The Apple Store - 6 facts about marketing strategy for iPhone Apps

by : bertoux stephane

Consultant in Marketing Design, Stephane Bertoux is a specialist in mass market consumer and retail, for which he was a consultant for twenty years (3M, BASF, Carrefour, Masterlock ...).
It is also the author of iPhone application TheBrandGenerator.
http://www.thebrandgenerator.com

The Apple Store - 6 facts about marketing strategy for iPhone Apps.

The App Store (which sells application for iPhone and iTouch) is a great business model for Apple, of course, which holds a global distribution network, integrated, with no storage costs or purchases from suppliers software (Apple surrenders a percentage of amounts paid by buyers).

There is currently no verified models, each one launched their apps into the market a little groping, by changing its pricing practice and its strategy days after days.

A key question that arises is the use of free application, to attract consumers and then switch to full versions, paid. The other issue is the level of price elasticity with respect to what the consumer is willing to pay.

In response, the analogy of the Hypermarket, the Nescafé and China seems to be the best way to understand how this market works.

1- Fact 1. Not seen, not sold. The hypermarket's rules applies to the AppleStore.
The Apple Store (80 000 references) is a large hypermarket. With shelves and products inside. The consumer comes through the door of the App Store, and then visits the various departments: Games, Business, Comics, Books, Education ....
At the entrance of each department, at the head of the shelves, the Best Sellers. In the department, we find first the good sellers. And after, the low sellers. The more sales declines, the more they go to the bottom of the shelves.


2- Fact 2. New market, new products, new consumers : new ways to buy.
An Hypermarket in China. Why in China? There, consuming is very recent. And our Chinese friends are like all of us in the Apple Store.
We are just walking there, we look, we discover, we buy a little. We take our time reading labels in the products. By discovering a whole bunch of stuff that we did not know before. Or things that we knew, but presented differently packaged. And many promotion girls, so pretty, giving us for free to test and to taste new food.

3- Fact 3. Promotion or not promotion, that’s the question !
And Nescafe? Coffee is a new product in China, which is marked by high statut level. I drink coffee, I am modern, as an American. Furthermore it is expensive, I can afford. And coffee is both virile and gives good health, it makes walking neurons more efficiently. Nescafe is experiencing a strong success in China, thanks to a very important advertising investment and a massive presence of facilitators in the stores to promote coffe.

You are therefore in a hypermarket in Shanghai in the aisle which passes the department of coffee. At the department entrance, a nice promotion girl of the Nescafe brand, white shirt, red vest, black skirt : she awaits behind his booth.

4- Fact 4. Promotion can be only brand communication. Are brands so important in the AppStore?
You walk past her, she offers a smile to taste a cup. If you have a bit hungry, time, or you're stingy, you will take the cup and drink. That's all. And you will buy the brand you want and maybe even ground coffee.

If you are already a consumer of Nescafe (and you're hungry, thirsty ...), you take the cup. You will find it's nice from your brand to give you a small unexpected gift, and to share with others my brand, and this gives you self-value (self-enhancement: "My brand gives gift to everyone, it's really a nice brand, my brand"). Maybe you will think that there is not so much coffee at home and you will buy one. And if it was on the shopping list ... you would have bought anyway.

And if you do not like coffee: zero effect.
You did not even saw the promoter.

5- Fact 5. Viral marketing and on store promotion : when the promotion kills the viral communication.
You are a Chinese countryman which has just arrived in town.
You learn plenty, you've never seen so many things, strange things which you had no idea. Yet it is written in Chinese, yet you do not understand well. You see the girl with her cup, coffee is written. What's the coffee? Something for long-nose, certainly, it must be disgusting, it's complicated, what's the point? So complicated that you dare not even get close to the girl, you're afraid of being thought a fool.

You get back into your construction camp, where 15 of your mates housed during construction. One of your neighbors offers you a of coffee, but before explaining you how to drink it, when, and why it's good, and even it gives status! When you will hit your pay, you will buy it, and bring it back to the village, to show that you are not anymore a peasant.

If by cons you tasted the coffee offered by the demonstrator, because she was pretty, you would immediately spat out: "Bouah, what's that thing wich stinks vomit? Another devilish long-nose thing ! " And returned to barracks you have told your friend: "You drink this yucky stuff you? I tasted, it's not for me!"

Nescafe is relatively expensive for a Chinese, but because it's a good product and well done. There are now Chinese brands, although cheaper, certainly not so good (the consumer thinks as it's cheaper, it's worst). Nestlé can sell much cheaper, but they will have no longer the ressources to do so much communication. And the margin will decline dramatically (this is not a linear curve).


6- Fact 6. Have an adapted strategy with the apps kinds.
All this applies perfectly to the App Store: to offer a free test is a good strategy, if the apps is a simple and know concept (a racing game), and if there is a strong competitive environment. Communication will help with offering consumers little more (tips, tutorial,...)
For a product more complicate, new for the consumer: it will not work, there is even a risk to kill the product by a negative buzz.

Having a low price is necessary if it is a staple stuff, with great competition. If the apps has some interesting functions or marketing differences, then the consumer will be willing to pay the price.

And the consumer will be a product ambassador, as he has paid a "good" price an application that he will use it, and being it's own demonstrator.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/the-apple-store-6-facts-about-marketing-strategy-for-iphone-apps-1492601.html

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Knowing the ABCs of Craigslist Phone Verification

By :creztor-tessel

Craigslist is one of the biggest online communities hosting free classified advertisements that feature different sections about jobs, services, sales, forums, discussions, among others. It has become a popular hotspot for people in all walks of life ranging from a budding writer to professional product advertisers. It has become a potential gold mine, especially for product ads and commercials. The site has therefore become a target for spam and all kinds of online scams so account verification was created to counter them.

One may have heard or seen Craigslist verified accounts. Most commonly known as verified accounts or PVA, these are phone verified accounts that posters use in Craigslist. Phone verification was initially, not a requirement for posting ads in Craigslist. With rapidly increasing traffic to the site, junk or spam advertisements became common so the need for PVA was introduced.

The erotic services section was the very first section where this system was tested and started. The main objective was to see how PVA would affect Craigslist in general. After testing Phone Verification on this section, it was expanded to other services sections for further tests. It was found to be effective and was eventually introduced to all of the services sections in the site. Now, posting in Craigslist under the services section requires a valid phone number for real-time, accurate verification. This process may be carried over to other sections but to date, only the services section has this requirement.

To successfully set-up an account, one must have a valid and working phone number. This may sound easy but can actually be a bit annoying because Craigslist needs a real phone number based in the United States and not Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP or any other easily disposed phone number. This is to avoid scams by using anonymous phone numbers. Plus, Craigslist only allows posting an ad for 48 hours with proper account verification. Posting ads or commercials beyond this timeframe can make your account be put on hold indefinitely. This actually means that an on-hold account has a very slim chance of being re-verified.

One of the aims of this strict process in account verification is obviously to minimize and control spam. Any posting under the services section needs good working phone number to fully verify the account. This system has proven to be an effective countermeasure against spam and junk ads proliferation in the site. Bypassing the system is almost impossible unless one chooses to use an IP to register an account.

There are cases that an IP (Internet Protocol) can be used to register or verify an account. It should be Craigslist that should determine if a PVA is needed for one's IP. If an account is after the screening of the IP the poster can start posting ads. However, there are IPs that are filtered and flagged and when this happens, the only thing to do is to get a fresh one to start posting once more. Craigslist normally compiles a list of IPs so hopefully, the new IP that one's computer can get is not on that list.

Buy quality phone numbers for your Craigslist verification needs and do your own Craigslist phone verification for peace of mind. Make your own Craigslist PVA for the absolute best in quality.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/knowing-the-abcs-of-craigslist-phone-verification-1487651.html

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Corporate Bonds - Why Business Corporations Issue Corporate Bonds

By Imran Watson

Generally we can divide the bonds market deals in two kinds of bonds, one is known as the corporate bonds while the other one is known as the municipal bonds. Here we would introduce and explain about the bonds and the ways one can make investment in them.

Corporate bonds, as the name suggests are issued by different business corporations. The only purpose behind floating these bonds is to collect the required capital that is needed for further investment as well as for meeting the daily expenses.

It is important to know that floating bonds is not the only option with business corporations for collecting money, rather they can also go for taking loans from banks, they can float shares in the stock exchange and of course the option of selling inventory is always in their hands.

The only reason why they rely upon corporate bonds is that they have to pay far less interest rate upon corporate bonds than that is demanded by banks or other financial institutions. Moreover, some times the condition of company is that much weak that no institution is ready to lend money to it.

While floating the bonds the companies do not need to keep the collateral with lending person as the bonds are not backed by any physical property of the company. It is just the reliability of a company that helps people decide about whether to buy the bonds of one company or not. Another advantage of floating bonds is that, if until the maturity date company does not want to pay back the money, it can convert these bonds into shares.

On the contrary, by investing into corporate bonds the investors help themselves get highest returns in the market. If an investment in the corporate bonds is made after a thorough research and in a professional way, one can get ones investment grow with an amazing pace.

Before making an investment into the corporate bonds, one needs to consider the prevailing interest rate as well as the interest rates of other companies, the demand of the bond in market, reliability of company, past performance and the credit rating that it holds. An investment decision that would be based upon all these factors would surely yield good returns as well as would ensure the safety of money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Imran_Watson

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Paper Coins

By Jimmy Wilson

Paper coins are an anomaly, but consider the advantages that paper coins could pose in our daily exchange of currencies. Paper used in monetary values, has always provided a lighter and easier kept monies. You can look back in the history of paper currencies and see that the value of a paper money has always superseded when used as less than a whole dollar.

Paper coins could eliminate the need for metal usage as a coin in the use of money exchanges and when you think of it, personal checks have been use for decades in settling over payments and refunds from many retailers if making restitution by mail.

Sending monies via regular mail cannot make use of metal coins, but paper would be no problem. Can you think of more ways that paper coins could be a better application in our day to day financial operations?
Thinking outside the box when choosing paper money material as a wider usage to include replacing metal coins could be a major adjustment but not an impossible task. Paper and vending machines are no longer a non-application excuse, since we now see vending machines accept paper money. So if a vending machine accepts paper money why not paper in making change?

Paper coins have so many money saving advantages that we should seriously consider the redesign of our monetary monies and the materials we use. The advantage of weight savings, transporting in and out of businesses, providing change to customers that don't have pockets for metal coins, the list goes on and on.

Many of you who have followed this article along are probably thinking either we are thinking too far out or we may have hit on a new benchmark idea that paper coins could be a real solution to many metal coin obstacles. If you know of other applications where paper would be a better use, then spread the word and you can be a part of an unexpected change in how we use coins whether using metal or paper.

To see more about paper coins and rare old coins and how valuable both are in how we use them, visit us and see if you may be holding a hot valued coin.

http://justaskchip.com/rare-coin-collection-appraisers.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimmy_Wilson

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Estate Planning is Important Even If You're Not Rich - Here's Why

By Shane Flait

Those of you who aren't wealthy, generally think that estate planning is only for the rich. But on considering a few simple questions and seeing what can happen to your wealth, you might reconsider having no estate plan. This article gives a few simple examples of why estate planning is necessary for almost everyone.

So how much wealth should you have to consider making some sort of estate plan?

It really comes down to the issue of making sure whatever you do have goes to whoever you want and not needlessly wasted - not an amount of money.

If about a third up to all of whatever wealth you do have - no matter how small or great - were to go to the government or anyone else other than who you intend to get what you have unless you 'plan' otherwise, would you then assure a plan for its transfer?

Presented this way, I think more people may consider doing some planning. But what still needs to be stressed to get the remainder to plan is that many people simply aren't aware of:

* What situations will put their wealth in jeopardy to be lost, and

* How much of it will be lost.

Here are some situations to be aware of in this regard: Suppose...

1. You only have some precious jewelry that you want it to go to your youngest daughter

2. You own your house, but not much else. You want to give it to your kids as your legacy because they really need that kind of financial help

3. You own a house and have about $200,000 in various mutual funds. You want to make sure which kid get's what.

4. You've remarried and want to leave your house - which you own by yourself - to your own children from a previous marriage.

If any one of these situations describes you, your above 'wishes' for what you have can be easily nullified with inadequate planning. And here's how...

* Dying without a will can prevent your daughter from getting your jewelry. The older child can claim she was due the jewelry; who's to say differently?

* All of your assets in the second and third situations can be lost to Medicaid if you require long term care - unless you prepare early and effectively with gifts and trusts. Needing long term care is common as you become elderly - and can be quite expensive. Medicaid will pay but only after you first spend almost all your assets for long term care expenses. It will seek payments from you first.

* Your children from a previous marriage will not get your house unless you create a trust for it, since state laws may deny your 'will' in favor of giving your house to your present wife.

You can see that your 'wishes' are easily thwarted even for these common levels of wealth.

You can guarantee all your wishes by doing some planning - the earlier the better. Why earlier?...because some you never know when you'll die or when you'll need costly long term care. And some estate planning that protects your assets - such as from Medicaid - requires a lead time of up to 5 years.

So you can see virtually everyone needs to know about what's at jeopardy, so they can protect the disposition of their wealth - no matter how small or unimportant they think their estate is.

Shane Flait gives you workable strategies to accomplish your goals in financial, legal, tax, retirement and protection issues..

Get his FREE report on Managing Your Retirement =>
http://www.easyretirementknowhow.com/FreeReportandSignUp.htm

Read his ebook: 'Wise Way to Financial Independence' =>
http://www.easyretirementknowhow.com/WiseWayGate.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_Flait

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Pemutaran Rekaman Pembicaraan Antara Anggodo dan Wisnu

Source : vivanews.com

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Pernyataan Anggodo Membuat Tim Pengacara Bibit dan Chandra Khawatir

Source : vivanews.com

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Credit Unions Are a Neat Concept

By Nick Messe

The concept of credit unions originated in the United Kingdom. It was in 1844 that a group of weavers in Rochdale formed the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. It was formed to buy goods at wholesale prices and sell them to members at lower than the retail market price. The funds were raised by selling shares to members. The movement came to Canada in 1901 and it was a huge success. Attracted by the success in Canada, the first credit union in the United Staes was established in 1908.

Pierre Jay, the Massachusetts Banking Commissioner, and a Boston merchant by the name of Edward Filene were instrumental in passing the first state legislation in the United States in 1909 in the state of Massachusetts. Growth was slow, both for the legislation in other states and the Massachusetts Association. Only a very few states followed suit to pass laws on credit unions.

In 1921, Felene stepped up his efforts to get laws passed in other states and for the creation of more credit unions. He formed the Credit Union National Extension Bureau spending one million dollars from his own pocket. He hired the services of attorney Roy F. Bergengren to support his efforts for legislation. By 1925, 25 states passed specific laws and there were 419 credit unions with a total membership of 108,000. By 1935 the number grew to 3,372 with a membership of 641,800 and 35 states had laws allowing this type of operation.

In actual practice, CUs are an organized group of people that provide cheap financial service to their members. The members pool their resources. Unlike banks, the stress is on giving financial services to members rather that making a profit.

Most are governed by a voluntary board with the board members being local people. The banks have highly paid professionals on their board. They have to be paid a hefty sitting fee and traveling expenses. You can see how that amounts to a huge saving for these member based organizations.

The banks are motivated by profit which is disbursed among the stockholders. On the other hand, the intention of the credit unions is to provide cheap credit to members. These factors help them keep their operating costs very low. As there is no profit motive there is no need to show big surpluses in the balance sheet.

Compared to banks, the CUs have no intention of making huge profits to distribute among the stockholders. Since expenses are kept very low, it allows CUs to offer credit to their members at very low rates. They also keep their service fees for their members very low.

For the same reason credit unions are also able to offer better mortgage deals. That is also why they can pay much better returns on the savings of the members. The surplus funds available are distributed among the members as dividends. You'd be wise to join a credit union in your locality.

Enjoy the convenience of online banking with ICCU - the Illinois Community Credit Union - Our goal is to return profits to our members by offering more service with lower rates on things such as Dekalb Mortgages and Sycamore Auto Loans - 815-895-4541 - http://www.ilcomcu.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Messe

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Finding an Accountant in Harrow

By Manoj Shah

A lot of people are finding that they are working longer hours than ever before over the last couple of years. This means that there is less time for general business admin tasks such as sorting out your accounts. Unfortunately, this is a very important aspect of any business and has to be done.

Luckily, there are various different ways of getting around this problem. For example, it is now very common for people to hire an accountant to do the hard work for them. Doing this has many advantages such as saving time and having the peace of mind that you are dealing with professionals who know exactly what they are doing.

Another great thing is that as demand is increasing, so is the number of accountants. This means that you have more choice and can find someone local to you. Whether you are looking for an accountant in Harrow, Southampton, Nottingham or anywhere else in the UK, you are bound to find one close to where you are based.

Those who have never used someone to deal with their finances for them will be pleased to know that it is a simple process to go through. The first step is to find a company local to you. For example, if you are based in Harrow then search for 'accountant in Harrow'. The advantage of using a company close to you is that you can meet the person you will be working with and can work face to face as opposed to over the phone. Not only does this mean you will build a better relationship with your accountant, but it can also help you to understand how your finances work.

Like with any product or service you are looking into, chances are that you are likely to want to look at various different companies before committing to one. This is easily achieved and can be done from your search 'accountant in Harrow'. Obviously this search is going to bring up a list of accountants in Harrow which means that you can click on the various different links to see their websites. Visiting a company website is a great way of finding out more about a business and what they have to offer.

There are various different ways of searching for an accountant which means that you're unlikely to struggle to find exactly what you're looking for. Regardless of whether you search for an accountant in Harrow in a search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN), Directory (Yell, BT, Thomson) or even Google Maps, you are likely to find just what you are looking for.

Chances are that you are going to find several companies who offer similar services within a close proximity to each other. Whilst this can be a good thing, it also makes it difficult to decide which one to use. If you find yourself in this situation don't be afraid to call the company and ask questions. This is a good way to get a feel for the company and suss out how helpful they are which is a good reflection of how they are going to treat their customers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Manoj_Shah

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Help With Credit Card Debt

By Elanora T. Kelly

Dealing with debt

Credit card debt follows a depressingly predictable pattern. First you fall behind and get a polite letter saying you need to make a payment. Then you get another more urgent letter asking why you have not responded to the first letter. Next you start getting phone calls from the credit card company. Several calls, sometimes three or four a day, especially at night when you are trying to switch off and relax.

After a while they give up on that and refer you to a debt collection agency. Now the debt collection agency wants you to pay in full, and in certain countries if you can't pay they're going to go to court and get a bailiff to turn up at your house and demand payment. If you still can't pay, they can get a court order to enter your house and take away any goods they can get their hands on to settle the debt. There's a list of things they can't take like your bed and a few pots and pans, but your TV, your DVD Player, your PlayStation, all your valuables, even your sofa, they'll be loading them in their van with a grin on their face.

Dealing with credit card debt can be extremely stressful and, as more and more people are discovering it's easy to go into credit card debt. It's not nearly as easy to get out of it. Here are a few tips you can use to help you deal with credit card debt.

Cut down on expenditure. You're going to need all the spare cash you can get to try and service the debt. It's not fun, but it's better than a debt collection agency making your life a living hell.
Contact Your Creditors: Ignoring or avoiding phone calls from your creditors will not make them decide to just give up and forget. Interest will continue to accrue. And nasty letters in big red type from debt collection agencies will continue to fall very frequently on your doormat. It's actually in the best financial interests of your creditors to come to an agreement with you, so talk to them, negotiate and see if you can arrive at a repayment plan. Then it's important you stick to it. Do not over promise what you can repay. Fall behind and you will be back to square one.

Credit Counselling may be an option, but do your homework. The recession has been a boom business for cowboy debt counsellors who want nothing more than to take money off you and make your debt situation even worse. Check with officially approved and reputable counsellors. A debt lawyer should be able to point you in the right direction.

Stay committed and proactive in reducing your debt. Make a budget and stick to it. Slowly but steadily does win the race, and getting out of the debt cycle is a tremendous relief.

When looking for a Credit Counselling Company be sure to list your requirements and check out these companies.

You also need to be aware that some debt settlement companies will take your money and you will still receive chasing calls from your credit card company. You have to be certain in your own mind that you are willing to entrust your debt settlement matters to a third party. To find out more about this method, there are several online resources worth checking.

Learn More about Credit Card Debt

For information on all types of ways to Help with Credit Card Debt come to consolidatingcreditcarddebtforyou.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elanora_T._Kelly

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