| |
| |
|
Online Advertising |
Guaranteed Targeted Website Visitors from just $0.45 per 1000. 24 Hour Unique Visitors, Online Stats, 30 Day Guaranteed. We offer Country Targeted or Mainstream Traffic at wholesale cost.: CLICK HERE |  |
|
|
Brainstorming Techniques as New Product Development Strategies
When developing new products and strategies, coming up with unique ideas is often a struggle. It is one of the reasons why, in any industry, there is so much repetition. One way to generate new ideas and "get the creative juices flowing" is by completing brainstorming exercises using props. There are several ways to incorporate brainstorming into a new product development session. Two of my favorite techniques are skimming business publications and utilizing goodie bags. What is Brainstorming?According to dictionary.com, brainstorming is: 1) A method of shared problem solving in which all members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas or 2) A similar process undertaken by a person to solve a problem by rapidly generating a variety of possible solutions. In action, brainstorming should be uncensored. No idea is dumb or impossible. In an organization, throw titles out the window. The janitor's ideas have the same validity as the CEO's. When implementing the brainstorming techniques below, try to pretend you know nothing about what is (or is not) possible. Write down ideas as they come up, no matter how outlandish. The task at hand is to free-associate, generating as many ideas as you can. Brainstorming with "Goodie Bags"There's nothing more boring than a sterile conference room. Yet, this is where many new product development sessions take place. To liven the atmosphere, you need a springboard...stimuli to get the ideas flowing. One technique for providing stimuli is to gather miscellaneous items into "goodie bags" and have brainstorming groups sort through them, writing down ideas as they occur. As seasonal Marketing Manager for Nestlι's Sunmark Division several years ago, I used this technique to hold a very productive new product development brainstorming session. In preparation, we filled colorful gift bags with small items that would stimulate new product ideas because of their texture, taste, appearance, ingredients, sound, or smell. In the meeting, we divided the team into sub-groups of three to four people and gave each a bag. After digging through the bags, discussing, and writing down ideas, each group gave a small presentation. We came out of the meeting with many more great ideas than we could implement that year and it was fun for everyone involved. Brainstorming with Business Publications and Trade JournalsIf you do not have a group to work with, try using business newspapers and prominent trade journal as springboards for generating ideas. These can be effective brainstorming tools for several reasons: - The general publications contain articles about several industries, which is good for brainstorming new ideas that can apply to your own industry. - Marketing techniques and strategies discussed in the journals can help you brainstorm new marketing ideas of your own. - In publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the editors include a mix of short articles (good for brainstorming ideas based on what others are doing) and in-depth reports (good for brainstorming new product development strategies that grow from trends). - By skimming a variety of business related articles (news articles, features, human interest, and analytical pieces) you broaden your idea base, which results in more new product ideas. Additionally, many print publications have integrated the Internet into their traditional business models. Besides offering both online and offline versions, many provide email alert services. Because they have successfully integrated online marketing into their own business, writers and editors are able to intelligently address both online and offline strategies, which in turn will create a more productive brainstorming session for you. Applying the TechniquesBoth trade journals and goodie bags can be used for other strategies besides new product development. They can also be used as techniques to generate ideas for online products and services, new marketing strategies, business taglines, and more. Whether brainstorming alone or in a group, remember two rules: 1) no censoring and 2) use props as springboards for new ideas. Do this and your brainstorming session is sure to be a success. About the AuthorBobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network ( http://www.websitemarketingplan.com ) and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business," http://www.howmuchforspider.com/TOC.htm. © 2002, 2004 Bobette Kyle. All Rights Reserved.
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Business Promotional Items - How to Stimulate Word of Mouth Advertising If the promotional items you give out end up in the attic or shoved in the back of a desk drawer, they are probably not doing what they are supposed to be doing. However, if items you passed out to clients and customers are being seen again and again, chances are, word-of-mouth advertising is stimulating your business. Marketing is More Than Advertising Marketing is a business process about which much is written, however is often not completely understood. Many think that "marketing" and "advertising" are interchange-able words. 3 High-Impact Fixes For Your Marketing Woes How many times has your competitor gotten one over on you? The feeling of being left behind just eats away, until you do something about. The problem is that we often feel that we've got to come up with some grand plan in order to get our business skyrocketing again. Pre-Cleaning and Updating Addresses in Your Database When you send a direct mail piece using the Addressed Admail reduced postage option, it can cost you anywhere from 60 cents to $1.25 or more for printing, mail production and postage. A Look at Color Brochure Printing Brochures have become vital in today's workplace, serving a wide variety of purposes. Some are quite complex and others are simpler; color brochure printing is one of the simpler options. How To Get To The Top of The Marketing Food Chain Are you tired of living off handouts from big-name marketers, earning meager affiliate commissions?If you truly want to live and breathe the rarefied air of the super-marketers, what you need is not a change in method, but a change in attitude and mindset.You need to start thinking like a top gun and create your own identity instead of feeding off the efforts of others. 20 Power Marketing Tips Use these powerful yet simple tips from the national best-seller, "Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You" - the first guide to personal marketing for non-marketers.Create and grant an annual award. Calling All Carbon-Based Lifeforms Many businesses want to market to all carbon-based life forms. They won't take the time to really understand their audiences from geographic, demographic and psychographic perspectives. Is CRM Technology Living Up To the Hype? Over the last few years the buzz about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has grown extensively. It seems that every Sales & Marketing executive is talking about it. 2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic In his classic best-seller, "How To Win Friends And Influence People," Dale Carnegie's second chapter is entitled The Big Secret of Dealing With People. The secret is summed up in this principle: Give honest and sincere appreciation. Top 10 Dos and Donts for an Effective Business Referral Network! Every business - particularly small, entrepreneurial or professional businesses - must have a powerful referral network. It is very unlikely (and terribly expensive) to "advertise your way to success". The 5 Musts of Marketing For most of the small business owners I work with, marketing has become the equivalent of a four-letter word. Inevitably, when I ask the question, "Do you have a marketing plan?" or "What marketing activities do you engage in?" I get the full gamut of responses from the proverbial deer in the headlights stare, to a vociferous, "I hate marketing, it's the least favorite part of my business!"After years of witnessing this reaction, and learning a bit about modern marketing, I'm starting to understand why traditional marketing is perceived and experienced as a necessary evil and avoided like a root canal. Ready, Aim, Fire...Oops...Wheres The Target? Everywhere you go on the Internet you find the words, "target market." What do they mean? What does it have to do with you? Well it has everything to do with your success in sales. Marketing Smarter To Earn More An accountant once told me that he never met anyone who didn't want to make 30% more money. Whether you want a better lifestyle or to take more vacations, buy a fancy car, spend more time with your family, send your children to college or to give it all away, you could always use more money. The Value of a Customer The Driver of All Marketing EffortsYou need to determine what the value of a customer is to your company. Answer the following questions:How much will the average customer spend with you per year?A = _____________If you provide quality service and products, how many years can you expect to keep a customer ?B = _____________What is your gross profit, as a percentage of revenues?C = _____________The value (V) of a customer is:V = A X B X CWe learned with our network consulting company that the average life of a customer was about 2 ½ years and the average yearly expenditure was around $10,000. Effective List Management Can Save You Big Let's talk about how to keep your postage costs down.So far you have been following my advice and mailing to the same list more than once. 15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time Do you think you don't have enough time to market? Here's a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you've been putting off.Promise yourself you will spend 15 uninterrupted minutes working on one aspect of marketing. Produce More Sales from your Email Promotions Five Ways - Part 1 Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written articles do you submit per week to opt-in online ezines? How often do you send thank you's and follow up messages to your different email groups? If you answered not many, then you need to re-evaluate. The answer to online success is the same as traditional success--promotion, promotion, promotion. Two Methods of Marketing Using Joint Ventures Whether you're a contractor a local merchant with 150 employees, whichever, however or whatever, you've got to know how to keep your business alive during rough economic times. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship. Sell More Online By Offering a Big Fat BONUS! I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching infomercials. I enjoy dissecting how they sell, how they get people excited, how they entice people to take action now and pick up the phone and order something they completely don't need!As you know, these programs always offer a huge bonus or multiple bonuses for people who buy.
|
| home | site map | bad credit loans |
| SUBJECTS: Advertising Book Marketing Domain Names Email Marketing Ezine Marketing Ezine Publishing Internet Marketing
|
Article Menu:
Auto - Trucks :: Business - Finance :: Computers - Internet :: Family :: Food - Drink :: Health :: Home Improvement :: Kids - Teens :: Legal :: Marketing :: Online Business :: Parenting :: Recreation - Sports :: Self Help - Motivation :: Site Promotion :: Travel - Leisure :: Web Design - Development :: Women :: Writing ::