Category: Marketing

Learning From Rolex’s Example How To Market Luxury Goods

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Authenticity and Essentialism are Innate Desires
The world is filled with duplicity. Knock-off has become a term that means the same, but different in terms of quality and price. By nature humans want to be original since every human is an original creation that can not be duplicated in terms of thoughts, beliefs, and energy.

Consumers want to buy original products that present an image of uniqueness as well as quality and value and theres no better example than Rolex watches when it comes to proving that humans innately want to express their own quality, value, and uniqueness through the goods and services they purchase.

Rolex Watches entered the world of Horology in 1905 when Alfred James Davis and Hans Wilhelm Wilsdorf founded Wilsdorf and Davis Ltd. Wilsdorf created three watches that passed rigorous accuracy tests before the company was formed so it was a natural step to start a watch company with his English partner Davis who was his brother-in-law. The company became a family affair and they registered the name Rolex in Switzerland in 1908 even though that name had no real meaning other than it was easy to spell, easy to say in various languages, and easy to remember in all of them.

In 1915 the company was officially renamed the Rolex Watch Company and it finally became Rolex SA which is the driving force behind today’s successful marketing program.

By 1945 Rolex Had Established Its Manufacturing Prowess
During the 1920s and 1930s Rolex carved a luxury name for itself by receiving several awards for precision and quality from four renowned observatories: Geneva, Kew, Besancon and Neuchatel. A chain of internal events took place before the Second World War and they also had a significant impact on the evolution of luxury Rolex Watches.

The famous Crown or Coronet logo was trademarked in 1925 and the name Rolex began to appear on the dial in 1926. The company also changed the design of its case and began using hermetically sealed cases designed by the Swiss craftsman Francis Baumgartner. These new cases made Rolex Watches almost waterproof.

Wilsdorf also bought the patent for a new moisture-proof winding system in 1926, and that addition produced the Oyster, which was the first watch with a waterproof case. The oyster was worn by an English swimmer who swam the English Channel in 1927, and the impetus from that marketing campaign set the stage for future luxury marketing tactics.

Rolex watches were marketed and advertised as wonder watches. The company made improvements in the Oyster which increased its status. It was the first watch to be called waterproof at 100 feet under water. That feat made it a watch rock star almost overnight.

The pricey Prince was introduced in 1928 and it is still a popular style today for men who want to express their innate uniqueness and material success. New adjustable six position balances were also introduced in 1928 and in 1932 the company introduced the self-winding feature. In 1935 the Super Balance was introduced to improve the design of its Auto Rotor.

In 1935 Rolex acquired the exclusive rights to Aeglers movements and that was a strategic move that allowed the company to focus on the US market. In 1937 Rolex introduced the first chronograph wristwatch. British pilots wore the Rolex Oyster during the war to signify their excellence and success. After the war the company gave every British prisoner of war a new Rolex since they lost their originals to their captors. Those replacement watches didnt have to be paid for until after the war and that move turned out to be an incredible marketing tool.

Rolex Still Sets a High Marketing Bar
Rolex is still launching new watches and unique marketing campaigns that emphasize quality, prestige, and individuality. The company produces over 2,000 watches a day and is ranked in the top 100 global companies by Business Week Magazine. It holds the top spot for among all watch makers in terms of product recognition, perceived quality, and creative design features and functions.

Tradition meets innovation and Rolex uses that philosophy to create a luxury watch marketing campaign that continues to break price barriers. Their marketing campaign is rooted in authenticity and essentialism as well as the rich heritage of quality timepiece manufacturing.

The Elevation Group Investigation The Truth About Mike Dillard Scam

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The elevation group has been hitting the newbies hard with their wealth system. The elevation group scam was not aware that many would fight this new plaque that has hit the internet to scam newbies out of their money by promising yet another wealth system.

One of the most basic principles in spending your money is to perform due diligence. Due diligence is the foundation for investments such as buying a house, a car or even an internet marketing product. Investing your money wisely with an expectation of a return is a requirement to succeed.

Therefore, if you see an opportunity, whether it is a house, a stock, or an internet marketing product that claims to make you money, you must do your proper due diligence.

Due diligence will include a full investigation of all aspects associated with the product, and then using your own intuition combined with the facts of finding, you will be making an informed choice on whether to proceed with your investment.

The Elevation Group.net, Inc was formed in September 2009, and incorporated in Nevada by Michael N Dillard in November 2010, Michael N Dillard filed an article of corporation with the State of Texas as a Foreign corporation. The name of the corporation in Texas is The Elevation Group, Inc with the assumed name of The Elevation Group.net, Inc. The registered agent of the corporation is Michael N Dillard, and the sole director listed is Michael N Dillard.

Additional contact for The Elevation Group is listed as a PO Box owned by Vested Wisely, LLC which is a corporation owned by Kip Herriage. CEO and co-founder of Wealth Masters International, LTD. Wealth Masters International was founded in 2005 by Kip Herriage and Karl Bessey.

Kipp Herriage is founder and Editor of a newsletter, Vertical Research Advisory, LLC, a newsletter started in 2006 and appears to now be defunct as last publication is listed in March 2009. Kip Herriage is also author of a book “Crash Proof, Becoming Wealthy in the Age of Risk”. Herriage received a BBA , Business, Marketing, Finance from Sam Houston State University, 1981 ? 1985.

Herriage claims to have worked for TWO of the largest U.S. investment firms for over 15 years As Vice President, Financial Planner, and Money Manager, In two separate interviews Herriage has claimed to work for ONE of the largest U.S investment firms for over 15 years, while in his blog he states “For over 15 years I was a Financial Advisor and Vice President of Investments for two of the most respected firms on Wall Street. He never actually reveals what 1 or 2 firms he worked for.

His 15 years place him from 1984 to 1999 when he said he left the corporate world. Meaning he worked for Wall Street while he was still in College in Texas (long commute, I know)

Karl Bessey, President of Wealth Masters International is from Utah and a former coal miner for 22 years. Wealth Masters International sells ‘wealth creation’ products intended to help people invest in stocks, commodities and securities. Membership in the company ranges from $295 up to $19,995. The premise behind Wealth Masters International is a MLM scheme in which customers can derive up to $1000 commission for signing on a downline customer for the $9,995 package.

The actual product of WMI appears to be MLM based where the wealth creation is actually from signing on new customers and not actually promoting any physical products other than a couple DVDs, newsletter and conference calls (webinars) with financial experts.

According to The Wealth Masters International website, WMI claims to be one of the world?s fastest growing financial education and consulting firms, with 35,000 members and operations in over 140 countries. Kip is also the Publisher of Vertical Research Advisory Investment Newsletter (VRA), a top-ranked financial publication (this fact is unverified). His uncanny predictions, including the remarkable recent rise of gold and the failure of the U.S. economy have earned Herriage the nickname “The Nostradamus of Finance.” (apparently only by Wealth Master International as sources in the Financial sector never heard of him).

Wealth Masters International was also the primary product and source behind another company formed with the help of Mike Dillard, Carbon Copy Pro. Jay Kubassek and Aaron Parkinson formed Carbon Copy Pro in 2004. According to the Wealth Masters International review, Carbon Copy Pro was created by founders Jay Kubassek and Aaron Parkinson with the help of Mike Dillard as a solution for struggling network marketers who needed an automated and high converting system to build a profitable business online.

Carbon Copy pro business premise was to build thousands of websites with the primary business of selling memberships as in a direct selling or MLM business model. Mike Dillard Quotes on his website: The Carbon Copy Pro master plan is hinged on the distribution of as many sites as feasible to sell the products of WealthMasters world so that instead of only 1 site promoting a single product, there will be thousands of sites promoting the product.

It has recently been announced by Wealth Masters International, that they are totally and completely severing all ties with Carbon Copy Pro, as of Friday 12/10/2010. (just prior to the launching of The Elevation Group).

These two organizations have been together for years, with WMI being the main product offering by Carbon Copy Pro for the people there making all the big bucks. WMI made the announcement to sever ties with Carbon Copy Pro several days ago, The Carbon Copy Pro has not made any mention of this on their site.

It appears from this research that Mike Dillard is merely repackaging rehashed information that he has sold for the last several years. Carbon Copy Pro sells a product called Black Box, the same product Mike Dillard claims will teach you to make money. Ironically, both products have the same ‘sales pitch’ information.

Wealth Masters International was the backend and primary product to Carbon Copy Pro for years and is now associated and partnered with Mike Dillard on The Elevation Group. The rehashed premise behind WMI is that they will show you how to make money in the recessive economy, and protect you from eminent failure of world economies.

It should also be noted that Neither Mike Dillard, Kip Herriage or their respective companies are listed with The Secretary of State in Texas under Title 7, which requires any person giving financial advice for compensation to register with the State.

Although both company sites claim they do not provide investment advice or financial planning, they use terms such as investment, financial success, and their newsletter offers to show you how to invest, yet they claim to be financial educators.

The bottom line is simply, Mike Dillard’s The Elevation Group is a rehash of Mike Dillard’s Carbon Copy Pro promoting selling memberships to Wealth Masters International and rehashing the WMI financial theories on the economic markets.

It is my opinion they are avoiding openness to avoid scrutiny of what is really behind their product and premise. Mike Dillard is not showing you how to make money or secure your financial future, he is selling you a rehashed and reworked plan from Wealth Masters International that is old hat advice from the early 2000’s

You do not have to be taken in by the mike dillard scam – You can make money and earn extra income online for free. No website needed and no programs to join or mlm companies to promote. This forum offers a great deal of step by step plans, 100% ad free forum, free blogs to use, free CMS to post articles, free Warrior Special Offers section and more. All dedicated to helping you actually build a business.

Drop Cards – A Favored Offline Attraction Marketing Approach

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Drop cards are by far one of my favorite offline attraction marketing methods. If you want to use attraction marketing strategies outside of the internet realm and do not have a big advertising budget, then you’ll love drop cards.

Drop cards can be utilized anywhere that you can set a piece of paper. The greatest thing about drop cards is that you are simply using attraction marketing where ever you go and do not have to bother with speaking to anyone who is not fully interested in what you are providing.

Drop cards are a folded up piece of paper that look like money when on the ground or dropped wherever. Just for a second, suppose if you were strolling in the airport and spoted some money folded in half and laying on the ground. Would you pick it up? Hell yes you would if nothing more than just the sheer curiosity to find out if it is real or not. Once a person picks up one of these drop cards they open it up and see that it is an advertisement for your business.

You can use any memorable phrases that you want such as “Best Home Based Business… Period” along with a website for them to visit. There are many different ways to use drop cards and I have my favorites. Here are some fascinating methods you can utilize drop cards in your offline marketing that I got straight from one of my partners who is know as the king of drop cards, Cedrick Harris. He has been using these drop cards for years and sponsors 1-2 new reps per week.

Below is a list of separate ways to make use of drop cards

#1 Gas Stations – This is my preferred since I have to gas up my vehicle to go places anyway. I’m already there so I pull up to the pump, stick my credit card in the slot to pay. Once I have payed and get under way to fill up my car, I take out a drop card and stick it in the credit card slot. Then I ensue to go to each pump and put one in each credit card slot. Now visualize about this for a minute . How many people do you know who actually goes inside to pay for their gas? Not too many. Because they are paying by credit card, they have to remove my drop card before they can put their card in to pay. Of course they will look at it because there is money hanging out. They might put it in their pocket and study at it later, or they could just drop it on the ground. If they drop it, it will still be collected up by somebody else.

#2 Bookstore and Libraries – This is a great place to specifically target entrepreneurs. I like to grab a handful of drop cards and go into a local bookstore such as Barnes & Noble. First, head over to the magazine section and put drop cards in every magazine that an entrepreneur might view such as “Success Magazine”. Then you can walk over to the book sections and put drop cards in any kind of book you can imagine of such as books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, Cashflow Quadrent etc.

#3 Grocery Stores – Most grocery stores have a magazine isle as well. You can put drop cards in those and on your way out you can put them in Real Estate magazines, auto trader and wheel deals. People who are probing through these are going to be increasing their bills.

#4 Waiting Rooms – Whether you’re waiting for a hair cut or an session with the doc, there are magazines galore to study through while you wait. You can grab a bunch of magazines and pretend you cannot find anything good to read. Instead, your putting drop cards in each one.

#5 Restaurants – This is another one of those great opportunities I learned from the master himself Cedrick Harris. Once you finished eating your meal it’s time to pay the tab and give a tip. Now this only works if you tip well so don’t be cheap. You can do this a couple different ways depending on what you are comfortable with. You can just include a drop card with the tip and walk away. You can also write a quick note on a napkin or on the back of the receipt saying something like “Thank you for the great service you gave us. I decided to leave this for you in case you keep your options open.” And finally, you can really say directly to them, “Would you be interested in a side project if it did not interfere with your current job?” Of course they will say yes. Then you say, “Okay I’ll leave something special here for you to take a look at and see if it is a fit.”

#6 Newspaper Stands – You can go to a newspaper stand to buy your newspaper. Once you pull one out, keep it open and stuff drops cards in each one of them. You just did some highly cost-effective advertising.

#7 In Airports and Planes – Whenever you are heading to fly somewhere you can make use of drop cards the whole way. When you’re in the airport you can casually sit down and throw a drop cards on the ground and step on it quickly so no one sees you do it. Then get up and walk away without looking back. When you’re in the airplane you can put some in the sky mall magazine in each of the 3 seats in front of you. Individuals read through these all the time with the goal of finding something new they didn’t even know existed.

Drop cards are the easiest and most cost-effective way to implement attraction marketing offline. You can get creative and just have fun with it. The greatest thing is that you can simply blend it into your everyday routines without much extra time spent.

Now there are several different kinds of drop cards that are around. There are ones that somewhat resemble the real thing and then there are the ones that easily look like money. And I mean that if you saw a $100 bill folded in half next to a drop card fold in half… you couldn’t tell the separation, right down to the kind of paper.

So if you do not have a place to purchase drop cards, I advise getting the best available from from my man Cedrick Harris the Drop Card King. These are the $100 bill drop cards that actually look like the real thing. He has a really great deal going right now at The Drop Card King.

Avoiding Website Flaws in Internet Marketing

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Avoiding Website Flaws in Internet Marketing

Internet marketing has been going overboard throughout the years. Most business owners create a website to generate leads, manage their contents and establish brand awareness. Website promotion can bring a lot of advantages but that does not mean that it is susceptible from common website flaws. Doppler Internet, as a web development and web solutions expert makes it a point that the websites they provide for their clients are safe from vulnerabilities. This is the main reason why most businesses choose Carl Doppler for their marketing and promotion schemes.

Website security should always be part of the goals of online marketers and internet specialists. If the website is not safe, then the safety of your clients or customers might be at risk. Spammers and hackers are tremendously growing in number as the number of internet users increases. Hackers are threat to your business and to your contents. They continue to develop software and systems to be able to access your web pages and websites in order for them to get all of your contents and information. This article will give you more information regarding the most common website flaws for you to avoid and monitor.

Input validation

Web applications use input from HTTP requests to be able to respond to queries. However, these inputs can be used by hackers to attack your website by means of tampering any part of the request, including the URLs, headers, hidden fields and form fields to be able to break site security systems. Common input tampering attacks include: force browsing, command insertion, cookie poisoning, hidden field manipulation, buffer overflows.

Sites try to shield themselves by means of filtering malicious inputs, but encoding and typing information come in various ways. Before validating, codes should be converted into their simplest form so that malicious inputs can be identified. Simplification of these encodings is called -canonicalization-. This technique can be used to conceal any form of attacks since HTTP inputs can be represented in several formats.

The impact of using unauthenticated inputs should not be underestimated as it can be detrimental to one’s website. Attacks will not get in if web developers take the time in validating inputs before they use it. Vulnerabilities that are based on malicious inputs will exist if a web application does not have a strong and systematic mechanism for HTTP requests validation.

Access Control

Access control or known as authorization is the process of granting access to contents and functions to some users. Most often, developers fail to consider how access controls can be detrimental to a site. They fail to develop a good and dependable access control mechanism. This makes attacking of your site easy since broken access controls can make hackers able to change or delete content, perform unauthorized functions, or even take over site administration. Ineffective access control schemes are very easy to be discovered and exploit.

Administrative interfaces are one of the most common issues in access control. This interface allows administrators to easily manage their site in the internet. Site administrators manage their content, users, and data on their sites. Due to the capabilities that these sites bring, they are one of the most common targets of attackers. In this case, hackers could gain access to sensitive files and perform mischief.

To be able to avoid this attack, a web application security and access requirements should be established for authentication purposes. The use of access control matrix to define access control rules is highly recommended. Documenting the security policy is off great help in protecting the site from attackers. The policy’s main function is to identify what types of users can have an access, and what type of content is accessible to them. The access control mechanism should be tested prior to implementation to be assured that it cannot be broken or bypassed.

Buffer Overflow

Buffer overflow occurs when a data is placed in a storage device that lacks space. When the data is too much, it can corrupt data values in memory addresses that are adjacent to the buffer due to insufficient bounds checking. If a data is copied from one buffer to another without checking the buffer’s storage capacity, buffer overflows happens.

Buffer overflows can be detrimental to one’s website especially when data and content are forced to be placed on a space that has less storage and cannot accept and store the uploaded information anymore. Theses inputs goes to a temporary storage called a buffer, whose capacity is defined in the operating system.

Programs check and monitors data length and will not let you to place an overlong data but most programs supposes that data will fit into the space designated to it at all times. When a too-long data is stored in the buffer, the excessive data is written to another buffer adjacent to it but all contents in that buffer will be overwritten and destroyed.

Shielding a website from attacker is an essential factor to consider especially in internet marketing and website promotion. If your site is not protected and you did not establish a security policy, then it will be easier for hackers to gain access to your website and perform harm that could be a way of tarnishing your business.

The Steps In Marketing Research Process

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Marketing research is a systematic search, gathering and analyzing of the facts and data on how to meet consumer desires and needs. In other words it is a means of gaining information on marketing problem and opportunities. Marketing research also serves the purpose of keeping up with competitors’ market strategies. It is a systematic method of finding new concepts or ideas, getting feedback on proposed advertising or gaining insight into attitudes and opinions about a new product. Marketing Research is also helpful in variety of business decisions and to prepare a credible business plan such as capital planning, cash flow forecast, sales projections, pricing strategy, supplies and number of employees to be hired etc.

Steps in research process:
Marketing research process starts with defining the problem and formulating the research question. The process starts with addressing and determining the organization needs and where to look for the information. Next is to decide on research approach, which is most appropriate for research question and most suitable research method then comes the plan for process of conducting research, after the research is conducted the final step will be analyze and report the finding and recommendations.

1. Define the problem and determine and formulate the research question: If you are considering conducting Marketing research chances are you have already identified a problem or the research question. To be effective, a research study must be both well designed and narrowly focused, this will help you identify the key terms and concepts you should use when searching electronic databases and print research resources. If the research question is too broad too much information will be obtained and large amount of resulting data will be difficult to analyze and there for of little use to organization.

2. Decide on the sources of information and sample profile: Different sources of data are categorized as primary data that researcher collects and secondary data that already exists. Secondary data can further be classified as internal data which as the name signifies a company already has and external data which must be gathered from other sources. Researcher need to plan the sources well from which information can be obtained.

3. Consider your resource options and select the appropriate research approach:
Next step is to consider your resource options and choose a suitable research approach. The process of primary research starts with whether question calls for descriptive, exploratory or casual research and choice depends whether research question needs to be answered with quantifiable facts and how an organization plans to use the information helps in making an appropriate decision. If the organization wishes to prove a fact about the demographic composition of its customer then descriptive study would be appropriate, but if wishes to find out about falling sales then it will need to conduct exploratory research and casual research will determine the effect of proposed change.

4. Plan the research method: Depending upon how research would be conducted, available Research method will include surveys, focus group, interviews, and observation etc. For example for exploratory research the emphasis is not on sample size but choosing the correct participant and the analysis of information they provide.

5. Conducting the research and collecting the data: There are many methods of conducting the research. Mail surveys are quick and relatively inexpensive, they are ideal for seeking extensive feedback on customer satisfaction or other detailed surveys Telephone interviews allow you to rapidly obtain feedback from customers in a cost-effective. Focus groups are facilitated group discussions where customers and prospects explore a particular topic, usually under the guidance of a researcher. They are useful for gauging customer concerns or for getting their thoughts on potential changes. Personal interviews occur when a researcher interviews a customer one-on-one. This type of research is ideal for getting detailed information on customers attitudes or how they perceive products or services. Observing customers at various points of contact in your business provides unbiased feedback about a product or service.

6. Performing data analysis and report the finding and recommendations: When analyzing data, always start from review of your research goals, this will help you organize your data and focus your analysis.

Reporting and presentation, is one of the most important of the steps in marketing research. There are as many reporting styles as there are research reports. As for reporting the results, the level and scope of content depends on to whom the report is intended.
The end products of marketing research are conclusions and recommendations. Data is converted into information and conclusions are drawn, it is this final information which management needs to reduce the risks and uncertainties in management decision making.

Marketing research serves marketing management by providing information which is relevant to decision making. To be effective, marketing research has to be systematic, objective and analytical, and final conclusion of the research should meet the objective of the project.