http://www.mjbarney.com/feasibility-studies-blog.html M.J. Barney Associates Blog for businesses interested in the latest ideas about feasibility studies, business development, market research and more. en-us feasibility study Fri, 14 May 2010 18:00:25 GMT Fri, 14 May 2010 18:00:25 GMT mjbarney.com http://www.mjbarney.com/events.html Events for Business Development at M.J. Barney Associates Fri, 14 May 2010 18:00:24 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/customer-service-consulting.html Gaining and maintaining loyal customers is the only way to build longevity for your business... Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:05:05 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/focusgroups.html Focus group facilitators M.J. Barney Associates helps companies and groups with focus group facilitation... Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:26:03 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/change-management.html What's a guy (or gal) gotta do to get some respect in this economy? You work for a company for thirty years and they down-size you with four weeks pay and a hearty "have a nice life." Thanks for nothing. But not so fast. Believe it or not, there are some people that are now actually thanking their company for showing them the door. They are people that by virtue of being older, or over-qualified, or both, have started their own business and are loving every minute of it. They've found a freedom and a purpose they hadn't realized existed. Could becoming an accidental entrepreneur be right for you? Change is difficult. For a company. For a team. For a person. But change can also be the catalyst for some of the greatest moments of our lives. It sometimes forces us to dig deeper than we ever have before, to look within to discover the unique gifts we have to offer, and then to find the courage to take those gifts to the marketplace. M.J. Barney Associates has helped organizations and their employees manage change for years. If you've become, or are considering becoming, an entrepreneur out of necessity, we can help you assess your strengths and what opportunities you may have to market them. Change can be a blessing... Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:25:42 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/market-research.html The discussions about Twitter and Facebook continue to grow as celebrities, athletes and other notables use them as a forum to share the details of their lives with us. The "experts" continue to preach that "new marketing" is now the way to go, and social media is the vehicle. If you're a Fortune 500 company, reputation management and social media marketing are important. For smaller companies, it's doubtful that you're going to garner a large following that drives large amounts of revenue your way. "New marketing" probably won't make you or your company wealthy. However, "old marketing" just might. Customer service that absolutely delights your customers, phone calls made to customers asking them how they're doing right now, salespeople actually telephoning and talking with prospective clients, clean floors and restrooms in your building. These "old marketing" techniques are probably more important than your company's or employee's latest tweet. Don't discount the new, but don't forget to still embrace the old. Personally connecting with your customers and prospects never goes out of style. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:00:54 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/change-management.html Change management professionals M.J. Barney Associates guide companies through the rapidly changing business landscape by... Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:41:54 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/business-development.html Southwest Airlines has announced that you can now pre-board your flight and grab one of the window or aisle seats before everyone else...for $10. Smart. Very smart. They were the first major airline to utilize the open-seating boarding process, where if you checked in early enough you'd be in the first group or two to board and you could choose any open seat. They had the quickest boarding procedure in their industry, resulting in the highest on-time departure rate. Very good for business. Now they've taken it to the next level by charging you $10 to be in the first group to board the plane. They know that those of us who've been stuck in the middle seat on a 5 hour cross country flight would have gladly paid $10 more to get out of that cramped middle seat. Americans like our comfort, and we pay for it. Bigger televisions, faster computers, and now preferred boarding on flights. What value proposition can you find for your product or service that your customers would pay a little extra for? You don't have to be a big business to make your customers more comfortable, or offer added convenience. As Southwest demonstrates to us again, getting creative can make a sizable difference to your bottom line. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:18:41 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/feasibility-studies.html In the mid 1990's sales of bottled water started to trend upwards. It was scoffed at by many who believed that nobody would pay to buy water when tap water was free. (Perrier doesn't count because people didn't consider it to really be water since they had to pay for it). Well, the naysayers were proven to be wrong. Sales of bottles water increased annually, and in 2008, U.S. bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons for 28.9 of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market. In 2010 sales of bottled water is expected to surpass sales of soft drinks. There is no doubt that brands such as Dasani and Aquafina researched the potential market and competitive landscape before filling their first bottle by having an in-depth feasibility study conducted. Companies don't succeed on gut instinct alone, but also by the thorough analysis of accurate empirical data. Now is a great time to consider launching a new, competitively priced product or service that meets an unmet need. Put your thinking cap on, and don't forget to do your homework before launching. Maybe your idea will propel your company upwards to become the next market leader like Apple or Starbucks. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:49:51 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/market-research.html Nestle' S.A., the world's largest food and drink producer by sales reported that it's sales of human consumer products Nescafe' and Perrier have dropped, while sales of Purina and Friskies for pets have increased. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "The bright outlook for pet products is luring insurers and other businesses to a sector where consumers seem willing to spend." Pets are obviously very important to Nestle's customers because it's a profitable line for them. What's so important to your customers that they will purchase it no matter what? What lines are still profitable for you? What could you be offering that you're not, but which would be profitable if you did? For example, if you were a manufacturer of children's clothing could you integrate a line of pet clothing under another label into your product mix? If you manufactured belts could you manufacture animal collars? Where there's a will there's a way. Follow the money, find the need and fill it. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:56:28 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/international-services.html International Services: M.J. Barney Associates is the nations leading provider of feasiblity studies, change management and business development Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:19:27 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/feasibility-study.html A feasibility study may be needed after a product or service is launched to see... Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:05:53 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com/business-development.html One billion dollars. In one week. That's what American consumers generated in rebates from the government "Cash For Clunkers" program. If a billion dollars was the savings realized by consumers for buying a new car, we can estimate that at least 3 billion dollars in sales was generated for auto dealers. For the business owner this is proof positive that people will spend money today if they see tangible, immediate value for their outlay. What can you offer your prospects and customers that they won't be able to say no to and that will help them do better today? Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:51:12 GMT http://www.mjbarney.com We are happy to be in the land of the blogging! More important, we're happy to have you reading our blog!! The purpose of our blog is to share our thoughts on the latest developments about market development, feasibility studies, change management and a host of other topics. We want our experience to be an asset to your business. It's our way of giving something back to the business community that has supported us for many years. Our blog is not set up for comments on the blog page itself, but feel free to go to our "Contact Us" page and share your viewpoint with us. We'll publish them in our next blog entry if applicable. Best wishes to you and your business. We hope you're taking advantage of the changes taking place in the world of business. We hope we can help you profit from that change. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:58:55 GMT