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COMMERCIAL PHOTO AN AWARD WINNER JONES NEW YORK WAREKHOUSE CAREER WEAR Reg. up to 30°"° 0 $ 4 00 A) thak OFF Local photographer, Craig Minielly, of Aura Photographics, took first place honors in the Commercial Mustration category for the photo to the right. The work was a project for CGC Interiors of Oakville. The image, titled: "The Colors of Steel", was produced for the cover of their custom colors brochure advertisâ€" ing the specialty products division. The award was presented at the recent convention of the Professional Photographers of Ontario, which sponsored the award. TRAFALGAR VILLAGE 25 CROSS AVE., OAKVILLE 844â€"5361 Now * Applicable on bronze service package only. Minimum 12 month service commitment. * Free Weekend package for 6 months only. Requires new Bell Mobility activation Ail other coordinates LARGE SELECTION OoF CAREER AND WEEKEND WEAR Jackets Reg. 155 Bell Mobility FAMoUS KORET FRANCISCA SALE Cellular Plus Centre 422 SPEERS RD OAKVILLE (across from Lansing Buidall) e FREE INEEKEND CALLING e FREE ACTIVATION e FREE CALLS TO CAA, 911, OPP ENTIRE SELECTION SPRING FASHIONS COTTON KNIT SWEATERS @@1@5 By SALLY STANLEIGH Special to the Beaver Sound marketing plan critical for continuing success of busines veryone who starts a busiâ€" Eness knows the importance of preparing a marketing plan, but too often, planning starts when the business gets into trouble. To void the pitfalls and stay in conâ€" trol, why not follow a simple planâ€" ning format and develop your own marketing plan? A marketing plan helps you creâ€" ate a clear, focused picture of your business and the marketplace in which you compete. The outcome is knowledge, and knowledge is power â€" power to get you on track and stay on track. Step 1: Undertake a business review Gather all data from all sources in order to analyze: your market, your consumers, the trade situation (i.e. your company‘s direct cusâ€" tomers), the competition, and your company‘s own business situation. Step 2: Summarize the opporâ€" tunities Once you have completed your business review, analyze the results and summarize the opportunities that exist for your business. You will end up with: * A clear picture of your market and its development and sales potential. Trends will become eviâ€" dent that will help you set realistic objectives for the future and give you an indication of the potential for your company‘s growth. * A better understanding of the endâ€"user of your company‘s serâ€" vices or products and an insight into new product development opportuâ€" nities. * An improved understanding of the competition and the competitive environment. This will help to establish a meaningful pointâ€"ofâ€"difâ€" ference for yourself in the marketâ€" place. * A better understanding of your customers, so that you can reach them more effectively, better serâ€" vice their needs, and generate more sales. * An honest assessment of your own business situation relative to the competition and to the needs of the marketplace in which you comâ€" pete. Step 3: Forecast for the coming year Now it is possible to outline the future potential for business, based on market trends, your company‘s own business developments, and the impact that marketing should have on it. This will help you develâ€" op achievable marketing objectives. Step 4: Develop an overall marketing objective and strategy The conclusions from the busiâ€" ness analysis will help you to develâ€" op an overall marketing objective including: the market position your company will take, volume targets, marketshare, growth potential, innovation leadership, profit targets, and reputation or recognition objecâ€" tives. From this, you can develop an inâ€"depth marketing strategy or posiâ€" tioning to achieve the objective. The marketing strategy should include a clear definition of: Basic stance: What it is you will "stand for" when communicating to the target customer, relative to the competition; Target market: Who will buy your products or services and who will use them; Spending effort: What will you "do well" for the customer. Test the strategy; make sure the positioning is meaningful, credible, truly comâ€" petitive, and singleâ€"minded. Step 5: Write subâ€"strategies and plans For each element in the marketâ€" ing mix, such as a product or serâ€" vice, packaging, pricing, consumer promotion, advertising creative, advertising media, trade promotion and merchandising, identify a basic strategy and summarize specific action plan or tactics for the upcomâ€" and merchandising, identify a basic This article first appeared in Profits â€" : it publication of the Federal Busines Str?tegy and Sun_lmanze specific Development Bank.For more information action plan or tactics for the upCOMâ€" _ contact your nearest FBDB branch or ca tollâ€"free 1â€"800â€"361â€"2126. Cable show on state of retailing Oakville Town Councillor Ralph Robinson hosts a special phoneâ€"i show on Cablenet tomorrow (July 7th) at 7:00 p.m. The show will discuss ‘The State of Retail‘ with business people Li Srigley, Bill Morgan and Peter Tesar of Oakville‘s Retail Services Institutg Viewers are asked to phone in with any questlons concerning retallm1 and what customers expect in the way of service. © 1994 ArtPress International is a fin icial au!ho and broadcaster. On the Money provides general informaâ€" pecific advice, consult an appropriate financial pmfessmnal Laborâ€"sponsored funds PAPE‘S TIP: "Don‘t be mesmerized by the tax breaks. Look at the investment risks before plunging in." Venture capital funds ow THEY WORK sponsored by trade ; unions have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment money â€" thanks mainly to generous tax advanâ€" tages. But there are high risks and you‘ll .c ntributa units to" . have trouble getting and W . nother k febate out if things turn sour. _ :. 1. Funds invest in small companies, many of them startâ€"ups. That means higher risk. 2. Most of the companies do not trade publicly, so valuation is difficult. 3. Investment locked in for several years. Except for a few special circumstances, you‘ll have to repay your tax credits if you cash in early. 4. Many of these funds are new with no established track record. 5. Returns so far have been well below average. For a free copy of the helpful booklet "Planning Ahead" call us today at 1â€"800â€"268â€"1504 One way, is to plan cemetery arrangements ahead of time, before the need arises and spare loved ones from over 80 difficult decisions later, at a stressful and emotional time. Planning ahead. Another way to show your love. Glen Oak Memorial Gardens There are many ways to show your love. Planning today, for tomorrow. Serving the Mississauga/Oakville area (905) 257â€"1100 FENTIAL PITI ing year. The basic strategy state ment for each element in the mar keting mix is a subâ€"strategy. Once the subâ€"strategies are i1 place, it is time to write the annu action plan. The plans will describi the key events that will take plac over the upcoming year and th overall costs to implement them. Step 6: Implement the plans This is the step where you mak the plans happen! Once you have executed th plans, evaluate performance. Wa each activity successful? Did it gen erate the desired results? If not, why not? What were the elements thal worked well and why? What wer the elements that did not work we and why? What could you do t generate better results the next tim around? Step 7: Evaluate the perfor{ mance of the plans J Performance evaluation of th plan will initiate the market plan ning all over again, taking you bac to Step 1: the business review, an the start of a whole new marketin. plan to keep you on track next year! Sally Stanleigh â€" a marketing consultant is president of Stanleigh Marketing Grou Limited in Toronto, tel: (416) 444â€"8225. IS YOUR DATABAS PROTECTED? Data Protection Group Call 905â€"849â€"0191 Protect yourself against unnecessary exposure to loses from theft, fire, . power failures, user error and equipment breakdowns # Your total tax rebate may be worth more than 90% of investâ€" ment if it does not exceed $5,000 a year. # Some funds, e.g. Working Ventures Canadian Fund, are offered in several provinces. Others are in one province only. Some provinces extra GRAPHICS SYNDICATE 3/7 July 6, 199