Business and Finance Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘Customer’

Factors considered in the determination of prices
When there is a respite service prices, slightly more than the price of the product. “Price of the product is more objective. The price of services is more subjective so that there are gray areas, “said Toftoy. “The price is both art and science.” Here are the factors which, according to the experts you should consider when trying to decide what price to charge for the service:

The cost plus pricing. The standard price method in the business of trying to first determine the cost of manufacture of the products or, in this case, provide services, and then add an additional amount to represent the desired profit. To determine the cost, You need to figure out the direct costs, indirect costs, and fixed costs. “With the approach cost-plus, the thing to remember is that if You pay someone $ 11 per hour, You may think you need to charge $ 11 per hour for the services they provide, but You have to factor in all of Your expenses,” said Jerome Youngster, a Professor of Finance at Florida State University and outreach Director Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. The expenses include part of rent, utilities, administration fees, and other general overhead costs. “When I made a deal to sell the service,” he said, “I have to make sure to cover all costs.”
The price of competitors. You should be aware of what the competitors are charging for similar services in the market, Osteryoung said. This information can come from competitor websites, phone calls, talking with friends and colleagues who have used the services of a competitor, the published data, etc “I don’t think it’s a good idea for any entrepreneur to compete on price if You can avoid it Compete on service, atmosphere, or other factors that differentiate You,.”the word Osteryoung. If You have to compete on price to win customers, you might ask yourself whether the customer will be true to You if they find someone who offers a service at a lower price. You want to build long term relationships in the market. “You need to convince customers that you are giving them tremendous value in terms of service and quality,” said Osteryoung. “You just have to realize what the competition is charging.”
Perceived value to the customer. This is where a lot of subjectivity that comes when setting the price for the service. If You have a product, you may decide to use the keystone pricing, which generally cost wholesale and doubles to come up with the price to charge and account for your benefit. With the service, You cannot always do that. For your customers, an important factor in determining how much they are willing to pay for the service may not be how much time you spend on providing this service, but ultimately what the perceived value of Your services and expertise to them, Osteryoung said. That is where price becomes more of an art form

Like many entrepreneurs, the people behind the online billing-Chargify start-ups often fantasize about generating buzz on some sites of the world’s most popular technology. One day in early October, about a year after the launch of the company, they got their wish.

“I’m sure you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank, but not with my money,” posted on forum news customer Chargify Hacker technology online. “Today you’ve turned around and told us all that we are not important to you,” grousing. Others are more directly: “Wow what a kick in the nuts …”

That morning, Chargify, which makes web-based system that used a small company to manage billing, has announced that it changed the model designation of the price. In particular, it removes the free service was offered to entice customers to sign up. The idea behind the Freemium model called is that the user is free to be in time to the upgrade version which costs $ 49 to $ 2,500 per month. Problem: After 12 months in business, less than 1 percent of the clients who pay a dime.

Siamak Taghaddos, founder of Chargify that David Hauser and know that no one will appreciate the changes. But pushback proved stronger than anticipated. In addition to the negative comments on Hacker News and blog TechCrunch, a Needham, Massachusetts-based company was flooded with angry e-mails. Whether or not the price change is a good idea, obviously companies have bombarded the communication.

Taghaddos and Hauser Chargify launched in September 2009. This is the first in-house business incubated during the locust Group, makes a suite of products for small business owners, including Grasshopper phone system. Billing-software market is a crowded one, and trying to stand out Chargify partly by his approach to pricing. Users with 50 or fewer subscribers can use it for free, like Chargify companies grow and acquire more customers, they will switch to options premiums. What’s more, unlike some rivals, the company does not collect fees for each transaction or ask for a percentage of total billing.

Before the launch, it seems like a perfectly sound idea. Given the experience with Taghaddos and Hauser Grasshoppers, they thought that 15 percent of customers who don’t pay Chargify will grow into people who pay within three months to six months to register, which will provide enough income to build a sustainable business.

But six months after the launch of Chargify, it is clear that the model was not working. “We are attracting fans too much – that is, with few exceptions, are never going to succeed,” said Hauser.

The company’s executive team agreed that to lure more fast-growing businesses as customers, needed a new pricing structure that will get rid of the hobbyists. The team agreed to eliminate free choice and raise prices for companies with up to 500 customers from $ 49 per month for $ 99 per month. The price was justified, the company believes, because of Chargify is adding new features, such as round-the-clock telephone support and service credit card security compliance. This is a bold move-Chargify now will have the highest entry level price in the market.

Crime in the banking industry re-bloom this month. After the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate Jakarta Police arrested an employee of the account officer of PT Bank International Indonesia Tbk (BII) Ekajaya Branch, Mangga Dua Raya, West Jakarta, yesterday, Headquarters Police also arrested a Citibank employee initials MD.

BII employee was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement credits worth Rp3, 6 billion. Meanwhile, the detention MD allegedly embezzling customer funds totaling more than Rp17 billion.

Mode MD is a crime committed transactions and the recording does not obscure the true against some of the slip transfer withdrawal of funds on the customer’s account. After that, move some funds belonging to clients without permission into several accounts controlled by the MD.

Meanwhile, credit embezzlement involving employees in the bank and borrower credit DCB initials, the initials HA. “Borrowers credit we still pursue and search the list of people,” said Director of the Special Criminal Jakarta Police, Police Commissioner Yan-Fitr, the beginning of March.

According to the Bureau of Public Relations Head of Bank Indonesia (BI), Difi A Johansyah, still the presence of the crimes committed employee of a bank, not necessarily due to the wrong system. Could be, because the nature of the culprit. “Therefore, the current banking system is sophisticated and well,” he said when contacted VIVAnews.com Difi in Jakarta, Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

For that, he gives some tips for banks in preventing crimes committed employees. Include the following:

1. Banks should conduct due diligence and propriety (fit and proper test) for the officials or employees of the bank.
2. Place or select employees who have a high dedication to the company.
3. Do not get bored or complacent to conduct the audit.
4. Prioritize and re check.
5. Verification of customer data.

“So, when the teller would transferring or withdrawing money transactions the customer must notify or seek approval from their superiors first

A business plan is a map in running your business. This is a plan that will guide you on you are going to do WHAT, WHEN and HOW to do it. A business plan will also assist you in seeing more clearly about the type of business to be your path, who will become your customer, and what products or services you will offer.

If you plan to borrow funds to start your business, whether it be from a bank or investor, then you must make a formal business plan (formal business plan). Formal business plan will provide a summary of business and market, then will discuss in details about your products, customers and market share (market), suppliers, estimates of profits, competition analysis, and others. Formal business plan can be reached 20 pages and take months to complete.

On the other hand, small business owners do not need to create a formal business plan to start their business. Often they create a business plan in the form of notes during a brainstorming or in outline form. To get started, this is enough.

The important thing is to write a plan. Often small business owners start a business without a plan at all, so their ideas become blurred and they do not know what they should do next. By writing a plan, though it be a brainstorming notes, you will get a clearer picture about the kind of business you want, and how the business should grow over time.

Here are the things you should think about when writing your business plan:

1. What business would you start? Stores? Professional services? Website Online?

2. What is the purpose of your business? A business can be started as fun, but if you want to take advantage, you must know why you started your business. Is it to meet the specific needs of customers? Or create something that has never existed before?

3. How will your business make money? Are you going to sell a product, and if so what? You will get the product from where? At what price you will buy the product and how much will you sell?

4. Who will be your customers? Knowing your customers is the main thing in writing a business plan. If you know that your customers are those with limited income, you certainly can not sell products or services at millions of dollars. Knowing who your customers, will also assist in carrying out your advertising and marketing activities.

5. How will you get those customers? For example, if you plan to call him one by one, or you will hire a great sales team? You have to know how you will get customers. If not, your business will not grow.

Then you can call the company that are similar to your (or your plan) outside your area, where you are not considered as their rivals. Thus, they do not feel threatened when you ask questions. It is useful if you can speak with key personnel from its peers, for example in other provinces. When you talk to competitors far away like this, your approach should be more “straight-forward”. You can tell the owner or manager, that you’re thinking of opening a similar business and expect to enter / input from them. Often they will be happy to provide input about their industry, the overall business and many more free information to you. However, you need to be careful not to spend too much time in question, limit your telephone conversations 10 to 15 minutes maximum. It is best to think of questions beforehand, and write it down on paper, so you can ask it smoothly. Thus you will look like a professional, and if you ever need to call again, they will accept it. If you sound like a fool when talking on the phone, they might not accept your call again. The key is to not waste any time. Finally you can do “in-field competition analysis” by doing telemarketing to prospects and ask if they know your competitors, had a relationship with their business, and others. By doing this, you also do the of potential prospects who never do business with your competitors, and open up opportunities for sales. In addition, when you are out doing sales calls, you can perform the same way when talking with prospects and you can find out what they liked and what they do not like about your competitors. Again, you can open up opportunities for sales by identifying points of differentiation you against competitors.

By doing the steps above and phone-sharpen your skills, you will certainly get a lot of useful information about the business you’re considering.

What to do before starting a business?
If you already have a business choice, do not just invest in you completely. Better to allocate capital wisely your funds just in case something unexpected happens. So when it actually happens then you still have a “coating” to continue your efforts it. So before you start a business must first be carefully do the following things:

• Creating a Business Plan
• Ask the experts about the efforts that you would do, frequently to dig up info-as much as possible from forums such as those found on the internet and so on
• Do a survey of similar businesses,
• Contact the Bank, whether similar efforts are still receiving the support of banks,
• Explore on the existing local customers,
• Who-who your competitors you will face,
• Survey is a similar business already saturated or promising,
• Survey of raw materials you need, survey the location of the business.
• Sharpen intuition flair
• Pray

Once your business is up and you are ready with the product or service for sale. This means that you have entered the battlefield. If you already have a business that does not mean you are immediately accosted by the customer. For that reason, things you need to do now is to inform  about business and business presence that you do through word of mouth, advertisements in various media (of course by looking at the type and size of the business that you run).
If you have been able to attract customers, then the next try improving your service to your customers because they can you make as a means of promotion because when concerned impressed with your service it will automatically inform the colleagues. One lane of free promotion is not it? So are you ready to plunge in the field of entrepreneurship

Database Marketing

Recognizing that it is an issue that has been mentioned repeatedly, is valid also understand that any marketing strategy, sales or customer service work properly without an updated database.

To address their analysis particularly like to highlight the benefits of its structure, recalling that the identification of different types of customers is critical in scheduling and conducting business intelligence work, and the adoption of strategies of conquest and evaluation of the impacts achieved.

The database marketing related to the management of a system that integrates relevant information on all types of customers, using statistical analysis and interpretation of a subjective order to discuss and plan marketing strategies that encourage purchasing actions and processes of loyalty concern to both organizations.

By tracking the relationships established with each customer and compare against historical behavior, both individually and collectively, can take measures to reduce dropout rates, which in one way or another, would not be controllable if is a lack of timely information on the current status of clients.

This has already created the first classification of databases to distinguish customers remain valid in relations with the company of those who have continued to trade agreement or that have dramatically decreased their purchase volumes and frequencies .

Of course this task is facilitated by the introduction of technology that is available to employers and will handle continuous information on the specific actions below each customer purchase, as well as generate information sheets and consolidated tables on the representative behavior cutting individual, group and general group, in those time periods that are of interest to the strategist.

When organizations take on this type of marketing you probably already have the ability to design and provide goods and / or personalized services, develop marketing programs like micro have anticipated the availability of an interactive communication network and even have structured relationship marketing programs.

The Customer Relationship Management or administration of customer relations, is a name taken from the computer industry, about a concept that is based on the same principles as proposed by the marketing one by one, in the sense of having as a basis for implementation with an organization whose management areas are structured in terms of consumers or users, from methodologies and programs related to the use of computer technology and the Internet, designing CRM solutions that recognize the interaction between internal customers and external customers to generate a positive perception of the organization.

The CRM is based on applications that systematize the processes associated with managing customer information, based on planning tools, support systems in decision making, managing the sales force and database management, among others.

Like all events related to the conservation and customer loyalty, CRM has a long-term vision, based on marketing strategies, sales and customer service, leading to the creation of a service culture throughout the organization , arriving to adopt reengineering schemes necessary for that purpose.

Perhaps the central element that distinguishes the other conceptions CRM is related to the notorious home support solutions and information technology that involve the entire organization by automating all processes that can be programmed and regulated with this approach, of course following the guidelines set by corporate policy and ensuring compliance with the economic objectives of a corporate nature.

Since the CRM is to systematize a wide range of processes, we must have sufficient clarity on what will be selected by an evaluation to see if they have already been validated and are properly documented, consistent with institutional guidelines and the objective of improve the working stages of the sales team, prioritizing the impact is achieved in the market over the impact of technology which might entail.

The goals of relationship marketing and CRM solutions are:

Therefore increase sales by increasing sales to existing customers by cross selling
Maximize customer information
Identify new business opportunities
Improved customer service
Optimized and customized
Improvement and cost reduction rates
Identify potential customers generate more profit for the company
Customer loyalty, increasing customer retention rates
Increasing the share of customer spending
In this context it is important to note that the Internet, undoubtedly, was the technology that has had more impact on relationship marketing and CRM solutions. It then develops Internet contribution to relationship marketing:

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

What is CRM?

In this flood of new acronyms related to technology and business: ERP, B2C, SCM, UMTS, IP, B2B, PDA, etc., For some time appeared another. CRM. The logical question: “Is another” fashion “and really is an interesting concept?”.

CRM is basically the technology response to the growing need for companies to strengthen customer relationships.

Management Tools Customer Relationship Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions are developing technology to make the “theory” of relationship marketing. Relationship marketing can be defined as “the business strategy focused on anticipating, meeting and meet the needs and desires present and likely customers.”

Currently, many companies are developing such initiatives. According to a study by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in November 2001, 67% of European companies has launched an initiative management (CRM).

In the process of remodeling firms to adapt to customer needs, is when it detects the need to rethink the concepts of “traditional” marketing and use of relationship marketing concepts:

Customer Focus: “The customer is king.” This is the concept that turns the rest of the “philosophy” of relationship marketing. It is no longer in an economy in which the center was the product to move into a customer-centric economy.

Customer Intelligence: You need to have knowledge of the client to develop products / services tailored to their expectations. To convert data into knowledge used databases and rules.

Interactivity: The process of communication goes on a monologue (business to customer) to a dialogue (between the company and the customer). Furthermore, it is the customer who directs the dialogue and decide when it starts and when it ends.

Customer loyalty: It is much better and more efficient (about six times lower) customer loyalty to acquire new customers. Customer loyalty becomes very important and therefore the management of customer life cycle.

The axis of the communication is focused direct marketing to individual customers rather than means “mass” (TV, newspapers, etc..). Passed to develop campaigns based on profiles, special offers and targeted messages to certain types of customers, instead of using media with different messages.

Personalization: Every client wants and offers customized communications so great efforts are needed in intelligence and customer segmentation. Customizing the message, in substance and form, dramatically increases the effectiveness of communication activities.

Think of customers as an asset whose return is often in the medium and long term and not always in the short-term income. The client makes a reference to develop targeted marketing strategies to capture their value over time.

Actually, relationship marketing is something that has been doing for centuries. If not, think about the corner grocer. When you are buying always recognized, greets by name and advised him (he makes custom offerings) based on their last consultations and shopping.

The challenge now is to get to know customers and act accordingly when instead of having 50 customers and has the shopkeeper, have 1,000, 5,000, 50,000 or 500,000,000. This possibility is offered by technology. Until you have been CRM solutions and databases, was impossible to know and to customize messages to 50,000 customers.