Sunday, 26 February 2006

9 Highly Effective Marketing Tips

Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits fast.

Tip 1:
Look for some low-cost ways you can enhance the perceived value of your product or service. Then test raising your price. Don't be surprised if both your sales and your profit margin go up.

Tip 2:
Try to limit your customer's decision making to either "Yes. I'll buy." or "No. I won't buy". Don't risk losing them by including "which one" decisions. The more options you offer, the more likely some customers will procrastinate and never make the decision ...causing you to lose a sale needlessly.

Tip 3:
You can demonstrate a low cost for your product or service by breaking down the price to its lowest time increment. For example, "Enjoy all of this for less than 90 cents a day" (for something priced at $325 a year).

Tip 4:
Add an unexpected bonus to every sales transaction just before completing the sale. It prevents customers from developing any last minute hesitation ...and changing their minds about buying.

Tip 5:
Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Postcards are inexpensive and easy to use. Most recipients who ignore other types of advertising will read a brief ad when it's delivered to them on a postcard.

Tip 6:
Prospects who ask questions are usually close to buying. Take advantage of this. Don't just answer their question. Include a reason for them to buy as part of your answer. Then ask for the sale ...or tell them exactly what to do to place their order.

Tip 7:
Collect testimonials from your customers and use them in all your advertising. Testimonials provide evidence that your product or service delivers the results you promise. For maximum impact, use only testimonials that describe specific results the customer enjoyed.

Tip 8:
Include "benefit rich" headlines on all your web pages. Many visitors arrive at a web page then immediately click away ...unless something instantly catches their attention.

Tip 9:
Continually test and evaluate everything you use or do to promote your business. Allocate 80 percent of your advertising budget to proven promotions. Use the other 20 percent for testing new variations. Most businesses using this system continue growing - even in highly competitive markets.

Bonus Tip:
Handle customer complaints quickly and with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with them instead of your immediate profit from the transaction. They will reward you with repeat sales and referrals ...instead of punishing you by telling everybody they know about their unhappy experience and causing you to lose future customers.

Each of these marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for you to boost your sales and profits quickly. All you have to do is to put them into action.
Copyright 2005 Bob Leduc


Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper.

You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at:
http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Thursday, 23 February 2006

Happy Birthday to my Partner in Crime

Today, 23rd February, is the birthday of my partner in crime. You know who you are!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Friday, 17 February 2006

Holding Orders

How much time is needed to reserve items for an order?

I mentioned 3 days in my Webstore and auction listings. For regular buyers, I give up to a week, knowing what busy lifestyles we all lead.

However, lately, I find this ruling harder and harder to maintain due to my leeway being abused and to my disappointment, even by regular buyers.

For February, 2006, to date, I've already cancelled three orders

Tuesday, 14 February 2006

Valentine Tradition

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"


In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.


Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!


Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.


If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

The History of Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire.

In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars.

Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues.

He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.

He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast.

So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Sunday, 12 February 2006

Chap Goh Meh – the Night of Romance

Chap Goh Meh goes by a few names. In Mandarin it is called Yuan Xiao, but in the Hokkien dialect, Chap Goh Meh means the 15th night of Chinese New Year.

It is celebrated with prayers and offerings to mark the end of the Chinese New Year. During this auspicious occasion, houses are brightly decorated with lights and lanterns are hung over the balcony or five-foot ways for the last day of the Chinese New Year. Prayers to the ancestors are offered.

Despite a ban, firecrackers are lit as a 'send-off' to the new year and everyone is looking forward to the next Chinese New Year.

Various activities are planned to mark this very traditional occasion but the two mainstays are the Dondang Sayang and orange/tangerine throwing ceremony.

In the morning, nyonya households will distribute pengat, a sweet and rich broth of tubers and bananas to relatives and friends. As evening falls, the atmosphere relaxes as the gentle strains of Dondang Sayang fill the air.

Dondang Sayang, literally meaning lullaby of love, is an interplay of sung poetry, usually revolving around the theme of love, between a man and a woman, each trying to outwit the other in the name of affection whilst traditional music plays in the background.

In the past, Chap Goh Meh was one of the few occasions where eligible young ladies, transformed into scorching beauties, were allowed out from the confines of their homes.

Eager gentlemen could only admire longingly at all the passing beauties, as the lovely ladies were always accompanied by an entourage of the fiercest looking aunts and amahs (servants)!

These young maidens (and spinsters) would throw oranges into the sea as a gesture of hope to wed good husbands. To keep this quaint tradition alive in modern times, orange throwing has transmogrified into a competition of sorts, where oranges thrown into the sea by girls (single or otherwise) would be scooped up by boys in boats.

The boat with most oranges would be declared the winner.

Saturday, 11 February 2006

Thaipusam

It's a public holiday today (11th February, 2006) in some states in Malaysia, including Perak. So don't shoot me for the delay in shipping out your package HAHAHA

What is Thaipusam?
Thaipusam, a day of consecration to the Hindu deity, Lord Murugan, sometimes also called Lord Subramaniam. A feature of the festival is the carrying of a kavadi, a frame decorated with colored papers, tinsels, fresh flowers, and fruits as a form of penance. (excerpted from here)

Happy Holidays!

Friday, 10 February 2006

Google's GBuy

In recent months, Google is said to have recruited a number of merchants to test their new online payment service, named GBuy (unfortunately, Google doesn't have Hokkien staff, you see .... *wink* *wink*)

Right now, we have no idea when GBuy will be rolled out to the masses and I'm sure alot of people are waiting with bated breath to see what features it can provide to ordinary folks.

Apart from offering us what Paypal is already providing, here are some of my *humble* requests to GBuy (is Google reading this??):-

1. Allow Malaysians to withdraw money from GBuy to a local bank account ;-)
2. Allow payments in Ringgit Malaysia
3. Lower service charge (dare we expect FREE?)
4. Better Support for worldwide customers
5. More stringent rules for chargeback
6. more to come hehehe

The top question on our mind is, "Can GBuy challenge Paypal?"

Thursday, 9 February 2006

Trust & Safety Issues

Just when Malaysians are more comfortable with purchasing online, along comes a dunggu like this to shatter buyer's confidence.

Recently, this dunggu has taken advantage of the long Chinese New Year break to pull a con job and pocketted himself over MYR8000 (his angpow).

This case is not unique by itself and this modus operandi has been used before. A similar operation was carried out a few years ago, also during Chinese New Year, also in Lowyat.net forum.

And yet..... there are victims. In this particular case, there are approximately 18 victims, inclusive of "bogus" ones.

Not only are there victims who lost money to conmen like these, the indirect victims are online traders like us.

How can we expect buyers to trust us, genuine e-traders, when there are conmen watching on the sidelines, studying the market and planning and waiting for the right moment to strike?

In any transaction, on or offline, the onus is on the buyer to make sufficient investigation on the seller.

Here's a basic checklist:
How long has the seller traded here? (This must not be confused with the time the trader REGISTERED himself)

The longer a trader has traded in this site, the lesser chance of him running off with your money. IF he is a cheater, he wont last long here.

Reputation or Reference
Feedback is important to a seller as it is a good way to show potential buyers how serious he is in trading.

eBay and Lelong have good feedback systems, while some forums provide these for traders as well.

Make sure you, as a buyer, take time to read the feedback or ask for reference before commiting to a trade. Also, remember to discount penny trades ;-)

Having said that, everyone starts with Zero feedback, so use your judgement and instinct.

Payment
If you are making a deposit to your buyer, make sure the bank account belongs to your seller and not a third party. There is loophole for the seller to escape if he is using another person's account.

Cash On Delivery / Self-Collection
Insist on this if you do not trust your seller or if the item is too fragile to be shipped.
If the seller is unable to comply with your request, then move to another seller.

Other Risks
Even with a 100% genuine seller, there are other risks, for example:
~ Package goes missing in transit
~ Item is damaged during delivery

What recourse does a victim of such an online scam have?
Well, this is a tough one as online trading is still in its infancy in Malaysia.
The best thing is to lodge a police report with all relevant information, with print-out of all e-mail or private message correspondence and also the receipt of bank deposit.

It is better to go in a group (together with other victims) rather than each making individual reports.

Although the police may not be able to help instantly, at least do your part and let these conmen know that their scam job is officially recorded.

One point to note is, WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND.

Tuesday, 7 February 2006

Shipping Dates for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just round the corner.

To receive your package in time for this big day, here are the available shipping dates:

9th Feb. 06 - for those who want to play it safe
10th Feb. 06 - for those who don't mind the 2-day weekend break (Saturday is a non-postal day because it's Thaipusam)
13th Feb. 06 - for those who live dangerously hahaha

So, there you go... of course payment should be cleared at least the day before shipping date to allow time for packing.

This notice, is once again applicable to shipping via Poslaju or Pos Ekspres within Malaysia.

Sunday, 5 February 2006

Keong Hee Huat Chai!

Cyberpartygal's WebStore would like to wish the Hokkien Community "Keong Hee Huat Chai". Your Lunar New Year begins tomorrow, baby! =)

May you harvest lots of ang pow and hopefully, the coming year will be an ONG one for you and your family.

Eeerrr I guess these are the only Hokkien words in my vocabulary, besides pangsai muahahaha :-p

Saturday, 4 February 2006

For Speedy Delivery

Kindly provide the following *crucial* information for speedy delivery of your purchase(s):

Name:
Delivery address:
Contact number:

The above are to be provided in a timely manner as soon as payment is made, or as soon as order is confirmed, even before payment, whichever is more convenient.

Thank you very much for your co-operation.

Wednesday, 1 February 2006

1st Feb - F.T. Day

All you lucky people working in the Federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Putrajaya) with extended holiday... GGGGGrrrrr

I wanna move there for 24 hours hahaha :D