7 Skills that have Surprising Benefits in Marketing

Design

If you are lucky enough to be a creative person you will find tasks like putting together marketing material a breeze, instead of having to hire out advanced graphic design teams you will be able to save yourself a lot of money by doing the design work yourself. If you have a creative vision you will be able to find ways to put together a solid advertising package that is eye-catching and professional in the way it has been done, and this truly is a very valuable skill to have in the field of marketing. 

 

Communication

Communication is key to gathering feedback that could provide you with the necessary customer influence to alter your marketing packages. If you are not a great communicator and you struggle with speaking to people you will find developing your business in a way that builds you a loyal customer base a big difficulty. Communication is also key in ensuring your team works to the best of their ability so this really is a transferable skill across the whole business sector. 

 

Confidence

Much like communication, it is also very important that you are confident as a person, without confidence in your business, your products, and your marketing strategies you will be affecting morale in the workplace and affecting your rate of success in a negative way. If you are struggling with confidence and want to expand your business knowledge you may want to think about doing your CFA charter. This qualification will give you the tools you need to boost your confidence and marketing skills so that you can manage your business with the knowledge to back you up. Revising for these exams is very difficult so I would recommend investing in some form of study guide or even the cfa level 1 question bank, which has plenty of notes relevant to the syllabus to help you ace the test.  

 

Tech Knowledge

Marketing relies upon technology to produce the content and in some cases the platform itself that it is being posted on, if you are not the best with technology I would recommend that you take some time to get used to it and do extra research if it is necessary. Slipping behind due to a lack of technology skills is something that you definitely want to avoid, especially when it can be remedied so easily by doing a bit of independent research on the topic.  

 

Ingenuity

If you are a part of the head of your company you will need to display a high level of ingenuity to deal with day to day issues and ensure your company can grow, this applies to the marketing area also as it is so crucial to spread the word about your company and the services you have to offer the public. Without being inventive and confident with your ideas you are likely to lose the interest of potential buyers or investors and definitely lose the interest of many of your customers. 

 

Time Management

Any job requires high levels of time management, without organization on your side you will find yourself in chaos pretty soon and with the strict marketing deadlines that have to have adhered to it could not be more necessary in a high-profile business setting. As there are so many elements that make up the final marketing product, you will also have to make sure that you and your team are managing your time well enough so that you can come together with plenty of time to alter things if it is needed when you have seen the finished piece of content.  

 

Finance Control

A final skill that you could definitely use within the field of marketing would have to be financial management, in the early stages of your business when money is tight and you have a limited bidet to get things done you will have to manage your finances well to ensure enough money is left over to fund your marketing strategies. Marketing should be deemed a priority as it is what is going to bring you the most profits in the future, without customers you will be left without sales and success which is something you should definitely aim to avoid going through.  

The States With the Strongest Housing Market as of 2020

There are so many states in America that have brilliant housing markets. If you’re moving to America, the last thing you need is to move to a place with a terrible housing market. You want to be somewhere secure, where you can purchase a place easily and without worrying. There are enough things to worry about at the minute without having to stress about being able to sell your house or find your dream living space. And that is why we have compiled a list of the states with the strongest housing market as of 2020.

 

Virginia

The first state with the strongest housing market as of 2020 in Virginia. If you’re looking to sell your house in virginia, The House Guys are the best, always buying houses quickly and giving you cash without paying for a realtor. Virginia is a great state, steeped in history and various traditions. Many refer to it as the birthplace of America and rightly so, as it’s where English settlers first came in the sixteen hundreds. Since then, the state has played a role in every big American event. This is why the housing is so affordable here and you should consider investing in one.

 

Nevada

Nevada is a pretty big place for housing as well. There is a house that costs, amazingly, nearly 2 million dollars. This makes sense considering the place is known as the ‘Silver State’, a name it got from its focus on silver.

 

South Dakota

South Dakota is one of the best states for housing, with a score of 212.4, much higher than the national average of 165.9. This makes sense as South Dakota has a lot of fertile soil used for crops and so the place is very self-sufficient. I went on a trip to South Dakota once and was blown away by how many houses there were for sale. It’s just the place to be and houses may be pricey but they’re definitely worth it.

 

Michigan

Michigan is a fantastic state with the fifth-lowest cost of living. If you want to buy a house here, it’s easy to do and you’ll save yourself some money.

 

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is another state with an amazing housing market. It’s second on the list of the best cost of living and has a housing score of 214.7. It’s incredible. Oklahoma was actually adopted by the USA in the early eighteen hundreds as part of the Louisiana deal. The economy of the state is largely dependent on the oil and natural gas industry. In fact, the capitol building is situated just above an oil well in the capital city. In addition, the state has become what many call, tornado alley because in 1974, it received five tornadoes in just one day! So if you’re buying a house here, make sure to take precautions. You don’t want your new house to fly away.

 

North Dakota

Interestingly, the state of North Dakota has the lowest poverty rate, clocking in at 10.3%. The average of the nation is 13.4% with some other states nearly reaching a poverty rating of 20%. Its housing score is 216.3. This state also became part of the USA through the Louisiana purchase of 1803. Also, the state remained largely uninhabited until railroads were introduced, so it’s easy to get a train if you’re living here. And 90% of the land is used for farming with a fifth of the nation’s population being involved in some way in agriculture.

 

Nebraska

Nebraska is the state with the most income equality. It has a housing score of 219.7 which is very impressive. It’s biggest farm product is beef and has a huge urban state called Omaha. This is the home of one of the world’s richest men, Warren Buffet.

 

Pennsylvania

This state has a housing score of 221.1. It’s definitely got a stable housing market and its history is tied to the formation of the country. It has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of tourists visiting the state in recent years, which some belief in significantly boosting the housing market value overall.

 

Indiana

Here, the housing score is 221.3. The median gross rent is $807 a month. After the second world war, huge pushes forward in transport and manufacturing meant that an influx of people moved here. At the start of the nineteen hundreds, car manufacturing was booming in Indiana and even now, the state sends more products to Canada than any other place. They’re also producing 36 million tons of coal every year.

 

Iowa

Iowa ranked number one for the best states affordability ranking. They have a housing score of 246.8 and the best cost of living. This is due to Iowa being quite a small state but surprisingly playing a large role in US politics. It’s also a farm state.

Why Confidence Is Key to Success in a Board Room

For those of you who are familiar with the business world, you will know the huge importance of the decisions made based on your work in the boardroom. Making and presenting pitches for business ideas or products can be totally dependent on your confidence. A candidate who lacks confidence can have a serious impact on the decision going in your favour, this is mainly due to the fact that you are not only trying to convince your superiors to invest in your business but, they would be investing in you and your business capabilities also.

 

Personality is what sells a product if you don’t have the personality and sales skills it can come across that you lack the passion and drive to be a worthy investment. The boardroom environment can be a very pressure inducing setting, they tend to be intimate events with a small business team pitching their ideas to a team of very rich people, it is completely understandable that you would lack confidence in this situation but with experience, the ordeal will become easier.

 

How to be prepared.

A great way to reduce some of those nerves would be to ensure you are adequately prepared to give your presentation and answer any possible questions. If you are well informed about the important stuff you will find yourself feeling a lot more confident, showing off and being prepared will work in your favor to possible investors. Knowing what you are talking about displays a level of professionalism and reinforces to viewers that you are very serious and passionate about your business.

 

Things to remember to revise before a boardroom pitch would be finances, plans, products, proposed offers and remember to be clear of the concept you are offering. Putting together an information pack or presentation board can be a great way to remember you cover everything you need to, maybe a slideshow with prompts and important info, this again reflects the effort you put into the business and helps you cover all of the bases. Overall preparation is a great way of combating a lack of confidence, with the relevant work you can really take the opportunity to sell your business.

 

Teamwork.

Another key factor to remember when it comes to being confident in the boardroom is how effectively you work as a team. It is likely that you will be presenting your pitch in a group, different people will be responsible for conveying certain information. Ensuring that everything goes smoothly is heavily reliant on group practising and how well you work together. A good idea would be to spend time getting to know each other to build up a strong bond that can be carried into the workplace.

 

A great way to help build these relationships would be to have fun together, why not plan a day trip, or a lunch or even time playing fun games. Games like never have I ever or  a game of Would you Rather, can be an extremely funny way of encouraging group consensus. If your group has a solid and positive relationship with each other, they are more likely to work cohesively as a solid unit.

 

A high level of respect and good friendships between a group can not only increase confidence but it will also be apparent to prospective investors what a strong unit you are. If your team is strong the situation will seem a lot less intimidating as you are in it in a prepared and happy team. Teamwork is a very professional attribute to have as it is detrimental to a lot of aspects of business, this quality will show off your professionalism and make you a much more desirable asset.

 

Overall, there really isn’t a place for lack of confidence when it comes to the world of business, if you wish to be taken seriously in the boardroom, you must face your fears. At the end of the day, it is your product or concept that is on show, you should be passionate enough about your product to be able to deliver a positive and strong pitch, being confident is a piece of advice you will want to hold on to, in order to ensure your success.

How Marketing can be Used to Spread Awareness and Incite Change

Marketing often gets a mixed response from the general public. A lot of people simply associate it with advertisements and capitalism. It has a bad rep for being nothing more than trying to trick people into buying things and staying tried to the shackles of capitalism. But there is another side to marketing that is very much overlooked and ignored when it is actively taken in. That is the positive aspect of marketing that is used to spread awareness and incite real and positive change in the world. You might be wondering how that is possible? How are these big cooperate marketing divisions changing the world for the better? Well, below we are going to shatter your preconception of the marketing field.

 

The Boardroom

When people hear marketing they imagine men in suits in a board room toiling over their latest product. This is only one aspect of marketing. In reality, everything you have ever heard of is marketed. This includes charities, environmental agencies, animal rights groups and even marketing and advertising services for medical practices. It is an aspect of the field that is overlooked massively by the general public. Why is it? It is due to these corporate board rooms. Their often shady and evil practices shine a bad light on the field and turn people away from advertisements. People do not like being told what to do or think. And there is a huge notion that advertisements are simply that. Telling people what to do and think. But how can this be used for positive change?

Awareness

The first and most obvious answer is, marketing can raise awareness. Marketing does not always need to be just selling a product. It can also be providing information to the viewer. Adverts, at their core, are just information. So a lot of companies and organizations can use this to spread awareness about serious issues.

A good example of this is environmental agencies. Through their marketing strategies, they can raise awareness of the effect people and companies are having on the environment. And this is great because more awareness means more people are going to want to change for the better. And the effects of this have been seen already. The world has noticed people trying to be more environmentally friendly and petition companies to reduce their carbon footprint. All of this can be said to be a direct cause of positive marketing.

Physical Health

This one may surprise you, but medical awareness has been improved greatly over the last few years thanks to marketing. But how? Firstly there are more health-conscious organizations that seek to get you signed up and taking part in their programs, whether that be dieting or exercise. But to do that they need you to understand the health issues that can occur and what they offer to counter it. Now, while these companies are still selling a product, they are also offering very important and valuable information to the general public that will improve their quality of life significantly.

Secondly, health care providers have started running a lot of more public campaigns trying to raise health awareness in the general public. While these campaigns are not necessarily selling a product, they sill fall under the marketing banner. The health care companies are marketing this information in a way that makes it clear and understandable and provides information to the public that could potentially save a lot of lives.

Political Information

The mother of all marketing. Politics. This is a double-edged sword if there ever was one. The general consensus is that politicians lie. No matter what side they are on, they lie. And you can bet people only think the parties they don’t support lie, while their party speaks the truth. But within this mix of liars and fake news, there are organizations that strive to provide truthful and accurate political information, and they do this by marketing it.

Without marketing, any information will be ignored. You cannot just show people a bullet point list and expect them to take it in. It needs to grab their attention and make them understand. And why is this important? Because politics decides everything. Anyone who says politics does not matter is a fool. Politics decides how we survive. And clear, reliable political information is worth its weight in gold. If a company strives to make the general public understand what is happening in the world of politics then they are definitely inciting positive awareness and change.

All of these points come together to demonstrate just how vital marketing is to the world. Marketing was not invented by capitalism to sell products. It was simply adopted by them to increase the rate at which they can sell.