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Dymond Institute heads to Singapore

February 2012 will earmark an important milestone for Dymond Institute of Business, with the Institute's CEO, Russell Dymond, announcing an exclusive and value added alliance with Singapore-based educational provider, Tick 3.

Mr Dymond commented, "We're extremely excited to announce that we've successfully established a bilateral educational partnership agreement with Tick 3.  Tick 3 has been providing quality training and assessment in Singapore for the past decade, under the leadership of Managing Director, Ms Florence Yeo".

Dymond continued, "In 2007, I had the pleasure of working with Florence, during my time at TAFE Open Learning. It was clearly apparent then, that Florence was a highly motivated professional, who placed much emphasis on quality education, coupled with an incredible impetus on client satisfaction.  In the latter part of 2011, we embarked on a market development strategy, which encompassed penetrating international markets.  Subsequently, Singapore will be the first international region, approved to market and sell our suite of Australian nationally recognised online qualifications," he concluded.

Ms Yeo emphasised, "The partnership between Dymond Institute of Business and Tick 3 differs to that of Australian vocational education and training (VET) qualifications simply being delivered online to international students.  While Dymond Institute will be conducting the online training and assessment, Tick 3 will also be conducting face-to-face workshops in Singapore to ensure that our students' learning outcomes are fully optimised in familiar domestic surrounds".

Singapore students can study the following Australian courses, online:

Certificate IV in Marketing

Diploma of Marketing

Diploma of Business

Double Diploma of Marketing + Business 

Students interested in undertaking our programs should contact Tick 3 directly, to discuss the course, which best suits their individual needs.

Contact:

Ms Florence Yeo

Phone: 6749 2933

Email: Florence@tick3.com.sg

Website: www.tick3.com.sg

Study Marketing in 2012 and Grow your Business

Dymond Institute is a registered training organisation (RTO), accredited by the Australian Government to deliver business and marketing qualifications to Advanced Diploma level.

Wersquo;ve activated an outstanding promotion, whereby students who enrol into our (Online) Certificate IV in Marketing will have the opportunity to complete the Diploma of Marketing, absolutely FREE.

There's a new and uniquely different Energy Drink in the Australian market named: Pu55y.  The brand has shown phenomenal growth in the UK.  Pu55y is a 100% natural energy drink and is distributed throughout Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast by beverage distributor, Liquid NRG.  

Interestingly Sir Richard Branson's offspring, Sam and Holly are financial investors in the drink, which is also manufactured in the UK.

Visit the Liquid NRG website to view a YouTube video of the Branson children's media release. It'll be a fascinating brand to follow in Australia.

http://www.liquidNRG.com.au

Consumers want competition

Competition's an incredible force.  Consumers want sellers to have competition in order to keep prices affordable.  Although some managers might strongly disagree with me, businesses need competition to avoid becoming complacent.  In a nutshell, competition stimulates innovation and assists in terms of keeping inflation under control.

eBay's sales eroded by social media giant, Facebook

eBay has long been the market leader in online auctioning.  There's no denying the fact that eBay has done a terrific job.  No organisation has come close to seriously threatening the online auction house's stranglehold on their occupied market.  Well, quite possibly that's about to change, courtesy of Facebook.

It's quite possible you're familiar with Facebook Group(s).  Recently my wife joined one of these Groups at the recommendation of our neighbour.  As it turns-out, the Group, named Redlands Facebook Garage Sale, is sparking significant interest amongst geographically confined buyers in the Redlands district.  And upon further investigation, this is not the only Group of its kind.


How do they work?

With no listing fees or commission to pay, they're proving to be effective marketing channels. Not to mention, more lucrative for sellers.  These groups don't operate as intermediaries; they're simply functioning as free-of-charge promotional vehicles.

Members are listing all sorts of goods for sale, and are purchasing all kinds of products through the popular social networking site.  And because goods sold are generally purchased by buyers in the Group's geographic precinct, there're no postage charges to pay.

Do they actually convert tyre-kickers into buyers?

I had to admit I was a little sceptical at first, but this changed about 2-hours after my wife listed her first item for sale when a buyer lobbed on my doorstep.  And sales success didn't stop with this sale.  We're virtually being bombarded with qualified and cashed-up buyers, daily.

Could micro and small businesses effectively use Groups to sell goods?

I'd suggest so.  Of course, this would depend upon the type of goods being sold.  Furthermore, fit with the firm's positioning would also be a major consideration.  And, to be honest, I can see no reason why intangible services, too, cannot be sold using this communications mechanism.

By Russell Dymond, CEO, Dymond Institute of Business

Selling is an important element of the marketing communications mix. This person-to-person act of persuasion is often necessary to convert qualified prospects into paying customers.

But, what message should we convey when presenting sales solutions to prospects? This is often the question that many sales people fail to carefully consider.

First, let's consider the two main components of a product. Goods or intangible services possess features, which are essentially product attributes. More importantly, from a selling perspective, these features deliver buyer benefits.

So what exactly is the difference? Well, let's have a closer look.

A pair of shoes, for example, could have features, which include: leather uppers, polyurethane midsoles and carbon rubber outsoles. Further, they may be manufactured in Italy and have a retail price tag of just $95.00.

It's the benefits of these features, however, that need to be the key focus in the selling process.

For instance, leather uppers breath better in comparison to synthetic uppers. This results in cooler feet. Its technical name aside, polyurethane offers outstanding shock absorbing properties. This translates into greater comfort. Carbon rubber offers durable and long-lasting soles. Italy is synonymous with manufacturing high quality leather footwear, while the retail price feature of $95.00, might just well represent sensational value.

As illustrated, features, or if you prefer, attributes, all offer specific traits of value to the consumer. Conveying these underlying benefits, in relevant terms to the targeted buyer, is the key to selling success. And very simply, this prevents us from falling into the marketing myopia trap - a common reason for lacklustre sales.

I've compiled a free feature conversion into benefit template for online download. You'll notice that, the first table provides an example which correlates with this article. The second table is supplied with fill-in fields, and is for you to use. Why not try it in relation to one of your goods or services, it might just help!

By Russell Dymond, CEO, Dymond Institute of Business