but Foreclosure Debris Removal is more powerful because the name subconsciously addresses and acknowledges the state of the real estate industry, while providing a concrete solution to the industry’s problems. The company clearly handles debris removal (solution) from properties that have been foreclosed upon (crisis).

Important First Step

Choosing an effective business name is an important first step in opening your foreclosure cleanup business. Remember, try to make sure your new enterprise’s name is 1) no more than three words, 2) easy to say, spell and remember, and 3) gives a clear indication of the types of services your business handles.

Conclusion

There are several other rules of thumb in choosing an effective business name, but the above will put you on the right track in choosing the perfect name for your new foreclosure cleanup business.

Good luck!