Content Marketing for Small Businesses The End-to-End Guide

You know by now that publishing a diverse mix of content is the best way to build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and increase conversions. But what if you don’t have a huge content marketing budget like many larger brands do? Fortunately, content marketing doesn’t have to break the bank. Any small business can use it and see a positive return on their investment. Your potential customers are already out there looking for good content. They want answers to their questions, expert advice, and inspiration. In fact, around 70 percent of customers would rather learn about a company through an article than an advertisement. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of content marketing for small business, let’s first break down what content marketing is and why it matters. Free Actionable Bonus: Looking to elevate your content strategy? Get our our complete guide to creating a content strategy, plus a free content planning template and a list of 30+ places to distribute content What is Content Marketing? Content marketing is the process of using blog posts, videos, infographics, webinars, podcasts, and other forms of content to serve a variety of business goals, from engagement and lead generation to sales and customer advocacy. When developed strategically, content is able to move your leads through the sales funnel to ultimately drive you more sales. However, content marketing is rarely used on its own. The development of our content is important, but so is the way you promote it. This is why content marketing is often closely paired with social media marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While the pursuit of content marketing excellence does require businesses to commit time and resources, the benefits of content marketing make it well worth the investment. Benefits of Content Marketing Digital marketing is all about making connections with your target audience, and there are few better ways to do this than with content marketing. In short, content marketing helps: Drive website traffic Generate leads Build trust Establish your brand as an authority Increase sales How to Use Content Marketing Companies use content marketing in a number of different ways. From the blogs on their website to the videos they share on social media, content marketing is all over the place. Many companies focus primarily on their blog or website when creating content. However, there are many other ways you can diversify your content marketing mix. Using different forms of content in your marketing strategy can help you attract even more high-quality leads. Always pay close attention to the way your target audience is engaging with your pieces. Through accepting their feedback, shifting your strategy, and continuously researching topics, you can create an awesome content marketing plan that helps your business reach new heights. Get a weekly dose of our best content marketing tips, trends, and insights. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Optimize Your Website for SEO It’s important to get your website right, because it’s often the first impression people get about your business. First, make sure your content is optimized for search engines, because if your content is difficult to find, you’ll have no visitors to convert! Include keyword-rich content and product descriptions. Optimize your website for mobile. Ensure web pages load quickly. Make your site easy to navigate. Insert relevant metadata. Check out our detailed guide: Content Optimization: How to Optimize Content for SEO. While it takes some effort and strategy to play the SEO game, you don’t necessarily need a big budget to get big results. What you do need to do is: Create fresh, quality content Build backlinks to that content Create locally relevant content Use social media to provide search signals 1. Create Fresh, Quality Content The saying â€Å"content is king† has become a tired clichà ©, but there’s a lot of truth to it. Nothing is better for SEO than a steady stream of fresh, engaging, valuable content on your website. Think about it: the goal of any search engine is to provide the most relevant information for every search. When your website is regularly updated with new and useful content, that content is assumed to be more relevant by search engines. You end up with bonus points in the ranking game and better spots in the search results. 2. Build Backlinks In some ways, SEO is a lot like life: you can get ahead with good connections. While fresh and relevant content should be the cornerstone of your SEO strategy, link building is another essential tactic. It may seem tempting, but don’t take the shortcut of buying big batches of links. Search engines don’t favor these purchased links and you risk being penalized. Take the slow and steady approach by reaching out to relevant bloggers and organizations with an inquiry or press release. Backlink building is a lot of work but is a key signal for Google. Related Read: The Complete Guide to Link Building 3. Create Locally Relevant Content People get most of their information about local businesses from online searches, so it’s important to send the right â€Å"signals† to search engines to get your business good visibility in your community. Adding local keywords to each of your pages is a good start, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. You should also: Claim a page for your company on Google My Business. If you already have one, confirm that your contact information and business hours are correct. Include your business contact information on each page of your website. Ask customers to leave reviews. Customer reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp can make a big difference in your search ranking, so it’s worth the effort to reach out to your existing customers and encourage them to provide a review. 4. The Power of Social Media Social media has a bigger effect on your SEO than you may realize. When your content is liked, shared, tweeted and commented on, the search engines take notice. This engagement signals that your content is relevant and important. As a result, you’ll receive a nice boost in your rankings. So, take the time to cultivate a strong social media presence on at least one platform: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all good choices, but some platforms are better suited for certain industries. Optimize Your Website for Conversions Next, optimize your site for humans. What is the next step you’d like visitors to take? Would you like them to subscribe to your email newsletter, visit a product page, or sign up for a free trial? To improve conversions: Make sure your unique value proposition is clear on your homepage or landing page, highlighting the benefits of your business and why visitors should choose you over the competition. Provide clear site navigation. Include large buttons and anchor text with clear calls-to-action. Make your sign-up forms short. Display social proof and testimonials. Optimizing your website for traffic and conversions lays the groundwork for lead generation. Keep your Website Up to Date When Google and other search engines rank your web pages, they don’t just look at content quality and relevancy; they also look at content freshness. To measure this, they consider various factors, including: When content was created. How often content is updated. The number of new inbound links to content. The number of website visitors. How visitors engage with your website, including bounce rates. By regularly creating fresh, original content, search engines can see that you’re a reliable source for information and are therefore more likely to rank your content higher. Ultimately though, the most important aspect of branded content is the value it provides. This is why quality content matters so much. What is Quality Content? You might have heard a lot of content marketing and SEO experts talk about the importance of creating quality content. But what does â€Å"quality content† really mean? Here’s a brief checklist: 1. Original You probably know by now that Google penalizes websites with duplicate content. You can’t copy content from other sources and expect it to have any positive impact on your SEO. Use your own writers or outsource your content creation to professional freelance writers. 2. Informative Make sure your readers learn something new and try not to be boring. Avoid technical jargon, show your personality, and tell a story. Keep in mind your ideal customer and talk to them like a friend. 3. Honest If you make up stories about your business, products, or services, you’ll soon be found out. Consumers today value transparency. If you show data, link to the source. If you make a mistake, own it. 4. Thought-Provoking Great content is interesting and makes readers see something from a new perspective. Share your opinions. Give people something to think about. 5. Actionable The most successful content encourages people to take a specific action. Decide what you want readers to do, explain how this will benefit them, and then tell them to do it! Examples of Small Business Content Marketing Done Right 1. CoSchedule CoSchedule is a content collaboration and social scheduling tool – and they are an awesome example of how to use a blog to generate leads and drive sales. Not only do they regularly post high-quality content that’s related to their business, but they’ve done an excellent job of creating both top-of-funnel content and bottom-of-funnel content. For example, the â€Å"How to Overcome Makeshift Marketing† article is a hypothetical but relatable story that is tailored to their target audience. 2. Saving Lincoln Saving Lincoln was an independently made movie, that needed to gain a following and generate interest without the a huge budget. What they did was pretty genius. They created a Twitter account and slowly dripped out snippets of the story and related information to generate interest and discussion. Every Friday they would Tweet out a cliff hanger and then pick up the story the following Monday. This is an excellent example of how you can repurpose content by taking something long form and break it up into small snippets. 3. Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter As we mentioned, social media is an important part of your content marketing. Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter is an awesome example of how small businesses can use social media to support their content marketing. How to Develop a Content Strategy For every piece of content you create, you need to determine the topic, the format, and the publishing channel. This all depends on your audience. To learn more about your target market: Listen to conversations on social media. Look at the content topics, formats, and channels of your competition. Find out which types of content your audience are already sharing. Find out which platforms get the most audience engagement. Discover the questions your customers are already asking. Conduct surveys with existing customers via email. Use Twitter surveys to find out what your audience think about a specific topic. Try to learn as much as you can about your audience, their interests, and their beliefs. You can use analytics tools to track engagement and sharing statistics, but sometimes asking your customers directly gives you the best insights. Are You Struggling to Create Content? As a small business owner, you might struggle to find enough time to create enough content week after week. Here are a few ways to boost content output: Outsource content to freelance writers. Around 73 percent of brands now hire someone to help manage their content strategy. Professional writers often specialize in writing for specific industries, and can provide a steady stream of high-quality, error-free content. Refresh and repurpose existing content. For example, turn a how-to guide into an infographic, a white paper into a social media series, or transcribe a video interview into a blog post. Use customer stories. User-generated content helps to build brand credibility and shows how your products fit into the lives of consumers. Ask your customers for stories, testimonials, and images. Take advantage of free content marketing tools. For some examples, visit our post: How to Develop a Great Content Creation Process. Don’t Give Up Content marketing may take time and planning, but it’s one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies and can make a huge difference to your business. When you consistently give your audience quality content, it will increase trust in your brand and generate traffic and leads for years to come. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Learn from your mistakes, and build on your successes. If you’re a small business looking to take your content marketing to the next level, check out Constant Content.

Barilla Essays

Barilla Essays Barilla Essay Barilla Essay Barilla SPA currently must decide the logistic planning of its future production and distribution systems. The company is suffering from issues dealing with fluctuating demand from distributors, and the lack of end user sales and demand Information. Brandon Vital, the former director of logistics for Barilla, suggested the use of a Just- In-Time Distribution DITTO) system in order to fix these issues. After much resistance from distributors and Barilla employees itself, a decision as to whether to implement the CITED system or other alternatives much be chosen. Causes for the Bullwhip Effect and other Issues Promotion The largest Issue effecting distributor demand Is promotion offerings. The year Is broken down Into 10 to 12 canvas periods, where distributors could gain a discount anywhere from 1. 4% to 10%, dependent on the product category. Promotions are offered in the forms of transportation, price, or volume discounts. Selection as to what product will be discounted does not seem to be based on any statistical basis seeing as how no end user information is available. Fluctuation of demand arises when distributors purchase high amounts during rumination periods whether that particular product Is needed or not. This creates overstock In distributor warehouses f demand Is low, causing a decrease in sales order for the next purchase period. Minimum and Maximum Requirements Barilla does not require minimum or maximum sales orders. The lack of a minimum requirement increase productions costs by not allowing Barilla to achieve economies of scale. The absence of the maximum requirement allows distributors to purchase high quantities during promotional periods, creating false demand for Barilla. Distributor Substitutable sells to two types of distributors: Grandee Deleteriousness (GO), large distributors that sell to supermarket chains, and Distributions Organize (DO) that sell to independent supermarkets. Both groups lack forecasting systems or information technology to record sales and demand trends. The distributors also Incentives System Barilla? have too much control over the ordering process. Sale representative incentive system is based on the number of product sold to distributors. Therefore, they attempt to push products only during promotional erodes, contributing to false demand. Large SKIS Selection Barilla offers over 800 SKU in the dry goods selection alone, varying by pasta type, ingredients, and packaging quantities and size. Just-Len-Time Distribution The CITED program would attempt to improve operations by delivering ? quantities to the distributors based on end user Information provided by the distributor themselves. Pros This Incentive would give Barilla more control over the ordering process, reducing the risks involved with improper forecasting and purchases by distributors. Labor, transport, and reduction costs would be reduced thanks to better planning, creating stability and order. Barilla can optimize the entire production and sales process based on more accurate end user information Instead of biased distributor order patterns. This will g eve Barilla more control In every stage AT tenet supply canal, allowing ten company to operate at its fullest potential. Cons The CITED was strongly opposed by both Barilla employees and distributors. The major issue is the resistance of the distributors in accepting the program due to the fact they feel that they will lose intro over the ordering and distribution process. The distributors do not trust Barilla with their information, and therefore are highly reluctant to provide it. Sales personnel also feel that they will no longer be needed for marketing products to the distributors, and fear lay-offs. They will no longer be able to influence sales figures seeing as how these numbers will already be standardized, losing all rewards and incentives. In general, Barilla and its distributors have a lack of trust in this program; they have to review all the options before launching this program in order to be a success. Options: There are several options Barilla can turn to in this case: stay with the system they have right now, implement the JODI program as it is or implement the CITED program in the long run, with adjustments to accommodate customers. We have decided to go with the third option of implementing the JODI program but in the long run, with adjustments, incentives and other benefits to both the buyer and the supplier. First they have to implement a system which allows Barilla to gather point of sales and units information. Centralizing the information will allow Barilla to recognize the sales of each product, change in demand and what products to produce and when. (**) The strategy we are trying to use was to gather the information straight form the customer, but since customers are not willing to provide the information nor the technology is available to gather the information by other means, we have two options. First option is to buy the information straight form the customer and offer a confidentiality agreement to reassure them that the information will not be distributed to any other company. The second is to offer deals to the customers where they will receive discounts on the orders, a faster deliver time where the retailers will be able to free their stockrooms for other merchandise. A confidentiality agreement will also be available for these retailers. Another option is to change the pricing and promotion strategy in order to stabilize the demand for each product. At the beginning of this project, all of the promotions will be eliminated, discounts will only be offered in bulk orders, this will help us to start building a demand table to see what items are being sold. Barilla is working with over 800 another strategy will be to reduce the number of in order to gain a better idea of what products have the demand and what other products to market more heavily. Improve the lead time of the delivery of the products in order to give them more shelf time and be able to manage the production better. If Barilla wants this program to succeed they will have to invest in more equipment, in order have a better production line. In a company where more than 800 products are produces, it is very time consuming to be hanging the equipment every so often to produce all pastas available in Barilla. Recommendations: Our main recommendation will be to eliminate the need for distributors; this will eliminate many of the problems that Barilla has build up during the years. The first issue that will get resolved is the thrust issue between distributors and Barilla. This will allow Barilla to get first hand information regarding the demand of their products, which is the main goal of this operation. This could also allow netter management AT ten plant, allowing ten warehouse anon t reduction line to better utilize their resources and have a better management of the supply chain. Barilla will gain control of the distribution line and create better and more efficient lines of distributions for their products. Barilla will have to set up warehouses for their products, and can strategically place them near the most important cities. Barilla can Justify all these new expenses by gaining control of the information on the demand, information for production is invaluable in these types of companies.

Burgertown Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Burgertown Report - Research Paper Example 1.2 312 Staff Cost 127664 0.74 94.952 Total Variable Cost 406.952 Marginal Contribution 260000 0.00 295.048 Fixed Cost 83 Depreciation Cost 25 Total Fixed Cost 108 Profit Before Interest 187.048 & Tax (PBIT) Interest 30 12% on Rs. 250000 Profit Before Tax (PBT) 157.048 c) Break Even Point Fixed Cost / Marginal Contribution 95170.96 Per Unit As you can see above that by producing 95,170.96 units the total sales realized would be equal to the total cost and thus the firm would be under Break Even situation meaning thereby that they would be a no profit no loss situation. d) Margin of Safety Actual Sales - Break Even Sales 164829 (in volumes) The Firm is in a better situation as the Margin of Safety is in a much strong position both in terms of quantity as shown above and in percentage as shown below : = Margin of Safety / Total Sales * 100 164829 / 260000 * 100 = 63.40% f) No. of units to be produced extra to gain additional profit of Rs. 50,000 PARTICULARS No. of Units Rate Value Sales x 2.90 2.90x Variable Cost Cost of Meals x 1.2 1.2x Staff Cost x 0.74 0.74x Total Variable Cost x 1.94x Marginal Contribution 0.96x (Sales - Total Variable Cost) Fixed Cost (Break up given below) 173000 Depreciation Cost 25000 Total Fixed Cost 198000 Profit Before Interest 237048 & Tax (PBIT) (Stated that the profits would be 50,000 additional than the earlier profits Also Marginal Contribution = Fixed Cost + Profit Before Interest & Tax Therefore no. of units produced to achieve an additional profit of Rs. 50,000 would be (237048+198000) /... Some limitations are typically due to the lack of precision in the numbers (e.g., what is the actual price, is it purchase price or life cycle price) and getting the precise figures for fixed and variable costs. Beyond that, it is limited by its total focus on the quantitative elements of a business plan and doesn't consider competitive reactions, customer needs, etc. http://books.google.co.in/booksct=result&id=958o8MoaYmMC&dq=high- low+method++variable+labour+cost+per+meal+and+the+annual+fixed+labour+cost.&ots=RibYVyeuS7&pg=PA133&lpg=PA133&sig=ACfU3U2ievG4GwJltFY_kQEL94YQYXEaKw&q=high-low+method++variable+labour+cost+per+meal+and+the+annual+fixed+labour+cost.+#PPA135,M1

Healthcare Information Management System Coursework

Healthcare Information Management System - Coursework Example Next force is the need to measure correctly the performance of health care providers and practitioners with the use of IT (Brailer and Terasawa, 2003). Other forces such as visions by stakeholders on how IT can transform health care while reducing the cost at the same time. These factors have led to a paradigm shift from traditional record keeping systems to a transformed IT centered system. It can be leveraged in various sectors of health care especially in patient data record keeping. Other areas include patient relationship management and use of Electronic laboratories, Tele-consultation and Electronic prescription. This way IT can be used to improve of efficiency in health care. 2. Strategies for achieving interoperability of health care applications Interoperability refers to the ability of various applications used to communicate and transfer information in healthcare management. The main communication channel is between health information systems and the software applications. Strategies should be developed so as to ensure efficient and timely data transmission between health care applications. Also, strategies should be made in order to replace old and incompatible equipment with modern ones and active personnel training on the use of interoperability equipment. Healthcare institutions should also ensure that there is proper coordination and cooperation between the various departments (Brailer and Terasawa, 2003). Strategies must also be made to institutionalize healthcare systems, which assist in planning among data transmitting departments while encouraging growth of flexible architectural interoperability structures. The management in healthcare facilities must also fund actively the projects set up to ensure and give solutions to interoperability. 3. Core competencies for IT departments that support health care organizations. Competencies are characteristics of something that make it standout and help achieve set goals and objectives. For a competen ce to be considered core, it must have a wide breadth of application and be highly relevant to the end user, as well as maintain distinction and difficult to imitate. For the health care sector, IT has five core competences that make it suitable for adoption. One is that IT departments help in business analysis. When data is fed into IT applications, they can process it for success of expected results such as analysis of patient recovery rates. The second core competence for IT department is Innovation. Innovation will come in handy in healthcare departments due to the rapid changes in technology. The third is knowledge management, which can be used to improve the knowledge work systems in other health departments. Fourth competence for IT department in health care is solution web management. This is the ability of IT to provide web based solutions to heath care problems (Brailer and Terasawa, 2003). Such include online prescription and consultation. Lastly, IT departments help in c hange management, especially where new projects are being implemented. This is necessary in health care as in order to ensure efficiency in service delivery, new systems and equipments are being introduced. 4. The benefits of leveraging information technology, such as the EMR, in health care. One of the main benefits of introducing IT is the reduction of costs in health care. This is achieved through reduced costs of regular book keeping with the shift from

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 10

Economics - Essay Example Keynesian economists Before Keynes, the classical school of economic thought prevailed and this school did not develop any integrated macroeconomic theory, there existed mainly postulates which expressed economic ideas. Their key postulates suggested that full employment will prevail in the long run is market forces of demand and supply were permitted to perform freely. Even if unemployment occurs it will be a short run impact. They also suggested that demand will always be equal to output in such a case and equilibrium will continue to exist in the long run. These ideas were proven to be wrong with the advent of the Great Depression of the 30s. The classical laissez-faire doctrine failed to hold. Unemployment (3 percent to 25 percent from 1929 to 1933) began to spread largely in the economies ruled by the free market industrial mechanism leading to fall in Gross National Production (fell by 30 percent) and price level fell by 23 percent (Dwivedi, 2005, p. 13). In an attempt to solve the problem, Keynes developed the modern macroeconomic theory which is associated with employment, growth and stability. According to Keynes, output and employment levels are functions of total resources available in the economy, unemployment is the result of shortfall in aggregate demand as well as economic variations brought about by deficiency in demand. This can be got rid of through government spending. This last aspect was introduced by Keynes as a tool for demand management. Such spending would therefore crowd out private investments and via the multiplier effect it would have favourable impact on income and employment. The time span between the 30s and 90s is known as the period of ‘Keynesian Revolution’ (Dornbusch, 2005, p.443). Keynesian policies were adopted by most nations’ governments in developed economies. However in reality, economic world goes through evolutions from time to time and transits form one system to another. Monetarists In the 1970s Keynesian economic thoughts began to show its loopholes as the fiscal policies did no longer solve the economic problems of developed nations consisting of low growth, high unemployment and inflation levels. Then there was the problem of stagflation in the early 70s. Keynes had theorized that disflation would be brought about with unemployment but the economy witnessed bad performance in both areas. As per Keynes’ suggestion, taxes and interest could be reduced in order to ensure inflow of money into the economy. However that would bring about inflation. A new phase of economists, who were popularised as monetarists, emerged. Monetarism could be known as ‘Counter Revolution’ and this group was directed by Milton Friedman who showed that Keynesian policy failed to forecast gross national output, price, unemployment rate and interest rate. He showed money supply changes could influence inflation levels in future time periods in nonlinear manner. This led to the eme rgence of a new thought of revolution. Where the role of money was the key idea behind growth and national income’s stability in the short run and determines price level in long run. This shifted the idea of aggregate real output’s demand towards the demand and supply of money at aggregate level. This also brought about a long span of debate between the monetarists and Keynesians centring on â€Å"

Methods of Analyzing Data in Data Warehouse

Methods of Analyzing Data in Data Warehouse Data Mining methods for Customer Relationaship Management Abstract-Data warehousing and data mining, applied to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), are a relatively fresh sector for organizations considering their immense advantage. Through data mining, organizations can identify key customers, predict future behaviors and take proactive and knowledge driven decisions. In this article, we discuss few data mining techniques for various CRM activities. Keywords- Customer relationship management (CRM); Data mining The crucial element of any successfull business is value creation for a customer. CRM basically tries to pull in, maintain and manage customers. Business intelligence analyses and interprets large amounts of customer data to provide organizations with practical information which can be used to devise strategies for improvement and growth. The ease of data collection in todays world coupled with the low cost of maintaining a data warehouse has increased the accessibility of huge customer data. Data mining has become a backbone for CRM activities. Few years back, data analysis was linked with expensive computing and complicated logic which only mathematicians could understand but this has changed now due to the availability of user friendly desktop tools. Data mining has become a backbone for CRM activities. Data mining and data analysis methods when used properly help to better all CRM phases. In order to retain important customers and to continue to provide the best customer satisfaction, availability of timely and actionable information is very critical. Such information plays a key role in facilitating smart organizational decisions which enables in creating better value for the customer. For maintaining a successful CRM strategy, investments in the understanding of data mining techniques is crucial.ÂÂ   This paper would try and mention some of the data mining techniques for optimization of CRM activities and also to find which technique is important. Pulling in new customers, minimizing defection by important customers and enhancing the experience of existing customers are the key aspects which an effective CRM business strategy assists with. .This article mentions some of the data mining techniques for optimizing CRM activities. A. Content analysis for identifying the right customer The method of deciding on the units of analysis based on the direction of the study is known as content analysis. The conceptÂÂ   of computable and specifiable, categories are defined which help in grouping the processed units of data, quantify and analyze the samples. Content analysis is often used on various advertisements styles, in email communications and on social media. The figure below shows information flow from data collection to useable knowledge. Figure: Knowledge discovery process. [2] First step applies pre-established rules to select data and categorize them into relevant groups. Next step is to clean up and reorder data by disposing off unnecessary information, to establish record-keeping formats and for the purpose of maintaining the integrity and consistency of data which helps in the construction a data platform. The organised data is refined further by grouping into related subjects using data transformation methods. Models and interconnections are developed after analysis which in turn help with decision support. This data when applied to a companies unstructured data is used to find the core (right) customer which in turn helps in planning efficient business strategies and providing appropriate customer service to different customers. B. Mining Customer behavioural changes In an ever changing business environment, trying to analyse customer behaviour is very helpful. Customer, transaction and product databases can be used for change mining. Below figure shows the flow of change mining. Fig. 2. Flowchart for mining changes in customer behavior. [3] Generally some usefull information is concealed in the huge amount of raw data and this needs to be extracted using data transformation. Customer and transaction databases can be used to analyse customer behaviour by using data integration and transformation. As per the figure above, customer, product and transaction databases are used to analyse the customer behavioural variables: Recency, Frequency, Monetary (RFM). Recency represents most recent transaction time, frequency is the number of purchases during a certain period and monetary isÂÂ   the standard amount of expenditure. The attributes, frequency and monetary, are used to segment the customer into different categories namely: Uncertain, Frequent, Spender, Best. The Recency variable can be combined with the above study to develop a target market. Association rules are used for mining customer behaviour by analyzing the relationship of products purchased by a customer in retail stores. A classic application of association rules is the market basket analysis where products bought by a customer during a visit to the supermarket are analysed. This can be used to identify corelations between product purchase and customer profile represented by demographic variables. Customer behavioural data are most effective for generating predictive data which optimizes the CRM. The study of investigating change in customer behaviour is called change mining. Change mining looks at changing customer behaviour to develop some pointers which can be used to mathematically quantify the change in beahviour.ÂÂ   The output of all the above is analysed data which can be used to support efficient marketing. C. Learn and Usage model for Customer retention Loosing current customers to a rival company is termed as customer churn.ÂÂ   Finding better methods for customer retention is very crucial as acquiring new customers proves to be very expensive.This is two phase model: Learning and Usage. The learning phase constructs a churn model which tests and predicts the probablity of defection for a certain customer based on historic data. A policy model is also constructed which clusters the churners by grouping them based on notable attributes. These are then used for creating proper policies for individual groups. During the usage phase the churn model predicts if a certain customer would defect and when there are strong chances of defection, the policy model comes up with relevant policies to retain them. This method not only predicts churning but also helps in reducing it. The following figure shows the learner mode architecture: Fig3: Architecture for learning mode [5] During the learning mode the churn model learner is constructed using histiorical data of individual subscriber like loyalty history, deactivation data, payment history, usage patterns, etc. The churn model can be represented as a decision tree which is used to comment on the likelihood of a specific customer defecting based on their previous data. The policy model constructor is used to build retention strategies for potential churners. The policy model builds retention strategies in two steps, first step is to consult learned churn model to recognize the attributes which have strong relation to the churning and based on these attributes the churners are classified into diferent groups and labelled as per the most significant attribute. Second step is to analyse the significance of these attributes and reccomends policies for retaining the group of churners. In the usage phase the churner model is consulted to predict the chances of customer churn based on the customer data. If the churn probablity is more than 60% then it is considered that the customer has high chances of churning and so policy model proposes a policy response based on the attribute of the group to which the customer belongs for the purpose of retention. This journal reviews the literature concerned with data mining techniques and its applications in CRM. Considering the current competition in the market all organizations suffer from a lot of customer churn which results in huge losses as the cost for acquiring new customers is ten times more than that of retaining existing customers. Hence a lot of research has been made on customer retention. This is also evident from the number of reasearch papers submitted between the years 2000 2006 [1]. The area of customer retention definetly seems to be crucial and requires further research. Data mining methodologies help in providing better understanding of raw data and hence would always be one of the major areas to be researched upon in the futire. References E.W.T Ngai, Li Xiu and D.C.K Chau, Application of data mining techniques in customer relationship management Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 36, Issue 2, part 2, March 2009, pp. 2592 2602. C.W Chang, C.T Lin, L.Q Wang, Mining the text information to optimizing the customer relationship management, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 36, Issue 2, Part 1, March 2009, pp. 1433-1443. Mu Chen Chen, Ai Lin Chiu, Hsu Hwa Chang, Mining changes in customer behavior in retail marketing, Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 28 (2005), pp. 773-781 W. Buckinx, D.V.D. Poel, Customer base analysis: Partial defection of behaviorally-loyal clients in a non-contractual FMCG retail setting, European Journal of Operational Research, 164 (2005), pp. 252-268. Bong-Horng Chu, Ming Shian Tsai, Cheng Seen Ho, Towards a hybrid data mining model for customer retention, Knowledge-Based systems, Volume 20, Issue 8, December 2007, pp. 703-718 Y.L. Chen, K. Tang, R.J. Shen, Y.H. Hu, Market basket analysis in a multiple store environment, Decision Support Systems, 40 (2005), pp. 339-354. YangSeog Kim, W. Nick Street, An intelligent system for customer targeting: a data mining approach, Decision Support Systems, Volume 37, Issue 2, May 2004, pp. 215-228.

Free Essays - Development of Theme in Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Development of Theme in Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he uses several different themes. His themes help to portray the meaning and message of the novel. Twain's major theme in the novel is man's inhumanity to man. He develops this theme through the inhumane actions of Pap toward Huck, the dishonesty of the King and the Duke toward the Wilkes girls, and the betrayal of Jim for money by the King and the Duke. Twain uses the inhumane actions of Pap toward Huck to help develop the major theme of his novel. "' I'll take you down a peg before I get done with you'" (20). This quote shows how man is inhuman to other men, even if they are related and supposed to love each other. Pap talks and acts mean towards Huck, even though Huck is his own son. Not only is Pap mentally abusive toward Huck, but he is also physically abusive toward him. "But by and by pap got too handy with his hick'ry, and I couldn't stand it. I was all over welts"(24). The way that Pap treats Huck shows the inhumanity of man toward other men and helps to develop the major theme of the novel. The dishonesty of the King and the Duke toward the Wilkes girls also help to develop the major theme of the novel. The Duke and the King take their cruelty to another level because they steal and lie to the Wilkes girls, who are left all alone with no parents. And not sell the rest o' the property? March off like a passel of fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars' worth o' property layin' around jest sufferin' to be scooped in?-and all good, salable stuff, too. (170-171) The Duke and the King are so inhumane that they will go as far as stealing from three innocent girls. "And he said of course him and William would take the girls home with them"(176). Not only do the Duke and the King steal money from the girls, but they also lie to them about bringing them to England just so they can have more money. Free Essays - Development of Theme in Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays Development of Theme in Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he uses several different themes. His themes help to portray the meaning and message of the novel. Twain's major theme in the novel is man's inhumanity to man. He develops this theme through the inhumane actions of Pap toward Huck, the dishonesty of the King and the Duke toward the Wilkes girls, and the betrayal of Jim for money by the King and the Duke. Twain uses the inhumane actions of Pap toward Huck to help develop the major theme of his novel. "' I'll take you down a peg before I get done with you'" (20). This quote shows how man is inhuman to other men, even if they are related and supposed to love each other. Pap talks and acts mean towards Huck, even though Huck is his own son. Not only is Pap mentally abusive toward Huck, but he is also physically abusive toward him. "But by and by pap got too handy with his hick'ry, and I couldn't stand it. I was all over welts"(24). The way that Pap treats Huck shows the inhumanity of man toward other men and helps to develop the major theme of the novel. The dishonesty of the King and the Duke toward the Wilkes girls also help to develop the major theme of the novel. The Duke and the King take their cruelty to another level because they steal and lie to the Wilkes girls, who are left all alone with no parents. And not sell the rest o' the property? March off like a passel of fools and leave eight or nine thous'n' dollars' worth o' property layin' around jest sufferin' to be scooped in?-and all good, salable stuff, too. (170-171) The Duke and the King are so inhumane that they will go as far as stealing from three innocent girls. "And he said of course him and William would take the girls home with them"(176). Not only do the Duke and the King steal money from the girls, but they also lie to them about bringing them to England just so they can have more money.

Artemis Fowl Book Report

He had devised a plan that would restore his family's fortune, a plan that could people civilizations and plunge the planet into a cross species war. Was at Ho Chi Mini City waiting for our contact Guan Unguent accompanied by Butler. As we waited Guan walked up to us dressed as a waiter. Obvious. Handmade loafers, a silk shirt, three gold signet rings. Pathetic really. Only to check for weapons. Who does he think I am? I told him that I was unarmed but for fun I told him about Butler. How he had tons of weapons and how he could kill him even without them. It was hilarious.He looked as if he were going to cry. Finally he told us to look at a picture he had. It was a wrinkly green hand. Guan then told us that she is a healer that works in exchange for rice wine. She was always drunk. He led us to a fire escape in Tu Do Street. I asked Butler for the night vision goggles. Inside I saw the green old hag. She asked for wine. Butler gave her the Irish whiskey. It was the same wrinkly green hand. I told Butler to give Guan the money. Finally things were going according to plan. She asked me if had anything that needed healing. I told her only wanted her book.She threatened to kill me. I told her that I would save her if she gave me the book. She gave me a questioning look. Perhaps the affects of the holy water hadn't darted yet. Told her about it and she said I murdered her. Then she started listening to what I had to say. Told her that we had two vials: #1 a vial of spring water from the fairy well sixty meters below Tara, Ireland the most magical place on the Earth, it would counteract the holy water and #2 a booster with a virus that feeds on alcohol which will flush every drop of rice wine out of her body.She asked me how could I trust you. That was a good question. Sometimes I can't even trust myself. I had to say something so I told her that I would give her the first vial on faith and the second one after am even the book for at least 30 minutes. Butler gave he r the first shot with the syringe gun then she gave me the book. I took my camera and took a picture of every page of the characters then gave it back and Butler injected the second vial, we left immediately. A century's worth of alcohol leaving the body isn't a pretty sight. When we got home I checked on mum.Sleeping like a baby. If she had recovered I would have to cancel everything and go to school. I went to my room uploading the files into my computer. It was a mixture of symbols and characters they were all around the page in no regular order. I printed all the ages and tacked them to the wall. First I needed a central point language so I started with English, Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Cyrillic, and even Gingham texts. There was still nothing. Was frustrated; none of the characters had a match. I thought hard and remembered the only base language didn't try: Egyptian. Finally a hit.The computer didn't show anything so I would have to get every Gnomish figure and compare it with the hieroglyphics. At midnight when I was done I fed my findings into the Macintosh. I pressed decode. Papers of meaningless gibberish came flowing out. Now all I had to do was find out the order it was written in. The Arabic right to left, no, the Chinese columns, no. Nothing worked. Then I noticed a tiny dot in the middle Of each page with arrows around it Then I knew that it was read in spirals. I typed spiral on the read menu and the letters came out in lines, finally. This was it.The Book of the People. Being Instructions to our Magic's And Life Rules. Carry me always, carry me well. Am thy teacher of herb and spell am thy link to power arcane. Forget me and thy magic will wane. Ten times ten commandments there be. They will answer every mystery. Cures, curses, alchemy. These secrets shall be thin, through me. But fairy remember this above all. Am not for those in mud that crawl. And forever doomed shall be the one, who betrays my secrets one by one†¦ Finally the book was translated and read. Now it was time for the thing I do best; plot dastardly acts.After a few hours I called Butler and Juliet(Butler's sister) into the room. I told them that according to the book, all we have to do is stakeout at an ancient tree at a full moon at a river bend. Juliet questioned me about fairies and how they weren't real, that got me thinking that all this work could be for nothing, but again the book proved quite promising. I told Juliet to get a cage into the cellar. We had over 100 places to try, it wouldn't be as easy as I thought. Four months of searching, not a hit. After 1 hour of waiting the proximity alarms flashed red someone was here. Hacked the scope and saw a figure bending down beside a tree. It was a possible fairy picking up a seat. In the bushes I saw Butler hold the dart pistol with the red dot pointed at her neck. Butler pulled the trigger, but out of a million odds she ducked again. Now she noticed she was under fire, we would have to do this ma nually. Butler was already ahead of the game and started to taunt the fairy. New that it was my turn so I started to scare the fairy. Butler stood behind her preparing a second tranquilizer dart while stalled her. Finally Butler shot her in the back and took her helmet.I couldn't believe how human the fairy looked. When We got TO Fowl Manor I examined the helmet and found a small tracking device. Of course they be following us now. Or they be following the tracker at least. I told Butler to get the car. It's time for road trip number 2. When we got too the dock I told Butler we needed a diversion. Butler nodded then I went to the nearest whaler and dumped the tracker inside. I put a mob there also to whoever was tracking it down. When got back to the car Butler was still fighting some men. Felt sorry for them. Even I don't want to pick a fight with him.After he finished he came to the car and we drove back to Fowl Manor. Went to our prisoner in a cage in the basement. It was time to taunt her once again. Told her, her name: Holly Short, rank: Captain and the rules in the house. Finally she asked how knew these things. I was surprised. It seemed like she didn't know she had a name tag on her. Told her I was aiming for gold. She again asked how do we know everything. Knew that couldn't tell err had the book so I told her we gave her a truth serum and she told us everything. She went to a corner thinking how had she had betrayed her people. Aft and went to Butler who was monitoring the cameras. Nothing yet. I told Butler to try the avenue and freeze the picture. He did and five black figures appeared on the screen. I handed him a bigger helmet that had several filters that allowed him to see shielded fairies. Butler went outside to take care of them. Before he left I told him to get the head to talk with better scared than dead. After a few minutes Butler came back with a handful of technology and left or preparation for my special visitor. They'd put a time stop on Fowl Manor.Seconds later the clock stopped and an unshielded figure stepped onto the lawn. The game was just beginning. Came to the front door and allowed him to come in. Told him that in return for the captain that I wanted a ton often-carat gold. He told me that he was going to kill us all with a bomb that I already knew of. I told him I could escape it. He was bewildered. He told me that nobody could escape the bio bomb, and then he left. After he left I went straight to the surveillance room and I noticed that Butler wasn't going around doing his rounds. Diode butler and asked him what was he doing.

50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches

50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches For the many people who break out in a sweat at the very idea of speaking in front of an audience, the prospect of speaking on an unknown topic with little to no preparation is likely terrifying. But you dont have to be afraid of impromptu speeches. As it turns out, the secret even to off-the-cuff speeches is preparation. Impromptu Speech Tips Decide on your topicCome up with three supportive statements related to your topicPrepare a strong conclusion Use this list of impromptu speech topics to practice making a quick speech outline in your head. For each of the topics below, just think of three main points youd like to make. For example, if your speech topic is Your least favorite chores, you could quickly come up with three statements: I dont know anybody who likes to fold laundry, so the first task on my list of unhappy chores is folding laundry.Taking out the trash is another chore that most people dread, and Im no different.The worst chore in the entire household has to be cleaning the toilet. If you go into your speech with these statements in your head, you can spend the rest of your time thinking up supporting statements as you speak. When youve identified your three main points, think of a great finishing statement. If you end with a great closer, youll really impress your audience. Start Practicing With This List My three favorite animals.What you would find in my closet. Make something up.What youd find under my bed.The best letter of the alphabet.Why your mom/dad is special.A day that stands out.The best surprise ever.I lost it!If I had a million dollars to give away.If cats/dogs ruled the world.A trip to remember.My favorite day of the year.If I could only eat three foods forever.If I could design a school.Why books are important.Three surprising facts about me.How to impress your parents.How to plan a party.A job Id love to have.A day in my life.If I could have dinner with anyone.If I could travel through time.My favorite book.An important lesson Ive learned.What Ive learned from cartoons.The smartest cartoon character.Three things Id change if I ruled the world.Why sports are important.The worst chores at home.Why I deserve an allowance.If I were in charge of school lunches.If I had invented school.The best theme park rides.Whom do you admire most?What is your favorite animal?How to achi eve your dreams. Why you need a baby brother.How to annoy an older sister.How to save money.Three things that scare me.Great things about snow days.Things you can make out of snow.How to spend a rainy day.How to walk a dog.Great things about the ocean.Things Ill never eat.How to be a slacker.Why I like my town.The best parts of a parade.Interesting things you see in the sky.Things to remember when youre camping.An experience with a bully.

Comparison between Psychology and Psyghiatry essays

Contrast/Comparison between Psychology and Psyghiatry essays Many people think that psychology and psychiatry is the same thing. Most people fear being seen coming in or going out of a shrinks office. Society has given shrinks a bad reputation. To most people, seeing a shrink is a guarantee that they will be locked away in a dark padded room. Because of this fear, many people do not receive the help they need concerning their mental and emotional health. These people do not realize the difference between these two professions. Many people find themselves asking: what is psychology? They automatically assume that if somebody sees a psychologist, then they are crazy. This is not true. Psychology is the study of people: how they think, how they react and interact. Psychology is concerned with all aspects of behavior and thoughts, feelings and motivation underlying such behavior. Psychologists deal with the way the mind works. Psychologists usually are not medically qualified, and only a small handful of people studying psychologies work with patients. Psychiatry is the study of mental disorders and their treatment, management and prevention. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have qualified in psychiatry. Many people mistakenly assume that psychologists are the people that deal with crazy or psychotic patients. But that is the job of psychiatrists. They deal with major mental disorders such as Schizophrenia, Asperger Syndrome and Trichotillomania. Psychology is a method of therapy for people. They are put in a relaxed environment and are asked to talk about what is on their minds. Psychologists help people grasp hold of their problems and fix it themselves. They help people discover why they repeatingly do the things that they do. Psychiatry, however, is more of a science driven profession. Psychiatry is the diagnosis, management and prevention of mental disorders. Psychiatrists study the brain and its functions, and diagnose the problem. They work with patient ...

See the order instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See the order instruction - Essay Example As a result, cases are heard faster, relieving the judicial system of backlog cases. The court, through its discretion to waiver mandatory penalties, also ensures justice to defendants in cases where such mandatory penalties would be unjust. A robber may for example be in possession of a gun and even point it at the victims but may not have had a slightest intention of using such a weapon. The mandatory penalty would however assume that the defendant intended to use the weapon, leading to injustice to the defendant. The waiver court alternatively ensures justice as was held by judge Snite in Martin Lucas’ case. Another role of the waiver court is to attract cases from the formal jury courts by providing for the waiver. This reduces the number of cases for strict jury processes. The waiver court has the implication of reducing defendants’ possible penalties. This is however possible at the judge’s discretion though defense lawyers intimidate the waivers. An example of such implication was in the case of Wayne Nesmith who could have faced a mandatory life imprisonment under first-degree murder but ended up with a sentence of between ten to twenty years. The system however implies possible injustice to victims. This is because it considers non-legal aspects such as defendants’ goodwill and intimidation from the defense representatives at the expense of the victims’ justice. An example is the case of Nesmith who shot a victim six times at close range but still got a waiver. Lack of intention is highly questionable in the circumstances. The waiver court does not fulfill all the goals of the system that include retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation. While it fulfils retribution by recognizing defendants’ guilty plea to waiver mandatory sentences, it only partially meets the goals of deterrence and incapacitation that are

Global Water Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global Water Crisis - Essay Example It is the only natural resource that is consumed by all the living beings. Its significance is evident from the following quote of the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Anan who stated, â€Å"No single measure would do more to reduce disease and save lives in the developing world than bringing safe water and adequate sanitation (Water: The Crisis of 21st Century, 2007).† Where water gives life it can also take life if it is contaminated. Millions of people die every year due to diseases caused by contaminated water. In fact to be more precise 80% of diseases in the world are due to contaminated water. 90% of waste water is released without proper treatment and poor quality of water causes approximately 50-100 lacks of deaths every year. Poor water quality leads to the death of one child in every fifteen seconds and 25000 people die every day due to malnutrition (Water: The Crisis of 21st Century, 2007). Thus the importance of clean water becomes self evident . In this paper I intend to discuss the looming crisis caused by water shortage at the global level. I have chosen this topic because its importance for all living beings cannot be ignored. All living beings are dependent on it for their survival and for this reason it must be preserved for our future generations. I intend to highlight the present situation related to water shortage. I also intend to reflect on the consequences and causes of water shortage. For this purpose I have chosen to review the relevant literature to support my argument. Towards the end I will conclude with some suggestions that could prove useful for the preservation of water resources for our future generations. Currently our world is facing serious threat of water shortage in the twenty first century. The Toronto Star (2002) quoted the figures from a report published by the United Nations in which it has been discussed that currently 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water,