Today's Issue
- Editor's Take: Customer First is a Rule of Thumb
- SME Special Report: SME Speaker Series on Leadership
- SME Technology Summit 2008
- Events: Pinoy Power: Independent. Innovative." (Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 June); Fil-Negosyo Expo (Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 June); 21st SME Toolkit Road Show (Thursday 26 June); e-Commerce Alive! 2.0 (Friday 27 June); Seminar on Franchising (Saturday 28 June); Strategic Marketing: Getting New Customers for your Business (Tuesday 1 July); and ISO 9000 Quality Management System Awareness Course (Thursday 3 July)
- Tax Calendar
SME Special Report
SME Speaker Series on Leadership
Plantersbank offers its SME clients a new opportunity to join in a journey of self-discovery and empowerment with renowned entrepreneur and author Francis J. Kong.
Mr. Kong will address the topic “Leading through Difficult Times” for the Plantersbank SME Speakers Series, a “by-invitation-only” event at Batis Asul Resort in Angeles City from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.on 18 June 2008.
Mr. Kong’s lecture will focus on qualities, strategies and skills to succeed at identifying opportunity, avoiding pitfalls and negotiating today’s challenging business landscape. Organizers say the limited seats arrangement of the Plantersbank SME Speaker Series allow easy learning for participants in personal dialogue with featured management visionaries and enterprise coaches.
To read ful story, click here!
SME Technology Summit 2008
The event is predicted to be a large gathering that will attract the country's growing entrepreneurs, business owners, managing directors, CEOs, general managers, direct marketing managers, IT managers, brand managers, product managers, advertising managers, corporate communication managers, marketing managers, and those involved in managing, marketing or advertising using the Internet, mobile and e-commerce.
For further information, contact (632) 8960639; 8960637; and 8996216 or send an email to info@sme.com.ph. Also, visit the event's official Web site, SME Technology Summit 2008.
Tax Calendar
Wednesday 25 June- e-Filing of 2550M & 2551M together with the Summary Alphalist of Witholding Agents of Income Payments Subjected to Witholding Tax (SAWT) L & SNL Taxpayers (Group A ) for the Month of May 2008 (For FY Taxpayers) and e-Payment of 2550M & 2551M - L & SNL Taxpayers for the Month of May 2008.
Source: Bureau of Internal RevenueEditor's Take
Promotional materials, marketing strategies, business planning and niche-market positioning all have the same bottom line: raking in customers. As business success has a direct co-relation with a wide customer base, it is of essence that companies take time out to know the end consumer – their loyal patrons.
Focusing on Customers. What is your basis for creating your product? Is it to add to your roster of income-generating goods or to help meet your customers need? If you answered the latter, well and good. Moi Ali, in his book Marketing Effectively, explains why, “The most successful organizations make what they can sell. They are customer led, creating products and services in response to customer needs.”
Instead of creating a demand for the product, wise entrepreneurs know what their consumers needs. They try to fill the gap by creating products in response to the end-consumers. In this way, product marketing comes easy - it is just a matter of convincing the customers that the product works.
Persuading customers to buy the product should be the bottom line of any marketing initiative. Knowing this discipline would enable the business to re-focus existing marketing campaigns and create a coherent marketing strategy. By acknowledging the big influence of a cohesive, customer-oriented marketing initiative, Ali explains that, “businesses will reap the rewards of satisfied, loyal customers, a growing customer base, popular and successful products, increased turnover, more recommendations and repeat business, It can also bring about fewer complaints.”
Putting customer first also means building up a clear picture of who your customers are. Good customer information is key to boosting the business’ profit. Profiling customers are essential in knowing more about them and their lifestyle; thus, the business can align itself to fit basic customer necessity.
Collecting data may vary from the need of one business to another. While others need a more extensive know-how of the customers, some businesses settle for mere demographics. The key is identifying the kind of data that you need and planning how to uncover it.
Customers may truly be kings. Enterprises revolve around them and continuously align products and services to suit the end consumers’ growing and evolving demands. Once pleased however, customers create a business path to success.
Resource Book: Ali, Moi. Essential Managers: Marketing Effectively. DK Publishing Inc: USA, 2001.
What's your take on this? We want to hear from you! To participate in the discussion, click here!
