More than 24 internet companies launched IPOs last year in the US alone according to Renaissance Capital. 2011 included four of the five largest internet IPOs in US history (Bankrate, Groupon, LinkedIn and Zynga) raising $2.4 billion. However, if you bought internet or social media IPO shares in the last two years, you have probably lost money. According to Birinyi analyst Kevin Pleines, 18 of the 30 stocks are below their IPO price and 24 of the 30 are below their opening price on their first trading day.

The drop has been attributed to slow growth in the US economy and sovereign debt in countries such as Greece and Italy. Economic concerns caused market volatility that made it difficult to price IPOs.

Internet IPOs of 2011 include Angie’s List, Bankrate, Cornerstone OnDemand, LinkedIn, and Zillow. OnDemand Media, Groupon and Pandora are well below IPO prices. China’s big IPOs, RenRen and Tudou, also have well-bid prices.

Angie’s List

Health care provider and contractor review site Angie’s List waited 16 years before going public on Nov. 17. The initial public offering price was $13 and rose to more than $18 on the first day of trading. It closed at $16.42 on December 14, but had fallen below the IPO price earlier in the month. The company is not profitable.

bank fee

Bankrate (RATE) has a long history of operation since its foundation 35 years ago. The company collects bank interest rate data and information on 300 other financial products from 4,800 banks and distributes it to various newspapers and online publications. Bankrate Inc.’s initial public offering drew a weak response on the first day of trading as investors fret over high debt, past governance issues and lofty valuation.

Cornerstone on demand

The on-demand talent management company (US:CSOD) jumped 46.7% to close at $19.07 in its initial public offering. Cornerstone offers software as a service that enables businesses to train employees and track their employees’ performance.

LinkedIn

This business-to-business social media company went public on May 19 at $45 a share. On the first day, the stock rose to almost $110. At the time, LinkedIn subscribers (Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) were criticized for pricing so low. Analysts suggested that LinkedIn should have been priced at $90 a share. However, LinkedIn is one of the few Internet companies that has never dipped below its initial offer and closed at $65.95 on December 14, so perhaps subscribers were right in their conservative pricing. LinkedIn claims that it has been profitable since 2006.

Zillow

This company provides real estate market information for real estate consumers and professionals. It appeared on July 20 when it was priced at $20 and hit $44. For most of September it hovered between $35 and $37.50 but closed at $22.13 on December 14. Zillow became profitable in its first quarter as a public company.

WHY ADVERTISE WHILE CONSUMERS WAIT?

– Advertising is welcome.

Advertising annoys consumers… except when they’re waiting. A Swiss survey confirms that traditional advertising, expensive and saturated, is rejected by consumers. TV commercials annoy 3 out of 4 consumers. Mailings and Internet advertisements annoy more than half of consumers, the same goes for radio, although radio broadcasts 2 to 7 times more advertisements than television, for example. Magazine and movie ads bother only 1 in 4 consumers, and newspaper and outdoor ads, which don’t interrupt their activities, annoy 1 in 5 consumers. Whereas advertising while consumers are waiting, such as at post offices, is very well received by 9 out of 10 consumers. In this context, advertising is considered entertainment.

– For greater impact

Studies published by independent advertising organizations, in Europe and the US, confirm that consumers are at least 2 times more receptive while waiting. This is related to the fact that advertising is welcome in that particular context. A television commercial, for example, will be memorized by 17% of consumers if they see it on their television screen at home. The same ad will be remembered by 27% of consumers if they see it while in the doctor’s waiting room.

– For big budget savings

The main benefit of wait marketing is that by targeting consumers in the right place at the right time, companies can easily increase the impact of their message, while drastically reducing their cost per contact and, consequently, their budget.

Wait marketing can maximize communication budget efficiency by turning consumers’ “wait time” into the perfect communication opportunity for brands.

A NEW APPROACH TO ADVERTISING

– Make the most of advertising, promotion and direct marketing

Waiting marketing campaigns can be carried out at points of sale and in places of life. Wherever a consumer is waiting: in stores, in traffic jams or while downloading a file on the Internet.

Wait marketing takes full advantage of advertising, point-of-sale promotion and direct marketing best practices, so that all businesses can implement effective and efficient advertising campaigns.

– A win-win approach

Wait marketing is beneficial for both consumers and businesses, start-ups and international groups.

Small businesses and executive start-ups, who spend their communication budget on sales promotion or direct marketing, can implement affordable advertising solutions. Advertisers, in large companies and agencies, who regularly invest in traditional media, are interested in this innovative and effective mode of communication.

Since ‘wait’ activity is universal, companies and agencies in the US, Japan, Africa and Europe can achieve substantial savings by using this consumer-friendly advertising approach in successful and affordable campaigns, to acquire new customers and establishing customers. loyalty.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A SUCCESSFUL STANDBY MARKETING CAMPAIGN?

– 6Ms waiting marketing

Businesses and marketing agencies can easily design and implement a successful standby marketing campaign with the 6Ms method, which enriches Kotler’s 5Ms (Mission-Means-Message-Media-Measurement) with the missing M, Right Time:

1. Mission: what is the goal of the campaign?

2. Means: what is the size of the budget?

3. Message: what message is suitable for target consumers?

4. Timing – What is the perfect timing to communicate with target consumers when and where they are waiting?

5. Means: what is the most effective means available while waiting?

6. Measurement: what is the return on investment of the campaign?

6Ms of wait marketing helps companies design a personalized campaign with a clear objective, a well-defined audience and an appropriate message, delivered to the right place at the right time.

– Key success factors

In two years, TomTom has become the leader in GPS navigation in Europe, with a 60% market share, and is already number 2 in the US Alexander Ribbink, TomTom COO and guru of brands, reveals the key success factors of wait-and-see marketing campaigns through the example of the launch of the TomTom GO GPS navigation device:

1. Mission: launch the new TomTom GO portable GPS navigator

2. Media: the budget was important but it was adapted to the launch of a product.

3. Message: Because the benefits of the product are obvious, the message is easy to remember.

4. Timing: When drivers wait while they fill up their car at service stations.

5. Media: the message was displayed on information boards. At the same time, other means were also used to increase brand awareness “Multimedia communication is the key success factor in reaching all consumers”, Alexander Ribbink highlights.

6. Measurement: ROI was high because, since GPS navigation penetration was low (at launch), but the need for navigation is fairly universal, all consumers were potentially on target.

TomTom’s gas station campaign is the perfect example of wait-and-see marketing: consumers are all on target (they’re drivers) and receptive to the ad (they’re waiting while they fill their car with fuel).

HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT MEDIA?

– Definition of the communication strategy.

The following 4 questions must be answered by companies and agencies before starting a campaign:

Question 1: Extensive or intensive?

The goal of an extensive campaign is to reach as many consumers as possible. The goal of an intensive campaign is to be more remembered by consumers, thanks to repetition.

Question 2: Continuous or single?

A campaign can be ongoing to encourage repurchasing or one-time to support a seasonal product or promotion.

In the case of consumer goods, advertising will be continuous.

Question 3: Multimedia or monomedia?

A campaign can be multimedia to reach all targets or focused on a single medium if the target is a niche (for specialized products, for example).

Question 4: Launch or reinforcement?

Is the goal to make consumers aware of a new product or to remind them of the existence of a product?

Waiting marketing by communicating at the right time in the right place increases consumer retention so companies can focus solely on the number of consumers reached.

– A medium adapted to the context

The 3 main criteria to take into account when selecting a support are:

1. Congruence

The congruence between the medium and the message: the Heineken advertising on a bar table is the perfect example of the maximum coincidence between the medium (bar table) and the message (beer!)

2.Affinity

A good affinity between brand and consumer will enhance the integration of the message

3.Context

The context in which consumers find themselves at the moment of communication is key: being in a good mood or waiting has been shown to be very positive about advertising effectiveness

Jaguar recently provided a perfect example of a tailored advertising campaign, where congruence between media and message can dramatically improve the impact of communication. Thanks to a deep semiotic analysis of the luxury car category that was carried out, Euro RSCG New York noticed that all the players used the same codes and conventions. “When you are such a small player, spending much less money than competitors, a necessary but not sufficient condition for success is to be innovative and dare to break the conventions of the category,” says Francois Grouiller, strategic planner at EE US in business. “And to connect with the high-end target, we needed to be highly ambitious and recreate desire for the brand,” adds Andrew Benett, director of strategy for the New York agency. With that in mind, Fuel approached Jaguar with an innovative new positioning: “New Fashioned Luxury”. Jaguar’s idea is no longer to communicate as an automotive company, but as an exciting modern luxury brand.

EXPECT MARKETING AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

– Communications: Cost or Investment?

The effectiveness of a campaign can be measured in terms of impact on brand awareness and sales. But due to the lack of suitable measurement tools, companies often consider communications as a cost center. Some tools allow companies to measure the impact of their communication strategy for all communication channels and thus optimize their budget allocation. Communications can then be considered as a real investment.

– Return of advertising

In the same way that companies measure their return on capital, they can measure their return on advertising. The Market ContactAuditTM method, for example, proposed by Marketing & Communications Integration and already adopted by many leading agencies such as Mediaedge: cia, TBWA or Starcom MediaVest Group, considers that each contact has a marginal contribution, which can be positive or negative, in the overall consumer experience with the brand. Companies can compare the return on investment of their communication campaigns with a multi-channel tool, which covers media, promotion, direct marketing and public relations activities and optimize their portfolio of contacts in 2 easy steps:

Step 1: Classification

It consists of classifying contact opportunities based on their contribution to the consumer’s overall brand experience.

Step 2: Focus

The Method invites you to improve your portfolio of contacts compared to that of the competition and focusing on the most effective contacts.

That is exactly what Procter & Gamble in Europe did for one of its beauty and care products by analyzing its communications investments, comparing them to those of the competition and, as a result, focusing the communication budget on the most effective channel: the advertising in doctors’ waiting rooms.

Source: DERVAL Diana, Wait Marketing: Communicate at the Right Moment at the Right Place, DervalResearch, Amsterdam, 2007. Book available on Amazon.com and Chapter 5 for free on the official Wait Marketing website http:// www.wait-marketing.com

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Gazumping is a term used to describe a situation where a seller accepts a better offer from another buyer before the sale of a property is complete.

Sometimes here at Manchestermoneyman.com we hear people say that gazumping is illegal. Unfortunately, this is not true.

Gazumping is a perfectly legal, and not uncommon, part of the property buying process in England and Wales. This is because an agreement to buy or sell property does not become legally binding until written contracts are exchanged between attorneys. Until then, you only have a verbal agreement.

Gazumping can be a very stressful experience for buyers. You may think you’re about to buy your dream property when the sale collapses. You may also be part of a chain that breaks, and as a result, you have to delay your moving date.

It can be even more painful if you lose money as a result. That’s because sometimes non-refundable inspection fees, transfer fees, and mortgage settlement fees can put you out of pocket.

How does gazumping happen?

As we mentioned, an agreement to buy or sell property does not become legally binding until written contracts are exchanged. Unfortunately, there can be delays of up to several weeks between a seller accepting their offer and the exchange of contracts taking place. This may be because the property was inspected, your transportation agent did the necessary searches, and you received your mortgage offer.

Within this period, other buyers can make a better offer on the property that the real estate agent has to pass on to the seller. However, these preferable offers are not always better in terms of financial value. They may offer a faster sale or not have the pressure of a chain. Hence the term ‘gazumping’ covers any preferable offer that the seller decides to accept.

Ways to avoid glare

Unfortunately, there are certain things that won’t happen until you’ve decided to make an offer, namely the property appraisal, the transmitter searches, and the mortgage offer. However, you can reduce the time between bidding and contract exchange.

Ways to do this include…

• identify a transfer attorney and expert witness in advance

• act quickly at each stage, providing all the information that the different parties require

• have a mortgage agreed in principle

There are also a couple of tactics you could use to help add more security to the deal before the contract trade. First, as part of your offer, ask the seller to take the property off the market, as this reduces the risk of others viewing the property. They are not required to agree, but it is not uncommon for them to honor this request, especially if they had trouble receiving offers in the first place.

Second, you could try to set up a lock-in agreement where both parties make a deposit as part of a binding agreement. If either party tries to change the deal or walk out altogether, the other party takes your deposit. These arrangements may incur costs such as legal fees to set it up, but you may feel the cost of security is worth it.

Lastly, there are options for taking out insurance to protect against gazumping. These policies agree to pay you a flat rate if you are gazumped.

Marketing a painting business is just as important to the painter as applying the paint. After all, if you don’t have wires, where will you put the paint? Now there are many ways to advertise. And of course some are more effective than others and some are more expensive than others and cost is not an indication of how effective you will be in marketing your painting business.

I have tried almost everything. When I started in this business I started mailing out 8.5×11 inch brochures tri-folded and stapled, this was too much work. So after doing it this way for about three years, I switched to a 5.5×8.5 inch postcard. Both were printed by the local printer with the exception of the address which I printed on my printer. I purchased mailing lists and downloaded the lists to my Excel spreadsheet and then used Microsoft Word’s mail merge feature. At first, I printed on pressure sensitive labels, peeled them off their backing, and stuck them to the mail piece, but again, this was too much work, especially when I was mailing thousands. In the beginning when I started I was getting 8 calls per thousand pieces shipped, lately return has dropped to about 4 per thousand. I’m still using the postcards. I buy 10,000 cards and send 2,000 coins at a time. You will need a bulk rate permit and what is called a postal order. The post office will help you; you need to go to a special branch that specializes in bulk mail.

Then I went to my website. I hired Get a Freelancer for less than $100 to design and build my site. I thought the process would be expensive; but I only pay $3.75 per month for a hosting company. The website initially produced few leads, but these have grown in number each year. So between sending cards and the website, I have a constant source of leads. I imagine that one day I will eliminate sending postcards, when the website provides enough leads.

I tried newspaper ads, which gave poor results. I tried tracking at the bottom of the weather channel and got no clues. The yellow pages had good returns; but very expensive. When I first advertised in the yellow pages there were 3 pages of painters; when i finally canceled my ad there were 9 pages of painter ads, too much competition.