Other Marketing Topics

The uproar between Yahoo! and Microsoft has brought me to this post in hopes that it will help you determine your site/business worth and the understanding of perspectives in evaluating such.

As it stands today, Yahoo! has turned down Microsoft's offer and Microsoft has chosen to withdrawal. While the offer may have seemed pretty close to what Yahoo! shareholders may have accepted to close the deal, it isn't what Jerry Yang has valued his company to be. The issue here is "to be" because that is the question every business owner should ask themselves when putting a value on their site/business. Jerry Yang from Yahoo! sees his company as worth much more in Microsoft's eyes, and what it is to become in his own. When speculating a company's worth, it's important to note the offerings and value the company is to bring in the future if certain criteria and developments are taken place.

Now obviously this is hard to determine, since two very intelligent businesses can't find an agreement; however, one can speculate that talks aren't over. It is only natural for Mr. Yang to negotiate on the appropriate value he feels his company holds to Microsoft. Mr. Yang also needs to remember a company is only worth what the buyer is willing to pay.

For those of you who are looking for a fun, work from home position with Girl Shop Spot, this is your opportunity. We are looking for fun, motivated, and goal driven people to fill our Web Marketing Sales Team. We need people who really believe in GirlShopSpot.com and its mission to help the small business owner increase their sales and exposure through creative web marketing. We need our reps to be our words of expression on how vital it is to promote the small business through online media, such as GSS.

If you've already read most of GirlShopSpot.com, really liked what you read and saw, and love talking with and meeting new people, then this job is for you. Check out the site to see if we're right and contact us today! You just may be the perfect fit for GirlShopSpot.com.

For more information please contact:
christine@girlshopspot.com

I need to get my hair re-colored, badly. I can't believe I still don't have it done. I'm quite vain about it actually. So why haven't I called for that appointment? Because it dawned on me that I don't want to go back to my current hair stylist.

I don't like that I have to make sure I call on the right day to set an appointment or I won't get a call back. I don't like feeling like I'm on display when I'm in such a vulnerable position (hair every which way, highlight foils that make me look like I'm receiving alien communications). I don't want my boyfriend to see me this way, so why would I want complete strangers to? I don't like the way my stylist's boyfriend or other visitors feel free to talk over me, or even comment on the progress. What is up with that?

Finally, two visits in a row I asked my stylist not to make my low lights so dark or the overall color so dark. She didn't take notes and sure enough, the next time I still ended up with darker color than I wanted.

How about you? Do you ask for highlights and end up with 1/2 inch of roots or color that's never consistant? How about a hair cut shorter than you asked for? Does it seem to you that stylists are trained in the art of torture? Holding the dryer in one spot for too long, brushing your hair like it wasn't attached, and poking you with the comb or scissors. Why is it that so many stylists insist on treating us this way? We're not mannequins, we're paying customers.

Here I sit, pondering how I will find another stylist that hopefully will work out better. I'm contemplating driving around and checking out the ambiance of each place first as well, to make sure I actually enjoy going on a regular basis. No, it's not the end of the world, but crikey, it's a pain.

So here is the marketing lesson within. We all need to be conscious about how we treat our customers. Do we offer an environment (brick and mortar or cyber) that is conducive to good business relations? Do we ask questions that allow our customers to be more comfortable, to be more open with what they need or want? Do we make it easy for the customer to do business with us? I for one am going to give this concept a lot more consideration.

And a note to all the wonderful hair stylists out there, please sign-up on GirlShopSpot.com so we can find you.

I managed to write to the Oprah Show just recently. I submitted my story for a show that aired about two weeks ago. It was about how to use the book "The Secret" and how it has worked for people who use it. I would like to tell you about my experiences and what I learned to help you get there if you envision yourself on Oprah's Show.

About four days prior to filming the show "The Secret", I was lead to Oprah's site while doing some research online. It was late and I really didn't expect to get on this particular show, but I wanted to send them my story because it was something I felt was worth writing about. I saw a spot to write on how "The Secret" had changed your life, and although I hadn't read the book in 8 months, it really had an affect on the way I currently view my life, think about the future, and set goals for myself. I decided to write for fun, not thinking I would get contacted. The next day, which was a Saturday, three days before filming, I had an e-mail in my inbox from the Oprah Show. I was ecstatic that they were considering me to be a part of the show. A few hours after I received the e-mail I got a phone call from a producer of the Oprah Show. They asked me a series of questions about the book and how it changed my life. Even though I had a great conversation, I didn't get on the show but I learned a few things that could help you get there.

These are my tips for getting on the Oprah Show:

1)  When you submit a story idea or submit your experiences about an upcoming show, plan on the producers contacting you. Don't think they won't contact you because it could very easily happen. If you submit your story for an upcoming show make sure to refresh on what their story topic is about. If it's something you haven't read, watched, or practiced in a while, be sure you know it like the back of your hand when you submit your story. If you submit your own story idea, research what Oprah's Shows focus on. Watch her most popular shows to observe how the guests respond to her questions and study which characteristics help make her show great.

2)  Write a compelling story. Write to sell your story to the producer of the show. Again, research past shows, topics, upcoming stories, and learn what interests them and their viewers. Always concentrate on helping them make a great show instead of trying to sell them on what you do. Stay on topic and catch the producers eye with whatever you think will make for a great show or add to an upcoming one.

3)  If you get called for an interview be yourself, but remember the producers are looking for added bonuses for the show. Again, stay on topic for that show your being interviewed for. Make sure you refresh yourself on what you wrote about that intrigued them in the first place, especially if it's about a book, person, experience, or movie. They are looking for short direct answers, about 15-20 seconds in length that will intrigue Oprah and her audience about that specific topic. Practice with yourself or a friend and pretend you are on the show answering Oprah's questions and discussing your experience with her. Watch Oprah's previous shows and observe how others conduct themselves, plot a story, and respond to Oprah.

4)  If you get another interview or call back, just remember tips 1-3. Focus your energy on what they liked about you and your story because that's what got you where you are today. If you don't get selected to be a part of the show this time around, I want to congratulate you on trying. You're definitely on your way to making something happen, possibly on another show, news venue, or for a different show on Oprah at another point in time.

Hello everyone! GirlShopSpot.com would like to thank you all again for advertising with us. We have some really unique features that will be launched in the upcoming weeks that we know you'll be excited about. Our latest feature we just released encourages cross selling through our Commerce by Community's Favorite Spots selected by you. They will be featured under Favorite Spots on your Shop Spot page. To set-up your Favorite Spots, just sign-in and click the link "Favorite Spots," type the Shop Spot numbers you select to refer and click save. You may also list any other Shop Spots you have in this location to link directly to the other.

You may also use this method for referring your Community's products or services under your Must Haves. If there are Must Haves that you haven't used, why not use them to refer your favorite Must Haves/Products/Services from another Spot. Then simply use the direct link to either that specific Shop Spot page or to buy that product or service.

Stay tuned for news on more great features and successful marketing tips. Thank you and have a great week!

The Holiday Season brings many selling perks to small businesses that can cater to their customer needs. Not only can small businesses bring one-on-one customer interaction and great customer service, but the small business has the ability to receive direct feedback about their products and services. This data becomes invaluable for product and service development, planning and logistics for shipping, competitive and marketplace analysis, as well as relationship building and referrals. The article, Small Shops See Smallness as their Big Selling Point, in the New York Times, talks more about delivering big when your small.

When shopping, I'm looking for that unique and personal experience that smaller businesses can offer me. If you capitalize on that, giving your customers extras in experience and service, they will remember to come back.

The Girl Shop Spot Team would like to wish you a Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

We are just as excited that Girl Shop Spot has begun and thought we'd fill you in on how it got started. He's a little bit on who I am and how GSS found us.

Talk about a shop-a-holic. I would buy, order, and schedule anything and everything from a dedicated small business owner if I could. I can't help but enjoy supporting the small business owner and seeing people become successful. I do get broke at times doing this, so I thought there must be another way to help, along with my shopping habits. I thought, if I could help these small business owners connect with one another to improve networking and sales, while providing a great way to market their business online to customers, we would all be in a better place.

I've always enjoyed supporting small businesses and helping friends and family of mine market their business online. With my husband Jim, developing software for corporations and me designing web sites and consulting entrepreneurs and small businesses on how to market their products and services online, I felt it my calling was to reach and support on a larger scale. In the mean time, we also wanted to improve how small businesses catered to woman are found on the Internet. There has been so many times where I've wanted to find contact information easily for a number of things, and I thought, I can't be the only one. There has to be millions of woman out there, like me, who can't find what they're looking for easily and quickly, whether their searching online or off.

GirlShopSpot.com's idea came to us very easily or should I should say, GSS found us. And, here we are a few weeks in and getting our name out there. We are just as excited to be here with our advertisers and are looking forward to seeing our online community experience great success!