Yearly Archives: 2011

Installers of solar panels are worried about the recent cuts to the feed-in tariff, worried that their potential customers won’t even consider joining the tariff now. This is probably true in the short term, sales of solar panels and installations will drop but I’m guessing that they will pick right back up again.

People who were counting on the 43.3p rate paid for electricity generated from PV solar panels will naturally be disappointed to realize they will now only get 21p. However, after thinking about it, they will realize that getting 21p is really a good deal, especially when the prices of solar panels are going down. Granted, it won’t be the mad rush seen before but the companies who ride out the drop in sales will reap the benefits of less competition when installations pick back up.

The tariffs are payments to anyone who owns a renewable electricity system, with solar panels being the most popular, and most practical choice for the vast majority of UK homeowners to generate renewable electricity with zero carbon emissions.  Any UK property owner is eligible, businesses included. Solar panel installers can market the scheme to homeowners, businesses and organizations, giving them a huge potential customer base. Many solar panels installers will survive the reduced feed-in tariffs just fine as they an market the generation of zero-carbon electricity, a product that will only get more popular as the UK governments pledge the greenest government ever.

Marketing management approach that supports the achievement of organizational goals depends on determining the needs and wants of target markets and their satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors. According Koti, marketing is a human activity whose purpose is to satisfy the needs and desires of human beings through processes of exchange
Includes the study of exchange processes and how that can be started, encourage, facilitate and consummate transactions.

Marketing is a philosophy of the company under which the satisfaction of customer needs and wants is the economic and social justification of its existence, therefore, all activities of the company should seek to determine those needs and then meet to make a profit growing steadily in the long run.

Projection of activity.

The working system of business will be for distribution and sale of electricity in the province of Las Tunas, supported by the Act 1287 (Electricity Act), regulations and resolutions arising organized in the Handbook of Consumer and procedures developed by the Quality System and meet the international requirements of ISO – 9000, all aimed at customers who see us as the best solution to their problems at any time, for it will consist of:

• Commercial Division, formed by technically qualified personnel dealing with the different tasks that developed the area and to develop policies to be followed by Basic Organizations Municipal Power Marketing activity.
• Base Business Unit of Commercial Services, which provide the services of measurements, laboratory electric energy meter, Electricity Savings Program in Cuba, IT, Billing and Energy Advisor.
• Experience of working years in the marketing of electricity to private consumers and state and other services related to electricity.

Portfolio of services.

1. Electric Energy Sales, which is our leading product.
2. Maintenance of lines and substations to third parties.
3. Provision of generators.
4. Provision of electrification projects
5. Provision of engineering services (accommodations loads, power factor improvement and energy inspections).
6. Change of location of the measurement equipment.

These services are provided by the corresponding Base Business Units, whichever govern each clearly defined by legal regulations, published in the Economic Recruitment subsystem.

Sales of energy:

As already mentioned, the sale of electricity is our main product or service leader.

The professional workforce dedicated to the sale of electricity amounted to 46 readers and 28 electrical inspectors, supplemented with 3 heads of business groups based in the municipalities of more customers (Tunas, Puerto Padre and Amancio) and another 5 technicians responsible commercial activity in the remaining municipalities.

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Actions to be addressed by the Basic Electric Organization to consolidate marketing activity in the short and medium term:

1. Studies of market segmentation to achieve relative differentiation and customization of the customer relationship, from which could be provided after-sales service and accommodations load power factor improvement and others.

2. Conduct studies to develop the center roadway comprehensive customer service with the aim to achieve:

§ Reduce the actions of customers to get answers to their concerns.
§ Focusing efforts and resources on customer service.
§ Enter the telephone service to our clients in all settings of the Electric Basic Organization

3. Conduct studies to determine the advisability of reading the meter private clients every 3 or 6 months, which is expected to:

• Reduce expenditures for reading and billing.
• Reduce the actions to be performed by customers or the Electric Basic Organization.
• Make a better service to our clients’ commercial claims without increasing staff.
•  Reduce staff dedicated to the reading activity.

4. Implement measures to facilitate the change of the corporate image of the Electric Basic Organization on the basis of achieving assimilate technological changes and the remodeling of the buildings of our Sales Offices.

5. Apply a more functional in the municipality Tunas, thus guaranteeing a more streamlined care to clients of the provincial capital. Consider creating a Center for Integrated Customer Service.

6. In relations with our preferred suppliers, establishing contracts that managed to obtain updated technologies, total cost minimum payment and delivery facilities within the required time of supply. In the case of investment, employment must be achieved as complete packages to ensure proper implementation of projects and technology transfers.

7. Use of ancillary services and information for Cuban Industrial Property Office on trademarks and patents for the analysis of non-traditional providers with those necessary to establish negotiations, which are the responsibility of each of the specialized areas that require the product or service under negotiation, for which the appointment of a representative before the Office.

8. Responsibility for the final selection of supplier for investments rests with the Technical Department.

Nominal investment will comply in Resolution 13/98 of CITMA supply and is not engaged at all if there is not the opinion of this body on the transfer of technology and environment.

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The marketing and management have evolved throughout history primarily from the 40s of last century during the postwar period, given the need to create a general concept to include and coordinate a common front all commercial techniques of the company, but becomes stronger in the nineties of the century.

During the evolution of marketing has gone from a focus on production and sales to a focus on customer needs, affecting the same areas such as the acceleration of technological progress, the saturation of markets and globalization of the same All this together with the momentum that has been marketing and electronic commerce, where every day business transactions are made easier and more closely with the client.

An important aspect of marketing is without doubt the control objectives, policies and tasks conducted through marketing audits which, despite having emerged in the 50, only experienced considerable growth since the early 70, this control allows the review of problem areas in order to take corrective action in order to achieve an adequate return on marketing in the company. There are variety of methodologies and tools for conducting a marketing audit, but has not yet achieved a high degree of methodological sophistication.

In our country the marketing has been used long before the Revolution of 1959. With the triumph of the Revolution, as in the late socialist bloc did not apply marketing, was regarded as the exclusive technical market economy. For a long time worked Cuban companies back to the market.

In the year 1998 in Cuba approves the Decree Law 187, which establishes the general bases of Business Improvement. This process implies a change in business philosophy in the country, organized into 16 subsystems, one of which covers the main aspects of marketing in the Cuban company. In the general bases business philosophy states that the marketing implies “meeting the needs and desires of customers is the economic and social justification of their existence”, developed and strengthened and a marketing concept that has been spreading to all companies of either engaging in the business improvement process in our country.

Evolution of Marketing in Cuba

The fundamental law of socialism is the ever fuller satisfaction of human needs, so that socialism has full use marketing as a philosophy and technique for optimization of relations between producers and between them and consumers, be they social or individual, whether products or services, the same way and very sharp, marketing in the social, cultural, public sector, can be tool for counseling, education and guidance, mobilizing the masses to the directions of development of our society.

According to Alberto Pozo, in the 50′s, Cuba was in America a place in the use of advanced marketing techniques, only then these were targeted at sales, consumption, and therefore privileged as a distinctive feature advertising of these techniques at that time.

Ariel Terrero, says that in Cuba, when the revolution triumphed as in the late socialist bloc, marketing or applied, or studying in their universities, as they regarded this as a technique unique to the market economy, and denied under socialism, as a result, the country ceased to be used all the techniques of marketing.
For a long time companies managed to survive in the Cuban economic environment, working behind the market, where yields were not returned to the stores out under the name of idle inventory and the state subsidy was intended to save from bankruptcy unprofitable companies. Only the tradition in the marketing of products like sugar, snuff and nickel, or just the chance they guaranteed a buyer. In the 90′s, the European socialist bloc disappeared and Cuba was under a commercial mystery whose key features were:

• Or disappearance of the amenities offered by the defunct financial CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)
• productions began to slow sales unsecured market
• Loss of more than 85% of its market, which were mainly of the late European socialist camp.
• Most of the companies had to change their production profiles to avoid the closure.

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Getting a dent in a sedan or a sports car is the worst feeling. Owing a car is considered, as a sign of luxury and several people are very obsessed about their vehicles and take utmost care in keeping it intact. Due to the traffic on the road your car may get dented because of somebody’s fault or your own mistake, but in both the cases it is a horrifying feeling. Driving a dented car will make you feel appalling.

Finding a Repair Shop

Fortunately, there are professionals present in the fender-bender repair industry at the ICC Collision Center, which will help you to restore your car and give it the new original look. The scratch or dent will be removed professionally and you will get your car back, which is a source of pride to you.

ICC Collision Centers have been in repair business for about 25 years in Los Angeles. Today, in this highly competitive market the company has constructed their successful business on just word of mouth. The appreciation of people speaks for the quality of hard work they put forth regularly. You can also see, the results on the repaired cars, which is a proof of their superior work.

Performance of the Team at the Repair Station

The team is skilled and qualified to do repairs on any type of cars from sports car to any European model. The team has a specialist for each type of automobiles that visit the repair shop. The real fact is that every car will get super quality work and attention that you looking for at ICC Collision Centers. Each car is treated equally whether it is a sedan, a sports car or a commonly used vehicle. All types of cars receive equal importance at the ICC center.

The explanation to their achievement is that attention is given to every detail and nothing is taken for granted by the team. The smallest particulars are taken acutely and implemented to give their best. They also ensure that the customer does not have to spend on buying extra or getting tacked to unnecessary repair tactics on their automobile. They just cater to the basic needs that have to be done to give the car a new look by keeping the cost as low as possible for the customer. Quality and trusted workmanship is of utmost importance at the ICC Collision Center.

Video conferencing has come a long way since the 1964 New York world fair when it was comprised of two televisions connected by a cable in a closed circuit. Today, advancements include but are not limited to HD video playback and reduced bandwidth usage. The large increase in petrol costs has meant that more and more people are using a video conferencing system to conduct business including schools, the military and governments all over the world.

The Commercial Market for Video Conferencing

After IBM established a video conferencing system in the 1980’s that could be used for internal business meetings, the commercial market began to take off as people began to appreciate video conferencing benefits.

These advancements however have meant an increase in costs for these video conferencing systems. Typically one solution could cost around $250,000. Even at this level of advancement, many were still unhappy with the low level of picture image stating it to be grainy. For this reason, the uptake was poor and the price had to be lowered. It wasn’t until the costs dropped to around $80,000 that the US military decided to take up the challenge. Despite this uptake, video conferencing could still not yet be called a success as it had yet to break into the majority of the business and consumer market.

The Internet and Video Conferencing

During the 90’s the internet was a hot topic. There were many advances made during this time. So much so that the cost of video conferencing dramatically reduced upon realisation that video could be transmitted via the internet. Further reductions in cost were made as IBM introduced a video conferencing system that could be based completely on a PC. This new system would cost $2000, a very cheap cost compared to the original prices. These costs could be maintained as the latest advancements meant that video compression technologies were more able to compress files much better than before therefore enabling the same data to be sent in a much more speedy and efficient way by using less bandwidth.

The new compression technology opened up a multitude of new business opportunities that took the form of early internet social programmes like MSN Messenger. Finally the consumer market had begun to take hold of the new developments and benefits of video conferencing allowing the corporate market to flow freely.

Today’s Video Conferencing

Widespread, low cost internet access became available by 2003 as well as the reasonable costs of webcams and display technology. Individuals are now able to do HD video conferencing which was introduced in 2005. A clearer and crisper picture quality along with synchronized audio provides a higher quality user experience. Conducting a conference in high definition allows a wider presentation angle which gives the freedom to include more people in the conference and be fully engaged in the proceedings. This life-like experience has revolutionised the outlook of these conferences.

High resolution content such as photographs or graphs are not a problem and have amazing detail and clarity for the user. A more memorable and enjoyable conference can be achieved without resulting in unnecessary eye strain. The clear motion of the image enables sign language to be easily transmitted over the video conference which is useful for hearing-impaired participants.

Due to the smooth flow of image and sound quality, information is absorbed better resulting in a far more successful conference for everyone.

Future Predictions

The truly lifelike experience that is brought to conferences through HD video conferencing makes you feel like you are all in the same room; flow of conversation is easy and clear. This type of system would be sufficient for business meetings also. It would be interesting to see how 3D technology will have an effect on the future of video conferencing. It would really assist in the feeling that you are actually in the same room as the other party.

In a corporate culture where priority is the achievement of short-term economic results, reducing marketing spending becomes a quick and simple. Without certainly cut the marketing budget can improve the bottom line short term, but there is a clear risk of undermining our brand image and relationship with our customers, which have a negative impact on the profitability of the company, its growth and its capacity to compete.

We can not forget that in a context of oversupply make our mark is the preferred is a rather more critical and complex than in times of economic boom.

Rethinking marketing

Through this article we share with all some tips that allow professionals refocus marketing, from a more traditional approach to a more current. At this time the strategy should not remain only in reducing the budget, but to try to maximize the return on our investments in marketing for clients and our own business. Although the road is not the easiest, certainly has much more chance of success to continue with the inertia of the past.

Decisions such as “more of the same, but with less” seems to us wholly inadequate to meet the challenges of the future in a competitive market. As said Don Peppers and Martha Rogers in his recent book The Moving Company, “the crisis of short-termism, the source of all problems … the obsession of the companies on short-term results is enormously destructive.”

5 ideas to get the most from your marketing investments

1 Investing in knowledge

Although the term “knowledge society” was first used in 1969 are still a few companies have the tools to deepen the knowledge of its customers. At present there are very powerful technology solutions that capture economic, interpret and exploit all the information derived from the relationship with customers, by transforming information into knowledge for decision making to provide more value to customers and our organization.

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The duration of the crisis is a question for most experts, however, almost all agree that it presents a paradigm shift in the understanding of capitalism and in our lives.

With respect to the world of marketing, we believe this is a good opportunity to focus our efforts on providing the best experience and maximum value to our customers.

In short, the basis of marketing is well understood empathy, reciprocity, which allows companies to adopt the point of view of their customers, only this way will we be able to gain their trust, a prerequisite for long-term success of our organization.

If in times of crisis, the profitability is essential, we must not forget that this is a direct result of decisions taken regarding its customers with your brand.

There is nothing more important to the financial health of your company in the long term to have a solid base of loyal customers.

The five ideas are included in this document are just a few recommendations that go in this direction.

A slowdown in the economy is bad news, but that’s not enough reason to close a deal. There are effective ways to keep your business running.

The warning from Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, last February on a decline in the U.S. economy over the coming months has raised questions for many businesses around the world. How long will this drop? How will the desire to buy customers? What steps can a company take to mitigate the impact of a decline in business?

While some businesses will struggle to survive in a depressed economy, many people will be better than ever, primarily because they have tried to dominate, but rarely used “reduction strategies.” That is the opinion of Jerry Buchs, an independent consultant and author of a report, “Strategies for Economic Decline: 16 Ways to Sell More Products and Services While Your experts decide whether we are in recession!”

“Recession, yes? Recession, right? Informed opinion seems convinced that we are now either in or headed toward one, “Buchs said. “While a decline may not last long, many businesses need to develop strategies that will help retain current customers and keep them buying. They also need to master marketing techniques that will make them win new customers or to replace any business that could be lost during a decline. ” (more…)

I remember the first time the idea of ​​starting an online business jumped in my head. Full of enthusiasm, I was afraid but I was also ready to jump and earn a lot of money.
Well, despite all the hype about getting rich on the ‘net, was to start an online business is in many ways just like to start one in the’ real ‘world. Here are a few things to consider before jumping into the business world on the Internet:

1. Become a Personal Assessment.
What kind of skills and interests do you have? Many people start businesses in areas where they already work – for example, someone who works as a programmer may start an internet business by writing custom scripts.

Dentifies the types of businesses you think you would do, after all, it makes sense to leave a job you hate? By a business that makes you miserable!

2. Conducts market research.

It would be a shame to put your heart, soul and money into a product or service that nobody wants!

Very often, usually taken by the charm of enthusiasm, people create a product or service that * they * want or like. Then try to find a market for it.

You can not force an unwilling market to buy your product or service.

Instead, the research, you can find out what your market wants – and then create a product to satisfy that desire.

Every business has an element of risk. Researching your market will help reduce that risk, helping you make educated trial on whether or not people are willing to pay for your product – at a price that will allow you a decent profit. (more…)