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26 Point GAP Analysis - Setting Goals is Only the First Step
Going through the exercise of setting goals may seem like a task or even at its worst dudgery. The problem in the past has been that most organizations set goals based on sales for each quarter of the year. This means goals are usually set for financial reasons and the goals are generally for one year at a time. The goals also tend to tied into budgets and quotas. But what happened to setting goals that incorporate the entire business and the direction it is taking?Goals need to thread through every fiber of the business. The starting point is to do a 26 point gap analysis of the organization. This means taking a look at every department and analyzing how they are conducting business, what processes are in place, and looking to the future at how that department would be perfectly run. Does this sound like a lot of work? Yes, and it is after the initial analysis.Let's examine what is involved in doing the 26 point GAP analysis and how you can get started for your own business. If you do not want to do this analysis on your own, call or email Dr. Daoust for assistance.HR - there are at least three areas that need to be examined - hiring policies, advancement policies, and benefits. You need to take a look at the systems used for each of these areas including an analysis of the time it takes to perform each task. Ge

quality of the brand message and the resulting brand loyalty.

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Private label drinking water is an ideal and powerful way to promote a quality brand. Essentially, private labeling allows businesses to design and develop a label with a custom message, which results in the creation and promotion of a brand with a clear, high quality message along with superior bottled water. Because of the immediate and permanent nature of the bottled water product, consumable advertising is created that leaves a lasting message in the mind of the consumer.

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

• Pure water that is popular and universally accepted as contributing to good health. The message of the private label effectively reaches more prospects as consumption increases and more hotels incl

Online Local Directories for Small Businesses
When a customer wants to find a local business she may use one of the well known world wide search engines.She might type in “Plumbers in Birmingham”. (Or whatever your business type and location is). If you show up in the search results then you are very lucky. Of course you’ve got no chance of showing up in the results if you don’t have a website.The first few search results are probably from the well known large national directories followed by lesser known local directories. The potential customer will click on one of these search results and then select the business to call.That’s why you’ve got to get your business listed in directory, regardless of whether you have a website or not.There are several problems with national directories, one is their high cost and the other is that they cover every type of business from Accountants to Zoo keepers. There’s nothing wrong with that and if you can afford it then go ahead and advertise in them, but make sure you track your results so that you can monitor how effective your advert is.You might like to consider getting your business listed in specialised local directories. For example you may be able to find a directory that specialises in finance and only lists accountants, IFAs and banks etc. Another specialised directory may cater for tradesmen such

The Hospitality and Lodging Industry in the United States is booming with strong growth in overall revenues and average price per room. Notwithstanding external factors such as international terrorism and the rapid rise in fuel costs, most industry forecasts predict continued growth in revenue.

Recent studies show however, that the industry suffers from a considerable loss in revenue and profits because of ineffective differentiation of service offerings and branding. This trend is recent because historically hotel customers have demonstrated brand loyalty.

Private label drinking water has been proven to be a powerful, cost effective method of promoting quality brand images and differentiating service offerings.

Opportunity Lost

The Hospitality and Lodging Industry plays a major role in the U.S. economy with business travelers alone accounting for $40 to $50 billion in annual revenue. A recent study however, by a recognized research firm, concludes that up to $20 billion in additional revenue is lost because frequent travelers are not loyal to specific hotel brands.1

This revenue deficit represents an opportunity lost for profitability and continued cash flow for the industry.

Brand Loyalty Means Greater Profits

Most analysts and academics agree that loyal customers constitute the basis of a successful business because of new sales cost savings, the ability to sell additional higher margin features to loyal customers and word of mouth or informal referrals to new customers.2

The creation and maintenance of brand loyalty therefore is the strategic objective of many industries with no exception to the Hospitality and Lodging industry. As one study concluded “Loyal customers are logically at the heart of a company’s most valuable customer group.” 3 Therefore, the overall importance of customer loyalty could realistically benefit or impede the industry itself.

Without brand loyalty firms in the industry are forced to compete on the basis of price instead of quality; history has shown this to be a losing proposition.

The challenge to the individual manager is the best use of resources in order to create the highest level of customer loyalty. This applies to mid-market hotels as well as major chains and franchises.

Traditional Efforts Are No Longer Effective

Reward programs and superior customer service are no longer enough to establish brand loyalty. Studies have concluded that hotels are failing to increase brand loyalty due to a lack of differentiation and traditional efforts such as rewards and points programs have become commodities in the industry.

Because they are offered by most firms in the industry, rewards programs have changed from service differentiators to service requirements and cost centers. As a result, some analysts have concluded that rewards systems and points programs have become no more than a cost of doing business.4

As a result, there is increased concern that customer loyalty programs are failing to achieve their objectives of increasing customer loyalty and profits.5

Customer service and satisfaction is less of a factor now in establishing and maintaining brand loyalty primarily because competition has created a culture of exceptional customer service. Studies have also concluded that high levels of customer satisfaction do not guarantee brand loyalty unless competitors fail to offer the same level of service.

Many hotels are seeking better ways to create customer loyalty and are exploring the inherent desires of individuals to be loyal to brands they are comfortable with. All industry participants, whether large high end hotels or mid-market firms, must develop more effective ways to develop and communicate their brand propositions.

Focus on Design, Services and Amenities to Help Build Brand and Loyalty

To create a memorable lodging experience and to better distinguish their brand proposition, many hotels and franchises are investing in redesigned facilities, new value added and telecommunications services and a broader array of amenities to create brand awareness and customer loyalty.

According to a recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers, guests at hotels across the country are now greeted by a myriad of new amenities ranging from increased choices for checkout methods to high quality drinking water and in-room exercise equipment. Hotels are adding and improving amenities to achieve incremental revenues, respond to increased consumer expectations and create customer loyalty through quality branding.

In addition to investing in new services and amenities a unified and clear branding message must be developed and conveyed.

Design and the Brand Message

Developing an effective brand message is more than creating a brand statement. The brand message must appeal directly to the emotions of the customer in order to create enduring brand loyalty; and design is one of the most powerful tools for publicizing the brand. It is important to understand that quality of design will significantly improve the quality of the brand message and the resulting brand loyalty.

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

Introduction to Financial Accounting and GAAP
Accounting, a.k.a. “The Language of Business”, is a large and diverse topic. Subtopics include financial accounting, cost accounting, management accounting, internal auditing external auditing, international accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting and taxes. The subtopic that comprises the largest portion of an accountants academic program of study is financial accounting.The purpose of financial accounting is basically to provide useful information to users who will use that information to make a decision, most commonly either an investment or a credit decision. To be useful information needs to be relevant and reliable. The most common means of conveying information to users is through the preparation of financial statements: 1. the income statement, 2. the balance sheet, 3. the statement of cash flows, and 4. the statement of shareholders’ equity.The income statement presents the profitability of company over a period of time. The balance sheet presents the assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity at the end of the period of time used for the income statement. The statement of cash flows classifies all cash inflows and outflows during the time period into one of three categories: operating, investing, and financing. The statement of shareholders’ equity shows how the shareholders’ equity change

ts and academics agree that loyal customers constitute the basis of a successful business because of new sales cost savings, the ability to sell additional higher margin features to loyal customers and word of mouth or informal referrals to new customers.2

Without brand loyalty firms in the industry are forced to compete on the basis of price instead of quality; history has shown this to be a losing proposition.

Traditional Efforts Are No Longer Effective

As a result, there is increased concern that customer loyalty programs are failing to achieve their objectives of increasing customer loyalty and profits.5

Focus on Design, Services and Amenities to Help Build Brand and Loyalty

In addition to investing in new services and amenities a unified and clear branding message must be developed and conveyed.

Design and the Brand Message

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

Cheap But Not Nasty Business Cards
The business card is perhaps the best salesman and partner that you can have. That is why it is essential that it contain much more than your name, address, and contact numbers and services. It should be designed keeping its purpose in mind – that is it’s a powerful sales tool. So start with the design. If you want to create a business card that contains a photo with gradient colours you can try using a glossy paper to ensure that the cards are printed as good as they look on the screen. Or else, you can get disappointed with the print out and if your disappointed the customers may also beAlso, if your card design contains background colour or images, you can use papers that have gaps between them as these gaps will allow you to make up for the unavoidable elusiveness of the printer paper system. However, most stock cards don’t have gaps so if you don’t want to have trouble with printing, make sure your photos, images and text are at 3mm off the edge of the card. This way the printer imprecision will not destroy your business cards making you have to start all over again at a cost.When it comes to printing, make sure that the paper type that you will use is compatible to your printer (not all papers are). As inkjet and laser printer use different types of technologies, it is important that you only feed the correct pape

traditional efforts such as rewards and points programs have become commodities in the industry.

As a result, there is increased concern that customer loyalty programs are failing to achieve their objectives of increasing customer loyalty and profits.5

Focus on Design, Services and Amenities to Help Build Brand and Loyalty

In addition to investing in new services and amenities a unified and clear branding message must be developed and conveyed.

Design and the Brand Message

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

Advertising Today - Strategies for the Short Attention Span
My years in radio taught me that the most effective means of ratings success is to speak to the audience you want instead of the audience you have. It can be a long process, and it takes patience to develop and grow your message before you see results. But repetition builds reputation, and it can work for any business model. Here are some things to keep in mind in building an effective campaign:Keep it simple, stupid. You can say more with less. Don't clutter your message with too many details. The more compelling the message is, the more pre-qualified your customers will be. A customer more motivated to find out more information, will be more motivated to purchase what you have to offer.Ask for what you want. Be downright honest with your potential customer. Don't promise something you can't deliver, or hide something you can't with cliches and meaningless tricks and gimmicks. If you want action from your customer, you have to be willing to tell them what you want them to do. I want you to read the rest of this article. When you are done, I want you to read some of the other articles I have written.Go against the grain. Take a risk on doing the opposite of what you've always done or what others are doing. Too many times, successful tactics get

menities to Help Build Brand and Loyalty

In addition to investing in new services and amenities a unified and clear branding message must be developed and conveyed.

Design and the Brand Message

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

Accounts Receivable Management
Accounts Receivable Factoring is a means to meet the requirements of companies that are in urgent need of cash. Highly useful to the companies, this process of Accounts Receivable Funding refers to the process of selling of invoices and other Receivables by the company to a funding company. The funding company purchases these Receivables at a discount from the seller company. The seller company then gets the required cash that is required to run the business. Added advantages are that the seller company can then focus on the business without bothering with collecting the cash, because this becomes the responsibility of the financing company.As a company raising funds through Accounts Receivable Funding, you have the option of managing the Accounts Receivable sales yourself, or outsourcing it to a company who specializes in providing Accounts Receivable Funding services. In fact, there are many companies providing Accounts Receivable Funding services, including designing, implementing, managing and providing solutions to clients ranging from telecommunications, education, retail, utility and the government sector, to name only a few.The process of Accounts Receivable Management involves receiving documents, which can be either sales notes or checks, maintaining a record of the same, and providing quality checks by valida

quality of the brand message and the resulting brand loyalty.

Therefore, extreme care must be exercised during the brand design and communication process to ensure that the brand message is not diminished.

Private Label Drinking Water

Some of the benefits of private label water include:

• A high-quality, custom message created that can be used or resold at a profit.

• Modifiable designs and messages to reflect events such as tournaments and promotions.

• Individual users who often carry the water with them, which extends the promotion of the product.

• Effective cost that is low and results in a rapid response to the brand message.

• Consumable advertising, which creates a lasting message and impression that appeals to the consumer.

What to Look for in a Private Label Water Supplier

There are a number of private label water suppliers but they vary significantly in the quality of their product offerings. There are three areas to investigate when choosing a supplier, which include quality of water, quality of label design and production and quality of customer service. Each are expounded upon below:

Quality of Water

High-quality water in terms of health and taste is critical for the acceptance of the product and brand message. If the water is of low quality or tastes bad then the branding will fail. The best quality water on the market today is purified using a distillation, filtration and oxygenation process that removes all impurities including all toxins and bacteria, which ultimately results in a light, refreshing taste.

Quality of Label Design and Production

The label or message portion of the product is significant in the production process, whereas poor-quality labels send a poor-quality message and high-quality labels send a high-quality message. Production of a poor-quality message is a waste of money and adversely affects the brand image.

It is very important to acknowledge that the vast majority of the private label opportunities in the United States come from water resellers (not bottlers) with desktop-model “thermal” (or “thermal wax”) printing devices. These “thermal” devices have a quality level that cannot compare to even consumer-grade inkjet printers, which are very cheap in both quality and cost, typically ranging from $10-$20 thousand depending on configuration. Although the quality is decreased many companies use these printers because of the low cost, which will ultimately produce poor-quality labels.

In sharp contrast, a quality label, i.e., one that looks like a top-shelf brand that you might find in your local gourmet grocery store, needs to be produced with professional-quality equipment using professional-grade printing equipment. There are three types of printing equipment that can produce a high-quality label. These three types are as follows:

1. Rotary offset lithography

2. Flexography

3. High-quality digital presses

For the majority of smaller runs (approximately 10,000 units), digital equipment offered by Heidelberg or HP is the most cost effective solution, but instead of $10-$20 thousand, the minimum equipment costs for these professional solutions range from $750 thousand to $1.25 million per station.

These facts are very important to understand when choosing a private label bottler. Those who sell low-quality labels will have you believe that nothing better is available because of the short runs required by private label customers. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

In order to succeed, your label must be professionally designed and produced with high-quality materials using a printing process that renders a high-quality result. Waterproof lamination is also required for long-lasting labels. This is easily achieved for an affordable unit cost using the right equipment for the job.

Quality of Customer Service

The design and production of private label drinking water is complex and requires intense interaction between the customer and supplier. Communication and a culture of customer service excellence is a prerequisite to the creation of an effective brand message and a successful product. Without a significant commitment by the supplier to customer service, the branding exercise will fail.

Choose a quality supplier to help develop your quality brand offering and realize greater revenue and profits.

Notes

 1.	Brandimensions, Hotel Branding: Using Online Research to Drive Innovation,  2006
 2.	Skogland, Iselin and Siguew, Are Your Satisfied Customers Loyal?, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, August 2004. p.222
 3.	Ganesh, Arnold, and Reynolds, Understanding the Customer Base.
 4.	Aaronson, Jack, Loyalty Doesn’t Come From a Program.  http://www.clickz.com/experts ,  May 2005
 5.	Skogland, Iselin and Siguew, ibid., p.221

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A light look at the differences between generations' approach to work via utilization of workplace technology. Reveals how each generation can learn from and serve the other.

The fact is that enhanced energy, success and performance cannot be found in a bottle or can of espresso and we cannot replace sleep with a cup of coffee. Just as the world must find alternative sources of energy to oil it's clear that Corporate America must look to alternative sources of energy besides coffee to power its workforce. Instead of energy drainers American businesses must focus on becoming power generators.

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