5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers

5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers 5 Great SEO Tips for Copy Writers Every modern business has a website. And if you have a website, you need an SEO strategy to help customers find you online. But how exactly does this work in terms of writing website copy? In this post, we run through a few SEO tips that you can use when writing online content. 1. Picking Keywords SEO is all about keywords. These are terms that people search for online to find your website, so it is crucial to use the right keywords in the right places. And this means working out the keywords your target customers are searching for online and building online content around them. A good starting point for this is using a keyword research tool. Alternatively, you can check competitors’ websites to see which terms they use. 2. Integrating Keywords How you work keywords into your copy is also crucial. For instance, you should try to: Use the main keyword(s) in the title of the page Include the main keyword(s) in the first paragraph of the copy Use keywords in subheadings within the copy Highlight keywords with bold or italic formatting where appropriate Include variations of keywords within the copy These may be small touches, but they make a big difference to SEO results. 3. Humans Are More Important Than Computers Keywords are good, but not if they come at the expense of readability. This is because, ultimately, the best way to boost SEO is to write good content that people want to share online. In the old days, you could get away with loading a webpage with keywords and search engines would still find them. This was known as â€Å"keyword stuffing.† But now, if you use too many keywords on a single page (more than 5% of the word count), Google may reduce the ranking of your website. Consequently, you should always focus on writing good content for human readers first. This also means making sure your website is error free, so don’t skip the proofreading! 4. Writing a Good Meta Description Getting your website to rank on search engines is only part of the battle. You also need people to click through to the site when they see the search results. And this is where the meta description is key. The meta description is the text that search engines use to â€Å"preview† a page in a list of results. It should therefore provide a brief summary of what the page is about. To do this: Keep it short (ideally between 155 and 320 characters) Explain how the page will resolve the reader’s problem For example, for this page, we could write: Check out our SEO tips for copy writers to boost your page ranking. Simple solutions for increasing traffic to your website. Perfect for businesses seeking a competitive edge online. In three short statements, we’ve made sure the reader will immediately know what the page is, what following our advice will achieve, and who we’re targeting with the page. 5. Strategic Linking One of the most important SEO tips is to work hyperlinks into your copy, including both internal links to other pages on your website and external links to other sites. Internal links should direct readers towards relevant information on your site. External links, meanwhile, can make your site more authoritative and boost its reputation. And if another site sees that you have linked to them, they might do the same in return, which will boost your SEO results significantly. However, don’t link to sites that rank higher than you for the same keywords, as this will be counterproductive. Focus instead on links to sites that cover related topics. Summary: 5 SEO Tips for Copy Writers When writing website copy, you need to think about SEO. This may include: Researching keywords and picking the right ones for your site Working keywords into the page copy effectively Making sure your work is easy to read for humans as well as computers Writing a strong meta description so people click through to your site Using internal and external links in your copy Applied well, these SEO tips should help boost your website traffic.

Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Example

Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Example Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Essay Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Instructions This questionnaire is a tool that you can use to collect information about your business that will be useful for tailoring the R/3 System to your business needs. You will need Microsoft Word for Windows to work with this document. Enter your answers in the fields after the questions, using the TAB key to move from field to field. You may save and later change your answers in this questionnaire just as you would with any other Word document. 1 Enterprise Structure 1. 1 SD – Corporate Structure What selling entities (Sales Organizations) are responsible for establishing terms of sale? To what markets (distribution channels) do you sell? (Retail, Wholesale, etc). What product divisions (product lines) do you have? What sales offices do you have? A Sales Office is a physical location responsible for sales within a given geographical location (optional). What sales groups do you have? These are groups of people responsible for processing sales of certain products or services (optional). Do you have more than one sales person responsible per customer? What warehouses, production sites (Plants) do you have? What are the storage locations at each Plant? Within each plant, what are the areas  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 1 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire from which you ship? For example, different loading docks that ship different types of materials or a Federal Express drop-off. (Shipping Point) 2 Master Data 2. 1 Logistics Business Partners What kinds of business partners do you have? Sold-To Ship-To Bill-To Payer Prospective Customers Competitors Sales Partners Forwarding Agent One Time Customers Do customers have multiple ship-to’s and payers? If yes, how do you choose? Do you have vendors that are also customers? Please define the structure of your current customer numbering: Yes Invoice-To partner No Payer partner Yes No 2. 2 SD Business Partners SAP Customer Hierarchies define complex buying structures within a single company and allow different pricing for each hierarchy. Do your customers have multi-level complex buying structures within their own company? Yes No Define the following optional Marketing information that can be attached to your customers. Industry Sectors for Customers? Customer Classifications? Nielson IDs?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Legal Status? Define the following optional Sales information breakdowns that may be used for reporting. Customer Groups: Sales Districts: Define the following optional Delivery information. Delivery priority levels. Also, explain the allocation process: Customer Calendars: Customer Goods Receiving Hours: Define the following information that will pertain to your billing documents. Define your Billing Schedule: Customer Terms of Payment and cash discounts you offer: Customer Incoterms? These are delivery terms you offer your customers (i. e. FOB): Do you record contact-person information for your customers? Do you record sales employee information in your customer table? Do you record customers who are placed on a â€Å"Table of Denial†, thereby denying deliveries to them? Yes No 2. 3 Logistics Material Do you record status information on your material records that would suggest a material should be blocked from sales stages? For example, blocking a sales order because the material is  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 3 Yes No Sales and Distribution Questionnaire discontinued, or blocking a delivery because the material is still in development. If yes, list the various status codes: Define the Length and Format of your material numbering scheme: Define your material groups: This key allows you to group together several materials and services that have the same attributes. This grouping can be used for reporting and pricing. Define the product divisions that allow you to organize your sales structure around groups of similar products or product lines: List your Storage Conditions for Material: List your Temperature Conditions for Material: List your Container Requirements for Material: Do you wish to set up a product hierarchy structure for reporting and pricing? If so, what are the hierarchy levels? Up to 9 levels can be used. Yes No 2. 4 SD Material Today, what information does your material master feed to the sales order process? Do you use Bills of Materials? If yes, do you price at the header or component level? Yes Header No Component  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 4 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire If yes, do you perform transfer of requirements and inventory movements on the header or component level? Do you have Configure-to-Order materials? Do you sell any of your material in batches? Header Component Yes Yes No No 3 Basic Functions 3. 1 Pricing Condition Processing What Master Data combinations do you base your pricing on? Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Sold-To Party / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Ship-To Party / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Price List Type / Currency / Material Sales Organization / Distribution Channel / Sold-To Party / Material Group Describe all other combinations: To calculate a price, will R/3 have to read any information stored on an external 3rd party or in-house system? If yes, please describe: What pricing information do you capture for statistical purposes? I. e. , it does not alter the price) For example, material costs, profit margins, or subtotals to print on an invoice. If you process Electronic Data Interchange orders, do you accept the  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 5 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire expected order price per item or the expected order value? If you process Inter-Company orders, d o you charge the inter-company based on a specified amount or on a percentage of the item price? Do you allow manual adjustments to the Gross Price automatically generated by the SAP R/3 system? Do you manually alter prices for an entire sales document at the header level? Do you use â€Å"Interval Graduated Scales† pricing? Example: For the first number of items purchased, the customer is charged a certain price. Additional items above a certain quantity level are sold at a lower price. Do you have multiple prices and discounts for a customer, and require the system to search the combination of all-eligible prices and discounts and give the customer the â€Å"best† or â€Å"lowest† price? Do you require the system to accumulate the amounts for certain conditions (like discounts) and deactivate the discount once a specified maximum value has been reached? Tracking Cumulative values) Do you require the functionality to create user-defined indexes in the pricing tables? This will enable you to search for your prices using companyspecific search criteria such as what operator input what prices on a certain day. Do your prices include Sales Tax? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 6 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you ever base the price of an item on the cost to manufacture or purchase the materials? Do you offer discounts to your customers? If so, what are they based on? Yes No Customer Material Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Customer Group / Material Group Customer / Material Group Ship-to Location Customer Hierarchy Pallets Mixed Pallets Describe all other combinations: Do you offer discounts to your customers that are based on a Sales Promotion? If yes, please describe your Sales Promotion and Sales Deal structure. Are these deals customer-specific or are they related to the product? Are these deals off-invoice or accrued (or a combination of both)? What date is pricing based on? Sales Order date Requested Delivery date How do you calculate and charge Freight? What subtotal information would you like to record on your pricing procedure? Will you need to pass pricing information to the Sales Information  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Valid: When selling an automobile, any options for number of doors, color, engine size, and music package will help determine the price to be charged. Do your customers have large, complex buying structures that you wish to price and discount according to? For example, a large retail company might send out purchase orders from different buying offices, so that you could set up a â€Å"customer-hierarchy† and offer discounts and prices based on the level to which the buying party belongs. Do you calculate your prices by the use of formulas? What is your method of taxation? Yes No Yes No Yes US Non Jurisdiction US Jurisdiction Output Taxes No Canadian Mexico Other 3. 2 Account Assignment How do you determine which General Ledger account should be posted for Revenue? Sales Org, Cust. Grp, Mat. Grp, Acct. Key Sales Org, Customer Group, Account Key Sales Org, Material Group, Account Key Do you also post to Business Areas (product groups) for internal reporting? Yes No Sales Org, Account Key Other  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 8 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire If yes, how? Please list the revenue accounts: What accounts do you use to post sales deductions (discounts)? What account do you use to post freight? What accounts do you use to post tax? What account do you use to post rebates? What accounts do you use to post rebate accruals? Do you require the interface link from SD to COPA? y Plant / Division by Sales Area Yes No 3. 3 Availability Check Do you perform an availability check against on the basis of â€Å"Available to Promise† quantities? If yes, for what types of material? Yes No Do you perform an availability check against on the basis of planned independent quantities? If yes, for what types of material? Yes No Do you normally include replenishment lead time in y our available check? Do you block a sales order if the availability check fails? For your different types of materials, decide what to include in your availability check: Stocks to include: Yes No Yes No safety stock stock in transfer stock in quality inspection blocked stocked  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 9 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What Inward and Outward Movements should be included? purchase orders purchase requisitions planned orders production orders reservations dependent reservations dependent requirements sales requirements delivery requirements 3. 4 Output What master data fields do you use to determine what output to send? Sales Org / Distribution Channel / Customer Group Sales Org What type of output do you send? Printed Fax Collect print out (samples) of the following documents: Sales order Customer master Material master Picking list EDI Other: Shipping documents Invoice Top 5 sales reports Customer Other: 3. 5 Material Determination Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. If a product is packaged differently for a special event (e. g. , Thanksgiving), do you want the system to automatically substitute the special packaging when the product is ordered? If yes, how does the substitution occur? For example, what master records do you perform the substitution based on? Not Used Yes No Customer Material Customer Material Country Code Another grouping?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 10 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What are the different reasons you would substitute one product for another or one packaging for another? Do you want the originally ordered product or the substituted product information to be printed on the output? Do you want the product substitution to occur automatically or should Data Entry personnel be offered a selection screen for substitutable products? Do you want Data Entry personnel alerted when a product is automatically substituted? Do you want the substituted product to be listed as a sub-item to the originally ordered product or should the substituted product completely replace the original product? Do you want product substitution to occur when the original ordered product is not available? Original Substituted automatic offered a selection Yes No sub-item replace Yes No 3. 6 Material Listings Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you require that certain products or customers must be pre-specified on a â€Å"Material List† before a customer can place an order for the material. What Master Data fields will make up the key index for the â€Å"Material Listing† table? Not Used Yes No Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Ship To Location / Material Specify Others:  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 11 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 3. 7 Material Exclusions Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you require that certain products or customers must be pre-specified on a â€Å"Material Exclusion† table to block selling that material to the customer? What Master Data fields will make up the key index for the â€Å"Material Exclusion† table? Not Used Yes No Customer / Material Customer Group / Material Ship To Location / Material Other: 3. 8 Credit Processing Describe how your credit will be monitored: One department (Credit Control Area) will monitor the credit for all Company Codes. Each Company Code will be monitored by its own department. (Credit Control Area) Other: What categories of risk will you monitor against your customer? Check all that apply. During which stages of the sales cycle will you perform a credit check? In the case of new customers, will orders be accepted if the credit data has not yet been maintained? Do you want the credit check performed during entrance of each line item or only when the document is saved? Is there a maximum value per Credit Control Area that a sales document cannot exceed? Low Risk Medium Risk High Risk List any others: Sales Order Delivery Creation Yes Post Goods Issue (shipment) No Each Line Item Saving of Document only Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 12 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Should a credit check be performed when one of the following critical fields are changed on a Sales Document (Payment Terms, Additional Value Days, Fixed Value Date)? What is your policy when a customer fails credit? Do you block the order? Delivery? Yes No Cannot save Sales Order Save Sales Order but block Delivery document creation Save Sales Order, but block Shipment (Post Goods Issue) Describe others: 3. 9 Serial Numbers Do you have serial numbers for your materials (e. g. , model number)? When do you want the system to assign serial numbers? Do you want the system to assign serial numbers automatically or manually? Sales Order Delivery Creation automatically manually Post Goods Issue 4 Sales 4. 1 Inquiry/Quotation Processes Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What kind of information is collected for Inquiries? Not Used existing products potential new products qty pricing validity dates delivery schedules Do you currently support quotation processing? What kind of information is collected for quotes: Yes No existing products potential new products qty pricing validity dates delivery schedules Does a quotation apply to one or many one many  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 13 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire customers? Other additional information on Quotation processing: 4. Sales Order Processing How do you receive orders? EDI FAX Phone Do you presently separate your standard orders by any variables (e. g. , document type, sales organization, sales representative)? Do you convert sales orders from inquiries or quotations? What information do you capture on a sales order? How do you determine/select a customer at sales order entry? List the reasons for a Sales order to take place : What reasons would an order or line item be rejected? Does the line item detail of an order vary from line to line? For example, does one line have a different ship-to than the next? Do you send letters of order confirmation? If so, what forms of media do you use? For sales documents, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an in-completion log if missing? Document Date Purchase Order Number Document Currency Incoterms Material Order Quantity Net Price Plant Shipping Point PO# Sales region manually by number person taking order Additional information: by name  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 14 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Pricing Date Payment Terms Sold-To Party List all others: Would it be valid to â€Å"save† the document if this information is missing? Product Proposals: If a customer routinely orders the same product or group of products, do you have a process that helps you simplify your order entry? If so, how does that process work? For example, do you record the product proposals by Customer, Customer group, or another grouping? Do you have company-defined status codes that are tracked on a sales document? If, so what do these status codes represent? Do you record â€Å"Minimum Delivery Quantity† on your materials? If so, what happens during a sales order if a violation occurs? Do you process backorders? What types of text do you require on your sales documents? Are they required on output? What information fields do you require on your sales order lists? Commitments and checks at order entry: Do you use replenishment lead times to determine availability date at order time?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Nothing Warning Error Yes No Yes No Depends on the Material 15 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you include transit time to calculate the delivery date? When you schedule a delivery, how is it specified (Day, Week, Month, Posting Period)? List your sales order types: 4. 3 Scheduling Agreements Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you need to schedule requested deliveries per line item out into the future? Are all customers and sales areas eligible for scheduling agreements? For Scheduling Agreements, is the delivery schedule for serial parts or replacement parts? Do you schedule the requested deliveries by day, week, period, or month? Should an availability check take place for Scheduling Agreements? How often do you receive changes to your delivery schedules? (hourly, daily, weekly) How do you receive the changes (EDI, telephone)? Do you receive Schedule Agreements from External Service Agents or directly from the customer (or both)? Not Used 4. 4 Contracts Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 16 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you negotiate contracts to use as a basis for sales orders? Do these contracts contain dates and quantities that must be adhered to? Is a distinct order type needed to indicate that the sales order references a contract? Is an availability check needed? If a contract already exists for a customer, do you want data entry personnel to be notified when a sales document is entered for this customer? Do you offer special prices or discounts for contracts? When a contract is created, do you want to have a follow-up activity automatically created? If so, which type of activity (Sales Call, Telephone Call, Sales Letter)? Are contracts for a set time period or do you offer renewals? Do you offer rental contracts? Do you utilize resource-related billing for contracts? (Periodic or Milestone) invoices are sent periodically payment is expected when major milestones are reached 4. 5 Third Party Orders Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you sell goods that you purchase from a vendor? Are these materials always purchased or just on certain orders? Do competing vendors make competitive bids on purchased products? Do you compare bids by  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 17 Not Used Sales and Distribution Questionnaire price, quantity, quality, or what other criterion? Do you send rejection letters to vendors losing bids? Are quotes selected for purchase order creation? Will shipping notification create expediting documents? Are dunning reminders sent? How long is the wait period? Do goods receipts have storage location determination? Is there blocked stock quality inspection, or other types of received stock? Do you charge third-party accounts right away or make separate postings? Is a 3-way match required to post the invoice? Do you bill the customer for the amount shipped from the vendor? Do you bill the customer after your invoice is received from the vendor? Yes No Yes No 4. 6 Consignment Orders Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you allow customers to keep your material in stock while you retain ownership? Does the customer place the orders for material or do you ship on a regular basis? What method will be used to determine when to bill the customer for consumed material? Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 18 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How will you be notified when your customer has sold the product? Are unused or unwanted materials returned to your location from a consignment location? Are customers allowed to place material back into consignment stock after it has been issued? (Consignment Return Delivery Processing) For Consignment orders, is freight charged to the customer or is it a cost that is absorbed by your company? How and at what point in time do you reduce inventory when a customer delivery has been made? 4. 7 Free of Charge Orders On certain types of orders, do you not charge for material? Do these orders require separate order types (for example, samples and donations)? Do they require different account postings? 4. 8 Rush Orders Are there occasions when the delivery should be created as the order is created? Should an availability check take place? Will you price differently for rush orders? 4. 9 Cash Orders Do customers place and pick up orders  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 19 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire at your location and require immediate receipt of a printed invoice? Will you price differently for cash orders? . 10 Credit Card Orders Do you accept credit cards as payment verification when a customer places an order or receives a delivery? 4. 11 Subsequent Free-of-Charge Do you send replacement or add-on materials free-of-charge? Must they reference an existing order? 4. 12 Returnable Packaging Returns Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you give credit if the goods have not been physically returned? Do you accept returns without return goods authorization? What return documents are provided to customers? Do you track packing material at the customer location? (e. g. Skids, containers, etc. ) Do customers notify you when they intend to return the packing material? Do you require an authorization number to accept returned goods at the warehouse? Is a confirmation of receipt required by the customer? Yes No Not Used Yes No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 20 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire When goods are received, do they require inspection? Yes No 4. 13 Warranties Is warranty tracking a requirement? What materials provide warranty agreements? How is it done today? Automatic or manual? Yes No 4. 14 Royalties or License Fees? Do you use royalties or license fees? How do you track them? How do you pay them (credit note, check. )? 4. 15 Stock Transfer Processing Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What locations store materials for transfer? Are these multiple stock locations? What type of stock is inventoried? Are you using SAP R/3 Warehouse Management? Do you have special storage conditions for materials? Do you have contracts or open purchase order arrangements for stock transfers? Is stock reserved prior to movement? How can you break the reservation? Do you forecast the expected transfer?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Yes Yes Yes No No No Not Used 21 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Should stock transfers be generated automatically? Is planning done for all materials? Is planning done for an individual material? (MRP Individual MM) Are multiple transfer order types used? What type of transfer is taking place? Will shipping notification create expediting documents? Are dunning reminders sent? If yes, how long is the wait period? Is this a transfer from one storage location to another or from plant to plant? Are shipping papers required? Who will process the delivery due list? How will picking and goods issue be posted? What movement type should be used? How will the transfer appear in the stock balance? Yes No Yes Yes No No 4. 16 Make to Order Production Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. In the production planning process, what is the strategy for consuming inventory? Are the bills of material simple in structure (having one level) or are they complex (having multiple levels)? Do you plan at the top level or at the lower levels? (Processing of Rough-cut  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 22 Not Used Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Planning Profile) What are the assembly steps taken in manufacturing? Routing Processing) Do you have sub-levels in your routings? (Reference Operation Set Processing) With your routings, do you note what may be needed in the assembly process? (Production Resource) Within your routings, are there trigger points within one routing that may setoff other operations? (Standard Trigger Point Processing) How does the product look and act in the sales order process? Do you state how components can be used within the configuration of a product? (Maintenance of Object Dependencies) Does an engineering change affect the configured production that has been ordered but not yet delivered? If so, is this a manual process or automatic and how does that process work? What are the options and features that your products have? (Characteristic Processing) For the features and options of your products, do you group them in any manner? (Class Processing) Do you pass your sales plan to demand management? Do you forecast? For example, history, forecast or formula? (Sales and  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 23 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Operations Planning). Where does the sales forecast come from? 5 Delivery Processing If you have multiple plants, how do you Customer determine what plant a product is Location delivered from? Product Location Do your customers accept partial deliveries? Do your customers allow the combination of multiple orders into single deliveries? Do you check the availability of product during delivery time? Are deliveries created individually or collective? What documents do you use to complete the delivery process, e. g. , picking list, packing list or bill of lading? Do you track Over Delivery or Under Delivery tolerance percentages for your customers? What picking process activities do you perform? How is packing done? Are you currently using any 3rd party software for packing? Do you have material that: Must be Picked Can Be Picked Cannot be Picked Depends on the Material Type Print pick list Picking confirmation Bar code labels requirements Yes Combination Other: No Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 24 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you confirm your picking process? Do you have material that: Yes No Must be Packed Can Be Packed Depends on the Material Type Cannot be Packed Depends on the Material Type Are you using bar code labeling? How? Do you have routing (truck stops)? How are freight charges handled? What shipping documents are generated? Is backorder processing supported? How? Do you assign priorities to back orders or is it first-come-first-serve based allotments? Do you have a standard lead time in days for the customers requested delivery date? When you schedule a delivery, is it specified per: Do you allow items to be added to a delivery without inclusion on the Sales Order? If so, what kinds of items? What are the reasons you would ever block a sales document from delivery? For the delivery document, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an incompletion log if missing? Document Date Purchase Order Number Document Currency Incoterms Pricing Date Payment Terms Sold-To Party Material Order Quantity Net Price Plant Shipping Point List others: Day Week Yes Month Posting Period No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 25 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What should happen when the Delivery Quantity exceeds the Order Quantity? Nothing Warning Error Depends on the Material Ship Point, Weight Other How do you determine your Pick/Pack time? Not Determined Ship Point, Route, Weight Not Determined Ship Point, Route, Loading Group Not Determined Route Not Determined Route How do you determine your Loading time? Ship Point Other: How do you determine your Transit time? How do you determine your Transportation Lead time? What types of text do you require on your Delivery Documents? Are they required on output? What informational fields do you require on your Delivery Lists? What informational fields do you require on your lists of orders ready for delivery (Delivery Due List)? How and at what point in time do you reduce inventory when a customer delivery has been made? What are your methods for tracking the cost of these materials? Do you ever group deliveries together? Do you require to print Freight Lists by combining deliveries that meet defined criteria? Other: Other: Yes Yes No No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 26 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 6 Transportation Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you interface to any third party transportation systems? If so, which ones? What carriers do you use for the transportation of goods? Is freight charged to the customers or is it a cost that is absorbed by the company? How do you determine the itinerary for your shipments? Do you have Individual and/or Collective Shipments? Do they use one mode of transport or multiple? What are your methods of shipping? (i. e. Truck, Mail, Train, Sea, etc. ) How are your transportation legs determined? No legs are determined According to departure point and itinerary Prelim. legs according to loading point, final legs according to Shipto point Determine preliminary and final stages by delivery Not Used Yes No Do you use Freight Forwarding Agents? 7 Foreign Trade 7. 1 License Skip this section if you do not utilize  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Not Used 27 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire this functionality. Define your legal regulations for each applicable country? For each legal regulation, define the applicable license types? Is the Export License specific to a certain customer? Is the Export License specific to a certain sales transaction type? Is the Export License specific to a certain type of products? Is the Export License specific to a certain destination country? Is the Export License limited by a dollar amount? Is the Export License limited by a quantity amount? When do you wish to check for the export license? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Delivery Sales Order Delivery 7. 2 Foreign Trade Reporting What declarations to the authorities must you make? EU: NAFTA: Japan: Switzerlan d: Intrastat AERP Export Yes Extrastat HMF Import Kobra 8 Billing/Invoicing Do you centralize or decentralize invoice processing? Please explain: Frequency of invoice creation:  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. per shipment weekly 28 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire daily monthly Do customers have a predefined time when they receive invoices, billing schedule? Do you consolidate invoices: by order by date by customer ship to Other: Do you split invoices? For example, if a single invoice is for multiple product divisions, will multiple invoices be generated by separating on the divisions? How are the billing documents generated, by delivery document, soldto, or some other variable? What invoice documents are created? Are pro forma invoices required? Printed EDI Other: EDI Fax Do you utilize periodic billing by for rental contract type documents? Periodic allows a specified amount to be billed over a certain time period. Do you utilize milestone billing for make to order type documents? Milestone billing allows you to bill once a certain work level has been reached. 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 29 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How do you recognize price changes that occur between the Sales Order and Billing time frame? Copy manual changes, re-determine other Copy prices unchanged, redetermine freight charges Re-determine taxes only Re-calculate all prices including tax and freight Other: What are the reasons you would ever block a delivery from creating an invoice? For the billing document, what information do you consider required and would like to appear on an incompletion log if missing? What types of text are required on your billing documents? Are they required on output? What informational fields are required on your billing document lists? What information fields are required on your lists of deliveries due for billing (Billing Due List)? 8. 1 Rebates Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What % of customers are given rebates? How are rebates calculated? by Material Customer Customer/Material product group O ther: Not Used Is there a time commitment or not? Do you accrue the payment liability? How is payment done? via credit/debit check cut via AP  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 30 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire Do you allow partial settlements on the rebates? If so, how often do you reimburse the customer (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly)? Do you offer Lump Sum rebates (not dependent on sales volume)? 8. 2 Credit/Debit Memo What types of adjustments are made: unit price quantity freight charge adjustment list other reasons for adjustment What adjustment methods are used? Are you able to trace it currently? How are output documents generated? Do your debit and credit memos need to go through an approval process? free standing tied to order/invoice printed faxed 9 Reporting Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What are the critical reports generated in each of the following areas: Sales order processing: Pricing: Shipping: Billing: What on-line (screen) reports are used for daily work (daily reporting)? What general statistical reports are being used by managers and executives?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 31 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire How often do you update your data for statistical reporting? Do you plan to utilize the Executive Information System? 10 Sales Information System Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Not Used Please mark the Standard Information Structures you will use: Customer (S001) (Sold-To, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division , Material) Sales Office (S002) (Sales Org. , Group, Office, District, Dist. Channel, Division) Sales Organization (S003) (Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sales District, Material) Material (S004) (Material, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel) Shipping Point (S005) (Ship Pt. , Route, Fwd. Agent, Dest. Country) Sales Employee (S006) (Employee, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sold-To, Material) Variant Configuration (S128) (Class Type, Material, Int. Characteristic, Characteristic Value, Sales Org. , Dist. Channel, Division, Sold-To, Plant) Will you need to create your own UserDefined Information Structures? If so, what fields will be used as the index key? For your information structures, what time frame should the data be accumulated? For reporting purposes, do you need to combine SAP data with information from a legacy or 3rd party software package? Daily Weekly Monthly Period  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 32 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire What exceptional conditions do you have that you would like to receive warning about (Early Warning System)? Should these exceptional conditions be reported on a periodic basis or run on demand? Should these exceptional conditions be printed out or mailed to an employee’s in-box? Do you need to generate a Sales Plan (Budget)? On what organizational levels do you budget? On what sales figures do you budget (example: quantity, dollar volume, returns)? Do you need to transfer your Sales Plan to Demand Management? Would you like to aggregate statistical information on any sub-totals from your pricing procedure? If you have created any custom business partners, do you need to aggregate statistical information on the new partners? Do you need to perform statistical analysis on Inquiries or Quotes? Do you wish to track service level statistics by comparing requested delivery date with the actual delivery date? Do you need to combine information from multiple applications (i. e. , SD and MM) on a single report?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 33 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire 11 Sales Support System Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you record information on competitors or competitor products? Do you track information on prospective customers? Do you perform the following for a sales promotion? Direct Mailing Address List Other: Not Used Do you perform the following sales activities? Sales Call Telephone Call Sales Letter Other: 12 Sales Commissions If you are calculating sales person commissions, how will you calculate them? How are commissions determined in your company? Is a customer assigned to a specific sales commission object (representative, district, etc), or are commissions determined at an order level? Not Using Sales Information System Rebate Partial Settlement functionality Other: Customer specific Customer / Material specific Order specific Other: 3 Electronic Data Interchange Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. What 3rd party translator do you plan to Not Used  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 34 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire use? Which data format will you use? ANSI EDIFACT What inbound messages would you like to use? Request for quote Purchase Order Purchase order change request What output messages would you like to use? Quote P urchase Order acknowledgment PO change acknowledgment ODETTE VDA Planning schedule w/ release capability Shipping Schedule (call-off) Dispatch Advice Delivery note Invoice 4 Data Transfer Do you require to transfer your open orders from your legacy system? Identify the file structure of open orders on your legacy system. Do you require transfer of your current prices from your legacy system? Identify the file structure of prices on your legacy system. Yes No Yes No 15 Service Management Skip this section if you do not utilize this functionality. Do you serialize products that need to be tracked after the delivery? Do you plan to record individual data for each piece of equipment (for these serialized products)?  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. Not Used 35 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire For example, tracking maintenance and service activities and scheduling maintenance visits. Do you schedule the installation and dismantling of equipment at a customer site? Do you need to track any permits related to the service of the product? Will you use external or internal numbering for serial numbers? At what point do you want to assign serial numbers (e. g. , picking time)? Do you need to track any special tools, such as calibration equipment, and plan for their use? Do you grant a warranty for certain products? Do you check the warranty to see what services the customer is entitled to? Do you place serialized products on a service contract? Is there periodic billing associated with these contracts? Are there follow-up activities that need to be done on a service contract? Do you have standard task lists (steps that need to be performed) when a product is serviced? Do you need to track the reason for service calls in both code and text format? Do you need to track the resources used to service a product? (Resources Yes No  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 36 Sales and Distribution Questionnaire include labor and material. ) Do you need to perform planning for these services? Do you need to settle the cost of a service order to a work center, general ledger account or other cost object such as a service contract? Do you need to bill the customer for the resources used during service of the product? Should this invoice consider warranties? Are there contractual price agreements? 16 Recap Identity any major areas of your business which have not been addressed in this questionnaire.  © 1997 SAP Technology, Inc. 37

Hong Kong's Ocean Park Target Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hong Kong's Ocean Park Target Market - Essay Example Therefore, in its educational and environmental conservation, as well as development of respect for animals and their habitat, the new facility targets students, and other visitors with an interest in environmental and wildlife conservation. The park thus targets people from all walks of life, with its community initiatives. Such initiatives include the admission of Hong Kong’s residents during their birthdays at a concessionary rate (Lau, 2011 p1). Those elderly residents above the age of 65 will also be considered favorably, to enter the park at low charges. People with disability and those under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance will also be allowed admission at lower charges (Lau, 2011 p3). From this, it is well observed that the target market for the soon to be open Polar adventure park is a wide range of people, from all lifestyles. Its integration of the themes of attraction and entertainment with the themes of education and conservation serves to ensure that all people, both local and foreign, with diverse interests are the aim of the new

Jake Barnes as a Hemingway Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Jake Barnes as a Hemingway Hero - Essay Example Brett and Barnes had a past relationship. However, World War I rendered Barnes sexually impotent through a battle wound. Barnes wants a relationship with Brett, but she cannot give up sex, even for love. Throughout this novel, Barnes is the shoulder for Brett to cry on. He is her friend, confident, and admirer. She is engaged to Mike, but cheats on him with Cohn and Romero. While carrying on with these men, she still confides in Barnes. The pathetic part of Barnes and Brett’s relationship was Barnes knew exactly what she was, but still did not care. Barnes thought: Barnes, aside from his feelings for Brett, wanted to find the meaning of life. He knew that loving Brett was not making him happy, but could not quite grasp what would make him happy. In order to pursue the meaning of life, Barnes decided to go back to the basics with a fishing trip in Spain. By imposing the basics on his life, Barnes wanted to find peace through order. Even though ideally he thought if Brett would love him, then the meaning of life and happiness would fall in line, Barnes found that peace came with order. When Brett suggest they could have been happy together, Barnes replies, â€Å"Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?† (Hemingway 248) This shows that Barnes realizes that although his desire to be with Brett is nice to think about, peace is only found with order, not confusion. Jake Barnes loved an unworthy woman and searched in vain for happiness. Both of these things make him a Hemingway hero. His survival of unrequited love and journey through life makes him an everyday hero. Barnes faced reality. The ultimate conclusion that only the need of basic essentials to create order in his life allowed Barnes achieve a separate peace. Barnes found what every person needs to know to gain peace; happiness does not come from others, but only from within. Barnes found his separate peace from within. This is what makes him not only a Hemingway hero, but a memorable

Describe a time when you experience a classroom as a community. How Essay

Describe a time when you experience a classroom as a community. How did the teacher create it How did it feel to belong to this - Essay Example The place was like a community to me as the bringing together of people with different backgrounds and ideologies was really worthwhile. The teacher ensured that the students in the classroom were able to interact with each other and probably learn more from the older group. This act by the teacher exposed the flaws of the education system where students are put in the same class with students of their peer group. The teacher created this community in such a way that the students were given the opportunity to acquire skills that would make them integrate easily into the society. The teacher made the students to have a deep sense of belonging as that act gave the students the opportunity to interact socially with other members of the academic community (Koch 28-31). It is true that schools shelter students from the opportunities of enlightening that exposure to wider social, ethnic and mixed age groupings might afford them as they would be restricted to the knowledge that is within th e school. The teacher made us aware in the classroom that the real lessons of life are not learnt within the walls of a school, but in the community or the society as the case may be. The teacher adequately prepared us for the challenges of a larger community and the society as a whole.

Red Bull Company Description Commerce Essay

Red Bull Company Description Commerce Essay An Austrian Company created Red Bull back in 1987. Red Bull is an energy drink and is also the worlds most popular energy drink, having sold 4.6 billion cans in 2011. The drink was first sold in Thailand and then modified to suit the tastes of people in the United States. A single can of Red Bull has the same amount of as a cup of coffee. Depending on the country, the level of caffeine in a can of Red Bill can vary, as some countries have restrictions on how much caffeine is allowed in drinks. The product is marketed through advertising events such as sport team ownerships, celebrity endorsements, and music. Unfortunately, Red Bull is not market approved in France, Denmark, and Norway. But Red Bull is legal in 164 countries around the world. Due to the potential health risks associated with the drink, Red Bull has been heavily criticized. We will further discuss in detail the health risks associated with the energy drink in the contents of our paper (redbull.com). Mission Statement According to Red Bull, [Their] mission is to be the premier marketer and supplier of Red Bull in Asia, Europe, and other parts of the globe. [They] will achieve this mission by building long-term relationships with the people who can make it become a reality (redbull.com). The company also has a vision statement that focuses on 5 aspects of their company values: People, Portfolio, Partners, Profit, and Productivity. Red Bull wants to be a great place to work; where people are inspired to be the best they can be. They want to bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverages that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires and needs. Red Bull wants to nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers; together we create value. They want to maximize a long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of [their] overall responsibilities. Red Bull also wants to be a highly effective, lean, and fast-moving organization (redbull.com). Situation Analysis Industry Analysis Trends In the drink market, energy drinks are arguably the fastest growing and most creative group. Since 2004, the mar has annually increased volume growth by about 14 %. Geographically, the most consumers are in Asia, followed by North America and Western Europe. According to the 2010 Global Energy Drinks Report, Australia and Latin America are two regions that have recorded strong double-digit growth in energy drink volumes. Availability is the key drive of sales and energy shots are quickly becoming the next fab (rcciinsight.com). Competitors In the energy drink market there are numerous companies and a select few vying for Red Bulls top spot. Rockstar, Monster, 5-hour energy, full Throttle, NOS, Pepsi Co., and Coca-Cola Co. are the main competitors. Monster energy drink with the logo of three claws in the shape of a M is distributed by Hansen Natural Corporation in Corona, California. With a fairly tolerable taste, this drink sparks you up and packs quite a vicious punch. Rockstar was formulated in 2001 and is one of the fastest growing drinks in the market. This brand also has products that figure in the list of energy drinks with alcohol. Full Throttle is produced by the Coca-Cola Company and debuted in late 2004. They are well-known for their great flavors (buzzle.com). Consumer Profile Demographic shifts, as well as changing consumer attitudes, will also have an impact on energy drink sales. Younger consumers have been the primary consumers due to their taste and image characteristics. From a consumption standpoint, energy drinks have benefited from their use as a mixer with spirits. However, promoting the use of an energy drink to younger consumers or as a mixer has led to negative publicity for some energy drink brands. According to Mintel principal trends analyst Richard Cope, People are working longer into retirement and there is a greater need for products geared towards vitality and health in the senior workforce. At the moment energy drinks are marketed towards the youth market, he said, but they will become more about getting people through the day at an older age (rcciinsight.com). Technology Technology, or more specifically the internet, has created another link between Red Bull and consumers. When visiting their website, people are able to view various aspects of the company. There are links for: products and company, videos, photos, music tracks, just epic, games, ted bulletin, redbull.tv, and red bull signature series. This technology does an excellent job of promoting the brand in many different ways (redbull.com). SWOT Analysis Strengths Red Bull has numerous strengths. The company was founded in 1984 and by 1987 it launched its first product in a completely new category of drinks. Today Red Bull is sold in 164 countries around the world. Since its debut 25 years ago, Red Bull has sold 30 billion cans, with more than 4.5 billion last year. Due to their success both domestically and internationally, the company has expanded to over 8,000 employees worldwide (redbull.com). Their leadership within the energy drinks market is sub-none. They are by far the most popular company. Top-seller Red Bull posted $2.3 billion in sales, which is a 14.3 percent increase, according to Symphony IRI data (bevindustry.com). According to Red Bull, Numerous scientific studies on the product and the individual ingredients prove that Red Bull Energy Drink: increases performance, increases concentration and reaction speed, improves vigilance, stimulates metabolism, and makes you feel more energetic and thus improves you overall well-being (redbull.com). Weaknesses Despite having numerous strengths and worldwide popularity, Red Bull still has a few weaknesses. To begin with, Red Bull is in the above average price range of the energy drink market. Secondly, there is a substantial lack of innovation. Red Bull only offers a few products where as some of their competitors offer more. Third, Red Bulls recipe is not patented. This could potentially lead to another company producing a very similar or exact product with just a different name. Fourth, Red Bull is not yet a large corporation as they still have less than 10,000 employees (Tyagi). Threats The biggest threat to Red Bull is Red Bull itself. The ingredient mix that their products contain is not FDA approved. On top that, government and scientists are finding that high amounts of caffeine, sugar, and taurine are extremely unhealthy and potential fatal. France and Denmark have gone to such measures as to ban Red Bull as a cocktail of death. High amounts of sugar have been found to cause serious health problems. A small amount of taurine, which is still a vastly unknown ingredient, is thought to be beneficial, but scientists are beginning to find health risks it causes. Red Bull energy drinks also contain a highly dangerous chemical called Glucuronolactone. The US Department of Defense developed this product during the Vietnam War as a hallucinogenic drug to stimulate troops morale. According to reports, their effects in the organism were so devastating, that is was discontinued of the high index of cases of migraines, cerebral tumors, and liver diseases that occurred in th e soldiers who consumed it (Helmi). Red Bull must carefully watch its larger competitors, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, who would like nothing more than to obtain Red Bulls consumers. Also, healthy organic energy drinks are starting to enter and become competitive in the market (Tyagi). Opportunities Red Bulls greatest potential lies in its opportunities. Sales of energy drinks have taken on the energy of its products compared to a year ago. The energy drinks category increased 15.7 percent for $6.9 billion in sales, according to Symphony IRI Group, Chicago, for the 52 weeks ending May 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Wal-Mart (bevindustry.com).To begin with, since they only have a few products, Red Bull has the opportunity to create new products. Second, they have an unlimited ability to advertise and promote their brand. Currently, Red Bull is the major player in the action and outdoor sports advertising. However, if they were to continue doing that, but also enter into another market such as UFC, boxing, or even mainstream sports such as football or baseball, this would create a potentially exponential consumer base. Third, if Red Bull could partner with a popular company such as Facebook or Apple, this wo uld create more everyday exposure via social media (Tyagi). Marketing Objectives A marketing objective is a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. The goal of Red Bull is obviously increasing sales more than last year. Red Bull leads an energy drink industry so far; however, Monster has been catching up greatly in the past a few years. Therefore, they need to have a good marketing objective to keep the position of number one seller in an energy drink industry and increasing their sales. In order to accomplish their marketing plan, they need to cover several criteria of marketing objective such as realistic, measurable, time-specific, and compared to a benchmark (redbull.com). Red Bull refused to publish their earnings, profits and specific marketing goal; however, increasing their profit than past years is clear and accurate their goal of every year. They also compute their annual profit end of a year every year. In 2011, Red Bull sold 4.631 billion cans worldwide. It represents an increase of 11.4% against 2010. Company turnover increased by 12.4%, from 3.785 billion Euros to 4.253 billion Euros. Therefore, their key areas such as revenues, sales, productivity, operating profit, and the figures recorded were the best in the history of the company so far. According to industry marketing reports, The main reason for such progressive figures include exceptional sales, especially in key markets such as the USA (+11%) and Germany (+10%) and also in other markets such as Turkey (+86%), Japan (62%), France (+35%), and Scandinavia (+34%) combined with efficient cost management and ongoing brand investment. The result of these figures indicate Red Bull continue i ncreasing sales and accomplishing the goal. Red Bull is successfully growth because of their marketing plan that increasing their profit than past years and computing their annual profit end of a year are realistic, and time-specific (redbull.com). In order to increase a profit of the company, advertisement is one of very important elements. Red Bull builds up unique marketing campaigns and many different kind of activities such as mountain biking, snowboarding surfing, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, and Formula 1 racing. They just succeeded in the marketing campaign Red Bull Stratos. Felix Baumgartner jumped at 128,000 feet above the Earth that reached a high speed of 833.9 miles per hour. People cannot get a picture of Felix without the Red Bull logo and that is their marketing strategy. Red Bull considers that marketing is not just department (Chun). Their extreme sports activities contents represent the symbol of their brand; therefore, they launched Red Bull Media House service. Red Bull Media House is a multi-platform media company with a focus on sports, culture and lifestyle. They provide and distribute the videos, which are precious, cool, and adventurous; therefore, people are able to get thrills from the movies. The marketing plan of Red Bull Media House is making profit from its services. They also expect the service serve a function as an advertisement and help to increase sales of Red Bull. According to Red Bull founder and CEO Dietrich Mateschitz, he states, In long term, we expect that Red Bull Media House to be profitable. Therefore, their marketing objective of Red Bull media House is not clear. There is a realistic to achieve their goal when they consider long term to get profits from its Red bull media house services because especially the attentions from young people to extreme sports are increasing. Red Bull Me dia House also needs to become more popular to be profitable. Their goal is not measurable and time-specific because Dietrich just mentions Red Bull Media House will be profitable in the future. Their plan is too vague and they do not determine the date of their achievement such as December 31, 2015. However, at the same, they also consider Red Bull Media House is part of marketing content and desire that the services and the video of Red Bull Media House assist sales of Red Bull. Therefore, we can see the logotype of Red Bull on the players helmets, caps, and shirts in the movies from Red Bull Media House. They are excited to launch Red Bull Media House and provide the services; even though, they might not be able to make profits the first a few years because they tend to consider the loss of profits as expenditure of marketing (Iezzi). Marketing Strategy Target Marketing Strategy A target market is a group of individuals that is most likely to buy a firms product based on similar characteristics, preferences, and lifestyles. From the beginning, Red Bull has set out to associate itself with youth culture and extreme, adventure-related sports. Red Bulls target market is mainly Generation Y, aged anywhere between 18-35, who enjoy extreme sports and an active nightlife. This active group of individuals does not respond well to the typical, classic marketing strategies of most companies. Red Bull relies heavily on a strategy that has become known as viral marketing, or word-of-mouth, to spread the popularity of the drink, rather than traditional methods. Red Bull is trying to be as close as possible to its consumers in its distribution strategy and likewise in its promotion strategy by having a street marketing strategy. They have put themselves in the center of their target market and made themselves an icon in a wide variety of sports such as mountain biking, mo tocross, BMX, windsurfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, kayaking, cliff-diving, surfing, rally, Formula 1 racing, NASCAR, desert racing, and even breakdancing. This may be a wide selection, but it is great for Red Bull because each sport is focused around Generation Y, which gives them a broad fan base. Marketing Mix Product Red Bull is arguably one of the most publicized and well-known organizations in the action sports community, which is phenomenal considering they essentially only have one product. This one product was the first energy drink of its kind, and has basically remained the same ever since. They have added a few variations of the original, Sugar Free and Total Zero, along with Red Bull Editions that give a slight variety of flavor. Red Bull was developed specifically to increase mental and physical exertion, increase performance and concentration during times of stress, and improve reaction speed, which is where their slogan Gives You Wings started (redbull.com). Place/Distribution Red Bull distributes their product through a few different distribution channels. The first is the Direct Channel where the producer interacts with the consumer. They set up booths or have the Wings Team drive their Red Bull cars to events and hand out their product to consumers first hand. The other distribution channel is the wholesaler channel in which Red Bull sells their product to a wholesaler, who then sells it to a retailer such as gas stations and convenience stores, who then sell it to the consumer. Red Bull is also involved in the bar scene and has strict rules about mixing the right drink and a bar. The barmen are instructed to give what remains in the can to the consumer to further Red Bulls visibility of the product (Louvet). Promotion Red Bulls promotion strategy began with the Wings Team, who were attractive female students, whose role was to establish a relationship with the consumers, to have them discover the product, and see what consumer opinion was. Red Bulls first target was college campuses, because this is where they felt they could make the biggest impact, on students who were seeking an extra boost of energy. Red Bull would consult with the Student Brand Manager at school to ensure that Red Bull was present at every strategic moment on the social calendar such as sporting events and big parties. The strength of Red Bull is an ability to instill a genuine passion for the brand in the Wings Team and the Student Brand Managers. Thus, these committed people are more likely to promote a good image of the brand and to have a greater positive impact on targeted consumers (Louvet). Since this, Red Bull has expanded drastically and changed their promotion strategy. Red Bull explicitly states that they do not involve themselves in print advertising such as newspapers and magazines; instead, they rely on television, social media, and outdoor media to advertise. Since 1992, Red Bull has created cheap cartoons with simple but recognizable drawings, telling funny and simple stories. These were a huge benefit for them because they were easily adaptable to markets all across the globe. Red Bull also displays outdoor media at every even possible with huge tents and exhibits, inflatable cans and arches; as well as custom painted helmets, racecars, helicopters, and airplanes for all of their athletes. Social media has become Red Bulls best way of advertising. It is an easy way to get one simple picture, video, or message around the globe in less than a few seconds. They are famous for their viral videos, which are spread entirely by fans and followers. Red Bull currently has 34.5 million likes on Facebook, 480 thousand followers on Instagram, 843 thousan d followers on Twitter. With all the advances in Internet and social media Red Bull has found a perfect niche market where the consumer spreads the word faster than the producer (redbull.com). Price Red Bull sees themselves as a high quality company that offers a high quality product, which is why they have a strict pricing policy. Their product is the most expensive amongst competitors because they are prestigious and have customer loyalty (redbull.com). Implementation, Evaluation, and Control Marketing Research Red Bull has managed to revolutionize the world of energy drinks. It has permeated globally and hopes to expand into even more countries. Their success can be traced to a well-established marketing plan. Since their inception into the market, Red Bull has relied on their research to follow a successful path. According to Lamb, marketing research can help managers in several ways, it improves the quality of decision making and helps managers trace problems (pg. 292). By having a well-established marketing strategy a company can be very profitable. Red Bull has chosen to reposition themselves by targeting a specific market. They opt for targeting younger individuals involved in action sports and with a very active lifestyle. Red Bull has a very unorthodox way of marketing; they rely heavily on buzz marketing or word of mouth. It is amazing that a world renowned company reached such success simply with an effective marketing strategy and by word of mouth advertising. Another concept ent ailed in marketing research is, the ability to understand the ever changing marketplace. This is another factor that has contributed to their success because they are aware of the changing trends, especially amongst the younger population or in other words, generation Y (redbull.com). Organizational Structure and Plan According to Lamb, many of the historic sources of competitive advantage-technology, innovation, economies of scale-allowed companies to focus their efforts internally and prosper (pg. 7). In other words, Red Bull has been able to become successful because it has followed through the many factors that instill competitive advantage amongst other brands in the market share. Red Bull really takes into consideration the three factors that allow for a proficient organizational focus. These are customer value, customer satisfaction, and building relationships. Firstly, customer satisfaction is customers evaluation of a good or service in terms of weather it has met their needs and expectations (Lamb, pg 9). Customers that purchase Red Bull already have an opinion and know what to expect from the product. Secondly, building relationships, which is attracting new customers or maintain its current customers. Companies can expand market share in three ways: attracting new customers, increasing business with existing customers, and retaining current customers (Lamb, pg. 9). Thirdly, relationship marketing, as a strategy that focuses on keeping and improving relationships with current customers. All these components contribute to customer relationship management. In which, the company designs a business model to reduce costs and increase profitability by strengthening customer satisfaction and loyalty. Red Bull does a great job of implementing all of the three components in maintaining a good relationship with its customers. For example, a young person who is interested in extreme sports has loyalty to the product, because Red Bull is associated with the sport and it probably sponsors the popular athletes (redbull.com). Financial Projections Red Bull has made a few projections regarding its finances and advertising strategies. One of their strategies was to become more aggressive in their strategies, some were introduced at the end of the 2011 fiscal year. According to their website, In 2011, 4.631 billion cans were sold worldwide. That is an increase of 11.4% since 2010. In all key areas such as sales, revenues, productivity and operating profit, the figures recorded were the best in the companys history so far (redbull.com). In other words, as of the end of 2011, Red Bull employed 8,294 people in 164 countries. The companys marketing plan for 2012 stated that, Market Share Red Bull anticipates through the following year to be able to increase its market share by 10%, raising it to 58% of the market share. Through various media channel , Red Bull has set a goal to set itself further ahead from all competitors and build an undeniable brand loyalty among a different demographic (redbull.com). Implementation Timetable In this section, the company implements the marketing strategy and establishes company goals. As explained previously, Red Bull hopes to generate more sales resulting from their new marketing plan. The company plans to advertise, on the web, trial, sponsorship, promotion, viral and on television. However, for the years to come they hope to shift their target market from young individuals to 35-65 year olds. The company also stated some goals for this year. They want to increase revenue by, the following year, Red Bull has set a goal to increase revenue by 20% $6.22 billion . By gaining customers in a new demographic, as well as releasing a revamped campaign, Red Bull believes this is possible (redbull.com). This is to say that, the company has established goals that can be attained if their marketing plan is successful. It is very likely that it can accomplish those goals, simply because even after many years, it remains the top name in energy drinks. Positives, Negatives, and Recommendations Positives The worlds most recognizable and profitable energy drink Red Bull posted revenue of more than $5.1 billion in 2010, and sales of the product are continuing to increase each year. Red Bull spends an unbelievable 30-40% of their revenue on marketing. The majority of Red Bull energy drinkers are between the ages of 18-34 year old males. The drink grabbed the attention of their target user and flawlessly grew, and become the brand marketing strategy that translated into We are with you and one of you. The recent 2011-2012 focus of Red Bull energy drink is trying to increase awareness among the 35-65 crowds, both male and female. The reason for Red Bulls remarkable marketing strategy relies solemnly on the following four concepts (Andy): 1. Consumer engagement through sportsmanship 2. Videos of extreme athletic accomplishments posted on YouTube that go viral. 3. Brand recognition through logo saturation. 4. Attainment of widespread brand recognition and loyalty first among a core demographic, then building a credible bridge to achieve it. Because Red Bulls targeting audience is the Y Generations, the company has developed a Wings Team to develop and establish a relationship with the consumers and to discuss with consumers about their appreciation or dissatisfaction of the product. One of Red Bulls strategies is to be present at school events, big parties, sporting events, and school/social calendars. One of the many strengths of Red Bull is their genuine passion for their brand and consumers who are committed to their energy drinks. These committed people are likely to promote a good image of the brand and have a greater impact on targeted consumers (Louvet). Negatives Even though Red Bulls marketing strategy is proven to be the best, they are facing a negative publicity about the health risks that the drink leads to. Because of the many health risks associated with the energy drink, countries such as Denmark and France have banned the drink from their markets. The energy drink contains high level of sugar and caffeine and taurine, therefore causing a variety of health risks such as heart problems, vertigo, hallucinations, damaged tooth enamel, and other permanent problems. Some studies that were conducted showed that the product is linked to heart disease and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, the product has not been thoroughly clinically tested as of yet. A disadvantage of Red Bull is that the product is expensive compared to other caffeinated beverages. Due to these issues, Red Bull has recently developed Red Bull Cola, which is an all-natural, containing no synthetic preservatives or flavors energy drink (Louvet). Recommendations As a group, we concluded that Red Bull should try to decrease their pricing in order to maintain their target market of the young generation. If the energy drink continues to increase in price, it might push the product out of its prestige position in the market. Red Bull is known for campaigning at school events, extreme sporting events, etc. but this must be kept unchanged if the product wants to continue their strategic marketing plan. For the long run of Red Bull, the company should be thinking about some ethical aspects of the product, such as the negative health risk associated with the drink.

Deluded Pursuit in Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus :: Doctor Faustus Essays

Deluded Pursuit in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus Although Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has outclassed every one at Wittenberg with his academic studies, he is "still but Faustus, a man." Proud of his accomplishments, he desires to become a superman. His judgment clouded by the sin of his pride, he misunderstands his knowledge and dismisses the disciplines of medicine, philosophy, law, and divinity. He lusts for God's capability to "make men live eternally or being dead raise them to life again," believing the devil's arts of magic and necromancy can provide the power, honour, omnipotence and, most importantly, the wealth he craves. His deluded pursuit of the immediate pleasures such wealth can yield brings upon himself the risk of eternal damnation. By conjuring the devil, Faustus removes himself from the influence of the Holy Ghost and God's love, instigating attacks of despair, and internal conflicts as personified by the Good and Bad Angels. Faustus' hunger for immediate gratification suggests immense self-torment and self-denial. Weighing his options at each instant of time, he maximizes his pleasure and minimizes his pain, apparently discounting the implications of his decisions on his prospects and happiness in the future. Rebelling against God, he invites the devil's temptations, hoping to obtain an offer like Satan's to Jesus in the desert wilderness. One understands why Satan imputes an infinite value to Christ's soul. However, why does Faustus' soul warrant twenty-four years of service by Mephostophilis? Faustus, too, is a superior being. He consciously removes the yoke of academia, and exerts his free will. After freely entering into his contract with Lucifer, he repeatedly considers repenting. When he calls on Christ to help "save distressed Faustus' soul," the evil trinity of Lucifer, Belzebub, and Mephostophilis appear, possibly to tear him to pieces. Under duress, he vows, "never to name God or pray to him." However, with only one-half hour left on earth, he calls on God. Faustus, forever the horse trader, tries to strike a deal with God. He asks God, for Christ's sake and blood, to limit his time in hell from a thousand to a hundred thousand years.