Archive for April, 2010

Online vs. Offline Companies

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

One might think that running a business online and offline will be similar, it will just differ based on how you access your customers and your information, but there is a lot more to it than that.

In an online business it can be hard to build customer loyalty. You have at your fingertips email, and forums of various types, if you are lucky you also have the ability to call your clients, but not all online business have this. If you have an offline business you can see people face to face, talk with them, visit their office and see who they are, shaping your sales pitch to their wants and needs. It is easier to build loyalty with an offline business for this reason. People are more likely to trust you and want to buy from you if they get to meet you in person. There are still ways to build loyalty as an online company, many of which focus on communication, but they can include blogs, supreme customer service, forums and social networking.

There are also other tradeoffs as well. In an online business you usually get people who know exactly what they want and need minimal help. They come to the online store because they know they can get that product there. Because of this you put money into targeting people and audiances and have to spend less money talking to every person who comes in. In an offline business you do get walk in traffic . Often times people who don’t know what they want, or that they want anything at all. The bonus here is that if your product is good enough, many of them will want it even though they didn’t know they wanted it. It can be a little harder to get people into the store, you need to have a great location and you need to have a great product, but you are more likely to get sales from people who don’t know what you have, or what they want.

On either side there are trade offs, which means that the best business will use a little from both models and combine them.

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New York City Marathon in Central Park

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

While the 2010 ING New York City Marathon is still months away, it’s not too early to consider getting in shape to be a runner for Team Central Park — one of the few ways in which to guarantee yourself a spot in the race. The marathon takes place over 26.2 miles and finishes at Central Park; throughout the year the famous New York park serves as a training ground for everyone including aspiring and top athletes or everyday enthusiasts. If you’re a runner and a tourist, go here to get a hotel room nearby and then walk on over to the parks 58 miles of pedestrian paths, plus 4.5 miles of a bridle path, and 6.5 miles of drives that wind throughout nearly 850 acres. Clearly, with the park as a base, New York is one of the best cities in the world in which to run.

In order to guarantee entry in the marathon, a runner must meet one of the following qualifications: 1) Be a member of the New York Road Runners at least since January 31 of last year, and have finished a minimum of nine NYRR-score qualifying races, as well as volunteer for an event during 2009; 2) Be an entrant in the 2009 marathon race but who cancelled before the race began; 3) Be a runner who has finished 15 or more of the New York City Marathons; 4) Be a runner who has applied but been turned down three years in a row (in this case, the years 2007, 2008, and 2009); or 5) Be a runner for Team Central Park.

Of course, if you choose the latter course, you’ll also be helping the Central Park Conservancy, which not only manages the park, but raises funds that support over 85 percent of the annual operating budget, which totals 27 million dollars. In fact, from 1980 on, the conservancy has put in over 530 million dollars, allowing the park to continue serving over 30 million annually. Over 700,000 runners have completed the New York City Marathon since 1970; perhaps this November, you’ll be able to say you’re a part of that number.

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Cincinnati Sports, the Reds and the Bengals

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Cincinnati is located right along the Ohio River and is up against the Kentucky border. This makes the major metropolitan area of the city extend into Kentucky and much of that state’s border area is a big fan of the cultural attracts in Cincinnati as well as the city’s major sports teams. Guests who visit the city and find a comfortable stay in one of the area hotels will likely be there specifically to visit Cincinnati though they frequently find a trip across the river will bring additional entertainment and cultural attraction options.

The residents of city of Cincinnati are well known for their love and support of their sports teams. The Cincinnati Reds are the Major League baseball team, and the Bengals are the NFL football team. These are the two major sports teams that represent not only the city but also the surrounding region, and frequently the entire state of Ohio. Sports fans frequently attend a sporting event when they visit a new city, regardless of their home team fan base. This generally the case except when a person is visiting the city of their direct rival. Of course if their team happens to be playing in the visiting town, they will be their to support their home team.

The Reds are one of the oldest teams in the country and have origin from 1882 as a charter member of the now defunct 19th century American Association. They are currently a franchise of the National League and are members of the Central Division. The name of the team is actually an evolved and shortened version of the original Red Stockings. They play their home games at the Great American Ballpark . The Bengals are the city’s beloved football team and they belong to the American Football Conference and are members of the North Division. The play their home games at the Paul Brown Stadium. Last year they won the Division Championship and it was their most recent trip to the play offs.

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