Marketing

What Is Marketing

Marketing is the process of getting potential clients or customers interested in your

 products and services. The keyword in this definition is "process." Marketing involves researching, promoting, selling, and distributing your products or services. 

This discipline centers on the study of market and consumer behaviors and it analyzes the commercial management of companies in order to attract, acquire, and retain customers by satisfying their wants and needs and instilling brand loyalty.

Definition of Marketing

The definition of marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. Today, marketing is something that every company and organization must implement in its growth strategy. Many companies use marketing techniques to achieve their goals without even realizing it, as they work to promote themselves and increase sales of their product or service. These days, marketing is one of the key aspects of businesses.

People often do not know exactly what marketing is and, when asked, they define it as selling or advertising. While these answers are not wrong, they are only a part of marketing. There are many other aspects to marketing like product distribution, promotion, designing and creating materials like landing pages and social media content, improving customer experience, doing market research, establishing market segments, and much more. Marketing is very broad and encompasses all the strategies that help a company, brand, or individual achieve its objectives. 

• Product. 
• Having a product is key and is the root of all things marketing. A product could be anything that a company offers consumers to satisfy a need. The best thing to do is to decide on your product or service based both on the needs and motivations of consumers and how the product would benefit the consumer, rather than on the object’s physical characteristics or attributes.
• Place. 
• Strategic merchandising locations can be anything from an online store to a channel of physical stores across multiple towns or countries. The goal of the distribution strategy is to enable potential clients to have easy access to your products/services as well as offer a good experience throughout the purchasing process.  
• Price.
• How you price your products and services is an extremely important part of the marketing strategy. This factor affects other factors such as:
• • The margin you hope to obtain.
  • What target market do you want to appeal to and what purchasing power do your consumers have? Do you want to enter the luxury market or the mass market?
  • The company's financial goals.
  • How does the competition price their products and what possible product substitutes are there?
  • Trends and fads.
  • Increasing your price in order to give a better perception of quality.
• Promotion. 
• This refers to all the marketing and communication that is done in order to showcase the benefits of your product or service within the market. This is how you increase sales.

Marketing Do for Your Business

Raising Brand Awareness

This is important because it gets people acquainted with your brand and the products or services you provide. It also makes you memorable to customers who can begin to trust your brand, become loyal clients, and tell their network about you.

 

Generating Traffic

Growing the number of visitors to your site means getting more qualified leads (lead scoring can help determine this) and ultimately increasing your sales. An effective marketing strategy will help you through this process. 

 

Increasing Revenue

Every business that wants to increase its sales and marketing can help achieve this goal through a variety of strategies like optimizing your website and SEO, creating email campaigns, performing A/B tests to pinpoint the best strategy for you, and much more.

 

Building Trust in Your Brand

Creating a high level of trust in your brand leads to customer loyalty and repeat purchases. This not only increases revenue but also leads to great reviews both online and by word of mouth, which is still one of the most effective types of promotion.

 

Tracking Your Metrics

Metrics are incredibly helpful when it comes to creating your marketing strategy. They not only drive the strategy and help track its progress but also inform what can be adapted or adjusted to continually optimize your campaigns.

Different Marketing Strategies 

Marketing is not just one single strategy, but rather a combination of many different techniques and tactics. Below we've listed some essential marketing strategies that you should know about. Click on the red links to learn more about each of these strategies. 

• Marketing Plan 
• Discover what a marketing plan is, why you need to design one, and the keys to creating a strong plan. Without a marketing plan, a company or brand can’t reach its goals.
• Digital Marketing
•  Digital marketing is the discipline of marketing that focuses on developing a strategy solely within the digital environment.
• Direct Marketing
•  Direct marketing is a type of campaign based on direct, two-way communication that seeks to trigger a result from a specific audience.
• Email Marketing
• Email marketing is one of the most profitable and effective techniques in terms of return. Naturally, it consists of sending emails to your audience, but make sure to define your segments well in order to be effective.
• Mobile Marketing
• Mobile marketing is a broad concept that brings together all marketing campaigns and actions focused exclusively on mobile platforms & applications (i.e. smartphones and tablets).
• Viral Marketing
• Having something go viral is every company’s dream. Viral Marketing spreads from one person to the next and is capable of going incredibly far incredibly fast
• Performance Marketing
• Performance marketing is a methodology that applies various marketing methods and techniques and guarantees advertisers that they only have to pay for achieved results.

• Inbound Marketing

• This methodology focuses on creating valuable content to attract qualified web traffic and work towards the final sale.

Marketing Objectives

1. Increase brand awareness among the target audience.

2.  With new brands, their primary objective is to increase brand awareness and visibility. To do this, you have to define your marketing actions and campaigns to let consumers know of the products and services you provide. 

3. Increase market share. 

4. The existing competition in the market will determine how much market share your brand is able to acquire. The objective isn't always to be the best, but to find a good position in the market and to be considered as a reference for a segment of the market. 

5. Launching a new product. 

6. The product or service you are launching must always be created to fill consumers' pain points. Additionally, you must choose a launch strategy and price. 

7. Improve ROI. 

8. Return on investment is one of the most important marketing metrics as it is a direct indicator of how well a campaign is performing. 

9. Introduce the company into new international or local markets.

10.  Challenge your brand to expand into new local or international markets. 

11. Increase business profits. 

12. You should aim to eventually increase business profits for your company with your marketing plan. 

13. Optimize the conversion funnel. 

14. Optimize each stage of the funnel by creating retargeting strategies for customers who have abandoned their carts during the checkout process. 

15. Capture new leads. 

16. Brands, especially when they are new, don't have a loyal customer base. It takes time to build a solid customer database. That's why it's important to continually put effort into capturing new leads that could eventually turn into paying customers. 

17. Customer loyalty. 

18. Boosting loyalty marketing is a great example of a marketing objective. 

19. Increase sales. 

20. This is perhaps the most obvious marketing objective and the top priority for most marketing departments.

Ideal Qualities for Digital Marketing 

1. Forward-looking.

2. Today's marketer must be prepared to do his or her best in an ever-changing environment, learn new skills, and have the foresight to know what's coming. 

3. Curious. 

4. A good marketer doesn't stick with what he or she already knows but is always trying to go one step further. He or she must be passionate about new trends and be willing to try new ideas.

5. Versatile. 

6. Being an expert in online marketing is impossible as there are many skills involved. Even so, a good marketer must be able to understand the digital environment, master the tools, and possess analytical skills. 

7. Able to collaborate. 

8. Teamwork is essential in the world of marketing. 78% of professionals believe that it is the most important trait. 

9. Consumer-centric. 

10. Brand-focused marketing is a thing of the past. Today, what matters is knowing consumers perfectly and knowing how to adapt to their needs.

Important Digital Marketing Skills

1. Attract and retain customers through a digital strategy. 

2. Have a business strategy aimed at promoting digital innovation.

3. Have a specific customer relationship management strategy. 

4. Digital media has completely changed customer expectations and their relationships with brands, so a good marketer must be able to account for this shift.

5. Stay up to date with industry news and trends. 

6. You must be able to provide insights into the digital environment.

7. Coordinate and work as a team in digital environments.

8.  Collaboration is more important than ever to achieve objectives. A good marketer is a perfectly integrated member of the team, not a lone wolf.

9. Have a digital marketing plan. 

10. Align the customer experience with their moments of truth. 

11. Customer experience is one of the key pillars of marketing today. If you can identify customers' key moments, you will know how to reach them best. 

12. Share content in the cloud and on social networks. 

13. These two tools have changed the digital landscape in recent years, and any good digital marketer will know how to do both. 

14. Achieve good positioning for client sites. 

15. SEO and SEM knowledge is essential.

16. Obtain relevant information and process data. 

17. We have more information than ever, but without the ability to analyze and understand it, it is useless.

History of Marketing

Not too long ago, marketing mostly consisted of outbound marketing, which meant chasing potential customers with promotions without really knowing if that person was interested in purchasing. Thanks to the digital transformation and the rise of new communication channels, marketing has drastically changed over the years.

 To understand how marketing has changed, let’s take a look at this timeline HubSpot has assembled showcasing the innovations of this industry. 

1450-1900 

Printed Advertising 

• 1450,
•  Gutenberg invents the printing press. The world of books and mass copies is revolutionized.
• 1730, 
• the magazine emerges as a means of communication.
• 1741,
•  the first American magazine is published in Philadelphia.
• 1839,
•  posters become so popular that it becomes prohibited to put them in London properties.

 

1920-1949

 New Media

• 1922,
•  radio advertising begins.
• 1933, 
• more than half of the population in the United States (55.2%) has a radio in their home. 
• 1941, 
• television advertising begins. The first advertisement was for Bulova watches and reached 4,000 homes that had television.
• 1946, 
• more than 50% of the homes in the United States already had a telephone.

 

1950-1972:

 Marketing is Born and Grows

• 1954,
•  for the first time revenue from television advertising surpasses revenue from radio and magazine ads.
• Telemarketing grows as a means of contacting buyers directly. 
• 1972, 
• print media starts to become less popular 

 

1973-1994: 

The Digital Era Flourishes

• 1973,
•  Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher, makes the first call through a cell phone.
• 1981, 
• IBM launches its first personal computer.
• 1984, 
• Apple introduces the new Macintosh. 
• 1990-1994,
•  major advances in 2G technology, which would lay the foundation for the future explosion of mobile TV.
• 1994, the first case of commercial spam through e-commerce is produced.

 

1995-2020: 

The Era of Search Engines and Social Media

• 1995, 
• the Yahoo! and Altavista search engines are born. 
• 1995-1997, 
• the concept of SEO is born.
• 1998,
•  Google and MSN launch new search engines.
• 1998, 
• the concept of blogging arises. By mid-2006, there are already 50 million blogs worldwide.
• 2003-2012, 
• the era of inbound marketing begins.
• 2003-2004, 
• three social networks are launched: LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook.
• 2005, 
• the first video is posted on YouTube
• 2006, 
• Twitter is born.
• 2009, 
• Google launches real-time searches.
• 2010, 
• 90% of all American households have a cell phone. Instagram is created in 
• October 10.Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 spend 13.7 hours on the Internet, compared to 13.6 hours watching television.
• 2011, 
• Snapchat is created, driving even more young users to their phones and fueling the social media app craze.
• 2012,
•  there are already 54.8 million tablet users.
• 2014,
•  the rise of influencer marketing begins. Users and brands alike begin to realize the power of social media users with large followings.Mrketing tools for Instagram and other platforms abound
• 2014,
•  for the first time ever mobile usage outweighs desktop usage. More users are checking social media, reading emails, and making purchases on their phone
• s. 
• 2015-2016,
•  big data and marketing automation are explored and used more robustly to advertise to users. 
• 2018, 
• video marketing continues to grow, especially with Instagram’s launch of IGTV. Video content is no longer just limited to YouTube and Facebook. 
• 2019-2020,
•  Move over millennials! Gen Z is the new focus and they have a hot new app: TikTok. 
  

It will be interesting to see where marketing continues to grow. With new world events, like the COVID-19 crisis of 2020 causing millions of people to stay in doors, social media and marketing trends are sure to change, and we’ll be right here to track them. 

Cyberclick’s

Marketing is any strategy or action which can help a company achieve its goals, increase its sales and profits, and/or has improved brand perception. Here at Cyberclick, we live and breathe marketing and advertising; it’s in our DNA! We are experts in attracting users to our client's websites or landing pages through marketing acquisition. Cyberclick is a performance marketing agency. We analyze each new project we get and, if we see it as viable, we can ensure certain results according to a client’s goals. You might be thinking, “what’s so special about performance marketing?” The special thing is that a client only pays when results are achieved.

Silver Sparrow Malware

What is Silver Sparrow malware?

Silver Sparrow is a malicious program targeting Mac OS operating systems. There are two versions of this malware, the key difference being the targeted OS architecture. Silver Sparrow's activity has been observed in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany.

One variant of Silver Sparrow is designed for Intel x86_64 system architecture, the other for this and M1 ARM64. The latter is relatively new and, as such, is targeted somewhat less. As mentioned, this piece of malicious software is intended to infect systems with other malware, however, at the time of research, it has not been observed injecting compromised devices with any payloads. Therefore, the specific goals of cyber criminals behind Silver Sparrow are unknown. Likewise, it is unclear what potential damage the malware can cause. Additionally, some aspects of Silver Sparrow make its code easily modifiable, which makes it a versatile threat.

Note that this malware uses Amazon AWS - a legitimate service provided by Amazon Inc. - for its malicious purposes. This increases Silver Sparrow's chances of proliferation, as Amazon AWS offers suitable conditions (e.g., resilient file distribution and content delivery, etc.).Malware capable of causing chain infections (i.e., backdoor functionalities) can infect devices with a wide variety of malicious programs. Furthermore, malware can have varied capabilities in different combinations. For example, Trojans can function as backdoors, allow remote access and control over the infected machine, download content stored on the system, extract content/information from browsers and other installed applications, spy on users (e.g., monitor keystrokes, record/live-stream video and audio, take screenshots, etc.), and so on.

Ransomware operates by encrypting stored data and/or locking the device's screen for ransom purposes. Crytominers use system resources (potentially to the point of system failure) to mine cryptocurrency. To summarize, Silver Sparrow can cause multiple system infections and lead to severe privacy issues, data loss, device damage, financial losses, and identity theft. If it is suspected/known that Silver Sparrow (or other malware) has already infected the system, use anti-virus software to remove it immediately.

the Electorate, OSAMiner, Eleanor, and XCSSET are some examples of other Mac malware. This malicious software can have an array of dangerous functionality, which can pose a correspondingly broad range of serious problems. The sole purpose of this software is to generate profit at users' expense. Regardless of how the malware operates, it is highly dangerous. To ensure device integrity and user safety, it is crucial to eliminate all threats immediately upon detection.

How did Silver Sparrow infiltrate my computer?

The exact method used to spread Silver Sparrow is unknown. Typically, malicious programs are proliferated through untrustworthy download channels (e.g., unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, and other third-party downloaders), and illegal activation tools ("cracks"), fake updaters, and spam campaigns. Malware (including ransomware) is usually distributed via malspam campaigns, unofficial software activation ('cracking') tools, Trojans, dubious file/software download sources, and fake software updating tools.

When cyber criminals attempt to distribute malware via malspam campaigns, they send emails that contain malicious attachments or download links for malicious files. Typically, they disguise their emails as official and important. If recipients open the attached file (or a file downloaded via a website link), they cause the installation of malicious software. Cybercriminals commonly attach executable files (.exe), archive files such as RAR, ZIP, PDF documents, JavaScript files, and Microsoft Office documents to their emails. Software 'cracking' tools supposedly activate licensed software illegally (bypass activation), however, they often install malicious programs and do not activate any legitimately installed software. Trojans are other rogue programs that can cause chain infections. I.e., when a Trojan is installed on the operating system, it can install additional malware. Free file hosting websites, freeware download websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), unofficial websites, and third-party downloaders are examples of other sources that are used to distribute malware. Cybercriminals disguise malicious files as legitimate and regular. When users download and open them, they inadvertently infect their computers with malware. Fake software updating tools install malicious software rather than updates/fixes for installed programs, or they exploit bugs/flaws of outdated software that is installed on the operating system.

How to avoid installation of malware

Do not trust irrelevant emails that have files attached (or contain website links) and are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Software should not be downloaded or installed through third-party downloaders, installers, unofficial pages, or other similar sources/tools. Use only official websites and direct links. Installed software should never be updated or activated with third-party, unofficial tools since they can install malware. Furthermore, it is illegal to use third-party tools to activate licensed software. The only legitimate way to update and activate the software is to use tools and functions that are provided by the official developers. Regularly scan your computer with reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software and keep this software up to date.

If your computer is already infected with malware, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them. Screenshot of VirusTotal detections of the installer distributing the second version of Silver Sparrow malware.

Update 2 March 2021 - It is likely that Silver Sparrow infects computers via adware or advertisements, and third-party offers during the installation processes of certain programs. It is known that the purpose of Silver Sparrow is to infect computers with additional malware, but the payload is still unknown whatever it is, it cannot be configured because the configuration file is hosted in AWS S3. Note also that Silver Sparrow uninstalls itself once the "~/Library/._insu" file appears in the system. It is likely that this file is generated when there is nothing more to gain from the infected machine.

Surface Web ,Deep Web ,Dark Web

Data extraction is one of the most powerful tools enabling you to stay up-to-date with market developments, gain market intelligence, and become competitive in your industry. But extracting data only from surface web pages is usually not enough. There is a deeper extraction process that allows access to high-quality content that’s mostly hidden. Sound dark? To better understand how deep the web can go and what levels of data extraction are available, let’s take a closer look. As a starting point, we’ll differentiate three layers of the net – surface web vs. deep web vs. dark web.

Surface Web

Everything you see on the surface of the internet when going online forms part of the surface web, which comprises just 4% of the entire net. The data available on the surface is purposely indexed by search engines, and this is the reason you can access it easily compared to information on other web layersTherefore, the surface net is the part of the internet that is always available to the public and accessible via search engines like Google or Bing. You may wonder how search engines work and what “indexed” content means.

Indexing web content

Did you know that when you type something into a search bar and press “Search,” the search engine combs through its own database and not across the net? After that, it gets back to you with content that is already indexed and stored in its database—a giant index database where the information is organized in the most accurate way for easy retrieval. To create such a database, search engines use spiders to travel across the net and collect new data to be indexed and stored, when you submit a search, the search engine is looking for your query and responds with results from the search index database. This option works only for the content which is on the surface and can be indexed. But what about the pages that are not open for crawling? Here, we discuss the next layer of the net.

Deep Web

Deep web forms 95% of the net and includes data not indexed by search engines. This means that you will not access this data with a simple search. So, the surface web can be tracked by search engines, while the deep net includes everything that search engines cannot identify because they are protected with a password or stored behind internet services. This is why spiders are invisible. Actually, you spend a lot of time on deep pages, but you don’t even know it.

 some examples of deep sites

1) Websites that can be accessed with a username and password (email, cloud services, online      banking, or paid subscription-based online media sites)

2) Video-on-demand services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or HBO

3) Companies’ internal platforms

4) Educational or library websites

5) Government related pages or legal documents

6) Medical records

Accessing deep pages is comparatively safe, but your accounts contain personal information valuable to criminals. For this reason, it is recommended to use unique and strong passwords with a hard combination of letters, symbols, and numbers. There is another risk when you access your personal accounts using public Wi-Fi, such as when you make online payments. In these cases, it is a good idea to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to protect your virtual privacy.

Differences in extracting data from surface and deep web

When it comes to data extraction, most organizations scrape data from various sites, focusing on easily accessible content. Here, surface data extraction mainly covers the same domain as search engines but requires a more powerful tool to target and monitor the information properly. If collecting information from the deep net is required, manual extraction is the main way to do so, as it is not the most reliable method. For deep data extraction, we recommend using automated web scraping. 

Dark Web

The dark web (or so-called dark net) includes sites designed to be hidden which mostly have TOR (The Onion Router) URLs that are impossible to remember, guess or understand. TOR websites aren’t popular, and they are not accessible without using specific software programs, as a great deal of data is encrypted and hosted mostly anonymously. On the dark net, there are sites related to black markets and illegal activities like

* Marketplace for drugs and unregistered weapons

* Software for deeper browsing (like Onion Browser)

* Scanned version of unique books and publications

* Wikileaks documents

* Racist related information and human trafficking

* Content depicting abuse towards war prisoners, children, etc.

Apart from special software programs, so-called dark pages can be accessed only with the help of anonymized browsers like TOR, which is the most popular one. When accessing dark pages, a user remains entirely anonymous—no one can trace his IP address, as TOR encrypts every piece of content or action, making tracking almost impossible.But not everything on the dark net is illegal or deplorable. The dark net is also used as a secret communication channel for journalists, human rights activists, or political activities. Plus, by using the dark net, military services can exchange confidential data anonymously. It is also widely used by governmental entities to store intelligence reports, political records, and other sensitive data.

Difference between deep and dark web

So, let’s rewind and understand the difference between the dark web and the deep web. Though both deep and dark nets are hidden from search engines, the basic difference between these two concepts is that deep pages can be accessed through credentials and authorization, while dark pages require a special browser and software with a decryption key. Additionally, data of deep pages is not hidden, unlike the dark net whose sole purpose is anonymity.

Summing Up Surface, Deep, and Dark Web

To sum up, you now know the difference between surface web, deep web, and dark net. The easiest way to remember these three types of internet webs is to remember the iceberg analogy by Data Scientist, Denis Shestakov. The WWW is like an iceberg, in which the smallest part of the entire network we visit regularly is on the top, but the biggest part is unseen. Surface, dark, and deep web are connected to each other, forming a base for online operations. While operating on the surface is mostly secure, activities on deeper levels can be suspicious. In the event of the dark net, major operations are anonymous and usually used for shady purposes. For security reasons, it is better to avoid it, if it is not related to your specialization.

  

5G and Private LTE

5G is the Fifth Generation mobile broadband, beyond Long-term Evolution (LTE) mobile networks. It is a game-changer and a trending technology, that improves our network connections. Through this, we will get faster, stable, and more secure connections. Hence, shortly, we will have 5G mobiles in our hands.

Some of the applications of the 5G network are:

• Improved broadband
• IoT
• Healthcare advancements
• Remote device control
• Autonomous vehicles

To become a 5G Telecom Engineer, candidates need to be good at technical skills. They should have a good understanding of the advanced technologies, such as SON, mobile edge computing, network slicing, mesh network, etc. Coming to the salary part, as per the analysis of Indeed, the approximate salary of 5G Telecom Engineers in the United States ranges from US$49,327 to US$104,396 per year.

What is Private LTE?

Private LTE networks are non-public wireless networks based on cellular LTE technology. They are based on the same protocols and technology that public LTE networks use today. Small cells – similar to Wi-Fi access points – are installed on-site and then operated by a managed service provider (MSP), the site owner (such as a shopping mall owner), or by the enterprise customer. Users can then use their Band 48-capable cellular devices with a private SIM to connect to the Private LTE network.

A Private LTE network offers performance and reliability that public LTE or Wi-Fi alone can’t match, and usually at a much lower cost. It offers uninterrupted connectivity along with the ability to handle heavy traffic loads, such as data coming from thousands of IoT devices. And it offers excellent penetration, with the ability to reach through building walls and other obstacles that might block a Wi-Fi signal.

Private LTE and CBRS

Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a new Private LTE network option now available in the U.S. It occupies 150MHz of shared spectrum in the 3.5 GHz C-band, also known as Band 48 (B48). Traditionally, this band had been reserved for users in the U.S. military and fixed satellite service. But this spectrum has recently been approved for broader use by the FCC, opening up opportunities for a range of new applications. Industry observers have said that “CBRS will put enormous wireless networking power into the hands of organizations that have never had such a promising and affordable option before.”1

You can learn more about CBRS from the OnGo Alliance in this video

Access to the CBRS spectrum is shared and actively managed among three groups:

• Tier 1. Incumbent users, primarily the U.S. Navy and satellite ground stations
• Tier 2. Users with priority access licenses (PALs)
• Tier 3. General authorized users (GAA)

Why use Private LTE?

Private LTE has several advantages over public LTE or Wi-Fi. Within the confines of the network, it provides an exclusive LTE network in an uncrowded spectrum. It is deployed with dedicated equipment that increases device and data capacity and includes built-in security and controls not possible in public networks. It is tailored to put the enterprise customer in control.

Here are some additional benefits:

• Privacy With Private LTE, data never leaves the enterprise customers’ network. This is especially important for highly regulated industries, such as healthcare or finance. 
• Security  SIM-level device security ensures that devices have a unique identifier and are properly authenticated. This gives network administrators tight control over what devices are allowed on the network.
• Flexibility  Private LTE networks can be customized to meet an organization’s unique application needs.
• Capacity  Private LTE networks can use either a dedicated or shared spectrum. This puts the enterprise customer in control of bandwidth and infrastructure density, based on their individual needs.
• Quality of service (QoS)  Cellular technology provides a better quality of service than Wi-Fi and gives the customer control of how data traffic is prioritized, end to end.
• Latency  Deterministic latency, that is, the ability to set a fixed length of time for the transfer of data, is available with Private LTE, thanks again to full end-to-end control. Deterministic latency can be very important in factory settings where devices need to be tightly synchronized.
• Resiliency  With Private LTE, enterprise customers can deploy additional small cells for increased resiliency and uptime. They can also allow fallback to public LTE (if desired) using the same cellular device.
• Mobility With Private LTE, mobility, that is, the hand-over between the individual small cells, is seamless and comparable to what users experience with public LTE. There’s no connection loss with Private LTE as there can be with Wi-Fi.
• Cost Enterprise customers enjoy lower data transfer costs with Private LTE than with public LTE, an especially important consideration when there are high data volumes. In addition, while the cost of an individual high-powered small cell is higher than an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi access point, fewer small cells are needed to provide coverage over the same area

Where should Private LTE be deployed?

Private LTE is an attractive wireless option for any number of geographically defined areas, such as a seaport, mine, or college campus, or inside a facility such as a hospital, factory, shopping mall, or sports stadium. It can also provide low-cost “last mile” connectivity in rural areas.

Here are just a few promising use cases for Private LTE:

• Mine sites Mining operations typically cover large but clearly defined geographical areas, where high-power base stations can be deployed cost-effectively. Private LTE enables reliable, uninterrupted communication with personnel and mining equipment.
• Seaports  With seaports implementing automation on a growing scale and containerized freight systems increasingly using RF identification, Private LTE makes it possible to continuously monitor equipment and track the flow of freight, improving efficiency and security.
• Hospitals  Private LTE provides secure, high-performance connectivity, enabling medical staff and administrators to share sensitive medical files while keeping data secure.
• College or corporate campuses  Private LTE can provide secure, low cost coverage and address coverage gaps over distances that are too great for Wi-Fi. 
• Factories Expanded use of robotics and automation in manufacturing is driving the need for low-latency connectivity between machines on the factory floor. Private LTE networks can connect robots and IoT devices, and facilitate better process monitoring and predictive maintenance.

Components of a Marketing Plan

Components of a Marketing Plan

Market Research 

Every effective marketing plan begins with research. Market research (also known as industry research) is the process of analyzing market conditions and current products to help you find business opportunities and discover your target audience. If you craft a startup marketing plan, you may discover an unmet need or want in your industry, which then gives you a product idea. 

Marketing opportunities for your existing business. 

• What is the size of our customer base?
• Based on trends, is our customer base growing or shrinking?
• What is our current share of the market?
• What share of the market do we think we can take?
• Are there unmet needs/missed opportunities in the market?

Primary research includes all research that you conduct yourself, such as interviews and focus groups. Secondary research refers to research that has been done by someone else, including industry reports and studies. When you study your products and customer base, primary research is beneficial. On the other hand, secondary research can provide valuable information about your competition and larger industry trends.

Goals and Objectives

A goal is a more general statement, such as, “I want to increase sales.” An objective, on the other hand, adds concrete details to your goal, such as, “I want to increase sales of women’s running shoes by 10% next quarter. Begin with your business goals and objectives, and then use those to create your marketing objectives. 

• Becoming the market leader in your industry 
• Increasing profit 
• Decreasing costs 

Target Market 

As a small business, you have a defined group of ideal potential customers known as your target market. Additionally, every marketing plan for a small business requires a defined target market. 

Your customer base demographics and your marketing plan target audience don’t need to be the same. When you select a target market, there are two strategies — sell to a demographic already in your customer base or expand your customer base to include a new demographic group.

Product

Once you’ve established the target market in your marketing plan for small businesses, it’s time to focus on your product. First, specify which products this marketing plan aims to sell. Once you have a specific product set down, define how your product relates to your target market. 

When you select a product, there are two strategies — sell a current product with little or no modifications or introduce a new product or product line. 

Competitive Analysis

Now you have your target market and your product. It’s time to see how you measure up against your competition. To figure out who your competition is, ask yourself, “What are all the possible alternatives to my product that someone in my target market would consider?”Remember, your competition includes the solutions that your target market currently uses.

Positioning/Unique Selling Proposition

The positioning step is where you define your competitive advantage. After you compare yourself to the competition, you need to summarize your advantage in a statement known as your unique selling proposition (USP).A unique selling proposition (also known as a value proposition) outlines what you offer your target market and how you’re better or different from the competition.

Strategy

Now that you understand what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, and how you compare to the competition, it’s time to talk strategy. The strategy portion of your marketing plan for small business includes the tactics you’ll use to achieve your business objectives. There are four primary areas of marketing strategy, known as the marketing mix . The four Ps of marketing are product, price, promotion, and place. Each area has its tactics and should be covered in your marketing strategy. 

• Product: Changing packaging, releasing limited edition products, adding services to your products
• Price: Offering a discount, implementing a credit policy
• Promotion: Advertising, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing
• Place: Adding a sales channel, partnering with a distributor

Budget

a business owner, you don’t have an unlimited amount of resources. You need to review your goals and objectives and determine a budget for your marketing strategy. In most cases, you should generate a positive return on investment (ROI). Put simply, you need to make more money than you spend. If your goal is to increase revenue by 20% next quarter, your quarterly marketing budget should be less than the additional income. Consider any additional costs in terms of sales efforts or production when you create your marketing budget.

Key Performance Indicators

Finally, before you put your plan into action, you need to list your key performance indicators. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics that you’ll measure to determine the success of your marketing plan. Let’s say your goal is to increase sales, and you plan to achieve that by improving your website’s conversion rate. Your KPIs are sales volume and website conversion rate. You can also measure related metrics like website traffic and the average value of each sale to help you understand the different levers that affect your bottom line.