Do Not Settle For The First Car Insurance Quote You Obtain

If you are shopping around for a new motor vehicle, your purchase need to go hand in hand with acquiring a car insurance quote. As soon as you drive your new vehicle off the dealership’s floor you are at risk of getting in an accident or you can be hijacked on your way home, consequently you have to have your car insurance policy in place previous to getting behind the controls of your car for the very first time.There are many variables that would influence the car insurance quote that you will obtain. Causes such as your age, gender and driving history are all examples of such variables. The price of the car in question will also play a role, as will the number of nominated drivers on the vehicle.Never settle for the first car insurance quote you receive. Try to contrast and compare as many quotes as possible – no less than three or five. In case you are uncertain about the terms and conditions associated with your policy, make certain to discuss this with your insurance agent or insurance broker prior to signing your contract.One of the points that may perhaps result in a lower car insurance quote is opting for a higher excess amount. An excess amount is essentially the difference between the price for repairing your vehicle and the amount that the insurance company is willing to pay. Say for instance you must repair your bumper after a small accident and the repair price is R10 000. The insurance company agrees to pay R8 000. Your excess amount (payable by you!) is then R2 000. The greater your voluntary excess amount, the lower your associated premiums (usually!). Just be careful that you do not pick such a high excess amount that you would not be in a position to honour the payment when it is time to put in a claim!Also keep in mind that your car insurance quote will typically only give you an indication of your first year’s premiums. An essential issue to remember is that your insurance premium is likely to increase on a yearly basis. You might be thinking that this is not making sense, as the value of your car is in fact decreasing year after year and thus the insurance providers’s subsequent risk is lower. On the one hand that is true, but remember that the cost for repairing your vehicle (parts and labour) increase every year and insurance firms have to cater for this increased cost by increasing your premiums.Often times an insurance business will provide a car insurance quote, but your insurance policy will only be activated as soon as you’ve taken your vehicle for an inspection. These inspections are necessary as insurance firms must make certain that you are not trying to insure a car with an existing problem and that all the security features (such as an alarm system, immobilizer etc) stipulated on the contract are indeed in place.Obtaining a car insurance quote is really not difficult. Research your options, compare a couple of quotations and make an informed decision.

Basics On Branding In Business

Small and big businesses alike should be aware that developing a brand name is an important element in the formula for success, but what is branding in business?

Branding is a system utilized by advertisers to acquaint a product with customers through associating it with a brand name. Various advertising methods are used to introduce the brand name to consumers, and following this is additional advertising to continue and expand brand recognition. Studies show that branding has a beneficial impact on the success a company experiences.

A report from the Branding Forward Project shows that over 50% of marketing specialists felt that branding was somewhat less important today in light of the prevalence of social media coupled with a heightened sense that advertisers should be more accountable for their claims. All the same, these new factors do not change the fact that companies need to have unique brand names that the consumer can identify with their products and services.

Developing a brand

Branding includes selecting a brand name, creating an advertising plan, then executing that plan. A name that can be recollected simply is the best fit. Brief and sharp names work best. Interestingly, non-English names can generate the strongest brand association and connection to consumers. For instance, consider brand names Google, Expedia, and Flickr.

Your logo should be created by a graphic designer to ensure that it contains elements of good design while conveying an association to your product or service. Your marketing plans must be based around publicizing this brand name. One strategy is to draft a famous figure to represent your brand. This celebrity representative technique has worked well for many companies including significant corporations such as Reebok and Nike.

Of course not everyone has their budgets so if your company is smaller, note that you can still utilize this strategy by finding a lesser celebrity to endorse your company or product. Contact public relations firms in your area to see who they might have available and for how much.

Establishment of trust

Establishing the trust in your brand by your consumer is an important goal of branding campaigns. By launching the Macintosh line, Apple developed a reputation for quality and innovation. They followed this up over the years with the launch of the iPod, iPhone, iPad and their other electronics. By continually releasing quality products with branding strategy that reminded consumers of their innovative approach and inventiveness, Apple developed strong, emotionally connected customers. In fact, you could say that their company engenders more brand loyalty than any other computer brand.

Uniqueness factor

Another reason why developing a brand name is so important is the uniqueness factor. In a marketplace packed with so much competition, a company must find a way to make their products stand out. Beyond developing products that are durable and of superior quality, a business benefits from having a catchy slogan, design, or logo that consumers associate with a high degree of satisfaction.

The signature swoosh on Nike athletic shoes identifies it to its customers as a forward-looking, advanced brand. “Just do it” is the perfect call to action phrase, reinforcing the company’s brand and exhorting customers to make the purchase, then play their sport.

Strategy critical to your marketing plan

In the end, it is clear that branding is a basic component of a sound marketing plan. Developing a marketing plan without taking care of this critical strategy first is a huge mistake. Part of your earliest thinking about your product or service should be to develop a brand name.

Get the branding right, and you will enjoy a powerful ascent in your product or service’s market. Get it wrong and you simply will not stand out from the crowd. Generating that magnetic, sticky appeal with your customer is your goal and you may have to perform some research to determine if your planned campaign achieves that.

The Number 1 Greatest Marketing Tip of All Marketing Tips!

All business owners should be continually searching for marketing tips to better their business. You might have a great system set up, and you know everything there is to know about your industry. This still doesn’t mean your business is going to be a success. It’s sad that is a reality for some business owners because they will never make it. They can get past this by either learning about how to promote or hire someone else to do it.

Out of all the strategies, tricks, and tips to make an effective marketing campaign, there is one thing that stands above the rest. The marketing tip of all marketing tips. Want to know what that is? It’s establishing your business apart from it’s competitors. It’s branding your message. It’s your unique selling proposition or USP.

Your unique selling proposition is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the very reason why people should buy from you and not someone else. What makes you special? What can you offer that every other company in your industry can’t? Why are you so different?

A lot of you are probably saying ‘oh well, we have a low price…‘ or perhaps ‘we provide the best quality…‘. Well I’ve got bad news for you. These things don’t matter to the public anymore. These exact differentiations have been used since the ’70s and buyers have already heard them a thousand times. So, you provide the lowest price…do they sell it at Wal-Mart?….Then, you don’t have a buyer anymore. We all know you can’t beat Wal-Mart’s prices.

You have to really grab the prospects attention with your USP. It has to be different…and I mean really different. The word unique is in the phrase. Be one of a kind. Things like integrity, loyalty, honesty, best service, most quality, longest time in business, and lowest price are all ineffective USPs in today’s market.

This is one of the greatest marketing tips you can hear. Sometimes finding the right USP can be very difficult though. It can take time until you find something absolutely perfect. Once you have it though, you wouldn’t believe how much more business you will get.

Ask yourself these questions to help find your USP:

  1. How is your product/service better or different then your competitors?
  2. What physical or emotional needs does your product/service supply?
  3. What is your ideal buyer (age, gender, demographic, etc) and what do they like?
  4. In what ways does your customer service excel?
  5. What is special about your staff?
  6. What do customers say about you?

These 6 questions will help you focus into the right USP. Once you have your USP created, you need to brand your company around that sentence. Not only do you need to create why you are different, you have to live it. Fulfill the promise you make with your USP and people will know why they should buy from you more then anyone else.