Top Ten Biggest International Marketing Mistakes of All Time

1. When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant
2. In Spain, when Coors Brewing Company put its slogan, "Turn it loose" into Spanish; it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea".
3. When Braniff International Airways translated a slogan touting its upholstery, "Fly in leather", it came out in Spanish as "Fly naked".
4. When Pepsi started marketing its products in China a few years back, they translated their slogan, "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life" pretty literally. The slogan in Chinese really meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave."
5. Chicken magnate Frank Perdue's line, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," sounds much more interesting in Spanish: "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate."
6. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux".
7. A hair products company, Clairol, introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that mist is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the manure stick.
8. The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem-Feeling Free", was translated into the Japanese market as "When smoking Salem, you will feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."
9. PepsiCola lost it dominant market share to Coke in South East Asia when Pepsi changed the color of its vending machines and coolers from deep "Regal" blue to light "Ice" blue as Light blue is associated with death and mourning in SE Asia.
10. We can't forget Chevrolet's attempt to launch the Nova -- Spanish translation, "Doesn't Go" -- in Mexico (turns out this one appears to be an urban legend and cannot be verified). Many sources on the internet allege this is untrue.

Brian Henderson oversees internal and external marketing for Prezza Technologies. Prior to joining Prezza Technologies, Brian has held senior-level marketing positions in successful New England-based companies, including Perseus Development Corporation, Equallogic Corporation, and EMC Corporation.

Always Go For an Experienced Business Advisor Group

Starting a new business by any single person is one of the toughest jobs nowadays; life has become so competitive and fast that it is just impossible to survive in any business that any one starts. There are several aspects of a business that people have to take care of, and looking after all of those is almost impossible for any single person. To overcome this, people need a lot of man power. However, it is difficult for an amateur businessman to pay off all of those employees of the new business. Getting help from a small business advisor company is very helpful is such situations; the employees of such a company takes responsibilities of several sides of a business and provide suitable advice and accurate financial reporting to the business owner, so that he can proceed further. Most amateur businessmen do not have much idea about a business or how to run it successfully; these business advisor companies provide the businessmen with excellent ideas which helps a lot to get a good business.
Very few businesses start to get good profit from the beginning; most business starts with a loss or very little profit. In many such cases, it has been seen that the businessman loses all enthusiasm and leave the business. The assigned employees of this company try every possible step to help the businessmen to get a good profit in the business. The small business packages provided by these companies come to be very helpful for the growth of the new businesses.
If you are one such person, who wants to start a business of his own; If you do not have much financial back up and knowledge to run the business, then hiring a business advisor group is the best option in your hands. These companies will help you both financially and with excellent ideas. We know that it is difficult for a single person to run a business in this competitive world; so people who start a business must take help from these business advisors.
Hundreds of small business advisor groups that have grown up in United States, provide great help for the new businesses to flourish; but it is often pretty difficult for anyone to find the best business advisor group. What a person needs in a business advisor group is experience and trustworthiness. The more experienced a business advisor company is; the more is its knowledge about the condition of the market and the activities of the rival companies. People should always go for any such experienced business advisor company. Trust involves a very important part of these companies; when you hire such a company, you have to hand over all the responsibilities of marketing or accounting on this company. So, you should always look for a company which offers full trust to its clients.

The law for firm

Everyday, many cases are found in daily life. Many people make many mistakes and sometimes it is caused the affliction for others. The mistakes are made by the error human system or didn’t know that are false. In modern ways, many countries have the law that string about it. The countries have the democratic system follow the law as the foundation their governments system. Many law firms are provided the service in the law. The case of gulf oil spill lawsuit becomes one of the examples that can be task in hand. It is included the big problem because it doesn’t have the personal case but it is the firm’s case. We know that in the companies, there is the lawyer that always is consultant when they are in the law case.

For the cases, the industry has special oil spill attorneys. The attorneys have the function to ask and finished the case. They are like lawyer as the presenter of the company. They must put in order everything that is related on law. So the companies just do the activities and for the legalities of the contract or others job that are need the legal of law. They can ask the help to their attorneys. They will take care of all affairs in the companies. It is much needed because in the activities of companies must be have the legal of law to support their business.

The gulf oil spill attorneys will make this cases become finished. We know that in this case, the companies have done adulteration. So this case needs the special attorneys to solve until end. For this case, it is usually the companies must out the amends for the others that are suffer a financial loss. The gulf oil spill can make the damage of environments. So the companies must make or returns the environment become the natural like before. For other, the companies is usually must pay some of amounts as the sanction. The attorneys have the important roles to handle up all of this.

Tips For Choosing The Best Rental Space For Your Business

Most business owners have to deal with renting commercial property. While some owners may need space large enough for manufacturing processes, others may need only enough room to house a pet grooming shop. No matter what kind of business you plan to use your property for, you should make sure to secure an experienced and reliable real estate agent.

Choosing an agent could be the most challenging aspect of locating property. Be sure to select an agent with commercial experience. You might also make sure that agent has plenty of available listings. One way to locate this kind of agent is by going online and reading the reviews of the agents in the areas you want property in.

Cost is the obvious topic you will need to discuss with an agent. Learn about the parts of the property you will held responsible for. Ask about trash pick up, utilities, and water services you may need to take care of. In some leases, these leases are included while in others they are not. If you would like the services and they are not listed, you will need to discuss it with the agent.

Consider the customers you may want to attract to your business when selecting a location. For retail sales, being in a town or close in to high traffic areas is best. However, you may also find the rent for these kinds of properties are more expensive. Make a point out of researching all your location options before making a final decision.

Looking for a location that offers amenities can help you to have a smoother running business. The retail outlet with restroom or changing rooms is a plus. Learn if other tenant nearby must also use the same restroom. Check to see if security systems are offered with the property you are looking at as well.

These days, the kind of business you have most likely has great dependency and need for the internet. Ask your agent about whether or not an internet connection is included in the monthly lease. You may have to have your own connection installed at some properties. Be sure to also learn about the repairs you will be responsible for as well.

Obtaining your business location can be a hassle free and easy process when you have the right agent working along side you. In fact, this could be a part of your work you enjoy the most as you start on the path to fulfilling a dream of business ownership.

Managing Business Debt - 6 Tips to Keep Your Business In The Black

There has been a great financial shake-up of sorts that has taken shape over the past 5 years, around the world. Those who were only concerned with growing their businesses suddenly started becoming aware of debts incurred along the way and found themselves wondering how to curb them, and there are tried and true manners or practices that assist in the process of reducing the amount of debt held by a company.

Business debt is for the most part something that all businesses have, as companies and proprietors are generally not cash-rich and therefore need to borrow in order for the business to grow. The problems begin when the amount of debt continues to build and becomes excessive.

At this point, there is a good possibility that the company is either losing profit or on the verge of becoming non profitable and the owner needs to begin to make some major decisions on how to tackle the situation.

Here are six basic business practices that are widely known that a company can do at this point:

1) Reduce Costs
2) Increase Income
3) Restructure Liabilities
4) Restructure Assets
5) Raise Further Capital
6) Exit the Business

Asking a business owner to reduce costs is generally, as the saying goes... easier said than done. The company can look for a big savings, like eliminating a high cost - low return portion of the business or an across-the-board savings, where the company would cut costs by a determined percentage on all expenses. These decisions are not made lightly but are nevertheless a step in reducing business debt.

There are three basic ways to for a business to increase income and those include: 1) increasing sales, 2) raising the price of the products sold, and 3) seeking alternative streams. Increasing sales is certainly something that all businesses seek to achieve but the difficultly lies in determining those particular actions that will be successful. For instance, a company may decide to offer special programs or discounts to referral customers or those who make advanced purchases. Also, some may look into the idea of adjusting the marketing aspects being used and make the necessary adjustments. Or, a company could just raise prices. This can be and generally is a very delicate thing and can backfire should the increase be out of the realm that consumers are willing to pay. Lastly, a business may decide to look to alternatives such as: selling advertising with the physical location or website, renting any available space, or selling any unused products.

By definition, the liability a company has is the combination of what is owed to others and generally in the form of cash or money. The particular part of restructuring liabilities is the word 'restructure' as this process does not necessarily reducing the overall amount indebted but rearranging the terms of the liabilities that can lead to increased cash on hand. Some of those techniques would include:

- Negotiate payment terms with exiting suppliers
- Refinance present loans to secure lower interest rates or even consolidate all loans
- An additional option that may require assistance from an accountant is to defer certain tax liabilities should such be an option

Most of if not all the above options are those that one cannot control exclusively as another party needs to be involved and be willing to accept any renegotiation that takes place. By that same token, some may not make sense at a certain time depending on the current financial climate. For instance, if your present interest rate is lower than what is being offered in the market, it would most likely not be beneficial to the company to do this. As always, any company should take the time to perform the necessary due diligences before embarking on any reduction techniques.

There is also the possibility of restructuring the assets portion of a balance sheet. For a novice reader's knowledge, the assets of a company are those objects currently owned. A few of the different restructuring techniques for the assets include:

- Utilizing current investments or even cash to pay down or off outstanding loans
- A lease back option - Meaning selling an asset to a finance company and lease such back
- Factor the invoices - The object here is to reduce the asset value of the invoice but raise cash

Or, a company can decide to sell off any surplus or old equipment and even in some certain situations sell current assets.

Raising capital is most likely not a new idea for many business owners as in most cases the current business operations began by either borrowing funds from venture capitalists or even family members. Therefore, this is generally the starting point to raising the needed capital to continue operations. The company could and would most likely need to issue more shares to accommodate the increase in capital by current investors. An alternative would be to go outside the current investors and locate new persons or companies who would be willing to join the present investment group or perform a buyout of the current investors. Either way, most likely an appropriate portion of ownership will need to be yielded.

Also, and depending on the type of business one is in, the possibility exists of researching and obtaining grants from local or federal governments to increase the capital supply. Depending on the steps taken and how the additional funding is executed, the ownership structure prior to the funding need will change and as will the pressure to be successful with the additional investment.

Finally, the last method in dealing with excess debt is to actually exist the business altogether. Certainly this path to reducing one's debt is the least desirable but under certain circumstances it is inevitable. Luckily there are some options. The most common would be to sell off all the business assets - including any goodwill or client list - that can be utilized to pay down or off the business liabilities. Secondly, there is the possibility of selling the business as it currently stands - a going concern - whereby another group would purchase the company most likely out right and remove the owner. Third, there is a technique that can be quite effective but also extremely damaging to any business endeavour, and that is going into receivership (or as is more commonly known, corporate bankruptcy).

Debt is part and parcel of running a business, but it should not become an unmanageable burden.

Gilles Herard, Jr is a seasoned Merchant Banker and has been in the banking industry for nearly 40 years. He worked early in his career at the Toronto Dominion Bank (Canada) and later on joined Manufacturer Hanover (MH) of New York as Senior Credit Analyst. He eventually created his own Firm, Capital Corp Merchant Banking, where he syndicates and structures funding for top companies worldwide, all the while investing his own firm's funds into the projects.

As the head of Capital Corp Merchant Banking, Mr Herard has become a leading figure in international middle-market project financing and engineers all funding structures for projects at Capital Corp. Mr Herard has received numerous awards for his work and other contributions.

Utilizing Smart Phones For Business Marketing

Ever experienced going back home just because you left your mobile phone?

Life has never been easier since the advent of mobile phones. This is not only true for handling personal matters but also for business transactions. Executives can receive calls even though they are not at their office; marketing professionals can contact prospects; and procurement can conveniently communicate with suppliers. These were just some of the convenience brought by mobile phones.

As time goes by, technology advances. This just means more and more features that can be utilized to boost marketing efforts for your UK business.

As of Q1 2011, 48% of mobile phones in the UK are smartphones and sales are increasing too at an insane pace. It is not long before the smartphones will not only dominate traditional mobile phones but even make them obsolete.

What does this trend mean to businesses in UK?

It is very clear that marketing directed towards smartphones would definitely reach and penetrate our target market. The next question would be, "How can this be done?"

Here are some of current features of mobile phones and corresponding advantages for business marketing.

Traditional Call and Text

Since almost everyone if not all brings their mobile phones wherever they go, then the best way to reach someone is through his / her mobile phone. Telemarketing and SMS marketing would definitely be useful to reach mobile phones.

You can pro-actively market your business by either cold calling prospects or calling sales leads from marketing companies specializing in lead generation. If you opt for cold calling, you would need a marketing list or marketing database for your target market. There are marketing companies which also offer these databases at low prices.

On the other hand, you might prefer calling leads that are already pre-qualified, interested to know more about your product or service, or interested to avail your products right away. Lead generation companies can help you with sales leads that would suit your ideal target market.

SMS marketing is one cost effective option that can be utilized even by small businesses. At a very minimal cost you can let your market know about the existence of your business, promotional offers that you have, and have continued trade from existing customers. You can either do this in-house or have it outsourced to a marketing company. Doing this in-house would still require you to have marketing lists, SMS marketing system, and a set of personnels that would pull everything together. Another option is to have it outsourced and just sit back while the hot leads roll in from the SMS marketing campaign.

Internet Connectivity

This is one significant revolution in mobile phones. Your target market can now access your site anywhere they are. Features that used to be confined on computers are now literally available at the fingertip. It's just a click away from any smartphone. This just means that investing on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Email blast would now yield higher return of investment for the business.

In the a generation where almost everything could be found through search engines like Google, it is very important to have your business listed online and see to it that your website appears on top of your competitors'. This is where SEO comes in. With SEO, you could increase traffic to your website and therefore, making your presence known to those who are looking for your products or services.

On the other hand, why just wait for customers to look for you if you can initiate customer relation by regularly sending something through their email? With features nowadays which integrate email to smartphones, your emails would reach your target market faster and more effectively.

Generally speaking, one of the marketing strategies mentioned above can make a lot of difference for the growth and prosperity of your business but implementing them side-by-side would yield better results because their results reinforce each other.

There's also two (2) ways on how you can implement them. You may choose to gather all necessary resources and implement them on your own or have them done by businesses specializing in marketing. There is no clear answer to which would be a better choice. This would depend on the expertise of your personnel (both on marketing and management), financial limitations, and available resources.

Succeeding In Family Business: Tips To Remember

It may be hard to work and live with the same people. Your family members are usually the closest people to you in life. When you work with them, it often becomes hard to determine where to draw the lines. It is sometimes difficult to separate work from personal life and even more difficult when your personal life is involved with your work.

The most important thing to do would be to set boundaries. Keep work talk at work and home life at home. If you mix the two, it can often create animosity both in the home and in the office. If you're going to have to discuss business matters, at least save it for an appropriate time. A time should be set aside for specifically discussing business matters, (and not during dinner). Having meetings to discuss business issues is very important, but the setting does matter.

If your children will be joining a business that you have developed previously, it is important that they have experience working outside the family business first. This way, they will know what to expect from a professional (and non-related) work atmosphere. It's also important not to hire children, or any other family members for that matter, out of sympathy. Although you may be "doing them a favor," you still want to be sure they have the skill and experience to fulfill their role in the business. It would be even worse if you had to fire a family member due to lack of skill, wouldn't it?

Make sure that responsibilities and duties are clearly assigned to each employee in order to avoid overlap. Each person should have certain tasks they are responsible for so that, at the end of the day, no one can play the blame game. Clearly identify leaders as well as particular strengths and weaknesses of all employees. While various family members may be qualified for similar tasks, divvying up the duties should help to avoid conflicts. Big decisions should, of course, be made together. However, a debate over each little move made will begin to break apart the family.

Family businesses can be extremely successful if you operate them correctly. For example, Matt Siegal helped his father, Sanford, to expand his cookie business (Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet) into a retail operation. "I'm an eternal optimist; I think every new idea will work out great," says Matt. "Dad's more of a pessimist, or a realist, as he calls himself."

When Matt saw great potential for his father's small business to grow significantly by adding a retail division, he became immediately enthusiastic about the idea. "'Of course, Dad had to weigh the options carefully and consider any possible pitfalls,' says Matt, knowing his father would take the more cautious approach. In the end, after some due diligence, the elder Siegal agreed. Matt sold his software company, joined his parents in the cookie business, and the company took off." The cookies are now being sold at Walgreen's and GNC as well as through their website.

Family businesses can be a great idea and generate great profit. As long as everyone feels that they are contributing and being treated equally and with respect, things should run smoothly.