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Case Studies And Business Communication

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We were frustrated, my colleagues and I, as we wrestled with a new business idea. We thought it was a great idea but we couldn’t effectively describe, in business communication terms, what it would mean to users.

And, out of our discussions came the idea of writing a case study. If you’re not familiar with them, case studies are a staple of business communication. More specifically, they’re histories of specific business initiatives.

They’re like articles, but they put the reader into the shoes of a person making a difficult decision. Other professions also use case studies; you’ve probably heard of medical case studies, for example. Medical students get a set of facts about a patient, and perhaps some background or context, and then must diagnose the patient’s condition or disease.

Business case studies have proven popular at some university business schools (popular with the profs, at least). In some senses, the case study is the next best thing to being involved in a real case. And, an effective business communication tool, as I’ll explain here.

So, why would this be of interest to you? Well, if you have to persuade others to adopt your point of view, or buy your products, or vote for you, then you might find a case study useful.

In fact, you may be doing something like that already. Whenever you tell a story that’s designed to make a certain business communication point, you’re using a form of case study.

During my brief foray into life insurance sales, for example, I learned that emotion sells policies, and not logic. That’s why people in the business have a raft of stories about people who did or did not have protection when they died.

The point being made is that you should life insurance, and that you should have the right kind and the right amount. Now, if you sold life insurance, you would quickly find that no one listens when you explain the logic, but they will listen — and act — if you have your case studies (your anecdotes).

So, having gone through all that, is a case study just a fancy name for an anecdote or story? Yes, to a certain extent it is any tale used in business communication.

But, when you think of a case study, think of it as a more elaborate and more logically constructed story. Typically, a case study describes an organization or manager facing a choice or dilemma of some kind, and the reader gets a number of facts about the options. After that, you, the reader, are challenged to make the decision. Some real-life case studies include a follow-up report, so readers know which real-life decision was made, and how it worked out.

Getting back to the business idea with which we started, my colleagues and I did not proceed, and the case study exposition became a moot point. But, had we gone ahead, the case study likely would have been the cornerstone of our business communication efforts.

Finally, if you’d like to read some case studies, simply go to your favorite search engine and type in this phrase (with or without the quotation marks): “case study examples” or “case studies” .

In summary, case studies are a special type of business communication; they help us understand real-life decisions, and are a useful resource for persuasion and education. Add one or more to your business communication toolbox.

How To Build A Print Business Without Owning A Print Shop

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You can own a legitimate business and make top dollars by becoming a print broker or print specialist. This is a person who sells on behalf of an actual printer or a middle man who locates and serves customers. Print brokers are independent, as they’re not directly employed by the printing companies they represent. Your number one arsenal to being successful as a print broker is customer service. See, you will need repeat customers to grow and build up your business even greater than any single printer who prints for you.

Look at it as printers working for you at their various locations. You hire a printer to print what your customers request, e.g. booklets, catalogs, brochures, business cards, flyers, etc. You may want to focus on specific items as there are so many different products out there to print. With the power of the internet, now you can hire a printer anywhere and sell to customers everywhere.

Ok, here are the basics for becoming a Print Broker:

1.Set up Shop
You will need to set up an office area to operate from. It should include a phone, fax, computer, and a file cabinet. Keep your work area as detailed as possible, this will keep you mind clear and allow you to be on top of your business. Make sure you have a good answering machine to take messages when you are not in office. You can use your same phone line for fax if you cant afford a fax line right now.

2.Find Printers who are willing to sell to you at Wholesale Prices
The easiest way to find these printers may be to search your local phone directory or just search the internet. Call them up and ask if they have a print broker program or if they would be willing to sell their print services to you at a wholesale price it must be at a 15% discount or more. Most printers who already have a print broker program will have a contract ready for you to sign.

3.Choose the products that you are going to offer for printing and set your own prices.
The most popular products that businesses use are things like business cards, letterheads, envelopes, brochures, flyers, presentation folders, labels, inserts, postcards, etc. You could even get into printing promotional items like bags and pens, but thats a whole new area that you could explore. Remember I told you that customer service will be your number one arsenal in this business. So you dont have to marginalize your profits, just stress value and offer customer service second to none.

4.Promote your Print Broker Business
(a)Print and distribute business cards, flyers and postcards to places that people visit frequently (like restaurants, barber shop and salons, clubs etc.).
(b)Mail postcards to new businesses you can get the new business listings at your local county court house or search online
(c)Word of mouth tell everyone you know about your new business venture, friends and families. Give them one of your business cards.
(d)Website put your website address on everything you use like business cards etc. You can get good advice on how to promote your website at http://www.AboutCityBusiness.com

5.Maintain and keep in touch with your customer base
One of the most effective methods that will build your business is word of mouth when your satisfied customers tell others about you. So you will want to send your customers holiday cards, specials by mail or e-mail, call them by phone or whatever it takes to remind them about your great service. You could also invite your top customers out for lunch.

Its not unheard of to make 5000 to 20,000 dollars a month just being the middle man or woman. Just remember that you must be dedicated and have a willingness to act. Read, keep up to date with trends and increase your marketing skills.

Corrective Business Management A Tactic For Survival

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Strategy
Review your business’s strategy. Does it make sense? Can it be executed? Is it too “pie in the sky?” How does it address your markets and your businesss core strengths? A clear strategic plan is the basis for success in good times and in bad times. Look at the big picture and determine the strategies needed to be set in place for success.

Execution
The best strategic and business plans are worthless without execution and metrics. Do you have metrics in place to measure performance against financial AND operational targets (objectives)? Which objectives are hitting the mark and which are not? Why? Who is accountable? What is being done to address the weak areas of performance? A business is only as strong as its weakest employee.

Customers
During a questionable or stalled economy it seems as if businesses of all sizes are quick to put customers (those who pay the bills) last. This is a definite no-no! It is time to re-evaluate what the business is doing to delight customers and prove that they come first. Customers are the companys best asset and it costs much less to keep existing customers happy than to find new ones. No matter what the business product or service offered, customers have choices. Take the steps necessary to make your business their FIRST choice. Ask THEM if their needs are being met and what improvements can be made within the company or organization to keep them satisfied and wanting to come back.

Cost and Expense
Businesses are quick to cut expenses and people when there is softness in the economy. This is so easy, that even a child with a lemonade stand can do it. But it is often NOT the right answer. First look at where resources are deployed. Most resources should be involved in driving revenue and overall customer satisfaction. Keep your overhead costs to a minimum and watch your bottom line expenses. If that means redeploying and retraining, then it should be done. Secondly, before there are lay offs cut the outside contractors and consultants and perform what you can in-house. Also, cut salaries and bonuses at the top of the organization first. The biggest cuts should be among the biggest bosses (not the customer) facing employees and sales force. Finally, ask for input, the people on the floor and in the back office usually know where the biggest opportunities for REAL efficiencies exist. Ask them, and when you do, be sure to act on their recommendations and recognize them for their ideas.

Speed
I am amazed by what the USA did to mobilize resources in a very short time during World War II on the home front. Factories went from making automobiles and refrigerators to making military tanks and aircraft in huge quantities in an amazingly short time period. Imagine what it would have been like if they had had computers. So why does everything (except perhaps the Internet) take so long today? The time frames required to develop new products and services are often years rather than months. Look at timelines required in your business today and cut them by 25% to 50% while maintaining the same level of quality if not better. It can be done and this will definitely be a competitive advantage for your business.
For example our company determined how to quick turn our design and graphics production timelines without sacrificing the final product or service. We implemented our philosophy to under commit and over deliver, and actually did it! We analyzed how much time was needed for all types of production and cut it down by 25%. Once successful, we then took another approach and cut the time down again, still delivering the same quality product and excellent service to our customers while maintaining our quality of assurance systems in place.

Innovation
It is a natural tendency of most businesses, no matter what size, to take fewer risks when times are lean and mean. This includes new and innovative ideas for products, services, marketing and the way business is done. The BEST time for risk taking and innovation is when the economy is challenging and other businesses are cutting back. While most businesses are tightening their belt, businesses that take risks and push innovation stand out among their competition. Innovation is not limited to research, development or marketing. It should encompass all functions and aspects of any business that show others that you have what it takes to survive and are taking the risk that most businesses wish they could. Either step forward into growth or step back into safety.

Terms such as flat, downturn, recession, and stalled economy drive chills through most business people at any level. Money is tighter and market opportunities shrink, but there are winners and losers in both good and not so good economies. By addressing these areas of strategy, execution, customers, cost and expense, speed and innovation, any company (regardless of size, market or industry) can be a winner during recession. It is all about being an effective leader in an economy where there is doubt about the future.

Correct management is definitely the key for a business to survive crises like the current economic climate. In order to execute correct business management, several strategies need to be observed, executed and measured. Businesses must smarten up, market, manage their people, and follow their vision.

A Good Business Dissertation Is Written To Target A Particular Audience

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Students, who wish to do business management, have to submit a business dissertation. It is a lengthy document which consists of many sections and written on specific topics which relate to various facets of business management. The subject areas can involve marketing, management, and organizational behavior, HRM, Finance, production and many more. The dissertation can address any of these subjects provided it is informative and is relevant. Depending upon the subject area chosen for the business dissertation, it should be written in a manner which is suitable to the audience it is targeted for. For example, if the dissertation topic is about technology in the production floor, it is then targeted for a dissertation committee which has technical experts as well as academics from production management back ground. Therefore the language and format of the dissertation will incorporate technical aspects and include technical data etc, than that of dissertations written for other fields as HRM or business ethics.

A business dissertation has many sections which need to be written clearly and concisely. These sections include introduction, literature review, methodology, and discussions. The formatting should adhere to the requirements set by the dissertation committee. The common type of formatting for business research is the Harvard system and there are plenty of resources on line which gives detailed guidelines on how to follow this system. Students should acquire a thorough knowledge of the formatting requirements prior to embarking on the dissertation writing process.

The first step in writing a business dissertation is to select an appropriate and novel topic. Before conducting the actual research study, the students should submit their dissertation proposal to the Dissertation Committee for approval. A proposal for the dissertation must outline the intended study and the proposed dissertation questions or hypothesis being explored. The significance of the study and the intended contribution of new knowledge should be highlighted in the research proposal rationale. Once the approval for the dissertation has been granted the students can embark on the actual dissertation project. This involves drafting the introduction chapter, the conducting of literature review and writing this chapter and then the designing and writing of the dissertation methodology. Primary research for the dissertation takes up an extensive amount of time and must adhere to proper researching techniques. This is why you need to place extra attention to developing a sound and reliable research design and methodology for your study. A business dissertation may use quantitative research, qualitative research or a mix method. Depending on this choice, the research tools as surveys, questionnaires, observations, focus groups or interviews can be utilized.

Having gathered the data, they need to be properly analyzed. Dissertation data analysis is highly technical and students must apply proper statistical analysis methods or qualitative analysis methods in to evaluating, analyzing and interpreting the data gathered. These analyzed data will then be used to write the discussion chapter. Within the discussion, one must discuss the findings of the study in relation to the dissertation objectives and questions. The discussion should also address the managerial and business implications of the findings.

As apparent, the writing of a business dissertation is not a simple task. It calls for multiple skills and talents as well as expert knowledge of the theoretical framework applicable within which the dissertation study is grounded upon. Dissertations also call for excellent formal writing skills. Students often find it hard to come by all these skills and seek writing assistance from professional dissertation services.

These firms offer students the options of getting a custom dissertation written by a professional dissertation writer that is well qualified in the field of business management. These professional writing assistance services offer ideas, guidance, examples and editing and proof reading services as well for those who wish to fine tune their writing to a high standard.

After all, a lot is riding on the quality of dissertation you will be submitting. After investing money, effort and time in to studying many years in a degree program, the dissertation is the final submission you will make in order complete the requirements. As such, it is wise for students to seek professional assistance, if you encounter problems, especially in technical areas such as methodology design, field research or in data analysis.

Full Service Lead Generation Is The Key To Upgrade Your Business Ventures

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The full lead generation service is to develop and design system to generate business potentiality through various marketing programs and campaigns. Agency used to keep track of the response of the outgoing consumer advertisement. In many occasion the lead management is likely to be similar to consumer relation management and sales management. Experts take a care of the business profitability by acquisition of new consumers, creating brand image and promoting sales target on existing consumers.

The main objective of lead management platform is to improvise the business volume. It is designed by professionals to organize data exchange program across the various stages and distributed to sales force to increase the sales volume. Agency prepare report after receiving the exact data from the data exchange program and transferred to your sales personnel that what they have needed to take the next course of necessary action.

The lead generation service also takes care of the other related part of the business like sales, advertising, marketing and brand developing. To generate new business revenue, they take appropriate step to improve general attitude of potential clients.

Some direct response agencies have developed world class lead management platform. Their designed software takes control over entire lead acquisition process. Their platform is ready to serve software solution in respect of business growth. They offer their services to entire solution for distributing lead, capturing, reporting and tracking. This process helps to remove the manual process which consumes maximum time.

To purchase the available leads, they provide clients a portal where form the client can choose. The internet and it technologies have a significant role for the success of the method. It opens up online era through the multitude of marketing channels

The performance media network offers display on cost per action (cpa) or cost per click (cpc) on which you can fulfill the object of direct response. They also make a design of targeting and deal structure. The campaigns of performance display run through their network service. They have experienced professionals and their effectiveness and efficiency help your business to meet its objective. There are some leading performance marketing companies who focused on customer acquisition and lead generation. With reliable and valuable inventory they provide consumers with inter active and informative buying experience with registration, quality leads and sales.