As our workforce continues to evolve, our marketing efforts will need to change with it. For the first time in history, we now employ four different groups of people that we must always keep in mind to maximize our business. There is the Silent Generation (ages 61 – 79). There are the Baby Boomers whose ages range from 42 – 60, the Generation Xers whose ages range from 25 – 41 and finally the Millennials whose ages range from 24 and younger.

As we continue to grow our businesses and continue to seek to maximize profits, it becomes critical to understand the changes in the marketplace and the demographic shifts. With the pet industry continuing to grow, the four groups identified currently in the workforce will continue to support the growth of the luxury sector of the pet industry. For example, more and more Millennials are waiting to get married and start a family. Raising a pet together helps them to decide and practice on what it will be like when they actually decide to have a family. The pampered pet becomes a true test for the couples. The Generations Xers have been married but have been working diligently on their careers. In turn, they have decided to hold off on having a family as their career reaches new heights. They instead have decided to have pets to offset having children. Of course the baby boomers have had their kids and now are considered the “empty nesters”. To offset their loss, they are now spending their disposable income on their pets buying only the best for their loved ones. Their purchases range from luxury pet beds, luxury pet carriers made with the finest leathers by the worlds top artisans. Finally, our Silent Generation will acquire a pet for the sheer companionship and love of a pet.

If you keep in mind who your target customer is then marketing becomes easy. Each group has a unique way in which to market to. Understanding their lifestyle, work patterns, likes and dislikes can save you thousands of dollars. Any dollar spent should always yield a return. In any business, it is about identifying the opportunity and targeting the customer. Certainly with four age groups of people in the marketplace today, more and more disposable income can be targeted for Designer Pet Products and Luxury Pet Products. Quality and design have become a priority with many clients.

Marketing is inclusive of the following:

1. Understand the demographics and target accordingly.

2. Lifestyle demands and needs can help to shape and strategize your approach.

3. Buying for the client when managing your Open to Buy.

4. Targeting the product assortment to meet the needs of the clientele.

5. Merchandising the store to the changing clientele.

6. Evaluating product sell thru’s by client.

7. Monitoring profitability by product category and sales per square foot.

Be creative in how you approach your marketing to the groups identified. Your strategy that you put together on how to market to your clients will need to be thorough and comprehensive to ensure a maximum return on your investment. Develop your plan strategically and execute logically.

Hedy Woodrow is the founder of Hedy Manon. Hedy Manon specializes in luxury pet carriers that look like handbags and are fashionable. Prior to starting Hedy Manon, Hedy spent 20 years in the luxury fashion business as a Senior Vice President of Retail for a major luxury brand. Her broad retail experience included sales, marketing, and advertising, working with buyers, visual teams and planners. She has traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe attending high profile celebrity events that have given her exposure to a very high end client. Her insights come from personal experience both as a leader in the fashion industry and as a client. Her website at http://www.hedymanon.com features luxury products that are unique to the pet industry. The company name was changed from Designer Paws International to Hedy Manon International late 2005.

Email is the Net’s most powerful marketing tool. And autoresponders are the best idea yet for marketing with email.

There is an old saying that the first ad rarely sells. You have to put your product, service, or idea in front of a prospect several times before she buys.

Autoresponders are designed specifically to get your message back to the same prospect over and over. That’s why most autoresponder packages come in groups of 7 messages–from the 7 message marketing rule that has been the rule in advertising since our grandparents were in diapers.

But what do you say in your 7 messages? We’ve written autoresponder series for hundreds of customers. Here is one method that always works.

This method is called REMIND ‘EM. People don’t read your sales letter as carefully as you think. They tend to skim. They read the first message, but miss the second and third message. The prospect may not tune in again until message five. It’s so easy for people to completely miss your main points intended to lead to a sale.

It’s important to *repeat* your main message over and over. Say it once, twice, three times in your first message. Say your main message in a different way in the second message. Re-cap your main point again in the third message. That way, people who aren’t paying attention still get your important ideas.

Here’s an example of how the “remind ‘em” formula works for a 7 letter series promoting personal security products.

Message (1) The world is a dangerous place. You need new innovative security products to insure your protection.

Message (2) More details on how and why the world is a dangerous place. List places or situations that are especially threatening.

Message (3) Recap how the world is a dangerous place. Give more details on the key new security products that have come out.

Now start the middle section of messages. Note how they become more instructional telling people how to use the products.

Message (4) Protect yourself from the dangerous world with Product A. Here’s how to use Product A. Here’s why you would use it. Here’s where to use it.

Message (5) Protect yourself with Product B. Here’s how to use it. Here’s what happy customers say about it. Tell a hair raising story of how Product B saved a customer’s life.

Now comes the wrap-up and reminder, especially important for people who never got around to reading your earlier messages.

Message (6) Go back to your main sales letter used in numbers 1 and 2. Start all over reviewing your main points and highlighting your most popular products.

Message (7) This is the final follow-up email. I usually have it come two weeks to one month after message 6. It’s designed to scoop up all the people who weren’t ready to buy in the beginning, but may be ready to buy now.

It can start with “For the past few weeks I’ve been sending you important information about how to protect yourself in threatening situations. I know you are busy and may not have had time to consider how these products could improve your life and confidence.” At that point, you again review your main points.

Repetition is the key to advertising success. Find creative ways to keep the main message going week after week and you will have as many customers as you can handle. Busy prospects simply need time for your message to sink in. As we used to say when I worked in media, it’s just when you and your staff are sick to death of a commercial that the audience is just beginning to notice it.

Kevin Nunley writes autoresponder messages that get results. See his quality, affordable writing packages at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com

We make our living as guerillas – not the bad kind, but more of a freedom fighter. By using the term ‘guerilla’ I mean EMJ (now a division of SYNNEX) fights for business against big gorillas (other distributors) in the field. Our competitors are almost 100 times our size; EMJ is a Canadian-based, $165 million per year distributor. We have made an operating profit for the past 80 consecutive quarters. So even though we are up against the big gorillas as a distributor, we must be doing something right.

If you are in a business where some of the competitors are much larger, you may be able to benefit from using guerilla tactics. The principles of running a guerrilla organization differ from running a gorilla organization. As a guerrilla, we hide from our competitor; we do not try to crush them. I even go so far as to examine what they do well and let them do it. At the same time, I look for under-serviced markets and get to these markets fast.

A gorilla takes all competitors head on, trying to crush the competition. Sometimes this takes the form of a price war. Sometimes it takes major prolonged, drawn-out investment. This works as long as you are the same size, or larger than the competition. Even then, such a long battle can sap power and ultimately profits.

Companies that die often believe they were gorillas. It is certain death for a business to fight gorillas unless they can withstand the siege. Any time we hire someone with a gorilla-company background, we watch and coach that person to make sure they are indoctrinated with the appropriate tactics. We have to make sure they understand out business model.

My 8 favourite guerilla tactics are:

1 – Act fast. I use my company’s size for my advantage. I can act lightning fast. In the computer business, this is a huge asset. Things change so rapidly that moving fast and being first to market is a huge advantage. Larger companies do not react quickly. Develop a reputation for being first – it gets the attention of customers.

2 – Welcome smaller opportunities. Gorillas tend to say ‘no’ to manufacturers who don’t think they can do significant volume with. But a small opportunity rejected by a gorilla can be a very profitable opportunity for a guerilla. For EMJ, a million dollar per product line is an opportunity big enough to get the attention of my first string. In your business, look for the right-sized opportunity for you. Frequently, it is the smaller opportunity that has the best promise. The gorillas will leave you alone. There is always a right-sized opportunity for a company of any size. Knowing your rightful place in the market can help you to thrive.

3 – Get focussed. Higher focus means we know more, stock more, and sell more product of fewer manufacturers. The smaller our product listing, the more powerful we become. We know a lot about a little. That means we know the products we sell better than a gorilla, and we become a sales tool for the reseller, not just an order-taker. Could you become more focused and specialized in a business area by giving up on a part of your business?

4 – Be more flexible. We can adapt more easily to our customers and suppliers. We try not to be ruled by policy. The bigger a company gets, the more likely they are to have policy and some of it is required. As a small distributor, we can be more flexible. Are there areas that your competition is ignoring that by being more entrepreneurial, you can capitalize on?

5 – Be smarter. This sounds too simple, almost embarrassing to write. Since we are smaller, we can look at the business we do more carefully and make sure it makes good business sense. We don’t pick up another manufacturer just to increase the size of our line card. That’s just not good business sense for us. That’s the way we have to think – and so should you.

6 – Lower your overhead. For some reason, most companies seem to choose more expensive offices and furnishings as they grow. This expectation tends to increase costs in all areas of the company that distribution, at current margin levels, can ill afford. At EMJ, we buy quality used furniture. We are on the outskirts of Guelph where the cost of land and taxes is less. Our capital base is even high enough that our cost of capital is less than some of the gorillas. Are there areas that you can be lower overhead than the gorillas in your field? Costs always add up on the bottom line.

7 – Foster staff loyalty – one major advantage guerillas have over gorillas is the ability to attract, motivate, and keep good people. Primarily this is because guerillas can be more flexible, easier to work for and give people more of a sense of accomplishment because what they do contributes more directly the company’s bottom line. I have always found there to be great power by being smaller and treating my people with respect and not just as numbers. Gorillas can try to do this but it is tough for them to copy you.

8 – Just BE a gorilla. We like to enter market areas that we can dominate and specialize in. We may not be the biggest but in certain specific niches, we dominate. As long as we are the biggest in an area, we can act the part. We can under-price and over-service the competition forever. Anyone who enters our markets learns that it is expensive and often impossible to unseat us.

9 – Be personal. One thing a smaller organization can do is to be more personal. People buy from people. You can foster relationships that will help you sell. Part of the way we are personal is by showing our customers what markets and products ARE profitable. There is nothing that cements a customer relationship better than making them money, because you’ll be making money for them AND for you!

10 – Be opportunistic – to sum up guerilla strategy is simply to be opportunistic. Take advantage of opportunities that the gorillas cannot do. There are many companies that remain profitable by being opportunistic.

In summary, unless you are huge – think guerilla. Appropriate guerilla tactics for your size will win any battle.

Jim Estill is the founder of EMJ Data which sold to SYNNEX in 2004. He is now CEO of SYNNEX Canada, a billion dollar distributor of computer products. He wrote this article when he was running EMJ. His blog can be found at http://jimestill.blogspot.com/

Throughout human history people have always found ways to express their ideas to others. Handbills and flyers have covered city walls since the advent of the printing press. Graffiti has been around since Roman times.

In the 20th century, a new form of self expression emerged: the t-shirt. Originally introduced by the Navy in 1913, it took widespread use by soldiers in World War II to introduce the crew neck t-shirt to the public. The 1950’s were also important in the history of the t-shirt, being worn as outerwear by such stars as Marlin Brando and James Dean. In the 1960’s the t-shirt began to be used as a palette for expression. The first corporate advertising on a t-shirt was a can of Budwiser beer. There’s even a phrase for the ubiquitous nature of t-shirts as expression: “Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt�

T-shirts can be used to express political views or show musical tastes, or lack thereof. Someone wearing a John Deere t-shirt is sending a very different message from the person in the t-shirt with a character from Japanese animation. And what business doesn’t have their logo available on a shirt? People use shirts to tell others about which sports teams they like, a favorite movie or book, who their favorite NASCAR driver is, or to stop looking at their breasts. T-shirts are seen that commemorate any possible event; birthdays, weddings, (and divorces), vacations, summer camps, family reunions, the possibilities are endless.

The technology for custom t-shirt expression has never been more abundant. Kiosks in malls with full-color photo transfers, airbrush artists, online designers for custom screen printed work, they are all easily accessible and affordably priced. Whatever you want to say, there are multitudes of ways to say it on a t-shirt for everyone to see.

Mandar is a graphic artist and man-about-town with ExpertShirt.com. Design your own custom t-shirt online at http://www.expertshirt.com.

Public Domain consists of all inspired work and other information (Music, invention, artwork, writing, technology, etc.,) on which no one i.e. Person or Organization claims an ownership. Such information is considered to be part of Public’s inheritance and anyone can exploit them for their needs without any restriction.

Public Domain can be General information which includes facts, ideas, templates, etc. which could be used by anybody for their needs. Public domain may also be works that may be donated for Pubic Domain. Some of the works by Government also falls under Public Domain.

Copyright was designed to get a financial spur to the owner while works in public domain are present for the public to use them without any financial constraint. Copyrighted works fall under public domain once their copyright period is expired.

Not all the information available on the internet fall under Public domain contents. But all works published in US before 1923 are in the Public Domain. The classic examples would be Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Bookstores utilize the public domain by reprinting works that are public domain.

The public domain is a space where intellectual property protection does not apply. When copyrights and patents expire, innovations and creative works fall into the public domain.

They may then be used by anyone without permission and without the payment of a licensing fee. Publicly owned national parks are also considered by many to be public domain lands. Because of the extensions of the terms of both copyrights and patents, and the privatization of lands and other resources owned by the Federal Government, little is now entering the public domain.

Since the public domain is a treasure trove of information and resources to be used by future generations, many advocates are concerned that its stagnation will make it more difficult for future generations to find creative inspiration.

Copyleft is a way to make program free software and require those who distribute improved versions of it to make them free also.

The Copyleft principle is simple. When one programmer creates program, he has a copyright in that software. Legally, he has the power to control its use, redistribution, and modification. By releasing it under a copyleft license he makes the software available to the public in freedom, while requiring every released program that reuses his code to be free in the same way.

Copyleft encourages the user community to contribute to the improvement of the free software, by closing off the temptation to make those improvements proprietary. Meanwhile, companies are free to use, improve and redistribute the software, just like individuals.

David Hooper is a marketing consultant specializing in the needs small businesses. Visit http://www.nichepd.com/ for more information on marketing with public domain content.

Don walked across the street from his house to mine to announce he had finally retired. “But I’m not ready for the golf course,” he said. “I want to make a living on the Internet. What can I sell?”

This is a question many of us struggle with as we see money, freedom, and a bright future for those who manage to find their niche online. You may have tried to sell something from the Internet only to find it is difficult to get visitors to your web site and even harder to get them to buy.

The biggest hurdle is simple: most folks are trying to sell products to consumers. That’s not where the money is. It is a more daunting task than most realize.

Only one percent of retail sales happens on the Internet. Even though selling to consumers should be gargantuan one day, we have a long way to go before the majority of people are placing orders the Internet way.

Instead, sell something to businesses. While consumer sales amounted to many billion last year, business-to-business purchases vaulted to a whopping ten times that much. Clearly, if you want the easiest path to tapping into the landslide of Internet cash, sell a product or service needed by business.

So, you say, I should sell a product to businesses? Not exactly. Most products need to be sold in large volumes by many distributors before they turn a profit. Chances are the product you sell is also being pushed by hundreds or thousands of other affiliates. In the end, many business buyers will simply click to the main corporate site to make their purchase.

Your best bet for starting a small Internet business and earning a living online is to sell a service to businesses. Unlike products, it is hard to mass produce a service. Most service providers find their competition is relatively thin. This is especially true if you provide a very specialized service or do your job in a particular way that is hard to duplicate. Because services require time spent by an experienced expert, rates can be high, especially for business customers.

But I’m not an expert in anything people on the Internet would want to buy, you exclaim. Not true.

Sit down with a pen and jot down all the things bosses have paid you for during your work career. Add to your list things you have done on your own time that friends, neighbors, or co-workers have felt were valuable.

Which of these things could be sold on the Internet? If you kept books for a business with twenty employees, you can sell your bookkeeping service to the vast number of small Internet businesses who don’t have the time or expertise to manage their growing firm.

If you produced your church newsletter for several years, your desktop publishing and editing skills could fill the hot demand for people who can write and publish e-messaging campaigns, web sites, and print newsletters. Best of all, a writer/editor deals in pure information which is easiest and cheapest to deliver over the Internet.

My neighbor Don decided his skills from a career in law enforcement would be hard to sell on the Internet. But he knew lots of things businesses needed and he had a list of town residents who could fill those needs.

If you don’t readily have a service you can sell to business, find someone who does. Many in-demand people don’t know how to market themselves on the Internet or haven’t the time to try. Represent their service online and take a commission for each sale.

Put up your own web site with some articles business customers will find helpful. They can do double duty, showing you know plenty about your line of work.

Post testimonials from satisfied customers or other experts in your industry. To get full impact, be sure to list the person’s full name and the name of their business or city they live in.

Offer to send customers and prospects a monthly update via email. Include brief updates on important developments in the industry. Mix in three line ads promoting your service.

Selling a service to business is your least-expensive way to get started making money online. It is also the quickest way to tap into the huge amounts of money traveling from business to business.

Puzzled about earning a profit on the Internet? Get your FREE subscription to Kevin Nunley’s e-zine “DrNunley’s Marketing Tips” at http://DrNunley.com Kevin has been helping people just like you make money online since 1996 with copywriting, promotion packages, and marketing advice. Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com.