How to come up with a successful business plan

The actual value of creating a business plan lies in the process of approaching a business idea in a systematic and controlled way. Rather than getting the final product at hand, researching and planning about a business idea enables future entrepreneurs to obtain a critical approach at their ideas. Thinking through their ideas may be time-consuming in the beginning, but in the long run, it can save a business from fatal mistakes.

Typically, a business plan is a standard model that describes all the necessary steps to the establishment of the new venture idea. However, depending on the type of the business, a business plan is refined in order to emphasize certain areas. For instance, if the venture idea is a retail business, the business plan emphasizes on the prospects of the retail industry; if it is a manufacturing business, the industry analysis refers to the manufacturing sector and its prospects.

Most of the time spent for developing a business plan is for research and revising the original ideas and assumptions. However, in order to be able to move on a road map and develop a well-structured business plan, it is required to follow some standard steps. These are:

> Introductory Page

The introductory page includes a brief description of the nature of the business, business contact information, a statement of financial need and contact information for owners. For instance, if the new venture is a fast food store, the introductory page will state retail food and beverage supplier in the nature of business, the business address in the business contact information, how much money is required to start the business in the statement of financial need and home address and phone numbers in the contact information for owners. Additionally, a table of proforma sources and uses of funds for year one is included in the introductory page as a break down of the total amount of money required for starting up the business.

> Executive Summary

In no more than two pages, the executive summary provides information about the venture idea, what the business is about, the target audience, the product, the qualitative and quantitative objectives, and the background of the owners. The most important part of the executive summary is to explain the opportunity that lies behind the new venture because this shapes the ground to estimate the future position of the business in the industry.

> Venture description

In the venture description, the business plan should primarily describe the vision, mission and values of the business. By stating the business philosophy in no more than a 30-word mission statement and by clearly sharing their values with their customers aiming to maximize their customers’ value, many businesses explain their reason of existing in the market and their guiding principles. Besides, a venture description includes information about locations, operations, equipment, products & services, suppliers, target audience, and a general opportunity assessment explaining why the business is significant in relation to the industry.

> Industry Analysis

Industry analysis includes all up-to-date statistical data that support the business idea. Proper evaluation of the industry forces is a key factor in developing a concise and well-structured industry analysis that will depict the potential of the venture idea to investors as a result of favourable industry trends. Typically, industry analysis includes an upside-down pyramid that starts from the general environmental and demographics trends and narrows down to local competition, a Porter Five Forces Analysis that assesses the industry structure, a SWOT analysis that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the venture as well as the threats and opportunities of the industry, and a competitive analysis that portrays the positioning of the new venture in relation to competition.

> Operational Plan

Operational Plan provides analytical information on the physical requirements of location (amount of space, type of building, zoning, facilities, and utilities), production (production techniques and costs, quality control, inventory control, product development, customer service), suppliers, credit policies, equipment, personnel responsibilities, operation schedule, and pay structure.

> Marketing Plan

Marketing plan includes all the marketing and advertising efforts that take place in order to promote the venture idea to a broader audience. Product, price, place, promotion is the marketing mix model, also known as 4P’s, that is typically used in the marketing plan section of a business plan. Besides, the marketing plan involves product forecasting methods and estimates for the first three years of operation as well as control patterns of business processes to ensure a constant flow of business.

> Organizational Plan

The organizational plan includes the description of the legal form of the venture (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Company – LLC), short bios of the management team, and roles and responsibilities of personnel.

> Financial Plan

The financial plan includes any start-up expenses that occur before operating the new business. For an accurate estimation of these expenses, it is important to perform accurate financial assumptions that are based on the forecasts provided in the marketing plan section, but also on the industry analysis section and the trends that are expected to have an impact on the business. Accurate estimates are important for accurate funding of the venture. Besides, the financial plan includes analysis of the sources and uses of funds, financial ratio analysis, as well as income statement, cash flow and balance sheet proforma statements.

> Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment presents any contingency plans prepared after identification of areas that carry significant risk for the successful operations of the venture. Contingency plans are implemented for the anticipation of unexpected and threatening events.

> Appendix

Appendix includes any statistical tables; graphs from the industry analysis section; market research studies; blueprints and floor plans; advertising materials; location photos; equipment lists; copies of operating agreement; management team bios; anything that can ruin the flow of the business plan with redundant information.
In effect, a good plan undertakes three important responsibilities. First, it aligns the management team toward a common set of objectives, expressed on organizational vision. Once the vision is expressed on paper, the management team is forced to investigate the feasibility of the business. Finally, the business plan is a sales document that intends to attract professional investors.

In conclusion, a winning business plan should be professional, enthusiastic, and concise. The great difference between a successful businessman and a mediocre entrepreneur is the ability to admit own weaknesses. Combining a good business idea with a well-structured business is a profitable joint venture that will bring money in the business and will attract more customers in the future.

Ways to reduce air fares for group events

With fuel prices soaring and airport security measures becoming stricter around the globe, with airport taxes accounting for the 10% of the ticket price and labor costs skyrocketing every year, air fares have become almost a luxury good, particularly when it comes to booking for a group event. Organizations that strive to remain viable need to employ appropriate policies of travel management in order to reduce the cost of the air fares and save money on corporate travel.

One of the most commonly applied policies to reduce the cost of air fares is to identify an event as a business event. Typically, people attending business events use different flights to the same destination, which increases the cost of air fares. Identifying an event as a corporate event allows the organization to negotiate better corporate prices with a travel agency and take advantage of the group travel programs offered by the airlines for corporate events. The final price of the air fares can be discounted up to 5 percent for the domestic flights without requiring the same point of origin for event attendees.

Air fare discounts for group events are, typically, offered to groups of ten people or more traveling to one destination. Group booking terms vary in each airline, but organizations arrange business events that can attract more than ten event attendees so that they can benefit for competitive group rates and discounted air fares offered by the airlines. They may also identify the event attendees as event planners in order to achieve even further discounted air fares.

Booking in advance is another policy that contributes to lowering the cost of air fares. Some airlines allow bookings for corporate events almost a year prior to the date of travel. Organizations that book in advance have a higher possibility to book at the lowest class fare and a better negotiating power with the travel agency. Usually, in last minute bookings, airlines give out their most expensive fares and, for a group event, this can turn out particularly expensive.

Besides, many organizations increasingly use the Internet as a source of fulfilling their corporate travel needs. Offering competitively priced airfares, the Internet offers substantial cost benefits that can be up to a 20 percent discount in comparison to the traditional travel agencies.

Finally, technologically advanced organizations use travel management softwares that allow them to track their travel expenses and acquire optimum efficiency of their travel management policies. By integrating the entire business processes, organizations manage corporate expense policies and choose the most cost-effective solution when it comes to corporate travel and group events.

Ways to increase attendance at business meetings and events

As a matter of fact, people do enjoy attending events. This is because they want to get informed; to come in contact with the leaders in their field; for networking; for being acknowledged for taking their time to attend; out of curiosity; for entertainment; for gossiping; or just for the free food offered, always in a warm and friendly environment for all participants.

Poor attendance at meetings and events is always your worst nightmare as hosts. You may use an online survey to determine why potential customers do not enroll. You may ask customer service representatives about the most frequent objections. You may even initiate a promotional phone call to find out about the objections with your own ears. However, no matter what you do, the event will be a disaster if you don’t come up with ways to overcome these objections.

Designing a successful event aims at increasing your profitability and the potential of your attendees. In your effort to discover the needs and wants of your attendees it is advisable to ask attendee-focused questions that require attendee-centric answers. For instance, questions like ‘what would drive greater success in my business?’, ‘what my customers need?’, ‘how could I satisfy my customer needs?’ may help you design an event that will create interest in your attendees.

Promoting your event requires primarily creativity and persistence. High attendance is important for the success of your event and your business. Emphasizing on your attendees will allow you to generate more awareness for your cause and, ultimately, more success for your event.

Here are some guidelines you may follow to increase attendance when hosting business meetings or events:

> Target the right audience

One common factor that makes people restraining from an event is because they are not really interested. In other words, they do not belong in the right target group. If you host the event for the first time, it will take some time for finding the right target audience so as to achieve high attendance. In contrast, if you are already hosting the event for many years, you may experience a decline in attendance rates as a result of inviting the same people without expanding your guest list. You need to keep an updated attendee database and make sure that you target the right audience. This can happen by asking existing attendees to refer you to potential new attendees so that you increase your attendance rates for next year.

> Invite your audience well ahead the event

Once you start inviting people, you should continue at a constant rate. Inviting people well ahead the event is important because it gives you time to remind them about the event even if they have confirmed attendance. The point is to generate excitement and to make them enthusiastic until the date of the event is hosted. You can mention the event to your guests before sending them invitations and then send an electronic or paper initiation including agenda highlights. After one or two weeks, you may call guests and give them a personal formal invite to the event.

> Build credibility and interest in your event

To participate in your event, people need to be convinced that is worth their time and money. To achieve that, you need to choose major sponsors to advertise your happening, esteemed guest speakers to attract the audience and nicely organized promotional material to communicate the benefits of attending at your event. In doing so, you will able to build credibility into your event, convincing people that is exceptional and worth attending.

> Choose the right location to host your event

Choosing the right location may skyrocket your attendance rates. Don’t forget that people enjoy attending events. So, simply offer them an opportunity to detour from their routines and enjoy your happening. When choosing the location for hosting your event, consider a venue that can be conveniently reached because people are busy and do not have too much time. Also, it makes sense to use a venue that has been previously used for other events and people are familiar with. Offer discounts for early enrollment and offer also mail enrollment for people that do not have home computers.

> Provide incentives

Providing incentives raises additional interest. Offer additional discounts for the next year’s event that can be prepaid this year. Offer new activities, perhaps workshops, handouts, signed books for a famous guest speaker for the first ten people, who register; anything that can make your event unique, different than the previous years and worth attending.

As there is no magic stick that can increase attendance in your next event, you need to design your events around their needs. In that way, you will host an event that will be a memorable experience for your attendees, who consequently will drive higher attendance to your next meetings.

The best way to find sponsors for your event

Great business ideas need to be regarded as great sponsorship opportunities. In the competitive business realities of today, enticing an organization to sponsor an event requires a harmonization of multiple factors.

One of the most common reasons that an organization would be interested in sponsoring an event is if a large audience or a particular target market could be reached. Sponsorship is, in effect, investment of time and money and sponsors trust a company and its reliability to gain exposure and promote a product to a large cluster of professionals.

To ensure that a large audience will attend a particular event, event planners need to keep an updated attendee database by avoiding inviting the same people one year over another and by asking prior attendees to refer them to potential future attendees. It is extremely important to keep expanded guest lists in order to ensure high attendance rates at events.

Besides, event planners need to think ahead and beyond of their business. This implies to involve a broader range or professionals that are indirectly related to their business and may attend the event thus increasing attendance. For instance, if event planners own a travel agency, they may invite hotel owners, employees from airlines and other professionals from the tourism industry.

Another important consideration for an organization to sponsor an event is the enthusiasm the event planners will show when presenting the event to them. Typically, event planners prepare a 20-second pitch that enables them to expose their event as a great sponsorship opportunity, while explaining to the potential sponsor the benefits of sponsorship. A very important detail is that the style of the call should be appropriate to the type and size of the organization. For instance, if the event planners contact a small, local firm, they most likely speak directly to the owner(s) of the company. In this case, the decision will be immediate. If they contact a medium or large organization, they will speak to an officer from the marketing or the human resources department. This means that the decision will take longer because larger companies construct their sponsorship budgets once a year.

Event planners contact also advertising and public relations companies for sponsorship ideas. These companies have a great cluster of clients, which can offer great exposure to the event and an interesting list of sponsors.

Written proposals are sent out to the organizations that have expressed interest in the event. Typically, this should be done well in advance of the event so that organizations have time to review the invitation and take their final decision. In a professional document, event planners include all the necessary details about the event focusing on the exposure gained through the sponsorship. If similar events have been held in the past, event planners include a track record with copies of newspaper clippings and all necessary information. This builds credibility into the event and ensures the benefits of sponsorship. Besides, invitations should include what the sponsors get in return such as advertising, speaking opportunities, distribution of promotional material, naming rights and so on.

Follow up is extremely important in the business world. Two or three weeks after the proposals have been sent out, event planners should follow up the submissions with a phone call to find out which organizations are interested in sponsoring the event.

When the final list of sponsors is prepared, details of the sponsors should be included in the advertising campaign and media releases of the event making sure that all the sponsors receive copies of the promotional materials. Sponsors should also receive any type of updates and should be included in any meeting held in regards to the event.

After the event is held, event planners should send a letter of appreciation, photos of the event, newspaper and magazine clippings and any coverage of the event by the media.

Corporate sponsorship requires encouraging the participation of the sponsors in the event by working closely with them in all stages. Sponsorship is, in effect, a way to build associations with an organization aiming to have a return on investment for all parties involved.

Reasons why Las Vegas is a top business and social event destination

Historically, Las Vegas has been the ultimate destination for business and social events since the late 1950s. Providing dynamic and exciting event experiences and having one of the largest convention facilities globally, Las Vegas is the largest business and social convention centre in the U.S.

In 2008, nearly 22,500 business events and conventions, planned and executed by experienced professionals, and attended by nearly 5.9 attendees, were held in Las Vegas, increasing the occupancy rates by 86 percent. In spite of a small decline from 2007 both in convention attendance by 5 percent and in conventions and meetings held by 5.8 percent, Vegas showed record numbers in 2008 driving prospective industries into success.

Today, Las Vegas remains the top business and social event destination for a number of reasons.

Offering an inclusive range of convention facilities in more than 9.8 million sq. ft. of exhibit space with teleconferencing and video conferencing facilities, special audiovisual presentation systems, and advanced audiovisual cable infrastructure, Vegas’ large venues can host tradeshows and conventions with unimaginable success. Besides, Las Vegas occupies over 230,000 experienced employees who can successfully host over 22,000 annual business meetings, conventions and conferences of 10 to 100,000 attendees.

Excellent organization and overall attractiveness increases attendance in Vegas’ meetings. Also referred to as the ‘entertainment capital of the world’, Las Vegas offers a full range of entertainment and activities. Las Vegas Strip seeks to capture the spirit of Las Vegas by catering the needs of diverse people around the world. Offering numerous shopping options, theme and waterparks, zoos and aquariums, museums, theatres and an incomparable nightlife in the world’s famous casinos, Las Vegas combines business with pleasure.

Besides, Las Vegas offers world class dining services. Offering a broad range of dining options that can satisfy all tastes and wallets in some of world’s finest restaurants, Vegas is a gastronomic paradise. Great chefs set up their magnificent creations, consistently satisfying conventions’ attendees. From huge buffets to original plates, Las Vegas chefs offer a wide variety of innovative tastes that offer Vegas’ visitors the opportunity to experiment with new flavours and live an unforgettable experience.

Moreover, McCarran International Airport serves over 900 flights daily and is connected with more than 130 U.S. cities with a direct service. This makes Las Vegas a convenient destination both in terms of time and budget. Moreover, McCarran is located 1 mile from Las Vegas Boulevard, the stretch of the famous Las Vegas Strip, where the largest hotels, casinos and resorts are located, and 3.5 miles from the famous Las Vegas Convention Centre. This means that in a 15-minutes drive from McCarran, visitors can choose among 70,000 hotel rooms.

Without any doubt, Las Vegas promotes a unique event recipe encouraging businesses and professionals to come together in an exciting environment. This allows business professionals to exchange views and introduce their products and services driving prospective industries into success.

How to determine the right venue for your event

Site selection is often the most demanding part of event planning process. Experienced event planners are well aware that selecting the right venue is an assessment that plays a decisive role in the success of an event. Often, a minor oversight in the site selection process may be the reason for major problems in event planning and execution. Selecting the ideal venue encompasses meeting certain requirements such as location, key dates availability, accommodation, transportation, meeting rooms, audiovisual equipment, and pricing.

The first thing to consider is flexibility. Depending of the time of the year and the location that the event is planned, the rates of hotel rooms and meeting rooms may vary significantly. Typically, venues offer lower rates during their off-peak seasons in order to maximize their event space. Event planners that are willing to hold the event during non-peak times or have alternative dates, cover the small space in time that the venue is available and doesn’t anticipate covering, and they can negotiate lower rates.

Similarly to alternative dates, it is wise to have also alternative destinations. Different geographical areas have great price fluctuations during their peak and off-peak seasons. Event planners that operate on a tight budget cannot afford to plan an event on a major city during peak season. By exploring secondary markets in the surrounding areas of the main destination they can keep track of costs. Normally, secondary destinations can provide quality facilities and excellent services at considerably lower prices.

Having alternative venues in mind is also a good strategy in site selection process. Event planners typically prefer hotels, conventions centers and conference centers to hold an event. However, innovative planners who think beyond these commonly selected venues experience high attendance rates for considerably lower prices. For instance, events that have been held at museums, aquariums or art galleries have been far more successful than events that have been repeatedly held in worn out hotels.

Defining the event requirements enables event planners to define their needs and save time when assessing offers from a number of venues. Such requirements include hotel rooms, catering services, meeting rooms and audiovisual equipment. Besides, the collection of multiple bids from different venues is a good strategic decision. Event planners should focus on research in order to identify the best venue that meets the event requirements at the lowest price.

Location plays a key role when selecting an event venue. Transportation costs can be very high if the site location is not close to the local airport or easily accessible via public transportation. Besides, event attendees need to limit their travel time in order to have time to attend the event, but also off-site activities. Experienced event planners typically cooperate with venues that offer complimentary transportation within a 3-5 mile radius of the property, downtown and to the local airport in order to avoid taxi expenses and car rental fees.

A good research of suppliers is also a powerful tool. Typically, venues offer quotes for on-site service providers such audiovisual companies and caterers. However, the premium rates charged by these providers may significantly increase the total cost of the event. Event planners should request from the venue a list of their preferred suppliers, but they should also do their own research in order to compare prices and make the most cost-effective decision.

Finally, negotiating multi-year deals allows event planners to be offered better package deals that include extra facilities at lower rates. Venues that cannot offer low rates for one-time events have the flexibility to offer low rates if they know they will be hosting an event for the next three years. In the context of frequent guest programs, venues understand their customers’ needs and stay competitive.

Event management is an intricate task with multiple layers. In the site selection process, paying attention to details and defining the event requirements enables event planners to hold successful events that meet their expectations and the expectations of their attendees, while they also leverage their negotiating power with the multiple venues.

Hotel negotiating tips for event planners

The U.S. lodging industry is expected to decline by approximately 13.7 percent in sales within 2009 as a result of the worsening economic situation in the U.S., but also in other major financial markets. Organizations that organize corporate events automatically acquire an advantage in terms of negotiating the hosting of an event at a particular facility. Hotel managers need to meet specific sales targets. Yet, to effectively negotiate with hotel managers, event planners need primarily to convince them about the value of their business so that they make them willing to negotiate in their favor.

One of the most commonly applied policies to reduce the cost of hotel accommodation is to hold multiple corporate events every year at the same facility. As lodging demand is severely declining, hotel managers offer competitive prices for repeated corporate clients. The frequent guest programs enable hotels to continually understand their customers’ needs and stay competitive. In that way, not only they increase their sales figures to meet their sales targets, but they also offer event planners a better negotiating power in leveraging better corporate rates. Besides, they often offer hotel restaurant discounts and free hotel stays.

Organizations that hold corporate events are, typically, offered discounted corporate rates up to 10 percent from the published room rate from the majority of hotel chains. Discounted corporate rates function as an incentive so that corporate clients become repeated customers. From the organization’s perspective, discounted corporate rates are, in effect, a cost-effective method to hold a corporate event at a familiar place, but also to get additional deals such as reward credit cards.

Besides, event planners can negotiate additional discounts on guest rooms. Guest rooms offer a higher profit margin to hotels and consequently a better negotiating power to the organization. Typically, organizations compare the prices of the guest rooms against the prices of the corporate contract and secure the lowest possible rates.

In order to manage corporate expense policies, organizations set hotel rate benchmarks. Employees who are responsible for corporate travel bookings should have a price range of acceptable hotel rates so that corporate travel expenses are kept within limits. However, employees should be given a relative flexibility on deciding hotel corporate rates because of the price fluctuations in different geographical areas.

Another way to reduce hotel accommodation costs is to negotiate food and beverage rates. Typically, hotel restaurant menus are designed to meet any taste and budget. However, in order to have a negotiating power, it is better for the event planners to identify preferred food and beverage in advance and get discounts on the additional price.

Event planners can also negotiate the total expenses of the event held. The event held at the hotel is, in effect, an investment on behalf of the event planners at the hotel property. The hotel will benefit from the investment from the income generated from accommodation, food and beverage consumption and any other type of service provided. Therefore, event planners can ask for further discounts on the total cost of the event.

Finally, it is to the best interest of the event planners to hold the event during non-peak times. In that way, they offer the flexibility to the hotel sales to book better rooms at a lower rate and to arrange for the best services available. In this case, the event planners are aiming to cover the small space in time that the hotel has available and doesn’t anticipate covering, and they acquire better negotiating power in getting lower rates.

Etiquette mistakes at business events

Communicating effectively in the business world is a way to develop full work potential and achieve quick career advancement. Today’s business is all about communication and business relationships that can be maintained and advanced following proper business etiquette.

Proper business etiquette is a must at corporate events. However, hardly any people are really trained in the art of good business manners and even fewer are ready to overcome the fear of uncertainty that comes with meeting new people. In most of the cases, business etiquette is learned “on the job”.

There is a really fine line between expected business etiquette and improper behavior at business events. Therefore, if you want to avoid being gossiped on at the next corporate event, here are some simple guidelines of what you should not do at a business event:

> Follow the dress code

Read carefully the invitation and see what it says about the dress code. Usually, the dress code at business events is formal, regardless if the event is a breakfast product launch at a local lodge or a dinner party at a five-star hotel downtown. You don’t want to see yourself being greeted at the registration table wearing casual clothes, while all colleagues and supervisors are dressed in business attire.

> Extend a firm handshake

In the business world, a handshake goes beyond words, but it’s always the first impression another person gets of you. Every time you shake hands in a business environment is, in effect, a small introduction of yourself and your character. A firm handshake shows that you are a firm businessperson and that you know what you look for. Also, it is appropriate to look the other person straight in the eyes when you shake hands, while repeating his or her name, loudly, with the right pronunciation. This will enable you to remember the name later on during the event.

> Put a limit to drinking

Usually, companies pay for open bars at business events so that people can have a drink and socialize. Keep that in mind: business events are for networking, not for exposing your extreme abilities in drinking. By getting drunk at a business event all you accomplish is to come off as totally unprofessional as well as indifferent to your company. Also, you will most likely say more than you should say about company secrets and plans or it can even be dangerous when you get your car to drive back home. Therefore, for all these reasons, do not have more than one or two drinks and keep yourself within limits.

> Put a limit to talking

When attending a business event it is impolite to overwhelm other people by talking unstoppably. Do not monopolize other people’s time. Instead, be a good listener without interrupting and contribute to the conversation by adding value, talking about a variety of topics that are of mutual interest. Avoid talking about yourself, your personal finances, health issues, gossiping and do not use slang language. All these do not interest anyone.

> Remember that superiors are superiors

Getting too friendly with your superiors is a no-no situation. Remember that the event you are attending is a business event and your relationship with your superiors is a business relationship. The next morning or within the next hours you will see these people in the office and you would have to great them formally and be professional. Therefore, it is totally unprofessional to call them by their first name at the event or take any kind of liberty without being prompted to do so. Be professional.

In general, keeping a professional profile without being too extravagant in your looks and behaviour allows you to get the most out of a business event. Following the formal courtesies of business events is a valuable tool of career advancement. Just make sure you arrive on time at the event. Arriving late is a terrible business etiquette mistake.

Defining brand loyalty

Being a product, service or concept, a brand publicly distinguishes an organization’s products or services from competition and relates its reputation to consumer needs and expectations in local and global markets. Typically being uniquely marketed, authentic and distinctive, a brand name portrays the positioning of a firm in relation to its competitors, but also the personality of the firm in consumers’ minds. In the psychology of Marketing, particular brands are related to a particular emotional stimulus that is constant and repetitive. Consumers’ brains respond easier to well-recognized brands. This explains why in the minds of consumers Lexus echoes pursuit of perfection, Apple, innovation and design and Sony, amazing game consoles.

A strong brand stimulates certain expectations that need to be met. Consumer expectations are shaped based on numerous factors that relate to their direct or indirect past buying experience, brand associations, the firm’s promotional and communication policies, the competitors’ positioning, individual beliefs about the firm, word-of-mouth, and price. It is interesting how price is the last factor consumers consider as important when they enter into a purchase decision. This is because what they primarily hope for is to satisfy their expectations by trusting a brand they feel is reliable and strong. In this context, brand loyalty occurs as a result of customer satisfaction. Consumers commit to a preferable brand based on favorable attitudes and behavioral responses rather than on price preferences.

> Behavioral brand loyalty

According to the traditional hierarchy of effects model, marketing communications audiences respond to brand messages in a structured way. Consumers act cognitively (thinking), affectively (feeling), and conatively (doing) and brand loyalty evolves as a result of customer satisfaction, expressed in repeated purchases. In this context, behavioral brand loyalty develops through a step-wise process that ranges from product awareness to actual purchase. Integrated brand communications attain different communication goals at each step of the process and reward brand loyalty. In return, consumers express their loyalty by repeated purchases, which, however, are purely based on customer satisfaction. Therefore, if customer perceptions about the firm change, the firm’s branding strategy may fail in the context of brand loyalty.

> Attitudinal brand loyalty

In the Psychology of Marketing, consumers’ attitudes are stronger towards larger brands because they consider them as ‘prospects’ as opposed to weaker brands that are considered ‘vulnerables’. ‘Prospects’ brands tend to increase their market share because consumers express a favorable attitude which is reflected with a long-term preference or commitment towards their products or services. In this context, consumers express an extreme attitude towards specific brands, known as brand insistence. Brand insistence often explains why consumers resist changing their attitude towards preferable brands, which leads to persistent attitudinal durability, attitude extremity, and ultimately, attitudinal brand loyalty.

Both behavioral and attitudinal brand loyalty are subject to the impact of advertising. Typically, the volume of purchase of loyal customers is directly proportional to the increase of advertising. In contrast, increased advertising does not affect non-loyal customers. In effect, advertising sets a framework that shapes the minds of consumers in relation to the brand usage experience, helping them to focus on the positive attributes of the brand. In this context, advertising stimulates positive feelings about a brand and creates expectations about the brand. After the usage experience, and provided the expectations are met, all prior advertising impact turns into brand loyalty because consumers can make sense of their experience with the brand.

The benefits of brand loyalty are significant both for consumers and companies. Loyal consumers are less-price sensitive and, therefore, willing to pay a higher price for a product or service. Feeling comfortable when buying a particular brand and conveying a message of achieved expectation, loyal customers are strong advocates of the brand influencing the decision making of other people. Besides, loyal customers typically have a higher tolerance for mistakes because they have a high degree of credibility towards a particular brand.

For companies, brand loyalty leads to increased market share and higher profitability through word of mouth advertisement and enhanced reputation. Improved reputation lowers vulnerability to competitive marketing actions and increases marketing communication effectiveness, ultimately increasing shareholder value and generating more brand extension opportunities.

A strong brand is more than just a logo or a name; it’s a promise that can be trusted. Brand loyalty is the result of customer satisfaction and commitment. Loyal customers trust the company and act as reference groups increasing the firm’s status and success.

Creative ways to promote and launch new products

In the constantly changing business environment of today, successful promotion and launch of new products requires a coordination of multiple factors. As consumers have become more sophisticated and demanding, organizations need to launch unique products and services in order to anticipate the rapid shifts in consumer preferences and sustain their competitive advantage.

Product uniqueness is a differentiation strategy that addresses the unmet needs of consumers with the launch of unique products or services. To achieve that, firms need to convince consumers that their product is unique by appealing on their emotional considerations. For instance, if two products offered by two different firms are exactly the same, one may have a differentiation advantage if consumers perceive it as more valuable. Hence, when a firm aims at product uniqueness, in effect, it aims at increasing the perceived value of its products relative to the perceived value of competitors’ products so as to increase its profitability and remain viable.

A very important factor in order to effectively promote a unique product is the promotional campaign. Promotional campaigns are an inherent part of a firm’s marketing strategy that aim to stimulate customer interest and awareness of the product. However, to stimulate purchase awareness, promotional campaigns need to address the right message to the right target audience.

Typically, to identify the right target group, organizations collect information that is relevant to the industry, geographic location, size of firm, quality of operations, technology and price preferences if the firm operates in business-to-business (B2B) context. In contrast, if the firm operates in business-to-customer (B2C) context, the information collected is related to the age, gender, geographic location, social class, education, income level, and occupation. With this information, the promotional campaign delivers memorable messages across the right target audience clearly, quickly and at the least possible cost.

Event marketing is a concept that has been employed to ensure that a promotional event achieves the maximum response from the audience. Many product-launch events are held in hotels and conference centers as part of major conventions, congresses, tradeshows and roadshows. The participation of hundreds of exhibitors enables the promotion of the product, but also the re-introduction of the range of products and services that a firm offers.

In promotional marketing events, creativity is extremely important. Twenty years ago, firms would come up with an idea, would market it and would pray it has an impact on consumers. With event marketing, the contact with prospect clients is immediate, which makes event marketing an experience that is, in effect, the differentiation factor of one firm over another. Because event-marketing is audience-centric, it is highly important to make the audience part of the promotional campaign. For instance, some firms choose to use their product launch as décor of the promotional event by creating replicas at the size of the room so that the attendees feel they really enter the actual location the launched product or service would be used. In doing so, event hosts create spectacular events.

Equally important is the location that the event is hosted. Organizations that aim to add value to their business through event marketing need to host their events in nicely located booths at popular exhibition areas. The space needs to be ergonomic so that the audience can move and walk without rush and has time to get acquainted with the launched product.

The Internet is another channel that is broadly used for marketing purposes. Many firms prefer to launch new products over the Internet because it has lower cost than offline marketing and offers greater exposure. To achieve maximum optimization of research related to the new product, organizations build up and integrate new images and graphics in the company website to promote the launch message. By including online demos, brochures press releases about the new product, they develop online sales support, while offering to prospect clients the opportunity to get familiarized with the product from the safety of their home. Through the development of e-newsletters and e-mail campaigns they inform consumers about the product launch, while many organizations create links on industry-related sources and partners in the context of affiliate marketing.

The success of all above strategies is subject to accurate sales forecasting. Whether a firm launches a product through event marketing or over the Internet, it is particularly important that a well-constructed sales plan is built in order to avoid unexpected cash flow problems. Working on a month-to-month forecast allows a firm to spend more time in developing the business than responding to routine problems in sales and marketing.

Finally, effective promotion and launch requires constant planning. Competitive analysis should be performed on regular intervals, at least every six months because competition is always ready to take over a better positioning. Planning ahead enables organizations to act in advance in case of crisis than to be forced to react if things do not turn out as expected.