Delivering a good project

It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention. In today’s competitive marketplace, it is a necessity for businesses to deliver successful projects if they want to remain viable.

When presenting a project remember, "Honesty is the Best Policy”

            It is important to be honest all the time in dealing with your clients. If their plans are not accomplishable or if you don't have all of the resource you need to speak to your client and let him know the truth. Funds and time are necessary to present a successful project. You need to tell them what and when are you going to deliver, however if you can not stick to your plan clients will appreciate if you let them know so that you could reach an agreement.

What Makes a Successful Project?

The four measurements that must always be used are:

1.) The customer is satisfied

2.) The project is delivered within or under budget

3.) The project is completed on time

4.) The project's requirements have been met

Keep in mind the most important measure of project success is Customer Satisfaction. If you deliver a project on-time, within budget and it meets all requirements yet the customer is not satisfied, the project is a failure

Things that you should consider when presenting a project:

What the client demands:

            You must develop a desire to listen to your client. What do they have to say? Listen patiently and wait until he/she is finished. If something is not clear, ask him/her at the logical moment.

I want my customer to stay with me and not go to the competition!!!

Hand it over:

            Managers frequently fall into the pin down of considering that they can manage matters a lot efficiently than staff. Of course in many cases they might be accurate, but the trouble is that they don't have the time to do everything themselves. So a smart manager always makes an effort to delegate as much as possible to staff. It gives them the period demanded to keep track on the project and support their team. It's a tough task, but even if you know you can exercise a task more expeditiously than others, delegate it anyway.

Become a leader: 


            When you save time by delegating your chores, you acquire time for running and prompting your team.

Anticipate the unexpected: 


            Always anticipate matters to change and be prepared for it when it comes. People own ideas, your client may desire changes, and the industry and technology alter over time too. It's not the transformation that's significant; it's how you oppose to the transformation that counts.

Work bright, not hard
Attempt not to begin from scratch:

            Give yourself a head-start wherever feasible by using tools like project management templates.

Budget is a very important issue when it comes to projects.

Defining a budget for development projects is frequently referred to as an art form.  Hourly rates for development time, escalation costs for rapid development, and pricing of tools and other resources can fluctuate based on little more than what the client can afford.

To ensure an accurate projection of the amount of money required to deliver a solution, follow the guidelines below to help you create a consistent and justifiable budget that is realistic.

Budget guideline

http://www.builderau.com.au/strategy/projectmanagement/soa/Creating-your-project-budget-Where-to-begin-/0,339028292,320265341,00.htm

My favourite digital marketing creative

When watching this ad you will think twice about having children!!!       

            This video has an international message. Use condoms and avoid the pains of being a parent. It is targeted to those who don’t want to get involve with kids but still they want to have fun. Buying the product is avoiding any possible responsibilities you are not ready to handle such as children and the assembly kit they come with.
            The argument for this video is created in a way that allows it to have a large audience appeal. The environment where this video takes place is very influential, because most adults go grocery shopping and have either experienced or witnessed a child throwing a tantrum.
            The intended audience is sexually active, but not ready for kids. The audience is assumed to be unprepared for children and the factors that come with their development. Personally, the commercial is very effective and reinforces my standard of contraceptive sex. I have an evoked sense of fear and yet humor, because the scenario is very plausible but at the same time extreme. I believe it does a great job to influence its target audience and their need for condoms

 This commercial should make you a big  abstinence fan!!  or not??

Who are Digital Natives?

            The term Digital native refers to younger people who have been raised in a world in which pervasive technology is the norm. These people have grown up using e-mail, cell phones, the Internet, and more as part of their normal, daily routine.

            The behavior of digital natives is different from those born in another era, because they are in the forefront of a rapid evolution in consumer habits. They are motivated by other things than previous generations and have gathered a media and communication experience like no generation before them.

            For digital natives, the Internet, mobility, and related technologies have always been available. Networked media and communication make up the foundation of their lives. They are used to the immediacy of hypertext, downloaded music, phones in their pockets which are on 24/7; a library on their laptops/ computers, and connectivity anytime, anywhere. Digital natives are different than traditional customers; they are tomorrow’s most powerful media consumers and professionals.

So you better get to know them now!!!

How to reach them?

            Here are some important aspects and "new rules" of marketing that can help you out to reach Digital Natives.

1) Talking directly to your customer where they are…ON:

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Plurk, blogs, and other social platforms

2) Provide customers (Digital Natives) with interesting content, exciting information easy to read but informative enough. It should be instantaneous information because they are used to give and receive it immediately. Remember they are impatient because grew up in an environment and conditioned for instant gratification. They might get bored if the information flow is poor or too slow

3) Creating content to share. Encourage digital natives to share content that you are producing. They grew up in a world that is connected, accessible and where interacting is one of their favorite activities

4) Personalization plays an important role when reaching digital natives. Merchants can target their marketing messages to specific individuals by adjusting the message to a person’s name, interests, and past visits, purchases etc.

5) Fostering brand loyalty. The loyalty of digital natives can be intense, and some may, entirely on their own accord, evangelize your brand or product.

6) Interact with them read about what they think of your products and give directly and personalize feedback to them. The modern consumer wants their voice heard. Their needs are individual and they want providers to respond to their specific requirements and feedback

If you want to know more about how to reach DIGITAL NATIVES you can check out this article.   

http://www.marketingprofs.com/8/nine-ways-to-reach-digital-natives-and-rest-of-us-handley.asp

            This is a great example about how information is everywhere and available for Digital natives.

            Imagine you are at a bar with some friends and suddenly the bar plays a local radio channel, playing five songs in a row, and you hear a song in the middle that sounds like one of your idol, but it is not one you have heard before, it is probably a new remix! So you use Track ID to find out what song it is, records a snippet of it, and sends it to a music recognition service, which returns the name of the artist, song title, and an option to purchase the song from the service provider’s music service.

            This type of service is pretty much what makes digital natives to purchase a product!!

Increasing your sales & profits.

            Everything you do in order to promote effectively a company’s products and services are through the marketing strategy. The marketing strategy includes exact details on how you intend to enter a new market and attract new customers.

1.     Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

            Company’s should register with all the major search engines so that users looking for similar sites have a better chance of finding that particular site. The firm should ensure that keywords used in the website description match the keywords that would likely be used as search terms by prospective customers.

            Search Engine Optimization

 There are three basic steps to SEO:

      Optimize your web pages

      Link your web pages to each other

      Acquire keyword optimized in-bound links

2. Social Networking

 Using sites like Facebook/Twitter/MySpace /YouTube encourages user to post their content on the sides to build a personal profile page, contact your friends and build a community

3.  Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Advertising (PPC)Pay-Per-Click

PPC allows you to place your advertisements directly in front of hard-to-find prospects at the exact time when they’re searching for your type of product or service.

Today, Google AdWords has become a PPC trend. It allows you to use conversion tracking to see exactly which keywords and phrases are producing the best sales and profits. PPC can and should become an indispensable part of your business’ sales.

4.  Free Content, Resources and Tools

Providing the customers with free content, resources and interactive tools on your website will attract your specific target market which will increase your sales and leads. The more interactive your website is, the more likely your visitors will experience satisfaction with it and use it as a resource.

It is important to take into consideration that adding content, discussion forums, audio and video files for the engagement of the website’s visitors.

5.  Public Relations (PR)

People in charge of public relations within the firm focuses on “getting publicity for you by getting your news, press releases and articles into the media that your target market reads.” A good publicity will increase your visibility, credibility and sales.

6. Opt-in List (Ezine)

Having your own publication is an absolute essential part of your success. They not only provide you with a direct line of communication with potential customers and enable you to promote your products or services, but they also build credibility.

7. Value Proposition and SWOT

            It defines how a company’s product or service fulfills the needs of customers. A successful value proposition includes personalization and customization of product offerings, reduction of product search costs, reduction of price discovery costs and facilitation of transactions by managing product delivery.

8. Credibility

As an online firm, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that visitors feel comfortable and confident with you and your website. In order to gain your visitor's trust and confidence, you must build your credibility.

Your attitude determines your success. It is important to think positively and be willing to handle any problems or issues that come along

9. Website’s physical appearance and functionality

            It is important for a website to be physically appealing to its customers. A sketchy website would not attract as many customers as a well designed website.  Website design features that impact online purchasing include how compelling the experience of using the website is, download time, product list navigation and the website’s responsiveness to customer needs.

10. Appropriate domain name

            A firm should choose a domain name that is short, memorable, hard to confuse or misspell and indicative of a firm’s business functions