#that used to sell hamburgers for THE SAME PRICES MCDONALDS SELLS NOW

[trinketbug]

people getting mad at me for drawing that furry inflation image being at a mcdonalds cuz we're boycotting mcdonalds. first of all mcdonalds is not on the bds boycott list rn. second of all do you think i could afford mcdonalds either way

[jdmainman123]

#Report@yahoo's here back with the final yacht. With the final assessment of what happened here. You guys build private beach at the private beach to allow yacht fish to Marshall your beaches your private beaches for your safe and sound. But what has happened is you guys allowed a franchise let's say there's a McDonald's and you open a mom and pop burger store across the street that sells the same french fries same hamburgers and same soda AND NO ONE WANTS TO DEAL WITH THAT MOM AND POP FRANCHISE

So then it becomes abandoned and full of f****** n****** promoting only that Mom and Pop hamburger shop and they run around the city promoting it and then killing for it and then telling people no that's where we take all the babies to be killed ANONYMOUS STATEMENT IS NO WE DON'T KILL THE GIRLS WE ONLY KILL THE BOYS AND THEN WE MAKE THE GIRLS REGRET IT EVERY MINUTE OF IT AND FORCE THEM TO SUCK N***** COCK for the rest of the lives they regret not calling and accepting their little loved one was going to be killed but just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and regretting being alive

#Report your black skins here are promoting 3/4 Beach AND IT'S A MISSTATEMENT HERE FOR US TO TALK ABOUT IF YOU WHITE SKIN BOYS GET ON AN AIRPLANE THEY'RE GOING TO MURDER YOU FOR YOUR SISTERS and you can't blame yacht fish anymore because what you guys did was a cardinal foul we wouldn't have said anything if you guys stuck to your own but what you did was introduce Las Vegas versus Los Angeles California beach AND SAYING WE THREATEN YOU PEOPLE IN ANY OF THOSE CITIES YOU'RE GOING TO BE MURDERED BECAUSE WE'RE BLACK AND WE KNOW WHAT OTHER BLACK SKIN MAN IN THOSE CITIES THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT KNOWING THE WHITE SKIN MAN THE HOUDINI ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INTEGRATION AND NANCY SEATED IT'S AN ACCIDENT WHAT HE SAID IT'S AN ACCIDENT WHAT HE DID but they did violate a strict rule we have no getting Las Vegas involved in a tiny s*** hole lake full of water with the sunlight above it. When you're challenging every girls We believe it is smarter to run forward with Las Vegas being your number one saying you on every girl then some tiny s*** hole private beach in the middle of nowhere with less girls and more men.

So our final findings is this f****** dead n***** daughter family 3/4 and here's the bad part I have been fighting 24/7 with this little black girl who comes up to me anywhere I am and punches me in the face because it's not only she thinks I own every house in the world but she can't have a beach house AND IT'S JUST DISGUSTING AND DISTURBING THAT THIS F****** LITTLE GIRL BLACK GIRL IS NOT ALLOWED ON YOUR 3/4 FOR THE BEACH WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO PROMOTE AND ALL GAY CLUB ON A BIKINI BEACH.

So the blacks promoting a 3/4 Beach saying we're going to kill all the boys and keep the girls there IS THE VIOLATION AND YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY YOUR PRICES FOR INVOLVING LAS VEGAS AND YOUR STUPID CONFLICT AND YOUR STUPID I CAN DO WHATEVER THE F*** I WANT I NEVER HAVE TO GET ON THE PLANE I'M GOING TO HOLD YOU TO THAT AND I KNOW BETTER YOUR REGIME WILL SEND YOU GUYS TO THE AIRPORT AS THEY SENT ME THE ONLY THING ABOUT ME I WAS KIDNAPPING BECAUSE OF MY LOCATION AND THEY NEEDED ME TO RUN AROUND AND SEIZE EVERY AIRPORT AIRPLANE AND I'VE BEEN LIVING AT THE AIRPORT FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS OUT OF A SUITCASE no I'm at the airport hotel right now again I had to go back inside

So last thing the black skin men promoting a 3/4 Beach and here is the bad part the little girls are not allowed on the beach which is a disturbing and very bitter revelation. You would want to think that they would take better care of their girls allowing them on the beach to promote and the girls came up to me and this is what happened here. Someone told them I own all the houses in the world and she got very angry with me because I said listen b**** I don't like any of the houses in the city I'm on the beach. And I said no you can't have a beach house. I don't think you black skin girls are allowed in there it's only the men from what I hear

But back to my statement #report the blacks promoting a 3/4 Beach and it doesn't say anything more than they're going to kill all the white skin boys and keep their sisters and forever hurt and torture them and make them regret trying to take a vacation with the loved one the little white skin brother or son cuz they do kill the boy no matter who he is even the father's

And it's just a bad f****** statement for you guys to come out publicly and say yes we're all baby killers and give these f****** n****** the beats name it 3/4 3ft 4inches IS A BRIGHT RED SIGN THAT SAYS BABY KILLERS that's right because 3 ft you don't call a 5-ft man a baby SO IT'S A NIGHTMARE AND A DISGRACE WE ARE VERY ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR PRIVATE BEACHES. YOU GUYS SHOULDN'T HAVE OPENED UP THAT MOM AND POP STORE ACROSS THE STREET FROM MCDONALD'S AND OFFERED BURGERS BUILDING YOUR OWN MIA PRIVATE BEACH FOR ME TO COME IN AND GIVE YOU GUYS WHAT WE RULED AROUND THE WORLD LET ME GO FURTHER AROUND THE WORLD THEY WEREN'T THREE FOOT FOUR INCH SIGHTS THAT TARGETED LITTLE WHITE SKIN BOYS TO TAKE THEIR SISTERS

Social disgusting and an action that we can't look past you allowing these f****** n****** walking around promoting a 3/4 Beach AND YOU GUYS SHOULD BE ASHAMED AND EMBARRASSED AND I WANT IT WHEN I GET BACK TO CONGRESS I'M GOING TO REPORT ALL THE FAILED OPEN FRANCHISES OF MY PRIVATE BEACH THAT WERE STOLEN AND IT HAS HAPPENED YOUR WHOLE AGENDA IS ATTACKING MY SUCCESS AND MY ABILITY AND LET ME REMIND YOU OF WHO I AM IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN FOR ME WITH YOU PEOPLE HERE TODAY BECAUSE MY TIME IS OVER but that's why they made me Infinity because I'm sure my brother is downtown right now working on he's probably on the other side of the world hasn't been kidnapped yet ON SUBPOENAS TO MAKE YOUR FAMILIES PAY DEAR PRICE SO WHEN WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT WALKING THROUGH THE DARK AND SEE A BRIGHT LIGHT YOUR FAMILY IS GOING TO WANT RETRIBUTION FOR THEIR LOVED ONES AND THEIR CITIES THAT HAD TO PAY A ULTIMATE PRICE FOR YOUR ACTIONS HERE AND THINKING IT'S OKAY TO GO PUBLIC WITH BLACK SKIN MEN PROMOTING A 3/4 BEACH AND BABY KILLING

And no point in time line is it okay for you guys to go public with baby killing the problem is you guys have gotten so comfortable you think it's okay and a good thing to promote these things out loud in public

F*** you

[madisoeffrey]

We are Locksmith and will al lot of Links10

The retail sector is struggling to regain its connection to the consumer. If "relationship" is foundational to its success, as in the past, what must this sector do to prepare itself for the return of buyers to the market?

Two questions have forged retail trade. What do you do, and who is your clientele? Simple enough, but let's examine what's at issue in each question, and add two more questions that round out the strategic profile of successful retail businesses.

The first question-what do you do-is rooted in four essential market questions:

Who are you? This is the culture of your organization-easy to do business with, convenient to buyers, of good reputation, customer responsive, fairly priced products, available attitude, etc. What do you sell? McDonalds sells excitement and value; it's what the customer buys. Get the picture? We are Locksmith and will al lot of Links :-))  Just ask a kid, and his parent. What does the customer want, need, or in the habit of buying? If you're going to McDonalds for a good hamburger you've missed the point. What do you deliver? Yup, its hamburgers, fries, shakes, etc. And also excitement and value. In addressing the second question, most retailers will tell you who their clientele is, but few have scientifically prepared the answer; fewer still are having regular conversations with their so-called customer. Most just wait for the customer to find them; some advertise. Accepting behavioral trends requires that we embrace localized consumer marketing today, including mobile and social platforms, which the savvy retailer must learn how to use.

The third question is: "What's unique about you or your product"? A marketplace is a competitive environment. A business must have either absolute (unique product, service or location) or comparative (better than the other guy) advantages to distinguish itself in the competitive landscape. Why would someone buy a Buick from you and not another Buick dealer? This is the key question, and it must be answered accurately by the customer or you are not selling what the customer wants, needs, or is in the habit of buying, Be different... in a good way, and business will come to you.

The final question is: "How will I get it"? The product, that is. Make it easy to find your location (go to Google and get a free "map" listing), and to get your product. Explain it clearly, ship it, deliver it, and accept terms, etc. Do whatever it takes to make it easy for the customer to get your product. I was at a local store just today. When I asked a clerk where to find something she told me to ask someone else. I left the store and picked up the item elsewhere.

What Retailers Need to Succeed

Increasingly, retail businesses must have a digital strategy. Why, because this generation, and certainly all that follow are products of the "Digital Age"? Simply, we are users of digital tools-computers, search engines, mobile devices, and a mindset that expects quick and easy access to accurate information. And these tools encourage and excite the interactive nature of the human condition. This last fact alone cements the need of a digital strategy for retailers of all kinds. This is a start, but it must accompany a solid mix of marketing and promotional efforts including advertising and social networking.

The auto dealer is a good example. America's fascination with cars is well known; though for the last few years new car sales, indeed sales of all products, have suffered through a debilitating economic crush that may have lasting effects. The American consumer and the mighty dollar are mere tissue images of the past. America stills loves its cars, and with whatever currency we have-even the barter of imports for dollars that buy American companies and real estate, and thus create jobs-will find its way to the car dealer at some point.

Technology has changed the way people "find" the car they are looking for. They search the world wide web for it when its specific make and model are in mind; especially used cars, which account for two-thirds of all auto sales. But the Internet only delivers one-third of the cars sold, which means that print, TV, radio, billboard, and local marketing efforts make up the remainder of the ways people "find" a car. But as some Ads make clear: "All Hondas are the same, but all Honda dealerships are not!" Relationships remain the opportunity in car sales and repeat business. Of course!

You may have a good product-very important-but without a relationship with the customer you cannot build a clientele, that which is key to retail success. Though a simple truth, too few retailers have regular, productive conversation with their customers. In an increasingly "interactive" market this is suicidal.

Back to the auto dealer, who now uploads his inventory online daily, distributes it with aggregators of similar inventory, employs a separate department to manage its online business, advertises in local and regional print and broadcast media, networks with local and national communities, and joins local community initiatives to increase his appeal to buyers. He may even employ SEM (Search Engine Marketing) to drive customers to his website or to specific cars.

[psychicadviceus]

Best Ways to Save Money

New Post has been published on http://aopsy.com/index.php/2017/04/22/best-ways-to-save-money/

Best Ways to Save Money

Saving Money

Saving money is an important part of the American financial system. Most Americans today have little extra money for extracurricular activities. Some have barely enough money to pay for food, utilities and car payments. In order to survive, you are going to have to learn how to save money. For starters, make a list of everything that you spend money on. Even if it is a pack of chewing gum. Learning how to save money has a lot to do with education. You must become aware of what you are spending money on and find corners to cut back. Saving money is actually a day to day procedure. Before you open your wallet to spend money on anything, you must ask yourself if you really need it. Do you really need that cup of coffee at Starbucks? Do you really need to buy a hamburger for lunch at McDonalds? Can it be cheaper if you brought lunch from home? Do you shop at Walmart or the mall? Are you using coupons?

Coupons are huge money savers at the end of the month. Many times I am in a grocery store and I hear the cashier say to a customer, “Do you know that this item is buy one get one free?” The customer often says, “I did not know that. Forget it for now. I am already checking out.” The customer really does want the free item, but don’t want to get off line to get the item. Instead of saying that, just tell the cashier to get someone to get it for them or get it after you are checked out. Leave your groceries at the counter and come right back. Even if you can’t use two of the same item, sell the other item on EBay or some other place.

Finding good coupons today are a lot harder than they used to be. I used to see so many in the Sunday newspaper. Now it is not as easy. People have caught on to how coupons save money and often sell them on the internet or in person. If you want coupons that you can actually use, call the company in which you want to do business with. Every dime that you spend on a company’s product is money spent out of your pocket. If you love Fruit Loops cereal, call the company that makes Fruit Loops and ask them for a coupon. Sometimes you can save fifty cents or more on a product. You can literally save over a hundred dollars a month by using coupons.

Fill Your Car up with Gas on an Indian Reservation

Most people live close to an Indian Reservation and don’t even know that they can save big on gas by filling up their tank once a week. Most Indian Reservation gas stations are cheaper than buying gas anywhere else. You don’t have to be an American Indian to buy gas from a reservation. If you don’t live anywhere nears an Indian Reservation, try to get a gas coupon from Winn Dixie. This month alone I have received two coupons from Winn Dixie for 25 cents off gas if I spend only $30.00 in their store on groceries. That is a deal that is too hard to pass up. The other day I had three coupons on my Winn Dixie card and I saved seventy five cents a gallon on gas. I was so happy.

Buy Your Cigarettes in a Cheaper State

If you smoke cigarettes, you probably know that they can get pretty expensive to buy if you live in one of the high price states such as New York City or California. Many people that live in Florida, Georgia and other states will pay less for cigarettes. It would be worth the drive to load up with a few cartons of cigarettes once a month to last you through until the next month. Yes it will take some time, but in the long run, you will save a lot more money than if you buy your cigarettes from the local candy store down the street. Use your calculator on how much gas you will have to spend money on once a month to take the trip. Is it worth the drive? For some it may be and for others, it may not be worth it.

Look for Buy One Get One Free Deals

Not every grocery store or store period is looking out for their customers to save money. Some grocery stores like Winn Dixie save their customers lots of money by giving them a buy one get one free discount. I once got two packages of chicken legs for only seven dollars.

Join a Wholesale Club

Wholesale clubs like Cosco and BJ’s save their customers hundreds and thousands of dollars every single year. The membership is affordable and usually only 40 dollars a year. You can buy almost everything that you need at these clubs in bulk. If you find yourself spending a lot of money on bulk items, see if you can team up with a neighbor or family member. You can split the cost and save money at the same time. Many people are wanting to save money now a days. You may not need four pounds of butter in one trip. However, your neighbor and you can split it and spend half the price.

Send Your Kids to Public School

Many parents today are spending way too much money on their child’s education. Just because your child is attending a private school does not guarantee them a job after they graduate high school. It certainly cannot give them a college discount. It also does not guarantee that they will do better in the real world once they graduate from college. After all, actress Cameron Diaz and Elton John were both school dropouts. Just because your child is the smartest in the class and has good grades will not guarantee them a more advanced job in the future. In fact, most people that make money in society are business owners and people that work for themselves. Most jobs today pay employees under $70,000 a year or less regardless of where they graduated from. Today, businesses don’t seem to be concerned if your child graduated from Harvard or a local college down the street from your house.

Many parents today are obsessed with sending their kids to advanced day school and computer camps in the summer. The list goes on and on.

Shop at Goodwill

Goodwill is a second hand store where you can buy almost anything that you need to include: clothes, furniture, computers and shoes. You can often find shirts for just $1.00 and shoes for under $5.00. It is used stuff, but you can often find items with their original sales ticket still on it. You would be surprised at how much second hand items are collected each year. Don’t feel any shame in shopping to save money. In fact, many people that shop at Goodwill find themselves saving hundreds of dollars each year. You can literally save a fortune from shopping at second hand clothing stores.

Buy Your Car at an Auction

Car auctions can save you thousands on your car purchase. You can often find the car of your dreams by bidding on one at an auction. First shop around to see how much the care that you really want is going to cost. Then ask yourself if you would be happy with a similar car that you can purchase from an auction. Many car auctions start their bids at just $500.00. Imagine driving away with a car that works great for a fraction of the cost.

Eat and Cook at Home

Are you really saving time and money by going to a fast food restaurant for your dinner? Drive through lines are becoming a lot longer than they used to be. Often, fast food companies are making you wait for your food a lot longer than 5 minutes. Are you really saving time? If you calculate how long it takes you to drive to the fast food establishment, wait on line and then drive home, it is about the same time as it would take you to the grocery store to buy food. Then you have to walk in your house, set up plates and silverware because most fast food places don’t give these items to you automatically anymore. Let me guess, you forget to ask the cashier for napkins, plates and a fork. Don’t feel bad, everyone forgets and fast food establishments know this. It is just a way for them to cut back on expenses at your expense. Now you are aggravated and have to get your own stuff all set up. Then you taste the food and it is often not what you thought it would be. Is it really worth it to go through a fast food line anymore? In my opinion no. I rarely have takeout food. However, the other day I was in a Polo Tropical drive thru. I waited over 20 minutes to get my food. It also took me twenty minutes of driving to get there and back. Overall, it took me nearly 40 minutes to get food. I could have made my own dinner in that time instead. What a shame.

You can save lots of time and money by cooking from home. Long gone are the days of fast food being fast food. Now you have to deal with long lines and companies cutting back on employees. Most fast food companies do not care about the customer anymore. They are simply in it for the profits. I avoid fast food chains as much as possible. Twenty first century fast food is not the same as 20th century fast food. Use your Local Health Department to Get Medical and Dental Assistance Most states have a medical clinic in which they can go for a tooth extraction or medical issue. You should not have to pay thousands of dollars to see someone if you are in pain and having an emergency. These places are set up for poor people to have somewhere to go in case they have an emergency. A regular extraction at a dental office can run you over $300.00. However at the health clinic it is often only $100.00 or free. See what options are out there for you before you start spending money on something. It is important for you to save money.

Get Food Stamps

If you are broke enough by the government’s standards, you may be able to qualify for food stamps. Many people don’t get food stamps because they are ashamed to receive them. However, your broke situation may not be your fault entirely. We are living in the worst economy since the great depression and leading experts like Ron Paul say that it is only going to get worse. Others also say that the economy is headed for a disaster. Many states now give discounted housing and food stamps to low income residents. See what you can qualify for.

Get a Government Cell Phone

Many states are now giving their low income residents free cell phones in order to make calls. You can send and receive calls. Some give you only 250 minutes or less per month. Hey, it’s free! See if you can qualify for one of these phones. You may be shocked to find out that you are broke enough to receive one of these phones.

Become a Foster Care Parent

Many broke adults today are finding themselves with a low income job that is barely paying their bills. If you have enough love in your heart to take care of a child, you can receive state money for your kindness. This has been going on for decades in the United States. However, in a bad economy, you may be able to take care of a child that is in distress and needs your help. If you are not cut out for parenting, then this may not be for you. However, if you already have a child and don’t mind taking care of another one, you can apply to become a foster care parent. Perhaps you would be better at taking care of an adult handicapped person that is a ward of the state as well. It is worth looking into if you have the heart to take care of another person besides yourself. Many foster care parents say that it is a rewarding experience to be a part of a child’s life.

Shop at a Farmers Market

Farmers markets can save you lots of money on vegetables. You can get fresh produce at your local farmers market. You may even be able to buy groceries directly from a farmer for cheap. There is nothing stopping you from doing this. Basically call a farmer up and see if they will do business with you. Many farmers are opening their farms now because people are desperate to save money.

Cut Costs on Cable Television

Many customers don’t know that if you have been a customer of your cable company for a long time, you are able to get promotional offers. Let us say you have a mid-cable package and it is costly. You may be able to get an upgrade in your service for cheaper than what you are paying now. Yes, many cable companies upgrade you for free and ask you to try the new package for six months. After the six months, you can stay with the plan or go back to your old plan. Either way, you may be paying $100.00 a month for your cable, but with the new offer, you may get it at 50% off. Isn’t that a wise tip of the day?

Buy Used Appliances on Craigslist.org

I find many great deals on Craigslist.org. Many of these offers are real cheap. I once saw a washing machine for only $100.00. It was in excellent condition. You can find many great appliances on this website if you are looking for one. You will eventually see that you can get almost anything that you need on this website.

Money Saving Mom

Many moms are trying to save money as best as they can. Many single woman today are also single mom’s that are caring for multiple children. Saving money is crucial for your survival. Another great tip for moms is to read books on saving money. In order to save money on books, go to a Barnes and Noble store and stay in the book store to read books. The bookstore allows their customers to read books even in their coffee shop. Many moms spend hours in Barnes n Noble reading books for free. They never buy anything and just read books every time they walk into the store. You are not alone in your money saving venture.

#post- .CPlase_panel display:none;

[podcastcoach]

Podcasting Best Practices

I've been asked this questions in a few interviews. As there are no rules and you can do anything you want in a podcast, are there are any Podcasting Best Practices? Well as we all see podcasting through many different lenses I thought I would share my opinion on the best practices.

Have a Topic You Are Passionate About, as in REALLY Passionate about. 

Next week you will hear Jamie from Horses in the morning talk about her L O V E of horses. In the past I have said you need the passion that a sixteen year old boy has for getting his driver's license.

WHY: Because when you first start out, it will be awkward, and you will still be getting comfortable behind the mic. You will have next to no audience and it is soul crushing to put that much work into something and have next to nobody listen to it. When you have that passion, you will talk about it even if nobody is listening. 

Know Your Target Audience

I know, "But Dave you just said I don't have an audience." I know, but who is the person that should love this content. Also, I don't mean "34-48 year old Women. That is identify who they are. I mean KNOW THEM. Go hang out with them, and find out what makes them tick. 

WHY: One of the biggest fears is sounding stupid. How do you avoid this? By knowing what your audience needs (we cover this in the planning your content course, as well as "Content is King" course). 

Know WHY You're Podcasting

Every podcaster says "It takes more time than I thought" when you start a podcast (for the record it takes more time than you thought for many things if you think about it). Starting a podcast is easy. Start is GOOD podcast can tricky. You've identified who your audience is, and what your topic is, but the why can help shape the content. If you're trying to keep your brand in front of your potential customer you might do three five minute podcasts a week. If you want to be seen as an expert, maybe you do a weekly 20-minute show where you answer a question. If you're trying to grow your network, maybe you do interviews with other people in your field. 

WHY: When you start to achieve your goal, it puts gas in your tank. If you are NOT achieving your goal you know you need to adjust the content or turn up the marketing. 

Get The Best Equipment You Can Afford

I typically say you can sound pretty good for the price of an Xbox (about $300). By the time you get a microphone and some sort of interface, etc. You're looking between $70-$300 depending on how many co-hosts you have, etc. 

WHY: Look at the top 200 shows in Apple and see how many were recorded using their phone (although you can make "OK" recording with your phone when used correctly). 

Have A General Idea Of How a Podcast Works

I've been driving since I was 16. While I don't know enough about my car to work on it. I do know enough to do some basic troubleshooting. 

WHY: By understanding the mechanics of a podcast you can avoid a lot of unnecessary panic when your episode doesn't appear in an app a few minutes after you press publish. 

It's YOUR Show

Aisha Tyler said at Podcast Movement one of the biggest reason she loved her podcast was because it was HERS. Don't interview people if you're not sure they are a good fit. If you don't want to talk about a topic, don't. If you do want to talk about a topic - do. It's your show. 

Make Yourself Available Everywhere

I talked about this in the episode about growing your downloads,

WHY: A boss walks into the board room and says, "I just heard this (insert name) podcast on the way in it was great. Everyone pulls out their phone but some people subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, etc. 

Don't Pick a Release Date Until Your In All the Apps

I had this happen to me. My new show Grow Your Community was in Apple, but NOT in Overcast (even though Overcast pulls from Apple). In the same way that bands in the 80's wouldn't pick a date for their CD release party until they had the CD in their hand, don't pick your "Launch" date until your show is available to SUBSCRIBE. 

Be Appropriate

but also you might consider if you're going to swear or not in your show. When you do you get pulled from India and other countries. I actually listened to the "Losing 100 Pounds" podcast and the host dropped an F-bomb in the first 15 seconds. This was followed by a flurry of other no safe for kids type of language. About 20 minutes she finally mentioned that she curses like a sailor and if you don't like that you should tune out. I'm no prude, but she sounded like a 13-year-old out behind the barn seeing how many swear words she could work into a sentence. 

Again, it's HER show she can do whatever she wants. There were MANY 1 star reviews that just said the swearing was over the top. 

Edit Your Podcast

There are editors for newspapers, magazines, books, TV, movies, but you are the person on the planet that everything that comes out of your mouth is perfect. Really? Radio people can not believe people who choose to "keep it real" and just publish as-is. You have the opportunity to make yourself (your guest) sound better. If nothing else, edit one or two episodes, and if you hate it, pay someone to edit it for you. By editing a few episodes you will be willing to pay someone as it is time-consuming and you will appreciate the job they do.

Get Honest Feedback

I get it. It's your art. You worked hard on it. You might be afraid to get some feedback. Some really are looking for agreement on everything they've done when they ask for feedback. They don't want to change (cause as we mentioned, when you first start it takes time). However, feedback can steer your podcast in the right direction so you can help achieve your goal. Last week I talked about how I got feedback on my music and most people didn't like it. It didn't crush me. I listened to their reasons, saw their point, and changed my music. 

I listened to a podcast today where a school had launched a podcast, got some feedback, and then changed the name, changed the intro, changed the artwork and got amazing results. 

Be Consistent

Pick a schedule and stick with it. Also, be consistent in quality. If you go to a McDonald's in one town and have a hamburger, fly across the country and have another one they taste the same. Sure it's unhealthy, but the taste is consistent. 

Don't Use Unlicensed Music

No, you can't play Taylor Swift. Nope. But what about?? No. No. No. No. What about 10 seconds? No. they are cracking down on this HARD right now. 

You Only Need ONE Episode To Launch

Your first recording will not be as good as your second. Consequently don't release everything you record. Some people think you record 10 episodes and release them at once so people can really connect with you.

WHY: Rob Walch VP at Libsyn.com (the oldest, largest media host) said at a conference in Australia (online) that people lack any feedback. If someone gets feedback on episode three but has seven more episodes recorded and set to publish, the listener has to wait for eight episodes to hear any changes based on their feedback. 

Focus On Your Audience  and Don't Compare Yourself To Others

We talked about knowing your audience, now that you know what they want your show is about THEM, and your WHY. Don't get distracted by what other people are doing, how much money they are making, focus on your audience. If you find yourself thinking about a similar show and it upsets you, drop it and focus on your audience.

Get Your Attitude in Check

Podcasting is a LONG game. It is a marathon not a sprint (years not months). Also remember, you don't have to make money with your podcast.

Be Open To New Experiences

We mentioned being open to feedback, but also open to partnering with other podcasts, trying new segments, trying new marketing strategies. If your show isn't giving you what you want, then try something new.

Have A Website and Control Your Show

You control our website. If the latest social network gets canceled, people will know to find you on our website. Never let a media host (Anchor) submit your show "for you" to directories so that you maintain control of your show. 

Google Wants Good Content

Google wants to deliver great search results to its customers so give it something people will find valuable. Have a good description with enough words (at least 300) to attack Google. While you want to pay attention to keywords, you also want to be appropriate. Use headings to breaking up long posts. 

It's All About Subscribers

We mentioned "being everywhere" but that doesn't help if you make it hard (find me in Apple) to subscribe to your show. Have buttons on your site to share your show and subscribe. 

Promote Your Show

Use social media and any other tools that will help you get your podcast in front of your target audience. 

WHY: There are over one million podcasts in Apple podcasts. If you think Apple will make you famous, then you should be famous from being in the phone book. 

Pay Attention to Your Media Host

In general, the media hosts I recommend have some sort of podcast to keep you informed of updates to their technology and news to what is going on in the podcasting space. 

If You're Looking to Monetize - Start an Email List

While social media may be all the buzz, when it comes to getting people to click on something, hands down Sendfox email is better. I use.  Also, if you're looking to monetize, selling your own product is the best way, but most podcasters who are looking to monetize have multiple streams of income. 

Final Thoughts

If you can't seem to pull the trigger, you are probably overthinking it. 

When in doubt, ask your audience. 

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Check it out at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/join

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[top1course]

3 Simple Steps To Systemize Your Business – Systemize Your Business Ep. 4

I’ll buy tickets sales world’s highest paid consultant, media celebrity multi-millionaire, acclaim tedx speaker International best-selling author, dan Lok, so they can live the life that you want, number one you want to describe your perfect business what do I do, describe your perfect business so let me give you a moment please, i want to describe your perfect business, and this baby for some people in this room the first time you think about this, what would it do I just write down what comes to your mind, what would it do how big would it be do you want to grow a massive company or do you want just you know I want a lifestyle business, or do you want something in between, do you want to get involved with a bunch of businesses or do you want just one big company how big would it be what type of product, Services of projects would it be known for okay right now please, what time, products and services and projects would it be known for, and how would it be unique and different from their competition, i would it be unique and different from the competition, and what kind of customer would you want what, what type of customers do you want what kind of customers bring you Joy bring us a, satisfaction that you want to work with me should have everybody, how much money would it make, how much money would it make how much money wanted to make rubbing you or you, you’ll profit your, take-home pay how much money you want to visit to make for you, and the key here is to be as honest as possible, it’s what you want not what, other people think you should warn not what your friends told you I should want what the what the media so you that you should want, And what do you want, just like I said you know what that’s what I want that’s what I want. I don’t care Gary V all that I’m not interested., how much money would it make and what would it do for you, what do you want to visit to do for you, we deliver Peace of Mind security freedom and fun, what did deliver Peace of Mind security freedom and fun, so what would it do how big would it be what type of sauce should probably go Services a project, what are you doing for how would it be unique and different from the competition what type of customers you want how much money would, we make what would it do for you and what it look up peace of mind security freedom and fun, Let me give you a couple minutes.

Your perfect business, and don’t let your little boys, stop you, i don’t know how you can do that is impossible or you can, can’t do it, not just, don’t listen to the words for second, to say what do you want, if anything is possible what do you want, 30 seconds, okay stop, let me ask you a question how many of you are very clear like Crystal Clear of, what you want your perfect business to look like, okay I’m just saying how many of you like have some ideas but you’re not hundred percent clear, improvement, she has to deal, if you would not clear about what the perfect business looks like what you’re creating, then how do you know when you succeeded, how do you know you’ve arrived, when you are hitting a moving Target, how would you know it’s like if I’m a sculptor I want to sculpt this piece sculpture, But I’ve no idea what that thing is going to look like when it’s done is it going to be a man is it going to be a woman is going to an animal I have no clue, hopefully something would turn out to be good, versus you know what a clear picture this is the picture that I want to create when it’s done this one is going to, look like let me follow that I want to do is hear they’re okay doing that, you got to think of your business as a product as a what, and he will talk about how you create a sellable business cuz I just sold one of my company’s last month’s right, a couple months ago and you don’t feel good chunk of money, because I created that as a way you know what that’s what I want to come look like and you know, When it’s done it’s done, example you know what I want to visit that makes me x amount of money I only wanted to have so many customers I only, i want it only work no more than so many hours a week and I want to have a very competent person to running it that means I need to, can you pay for this person’s you know compensation and salary while you’re creating something, does that make sense you creating something, i can tell you about it I don’t want a camera, and so, just think about that, your perfect business, that is the product when ray kroc’s goes to work the founder McDonald’s when he, buck McDonald from McDonald’s Brothers McDonald was not founded by Ray Kroc, what’s Panda by McDonald’s Brothers, The technicians, making the music flipping the burgers Rey crop with the vision goes in and say, this thing is cool, maybe we can open more shops, how about you let me do it the McDonald’s brought us at sure how about it, straight Talk data and, open up so many so many stores, so many stores, rEI Co-op Gateway Croc day one didn’t go into McDonald and flip burgers, ray Kroc never flip Burgers day one he went to not work in a McDonald’s he went on to work, all McDonald’s, not in, he knows I’m trying to create a franchise prototype I want to create a business that makes, a ton of money that can duplicate Worldwide Day One, how to make a better hamburger, how can we make better french fries, how can we make this that can run by people with very little education very simple training and we can, Started off like that what business is McDonald’s.

Very good real estate, and the franchise is a way for them to make money so they could acquire real estate and have all, all these tenants paying them money, that’s the vehicle one smart guy what can I say, 1 smart guy at the same time people started the same hamburger restaurants, same time as Ray Kroc, joes Burger Michels french fries, and then we mean one shot, for the whole life, because I never took the time to develop the business skills that it takes to make a business work, just keep doing the stuff, think about it, so let’s do it on purpose business the purpose of writers down the purpose of only my business is, please write that down, and then we take a break their business of only my business is just in the blank, The purpose of owning my business is, my business will allow me to for the black, my business will allow me to, so that I can enjoy what, and have the ability to do what, time to get, clear the purpose of all my business is what my business will allow me to do what so I can, can enjoy blank and have the ability to, black, definite purpose business, that’s not a moving Target, and don’t feel that the answer whatever comes to mind your first thought usually that’s the true, duffer’s fought the truth and I’ll tell you think about it you overthink it just, filter at them they not the clothes that may be further from the truth, what time did you want so I can enjoy what I have the ability to do what, if your crystal clear, then you maybe, thinking, maybe a business doesn’t need to be as big as you think it needs to be, To give you what you want, because there’s a big difference between if you want to make, melanie year-on-year versus making 10 million year the price that you have to pay, it’s a big difference, the price of the paint, to get there it’s like do you want to be a good enough swimmer to win local Championship or, i want to win just tournament in a provincial tournament or do you want to be Olympic athlete, the price you have to pay, difference, and most people I want to win the Olympics, yMCA I beat everybody else I’m happy, i don’t need to be like that I just let you know what I make enough that’s that’s cool and I can beat, 270 years old, my business is allowing me to so I can join, the business is just a vehicle I want to get you what you want, Is never meant to consume your life, the challenges most of us are consumed by the business, the consumer-to-business, when is actually just a vehicle to get you from point A to point B, that’s it, that’s why I’m not attached to anyone in my business, except maybe my coaching business, but any one of my companies with the right price I would sell, i’m not attached to it it just a vehicle, i love what I do but I could sell the business, where’s my baby I’m not going to sell this is then I’m going to hang onto in the hole, you always create yes you can send you something else it’s in our DNA, you can help but created, how many of you sometimes when you’re showering or doing some other things out there I’ll throw you thinking about business you can help, So it’s okay.

Trust me you saw the thing with a you find things to start and do, guarantee probably the next day something something else, nature, i’ll see you in 10 minutes what have you and how does it apply to you and how do you, direct action, call me and let me know if any other questions you can also comment below and don’t forget, quick, turn on notification and hit the Bell so every single time video, you will get notified, if you want to watch my other videos make sure you can check them out on the left, and check out all the all the videos that I have we have hundreds of videos on YouTube you want to spend, check it out,

from WordPress https://top1course.com/3-simple-steps-to-systemize-your-business-systemize-your-business-ep-4/

[ebrainy]

Restaurants are all in on plant-based burgers. Except McDonald’s.

By Laura Reiley

Burger King touched off the plant-based-meat revolution in the restaurant world when it launched its Impossible Whopper in August. It was followed by Dunkin’ with its Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich and White Castle with Impossible Sliders. Subway introduced meatless meatballs, Little Caesars started delivering Impossible Sausage pizzas, KFC added Beyond Fried Chicken, and Hooters announced Unreal Wings. Taco Bell, Qdoba, Panera — the list of fast-food and quick-serve restaurants rolling out plant-based options was encyclopedic.

With one notable holdout, right in the middle of the alphabet.

McDonald’s, the world’s biggest food-service retailer, sat mostly on the sidelines. In September, it debuted the limited-time-only P.L.T. — that’s plant, lettuce and tomato — at 28 restaurants in southwestern Ontario. Around the same time, it sent up a tiny trial balloon in Tampere, Finland, offering something it called the McVegan. On Tuesday, it expanded the experiment, offering the P.L.T., with its pea-based Beyond Meat patty, in a total of 52 restaurants across the Canadian province.

But still, food industry experts were scratching their heads: With more than 38,000 locations in over 100 countries, what explained McDonald’s relative conservatism in the face of the past decade’s biggest food trend?

Last week, Reuters reported that talks had broken down between Impossible Foods — Beyond Meat’s biggest competitor — and McDonald’s, with Impossible chief executive Pat Brown quoted as saying that “it would be stupid for us to be vying for them right now.”

Rachel Konrad, chief communications officer for Impossible Foods, said that the Reuters report misconstrued Brown’s comments.

“We never abandoned talks or pulled the plug,” Konrad said in a phone interview. “The reality is that Impossible Foods wants to eliminate animal agriculture. That requires us to provide plant-based meat everywhere that animal-derived meat is currently sold, including the world’s largest sellers of animal foods. We would never reject any prospective customer.”

Nonetheless, industry analysts nodded. This was confirmation of what they suspected: Supply-side problems were keeping McDonald’s from jumping into the fray. Even the two plant-based industry giants, Impossible and Beyond, do not yet have the capacity to supply all McDonald’s franchisees.

That’s part of the story.

When asked about the rollout for a plant-based burger in the United States, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said the company had no announcement of expansion plans at this time beyond the additional units in southern Ontario. And while McDonald’s declines to say how many P.L.T.s it has daily since the launch, industry experts estimate the sales were negligible compared with the roughly 6.48 million hamburgers the company sells every day.

Bob Goldin, co-founder of the food industry consultancy Pentallect, said the P.L.T. trial is in keeping with the longtime modus operandi at McDonald’s — a trial with a limited-time offer, a new menu item workshopped in a foreign market, a regional rollout to test the waters.

“Historically, and prudently, McDonald’s is cautious. They are not first to market,” Goldin said. “Some of that is philosophy, and some of that is the scale of the operation. To add a new flavor of beverage is a massive endeavor for the supply chain.”

Furthermore, Goldin said, the company has not had any demonstrable successes with new products in as long as he can remember, ticking off products that have been phased out or scaled back: all-day breakfast, yogurt parfaits, the McCafe program.

“When was the last time they innovated? They haven’t had a real breakthrough in a while,” Goldin said.

Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough said the hesitation by McDonald’s could be a product of other challenges. In 2017 and 2018, McDonald’s drive-through and counter service times got slower, a problem the company has worked to correct in the past two quarters.

“That’s another hindrance” to plant-based offerings, Yarbrough said. “Would it complicate menus and extend drive-through times? And what is the cost and what are people willing to pay for?”

And while McDonald’s has had success with products such as the fresh Quarter Pounder, consumers see the brand as more value-oriented (the P.L.T. is priced at $6.49 Canadian plus tax, about $5 U.S.). Many premium sandwich launches at McDonald’s have met with lukewarm enthusiasm because of their perceived high prices.

McDonald’s uses value as a strategic weapon, Goldin said, with its dollar menu essentially a loss leader that “puts a world of hurt on the competition. They can do it because of their size and scale, and competitors are challenged.”

Whether it is using Beyond, Impossible or another proprietary product, McDonald’s might be worried that a plant-based burger is going to be more expensive, a cost it may be leery of passing on entirely to its customers, Goldin said.

Yarbrough said McDonald’s may have also decided to capitalize on a bigger opportunity: chicken. It has been working on a better chicken sandwich because, surprise, “they sell more chicken than they do beef,” Yarbrough said.

Goldin agreed: “McDonald’s has a bigger opportunity. The franchisees are all screaming they don’t have a good chicken sandwich.”

He said that plant-based burgers might be like the McDonald’s salads, menu offerings designed as hedges that deny veto power to vegetarians and vegans.

“They said moms wouldn’t go to McDonald’s without salads,” Goldin remembered. “And no one ordered them.”

Still, Goldin said he has never seen anything “this hot, this fast,” referring to plant-based meats.

Impossible’s Konrad said this indicates a cultural shift. She said that when Impossible was gearing up, it did focus groups on purchasing motivation. No. 1 was taste, then there were factors such as nutrition, animal welfare and religious restrictions, and at the bottom of the list was concern for the environment.

It did the same survey in May 2019. While the No. 1 reason to purchase remained taste, concern for the environment had crept to No. 3.

“It shows a massive increase in awareness,” she said.

Others aren’t so sure. Yarbrough said that while McDonald’s might be late to the game, there might be no penalty for that tardiness. After all, he said, no one knows whether plant-based is here to stay.

“A few years ago bison burgers were going to overtake beef,” he said. “They were the next big thing. How did that work out?”

source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/15/everyones-offering-plant-based-burgers-except-mcdonalds/

© 2020 US Food Safety Corporation. No copyright claim is made for portions of this blog and linked items that are works of the United States Government, state governments or third parties.

from US Food Safety https://ift.tt/35YHcXQ Restaurants are all in on plant-based burgers. Except McDonald’s. US Food Safety via 1best recipe https://ift.tt/2QVaDpn

[iluvgrazing-blog]

Top Tips for Boosting Subscribers, Sales and Revenue with My Personal Persuasion and Copywriting Secrets

Learning the art of copywriting and persuasion is one of the best things you can do to boost your sales, subscribers, and revenue. That’s why I’ve created a list of 30 red-hot copywriting tips for you across main topics such as:

Using effective Call to Actiontips;

Showcasing benefits;

Offering proof.

If you want your website to convert browsing visitors into paying customers then it is essential that you have better copywriting and marketing skills and strategies. This post will reveal some of our top tips that will result in your visitors taking action and buying from your website or blog rather than your competitors.

SHOWCASE BENEFITS:

People want to know what’s in it for them, and showcasing the product’s benefits answers that question for your prospects. Here are tips for sharing benefits…

1. Weave together features and benefits. While you need to focus on benefits, many times you’ll need to share the feature that creates this benefit.

Here’s an example of how to weave together a feature (12 gigs of ram) with a benefit: “This laptop includes 12 gigs of RAM, which means you have the power to multi-task and run all your favorite programs at the same time.”

2. Know which benefits are most important to your prospects. As you already know, you need to put the biggest benefits in your headline. But don’t guess which benefit is the most important to your prospects. Instead, do your market research. You can:

Survey your market;

Read product reviews from similar products;

Eavesdrop on product discussion forums to learn more about what our prospects want.

Next up…

3. Put benefits in a bulleted list. Because the benefits are the most important thing you’re trying to showcase, you should put each benefit in a bulleted list. This lets even the skimmers easily find and read the product benefits.  Here’s an example benefit:

“You’ll discover how to shave three strokes off your golf game just by changing your grip – this little-known strategy will surprise you!”

4. Arouse curiosity when sharing benefits. Sharing the benefit is the most important part, but if you can arouse curiosity then you’ll make the benefit statement even more powerful. A good way to do this is by telling readers the benefit while arousing their curiosity about how they’ll receive the benefit. MY TIP: Using words like “secret,” “reveal” and “discover” trigger curiosity too. For example: “Discover the Hollywood secret of losing weight fast – without hunger pangs, exercise or diet pills!” 

5. Showcase your USP in your sales copy. You need to be sure your USP (unique sales proposition) is front and centre in your copy. If you can work it into your headline, next to your call to action, within your product graphic, and/or in your P.S. where they’re likely to be seen, that’s perfect. For example, if your USP is based around a strong guarantee, your headline might read something like this: “Lose 10 Pounds in Two Weeks Guaranteed or Double Your Money Back!”

6. Think of pains and pleasures. As you’re writing your sales copy, focus on statements that show people how they can reduce pain or increase their pleasure. For example:

Reduce pain: “No more gasping for breath when you climb the stairs!”

And increase pleasure: “You’ll discover the secrets of getting ripped abs – jaws will drop the next time you take your shirt off at the beach!”

7. Put your best benefits first and last. There’s a psychological phenomenon known as the primacy and recency effect (AKA serial position effect). This means that items that are first and last in the list tend to be better remembered and/or have a bigger impact. That’s why it’s a good idea to put your biggest benefits at the beginning and end of your bulleted list. 

8. Play the “SO WHAT?” game. The key to creating good copy is to take your benefits and drill down to their core. Every time you list a benefit, ask yourself, “So what?” The answer will help you get to the base benefit or result. Let’s use a toothpaste example:

“This toothpaste contains baking soda”  SO WHAT? “Baking soda whitens teeth”  SO WHAT? “Whiter teeth create a more attractive smile”  SO WHAT? “People won’t be embarrassed to smile!”...

See how that works? While your headline and other important parts of your sales letter are going to focus on the biggest benefits, your bulleted list of benefits should include all the benefits of your offer. Sometimes prospects read that one benefit that push them off the fence and towards your order button, so be sure to cover your bases by sharing all benefits, even if they seem small to you.

10. Be succinct. When you share benefits, keep your benefit statements short and sweet. You don’t want people to have to stumble through a long paragraph just to find out what’s in it for them. Here’s an example of a succinct benefit: “You’ll find out how to set up a secure blog fast – no tech experience required!”

Next up…

OFFER PROOF:

Your prospects have been burned before, so they’re sceptical of your sales claims. That’s why you need to offer proof. Here’s how… 

11. Get testimonials. Sometimes customers will send unsolicited testimonials, which is great. However, you’ll get even more testimonials if you specifically ask for them. For example, send out an email to your customers with a request for feedback. 

E.G., “What do you think of this product? Did you like it? How can we improve it? Click here to leave your feedback – we’d love to hear from you!”

12. Showcase your strongest testimonials. If you specifically ask for feedback and testimonials, you may get a truckload of them. However, although every testimonial that lands in your inbox is welcome and important, make sure that you give prominence to strong testimonials, such as those that back up your claims and show results.

Here’s an example of a weak testimonial: “This is a great book!”

And a stronger testimonial: “This book is awesome – I lost 10 pounds in three weeks using the delicious recipes!”

This is the one that you would showcase.

13. Create case studies. Another good way to offer proof is to publish case studies. You may distribute your product and ask others to track their results for a specific period of time, and then ask them if they’d be willing to share these results with others.

14. Offer “before” and “after” photos. A good way to prove your results is by showing photos from satisfied customers, especially “before” and “after” photos where applicable. For example: 

Show before and after weight loss photos to sell a diet program;

Show the before and after photos of a classic car restoration to sell access to a car restoration site.

Here’s something else you can do…

15. Show the proof in a video. A good, high-quality video can be a great way to prove your claims. For example, if you’re selling a dog trick-training book, then show a video of a dog performing the tricks from the book.

16. Share your number of satisfied customers. Steal a page from the McDonald’s marketing playbook, which advertises how many billions of hamburgers they’ve sold. This is social proof, as there is the implication that the product must be good if there are so many satisfied customers. Example:

 “Join 4598 other satisfied customers in losing weight quickly and safely with this exciting diet program!”

17. Inject “YOU CAN TOO!” statements into your copy. “You too” is a social proof statement, as it tells the reader that others are doing it (and that the reader should too).  For example:

“Now you too can write a bestselling novel – click here to find out how!” 

18. Consider a live feed showing social proof.  Have you ever driven through a strange town and chosen the restaurant with all the cars parked in front of it? That’s social proof. You figure if every in town eats there, it must be good If you get plenty of daily sales, you can do the same thing. Just have your programmer install a live feed that announces new sales or sign ups. Naturally, you need to preserve customer anonymity.  For example:

“Mary from Wisconsin just joined!”

19. Get endorsements from authority figures. When an authority endorses a product, it carries a lot of weight and boosts conversions. For example, getting several dentists to endorse a guide to whiter teeth will boost sales. Other authority figures include medical doctors, veterinarians, award-winning authors, counsellors, pastors, attorneys and any other expert who is associated with your product. 

20. Insert proof right after making a claim. People are sceptical of your claims, so it’s a good idea to prove them immediately after you make a claim. For example, if you tell prospects that your product whitens teeth, then insert endorsements from dentists, photos or other proof directly after this claim. Next…

CREATE A CALL TO ACTION

A good way to boost conversions is to tell prospects exactly what you want them to do and how you want them to do it. Here are tips for creating these calls to action…

21. Be specific about what you want prospects to do next. Don’t just say, “Order now.” Instead, be specific and tell them how to take this step.

For example: “Order now by taking out your credit card and clicking here to get started…” 

22. Make it easy for prospects to complete the action. Don’t make your prospects jump through unnecessary hoops to order, such as making them “register for an account” before they even complete the order forum. The easier it is for them to order, the higher your conversion rate. 

23. Give prospects a good reason to take action now. In other words, create a sense of urgency that compels people to order right away. Sometimes evoking a little fear does the trick. For example:

 “Order your tickets now before the seats are sold out – you’ll kick yourself if you miss this!”

“Order now before the next price jump – you’ll be glad you did!”

24. Remind prospects that things won’t change until they take action. Missing out on a good deal would be a bad thing, as you saw in the previous examples. Here’s another example of a bad thing that might happen if someone didn’t take action:

“If you don’t order now, nothing will change. You’ll still be unhappy when you look in the mirror or when you try on the clothes that don’t fit any more.”

On the flip side, you can try this next strategy instead…

25. Let prospects know what good thing will happen if they do take action.  Give your prospects a little push towards the order button by getting them to think about the good things that will happen when they order now.  For example:

“Click the order button below now so that you too can look and feel ten years younger!”

26. Use a countdown timer.   You can create even more urgency next to your call to action if you provide a visual representation of the scarcity of the offer. For  example, put a countdown timer next to the order button that shows how many days or hours until the offer expires. 

27. Create one-time offers when upselling. You should put an upsell on your order form, as your prospects are already in a buying mood. To make this call to action even more compelling, turn this offer into a one-time offer. That means they can only take advantage of the offer right now on the order form. Once they click off the order form, the offer is gone forever. 

28. Insert multiple calls to action throughout a sales letter. Sometimes people make the buying decision early on, but they don’t take action on it. Strike while the iron is hot by inserting at least two calls to action in your sales letter. Just be sure to wait to ask for the order until AFTER the point where you’ve built up value (typically after the bulleted benefits list).

29. Put calls to action on buy buttons. Instead of just having an order link, create an eye-catching button and put your call to action on the button. E.G., “Click here to order now!”

30. Experiment with wording. The bulk of your sales letter should be written using the word “you” when you’re talking about your prospect. For example, “you’ll discover how to train your dog.”  However, when you get to the call to action you’ll want to test out using the word “me” or “I.” for example, “Yes, send me a free  video!” Some marketers report higher conversions with this type of wording, but you’ll need to test to see if it works for you.

So there you have it: proven and tested copywriting tips guaranteed to boost your sales, get more subscribers and any other action you want your prospects to take. These are powerful tips that work.

[stevewelch-blog]

I AM SORRY WE HAVE LIED TO YOU

(Originally published in the Philadelphia Inquirer August 16, 2016)

I have known for some time that free trade, while great for the world long term, it would harm you dearly in the short term. I knew it would depress your earnings. My Democratic counterparts fought it. Not that they disagreed with me, but their campaigns were funded by labor.

I have lied to you for 30 years about immigration, but gosh darn it, you stopped having enough children, and if the population is not growing all hell breaks loose. The debt can’t be paid; entitlements can’t be funded. You yell at me now, but you wait and see -- I was right; we need the population to grow. Of course I knew it would reduce your income -- it’s simple supply and demand -- but really what was I supposed to do? After all, if McDonalds sells fewer hamburgers this year then last because the population is declining, then we go into recession, the stock market tanks and everyone is unhappy and the incumbents might not get reelected.

The Democratic establishment and I both knew in our core that innovation and technology were the only paths to long-term security. After all, at some point there will obviously be a geological or astronomical event that will make our current home unlivable. We have known for some time that massive innovation would be the only way to secure a new home centuries, or maybe even millenniums, down the road. I am sorry if you feel like I am rationalizing, but it is true. While I would do it again, I knew all along this would put massive downward pressure on your income and make you feel like less of a person when you were replaced by a robotic arm with a 12” touch screen.

I want you to know I stood up for you when it came to the environment. The Democratic king makers continuously pushed policies that would increase prices and depress your standard of living. I fought them, not because I didn’t agree with them, but I too had a campaign to fund. Truthfully, even though I have never been good at articulating it, I knew the democratic policies would depress the rate of economic growth, which would slow innovation, which was my real concern. So, while we shared similar concerns, we have given you different lies.

We have known all along that education was the only real answer, but it would take a generation or more to have a real impact. For me the election cycle was just too short. For the Democratic establishment they had to fund their campaign with massive amounts of money and support from the education unions that have been scared to death of real change that is required.

There were times when you were almost on to us. My Democratic friends and I tried to distract you with gay marriage and guns and we even surprised ourselves with how well it worked.

But the truth is, now I’m glad you know. I know you are mad. I get it. But Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are not the answers. Sure, they both speak to you in a way that says “I get you”. But one is an unstable narcissist and the other wants to follow policies that have doomed every society that has tried them.

I promise I am sorry. I mean really sorry. The kind of sorry that can only come from someone that has abused another and is now finally seeing them find the courage to walk out the door.

The democratic establishment says they are sorry -- I don’t think they really mean it -- after all they squeaked Hillary through the process, and I think they have already lost sight of how angry you really are.

I make this promise to you. I hear you and understand your anger, and while 2016 is gone and you are going to vote for Trump or hold your nose and vote for Hillary, starting November 9th our relationship will be different. I cannot control the far right and far left media that gets paid to make you mad, but I will no longer partake in this process. However, I also can no longer allow you the temper tantrums that result in nominating candidates that believe dinosaurs and people roamed the earth at the same time. This indulgence is not good for either of us. Tolerating this lack of reason has been part of how we got here. Nominating a conspiracy theorist and having members of Congress still focused on their belief that the President is not an American. But I also promise to listen, and more importantly, to be honest with you, even when the words I say are going to hurt.

Here is the truth: globalization and innovation are going to wreak havoc on you over the next several decades. They will create more problems and opportunities then any of us can imagine. My Democratic colleagues and I cannot stop them. Any attempt to do so will actually create more harm then good. They are the natural evolution of society.

However, there are many policies that we can work on that will allow us to better deal with these massive changes that has already begun and more importantly, address the education inequality that is truthfully at the core of the problem. But, the only way for this all to work is for us to have a relationship based on honesty and respect. So starting on November 9th no more lies.

Sincerely, The So Called “Republican Establishment”

[goldeagleprice]

The Rate of Discovery of National Bank Notes

By Peter Huntoon

Lee Lofthus’ important article “Are there more nationals to find?” in the December 2012 Bank Note Reporter ignited interest in what remains in the weeds. His calculations indicated that depending on how you cook the numbers, between 10 and 25 percent of the outstanding nationals based on Treasury estimates had been reported in the National Currency Foundation census by 2012. He was basing that estimate on the fact that 245,919 notes had been recorded in the census as of August 2012. The obvious implication is that there are hundreds of thousands more out in the weeds waiting to come in.

Figure 1. This exceptional Iowa discovery from a previously unreported Iowa bank came in a couple of years ago and has now lodged at the Higgins Museum. The bank was chartered June 28, 1877, and liquidated December 31, 1886, to be succeeded by Bank of Hamburg. Only Series of 1875 $5s were issued by the bank.

As of July 2018, the National Currency Foundation census stood at 410,000 notes, up 164,000 from August 2012. This is a significant increase of 40 percent. But the fact is that the caretakers of the NCF census have been overwhelmed and have been unable to cope with recording the huge volume of previously unreported material crowding into the market, particularly the major auctions. Furthermore, many of the networks of state providers of data on new finds have fallen apart, so the 164,000 new additions represent a serious undercount of the actual unreported notes that otherwise have appeared since 2012.

Even so, the incredible current sample of 410,000 reveals the landscape of what is known. The fact is that the vast majority of missed reports consist of common material that few people pay much attention to as it goes by. In contrast, the rare material tends to win appreciably more notice, so is preferentially logged in.

I’ve been recording Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and large-size territorial nationals since the late 1960s. I began archiving this data at the end of each year beginning in 1989, thus creating a snapshot of how those censuses have grown yearly since then.

I first published these findings in the January 2014 BNR in an article entitled, “Is eBay a source for virgin nationals?” My data revealed two things: First, as of 2013, the rate at which newly discovered notes were being recorded hadn’t varied between 1989 and 2013. Second, the advent of eBay had no effect on the rate at which newly-found nationals came onto our market.

Another four years have passed, and the newer data still reveal that the rate of discovery hasn’t changed at all. Both points are worth developing.

The rates that my censuses are growing average 1.2 Alaska, 12 Arizona, 23.5 New Mexico, 24.5 Wyoming and 14 large size territorials notes per year. The population of banks contributing these numbers are three for Alaska, 27 for Arizona, 63 for New Mexico, 61 for Wyoming, and 605 large size territorial issuers.

You will see that the data for the respective censuses plot as virtually straight lines over the 28 years of record on the graph that accompanies this article. If there had been a systematic change in rates – that is, something causing more or fewer notes to appear each year – the lines would bend respectively up or down.

Figure 2. Arkansas collectors were happy to see this discovery recently in a Stack’s Bowers sale from the previously unreported Hoatio bank, which lasted 15-1/2 years with a minimal circulation of $6,250.

In July of this year, I attended the Higgins Museum seminar in Okoboji, Iowa, where Steve Sweeney gave a presentation entitled, “The Iowa census, evolving and maturing.” He and James Ehrhardt have been doggedly maintaining the Iowa national bank note census for years and presented their findings in “Iowa National Bank Notes,” a 236-page book and subsequent 45-page supplement that were published by the Higgins Foundation in 2006 and 2016, respectively.

Theirs is one of the finest state censuses in existence because they have had fantastic cooperation from the Iowa collectors who not only share their own data but record notes that they see.

There were 496 issuing banks in Iowa. Steve pointed out that the Iowa census built by John Hickman stood at just under 6,000 notes in 1995. Sweeney was able to advise his network of contributors that the total had broken the 10,000 mark in July 2004. The cutoff date for their book was June 30, 2006, and by that date the total had grown to 11,058. The cutoff date for their supplement was March 21, 2016, with a total then of 13,503. As of July 30, 2018, the number was 14,014.

Their experience is identical to mine; specifically, their census has grown linearly at an average rate of 250 notes per year since they have been working on it.

Send Sweeney data from Iowa finds at xcp2@msn.com.

Another stellar state census is one maintained by William Herzog for Michigan, again aided by a cadre of dedicated Michigan collector/contributors. They are dealing with the issuances from 278 banks. Building on the original Hickman/Kelly census, which stood at 9,861 on January 23, 2007, Herzog has now recorded 13,263 notes. He has been adding an average of 322 notes per year from 2003 to 2017, but he cautions that the rate has declined during the past three years. Bill’s annual totals exhibit larger swings than mine. Some of the spikes represent recordings from long-held unvetted collections that came onto the market in those years.

Bill’s annual yield of new reports is significantly larger than that of Ehrhardt and Sweeney’s because the percentage of big-city banks in Michigan is far greater than in Iowa, even though there were 44% fewer banks there.

Figure 3. Great notes such as this number 1 Orlando brown back are still leaking out of the hands of bankers’ families. This was found recently between the pages of a Joy family genealogy and consigned to Bonhams by the great-grandson of the Orlando bank president. It was reported note 410,847 when entered into the National Currency Foundation census on July 23, 2018. The census has come a long way.

Send Herzog Michigan finds at wmherz@aol.com.

The lack of an eBay effect was a surprise. It seemed intuitive that opening up that avenue to the unwashed would cause a flood of new material to come onto our market. It just didn’t happen.

eBay was founded on Labor Day in 1995. If eBay was bringing more new material to our market, the lines on my graph should have started to bend upward after 1995 and continued onward with a steeper trajectory. They don’t.

No one will deny that eBay plays an important role in our marketplace. My data simply reveal that it hasn’t created a significant influx of virgin material from the weeds.

What I can say is that the existing numismatic market draws virgin nationals to it simply by virtue of being the market for such material. Once released from the weeds – however that occurs – the material heads our way regardless of the path it takes, and we get to see it. That is the classic operation of any market, and our market is alive, well, and well known.

eBay has caused a tectonic reorganization of the numismatic market in that all sorts of sellers flock to eBay to market their wares because they are assured of reaching a wide audience and most likely will realize a fair price. Furthermore, owing to the excellent exposure that eBay provides, uninformed sellers do not find themselves at a disadvantage for lack of knowledge about what they are offering, because their material will find its level in that competitive space.

eBay saves casual sellers the hassle of having to research what they are selling beyond finding the right niche in which to list it. Thus, eBay gives people the opportunity to cut out the middlemen in the form of the hometown coin dealers and vest pocket dealers. The result is that such middlemen have become an endangered species.

Figure 4. Notes from unreported 1929-only issuing banks occasionally come in. This Big Spring, Texas, example offered in a March 2018 Knight sale is long overdue from a bank that issued 10,619 of them.

The reality is that eBay has caused a reorganization of how material is marketed, but it hasn’t altered the net supply or caused virgin material to come onto market at a faster rate. The fact is, the material that used to reside in coin shops or appear on bourse floors is the same material that is now available on eBay.

A similar reorganization of our market occurred with the entry of auction firms offering currency beginning in the mid-1970s. In contrast, the numismatic marketplace I knew in the 1960s consisted of a plethora of independent sellers of every imaginable stripe. That model has been almost totally supplanted by auction firms such as Heritage, Knight, Stack’s-Bowers, eBay, and smaller firms. The vest pocket dealers of yore have morphed into runners for the major auction houses.

The corporate types figured it out and have insinuated themselves into our game so they can skim a percentage of the flow. This transformation has been as radical as the demise of mom and pop cafes and emergence of the McDonald’s. Like it or not, the corporate types created a more efficient marketplace. Theirs is the utilities model. The idea is to put a meter on the flow and get rich by taking a percentage of it, regardless of whether the source provider or end user profits or loses.

If you track your favorite notes, you will see a fluid flow of them as they slosh back and forth between collectors, brick and mortar dealers, vest pocket dealers, and the auction firms. Many notes are now getting rotated through eBay and the auction firms or vice versa as the same seller tests the effectiveness of either option to maximize his yield.

My finger on the pulse of things leads me to conclude that the velocity of the transactions – how frequently the same item sells – seems to be increasing. The lifetime of benchmark collections seems to be shortening, so the turnover of significant collections is more frequent.

The bottom line, though, is that people who have numismatic material for sale bring it to our market because ours is the market. They simply use whatever form of the marketplace appeals to them at the moment, but it is the same material no matter where it shows up. This holds for previously reported material as well as new discoveries from the weeds.

The mix of new material that I record is about the same as in the past. Roughly the same percentage consists of stellar material: previously unreported banks, number 1 notes, notes with incredible grade, etc.

The bulk of the new material is, of course, material that already is considered very common in our marketplace.

One fact that you can bank on is that there is no shortage of incredible finds yet lurking in the weeds. We haven’t seen the spigot turn down. The real risk is that today’s rarities will become tomorrow’s scarcities. Today’s scarcities may well turn into tomorrow’s fairly available notes.

At issue is the following conundrum. Are the notes scarcer than the collectors, or are the collectors scarcer than the notes? National bank notes are notoriously fickle to handle and own. The primary goal of our community should be to grow itself so that collectively we can keep soaking up the new material that is coming our way, because it is coming!

Cautions are in order about the data I am presenting here. My plots are linear. The implication is that the rate of discovery of new material has been constant over the last 28 years.

There are other serious mathematically gifted thinkers in our game who have worked this issue, most notably Don Kelly and Bob Liddell. Both have developed good mathematical models to predict the future behavior of our censuses.

Both have devised what are called exponential decay algorithms that assume that the yield from some finite supply must decrease as the size of that finite supply diminishes. In nuclear physics, this type of decay model yields the half-life rule that describes the decay of radioactive elements into stable elements. I believe in this type of behavior as did John Hickman, who was the father of the nationwide national bank note census.

However, if this type of mathematics operated in my censuses, the lines on the graphs should begin to bend downward and eventually become flat. Surprising to me and to my other census-taking colleagues, they don’t. At least not yet.

The reality is that everyone – Hickman, Kelly, Liddell, and yours truly – seriously underestimated the number of nationals that would eventually come into our market. The discoveries left all of our predictions in the dust years to decades ago!

When I wrote my book on Territorials in 1985, the census of large-size territorials stood at about 600 notes. I boldly estimated that ultimately there would be 900 of them. We tore past that number in 2000, and now we know of 1,144, and the conveyor belt is still delivering. So much for a brilliant forecast!

Eventually, some decay function has to take over. We just haven’t detected its effect yet.

I track rare material, and this gives me a significant leg up over the census takers for the larger states. The generally higher prices for the material I track give that material higher visibility. Specifically, it is more likely to appear in auctions and ads, so I get to see it. Of course, a percentage of it goes under my radar. The result is that even my censuses are undercounts. This doesn’t particularly eat away at me because, as collections turn over, the items I missed will reveal themselves. The takeaway, though, is that even the best censuses are undercounts.

I have been at a disadvantage during the past decade in that I am no longer collecting, so I am not foraging bourse floors. My data reveals that I’m not missing much, mostly thanks to the good works of friends and dealers who feed eBay, auction, and in-stock hits of interest to me.

I used to have an excellent network of fellow collectors of the material I track, and that network kept me current on material that they saw or obtained that I might have otherwise missed. However, those networks have largely withered in every area I track because my collaborators have sold their collections, so they no longer are feeding data to me.

If you are collecting in any of the areas I track, let me know so I can network with you. It is a mutual back-scratch that will keep both of us energized. You can reach me via email at peterhuntoon@outlook.com.

  This article was originally printed in Bank Note Reporter. >> Subscribe today.

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[seniorbrief]

75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

istock/ermingut

The Inception and the Legacy

1. Seventy-five years ago, in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up the first McDonald’s restaurant—a BBQ joint—in San Bernardino, California (at left; it’s now a museum). Eight years later, they switched to burgers, shakes, potato chips, and pie. The McDonalds purchased several Multi-mixers for use in their establishment, and when Multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc visited, he was impressed by their success and efficiency. Kroc purchased franchise rights from the brothers. In 1955, he opened his first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. Looking for more McDonald’s facts? This is the first McDonald’s menu ever.

2. McDonald’s first drive-thru opened in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona. What inspired the then-revolutionary concept? The restaurant was located near a military base, and soldiers were not allowed to leave their cars while wearing fatigues. Check out how the McDonald’s menu has changed throughout the years.

3. There are almost more than one-and-half times more McDonald’s locations than hospitals in the United States: 14,350 versus 10,660. Find out the only U.S. state capital without a McDonald’s.

4. All those dimes and pennies do add up: In 2013, Ronald McDonald House Charities—the nonprofit organization that is McDonald’s charity of choice—raised around $450 million. It used those funds to help nearly 9 million children and their families worldwide. Today, RMHC has nearly 300 local chapters in 58 countries and regions.

5. McDonald’s invested in Chipotle in 1998, back when the fast-Mexican chain consisted of 16 restaurants. By 2006, McDonald’s owned 90 percent of Chipotle—which had grown to 500 locations—but it sold its stake in order to focus on McDonald’s.

6. The average McDonald’s drive-thru transaction took roughly three minutes, or 189.49 seconds, according to one recent study; the fast-food leader was Wendy’s with a 133.63-second turnaround time.

istock/patty_c

McDonald’s Facts: All About the Arches

7. The Golden Arches are said to be the most recognized symbol in the world, even ahead of the cross. By the way, this is the drink you should never order at a McDonald’s, according to an employee.

8. Founder Richard McDonald first sketched the Golden Arches as an architectural feature to attract customers in cars looking from the roadside, but it took five more years for the arches to be linked into an M (shown at right, at a present-day restaurant in Downey, California, the oldest one still in operation). Did you know there might be a hidden sexual meaning behind McDonald’s gold arches?

9. At its Paris Champs-Elysees restaurant, McDonald’s typically yellow Golden Arches are neon white to blend in with the lighting of that location. This is the real reason the logo is yellow and red.

10. The McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, has the world’s only turquoise arches—the owners of that franchise were told that they needed to make the location more in keeping with the distinct desert environment. The blue was chosen to echo the sky, and the building is more orange and red to resemble the surrounding terrain. Read more about it here.

McDonald’s Facts from Around the World

11. While many international McDonald’s look the same as their American counterparts, their menus contain unique items that reflect local tastes. Some examples: nurnburger, or three bratwursts on a bun (Germany); creamy stars, or deep-fried star-shaped pieces of cheese (Italy); McFalafel and McKebab (Israel); McSpaghetti, or pasta served with Chicken McNuggets on the side (Philippines); McRice burger, or a burger in which rice patties are used instead of a bun (Singapore); quiche de quejo, or cheese quiche (Brazil); red bean pie (Hong Kong); McAloo Tikki burger, or a spiced-potato burger (India). Pssst: There’s a reason why Coke tastes so much better at McDonald’s.

12. Samuel Jackson’s character came pretty close in Pulp Fiction: a Quarter Pounder in France is called a Royal Cheese, not a Royale with Cheese. This is the McDonald’s with the best menu in the world.

13. Since 1996, skiers have been able to schuss into the world’s only ski-thru McDonald’s in the Lindvallen resort area in Sweden.

14. Many people probably wish they could dine on McDonald’s on a flight instead of airline food; for now, they’ll have to settle for dining at a New Zealand McDonald’s, which includes an actual retired aircraft as part of the restaurant.

15. Nations that have placed a ban on McDonald’s include Bermuda, Montenegro, Kazahstan, and Macedonia. Here are more countries that have banned McDonald’s.

16. In all the world, there is one floating McDonald’s. Known as the McBarge, it’s in Vancouver, Canada. It was built for and served food at the 1986 World’s Fair, but it is now abandoned. Perhaps it should open as a sail-thru?

17. The Queen of England owns approximately $11 billion of real estate in the United Kingdom; among her holdings is a McDonald’s near Buckingham Palace. So far, she has yet to dine there—but she may be more of a drive-thru type.

18. Golden wedding arches: McDonald’s in Hong Kong offers a variety of wedding packages. The deluxe package, which costs around $1,200, includes a two-hour rental of a decorated McDonald’s location, 50 invitations, McDonald’s gifts for 50 guests, a pair of McDonald’s balloon wedding rings, a bridal bouquet, apple pie display, and an emcee.

19. In the U.K., McDonald’s has launched a program to recycle its employees’ uniforms. Some of the material will be re-spun into fiber to make new uniforms; the rest will be shredded and used to stuff mattresses.

20. In another innovation, McDonald’s Hungary and the advertising agency DDB Budapest recently unveiled the BagTray: a paper bag that has a reinforced cardboard tray at its bottom. By ripping off a strip of the bag, you can detach a sturdy tray.

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McDonald’s Facts: Menu Mania

21. McDonald’s best-selling menu item is … French fries! Check out the 10 most popular items at McDonald’s.

22. But it took nine years for fries to appear on the restaurant menu (they debuted in 1949); before that, only potato chips were available. This is the secret ingredient behind the addictive flavor of McDonald’s fries.

 23. You don’t need a passport to try exotic McDonald’s offerings. In some parts of America, McDonald’s restaurants sell their own specialty items. In the summer, you can get a McLobster roll at restaurants in New England. But Hawaii takes the prize: Choices include Saimin, a Hawaiian noodle soup with fish cake, nori, char siu pork, and sliced scrambled eggs; a taro-root pie; and a breakfast platter with Spam or Portuguese sausage as the meat options.

24. A McDonald’s franchise owner in Monfort Heights, Ohio noticed that residents in his highly Catholic town did not eat hamburgers or cheeseburgers during Lent so he created a meat-free alternative, the Filet-o-Fish, which swam onto menus in 1962. Today, 23 percent of all Filet-o-Fish sales are thought to occur during Lent.

25. The fish in the filet was originally halibut; now it’s wild-caught Atlantic pollock.

26. The chain’s worst-selling item may have been the Hula burger. Invented by Ray Kroc as a meatless alternative for Catholics on Lent, it consisted of a grilled piece of pineapple with a slice of cheese in a bun. It lasted a brief while in 1962. Here are the failed McDonald’s menu items you’ve probably never heard of.

27. McDonald’s McGriddle was invented by product developer Tom Ryan because he wanted a handheld breakfast item that was both sweet and savory. He is the Dr. Frankenstein of fast food. In an earlier job at Pizza Hut, he created stuffed-crust pizza and the Meat Lovers, Veggie Lovers, and Cheese Lovers pizzas. He is now the founder and chief concept officer at Smashburger.

28. Franchisee Herb Peterson created the Egg McMuffin, which became available in 1971, by modeling it off his breakfast of choice, eggs benedict. This is the only McDonald’s Breakfast made with fresh eggs.

29. Some discerning diners believe that the Coke served at McDonald’s tastes better than it does at other places. They may be onto something: Only at McDonald’s is the Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks to preserve its freshness; elsewhere, it’s transported in plastic bags.

30. At a grand total of 1,880 calories, the 40-piece Chicken McNuggets are the highest calorie item on the regular menu. That’s more calories than many adults should consume in a single day. Find out the 5 healthiest things you can order at a McDonald’s.

istock/Juanmonino

31. The number of ingredients in Chicken McNuggets? 40, which is low compared to the ingredient list for the McRib, which has 70. By the way, this is why McNuggets always come in one of four shapes.

32. The McRib, which debuted in the chain’s restaurants in 1981, was invented in part because chicken farmers couldn’t keep up with the demand for McNuggets.

33. There are no ribs in McRib; it’s a patty made from pork shoulder meat.

34. The McRib was removed from the McDonald’s menu in 1985 due to its lack of popularity. But thanks to a loyal cult following, it came back in 1989 and was offered until 2005 in the chain’s restaurants in much of the world. From 2006 on, it’s been available for a few months every year. However, all along it has been a menu staple in one country: Germany.

35. According to Reddit users, you can get a Big Mac for half the price if you order a McDouble without mustard or ketchup and add shredded lettuce and special sauce. The only difference will be the lack of a third bun.

36. Those in the know say that McDonald’s has a secret menu. The most popular items include the McLeprechaun shake (a chocolate shake mixed with their seasonal Shamrock Shake), the McKinley Mac (a Big Mac made with quarter-pounder patties), and the Land, Air, and Sea burger (a McChicken patty, beef patty and Filet-o-Fish patty combined). Here are the McDonald’s secret menu items you need to know.

37. In an effort to provide a more customized experience, the “Create Your Taste” initiative allows diners to use tablet-like kiosks to pick different buns, cheeses, toppings, and sauces for their burger. It’s expected to roll out at 2,000 locations in the United States this year, or about one in seven McDonald’s in the United States.

38. Customer Moshe Tamssot posted a YouTube video that showed him creating the biggest burger possible with a “Create Your Taste.” Although he was limited to two quarter-pound beef patties, he was able to add 10 times all the other ingredients. His sandwich was topped by 10 slices of bacon, 30 slices of cheese, and 10 servings of guacamole, tomato, pickles, lettuce, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, raw onions, and grilled onions (not to mention a variety of sauces). The sandwich weighed 3.8 pounds and cost $24.89. We believe he is still digesting it.

39. In a one-off event in 2013, McDonald’s challenged celebrity chefs to deploy McDonald’s ingredients to create a “McGourmet” meal. Guests at the NYC dinner enjoyed kung pao chicken (made with Chicken McNuggets and sweet-and-sour sauce), a tortilla espanola (hash browns and eggs), slow-cooked beef with blueberry pomegranate sauce (the chain’s blueberry-pomegranate smoothie) and gnocchi (French fries!), and washed it all down with mojitos (mango pineapple smoothie).

istock/PhonlamaiPhoto

Ronald McDonald Facts

40. While there are disputes about who invented the Ronald McDonald character, Willard Scott—who later became famous for being The Today Show weatherman— was the first to portray him in TV ads.

41. Scott was fired from being Ronald McDonald after he was deemed to be “too fat.”

42. In Japan, the character is known as Donald McDonald, due to the lack of a clear “R” sound in Japanese.

43. The original Ronald McDonald wore a yellow-and-red striped suit, which he often accessorized with wearing a tray bearing a hamburger, fries, and milkshake as a hat.

44. Ronald’s newest wardrobe, which debuted last summer, consists of yellow cargo pants and a vest and a red-and-white striped rugby shirt; on special occasions, he tops it all with a red blazer emblazoned with golden arches on the front pocket. His new look was created by theatrical costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, who won a Tony for Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast.

45. In 2005, a man from Manchester, New Hampshire, robbed a Wendy’s. His name? Ronald MacDonald. Learn which McDonald’s is the most expensive McDonald’s in the world.

McDonald’s Facts: Crime, Punishment, and Some Bizarre Lawsuits

46. Shaneka Torres of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is currently serving a three-to-seven-year prison sentence after she was convicted of shooting a bullet in a McDonald’s drive-thru window after she failed to receive bacon on her burger. She has also been banned from the restaurant for life.

47. In 2014, a McDonald’s customer sued the company for $1.5 million after claiming to suffer “undue mental anguish” after he received only one napkin with his order. This is why McDonald’s ice cream machines are always broken.

48. After starring in a McDonald’s-bashing ad for Burger King, the then-4-year-old actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was named in a lawsuit by the fast food giant—and was banned from McDonald’s.

49. While the best-known McDonald’s lawsuit in America is the one involving scalding coffee, the company is known in the U.K. for a different legal matter. In 1994, two members of the London Greenpeace group were sued by McDonald’s for distributing pamphlets that claimed the company was responsible for hunger in the Third World, deforestation, food poisoning, cruel treatment of animals, and paying low wages. The trial—dubbed the McLibel case—still stands as the longest in English history at 300 days, generating 20,000 pages of trial transcripts. The defendants were found guilty of making some libelous statements and ordered to pay a fine. But in 2005, they brought their case to the European Court, which declared that the case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression (mainly due to the unavailability of legal aid for the Greenpeace members).

50. Children’s television producers Sid and Marty Kroftt sued McDonald’s in 1973, saying that McDonaldland ripped off the “concept and feel” of their TV show H.R. Pufnstuf. McDonald’s was ordered to pay the brothers one million dollars.

istock/Magone

McDonald’s Facts: Amazing Feats

51. In the Guinness Book of World Records, one record is unlikely to be beaten anytime soon: “Most Big Macs Consumed.” When Don Gorske of Wisconsin set the record in 2008, he’d already consumed 22,477 sandwiches. But since he eats two a day, he’s had over 27,500 of them by now. He had his first at age 18 in 1972 (it cost 49 cents). He liked the sandwich so much that after eating it, he had eight more of them—for a one-day total of nine, a limit he has never exceeded. Both his weight and cholesterol are said to be normal.

52. The world’s largest Big Mac can be found in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the Big Mac Museum (which bills itself “the most tasteful museum in the world”).  While the mega-Mac is inedible—it’s a 14-foot-tall statue—hungry visitors can eat the real thing at the on-premises McDonald’s restaurant.

53. Mike Fountaine holds the record for owning the most McDonald’s related memorabilia. His 75,000-item collection—which includes buttons, uniforms, cups, and Happy Meal boxes and toys—spills over nine rooms of his Pennsylvania home. In 1968, a then-15-year-old Fountaine began working at the Golden Arches and began his collection one year later. Today he owns two McDonald’s restaurants.

54. The world’s largest McDonald’s PlayPlace is in the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It includes a 500 gallon aquarium, waterfall, and 100 arcade games.

55. A limited edition—one out of 200 produced in the world—500 ml bottle of McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce sold in Australia on eBay this year for $20,600 in Australian dollars, or around $16,144 US. One hundred percent of the profits went to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

56. But the ingredients in the special sauce are no longer secret. According to the company website, it contains soybean oil, pickle relish, distilled vinegar, water (main components); egg yolks, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, garlic powder, vegetable protein, caramel color, paprika and turmeric extracts (for flavor and color); high fructose corn syrup, sugar (for sweetness); sodium benzoate, calcium disodium EDTA (for preservation of color and taste); propylene glycol alginate, mustard bran, soy lecithin (for thickness and creaminess).

57. In 2012, Rebekah Speight of Nebraska auctioned off a truly one-of-a-kind possession on eBay: a chicken McNugget that resembled George Washington. The winning bid was $8,100, which Speight planned to donate to her church’s youth camp. At the time of sale, the nugget was already three years old. In general, eBay bans the sale of expired food products, but the company made an exception.

58. McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys. It gives away around 1.5 billion toys each year with Happy Meals.

59. Jamaican runner Usain Bolt claims to have eaten around 1,000 chicken McNuggets during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where McDonald’s had an outpost in the Olympic Village. It was the lunch (or dinner) of champions: At those games, he won three gold medals and set three world records. This is the secret that makes their apple pies taste so good.

McDonald’s Facts All About the Employees

60. One in eight U.S. workers has been employed by McDonald’s at some point in their careers. These are the secrets McDonald’s employees won’t tell you.

61. Famous former employees of McDonald’s include Rachel McAdams, Pink, Macy Gray, Jay Leno, Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, and Andie MacDowell.

62. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “McJob” is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector.”  McDonald’s threatened to sue to change the definition, but ultimately responded with a clever U.K. ad campaign that extolled the company’s employee benefits. It ended with the line: “Not bad for a McJob.” This is how much McDonald’s workers really make.

63. On a corporate level, McDonald’s has some pretty spectacular benefits. Employees get an extra week of paid time off in the years when they reach an anniversary ending with a “5” (5, 15, 25, etc.). They’re eligible for an eight-week paid sabbatical for every 10 years worked.

64. In 1961, the company opened Hamburger University to train its executive employees; today, there are more than 2750,000 graduates. The original campus is in Oak Brook, Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Other campuses are in Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, Sao Paolo and Shanghai. All together around the world, Hamburger U. employs more than 60 full-time college professors.

65. McDonald’s holds its own version of American Idol. Called the Voice of McDonald’s, the competition shines the spotlight on the vocal talent of its 1.8 million employees. In its most recent contest, 58,000 McWorkers from 63 countries entered. Lucy Ospitia of Bucaramanga, Colombia, won the $25,000 grand prize. Rocky Rosabal from the Philippines won second prize ($17,500); third prize ($12,500) went to Ashlae Nelms from Illinois.

A Pop Culture Icon

66. The Economist created the “Big Mac Index” in 1986 as a shorthand way to determine whether a country’s currency is inflated. The index uses the international prices of a Big Mac, a globally available food product, to illustrate the differences in monetary value between nations. It’s still referenced today. In January, the average price for a Big Mac was $4.79 in the America and $7.54 in Switzerland. (All prices are in U.S. dollars.) Russia and Ukraine were among the cheapest places at which to buy a Big Mac, $1.36 and $1.20, respectively.

 67. In the 2003 documentary Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock chronicled his 30-day, all-McDonald’s diet. At month’s end, Spurlock had gained 25 pounds, sent his cholesterol sky-rocketing, and caused serious harm to his liver. McDonald’s removed Super Size fries and drinks from its menu six weeks after the film’s release, although it said Super Size Me did not influence its decision.

68. The “I’m Lovin’ It” McDonald’s jingle was written by Pharell and recorded by Justin Timberlake.

69. Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond is nicknamed Hamburglar. How he earned it: A fan threw a burger on the ice at Hammond after a recent win (in 12 starts, he’d amassed an impressive 10-0-1 record); the goalie graciously accepted it but did not eat it because he said it was too cold. To ensure that he always has access to a hot burger, Hammond received—courtesy of McDonald’s in Canada—a special card that entitles him to a lifetime of free eats.

70. Octogenarians Carl and Barbara Becker of Virginia were regulars at their local McDonald’s, where they liked stopping in for “scrunch”—a snack between lunch and supper. One day, an employee was sweeping up near them, and when asked if it bothered them, the couple answered that it did. A manager then told the Beckers that they’d exceeded their allowed 30 minutes in the restaurant and had to leave.  The Beckers wrote a heartfelt letter to their local paper in which Carl explained how the incident had marred their McDonald’s ritual. For the pair, scrunch is “a sweet time of fellowship, which we enjoy, which helps sustain our marriage of 63 years,” wrote Carl. In response, McDonald’s corporate offices sent the couple coupons for two small coffees. The Beckers refused them but said they’d still patronize the chain—just not the Culpeper location.

71. The Beckers were not left burger-less, however. Shawn Moss, who owns Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ restaurant in Culpeper, was so moved when he heard about the couple’s experience that he offered them one free “scrunch” a week for the rest of their lives.

72. In 2014, 18-year-old Stian Ytterdahl from Norway had a tattoo artist ink a McDonald’s receipt onto his arm after his friends dared him; a week later, he had the same receipt tattooed on his other arm. For the rest of his life, he’ll always know what he ate at 7:36 PM on March 24, 2014: a Coke, three cheeseburgers, a cheeseburger Happy Meal, a McFlurry NonStop with three extra toppings, and an extra Happy Meal toy. This is why you should always ask for your receipt at McDonald’s.

73. At the McDonald’s online shop, customers in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Australia can purchase Big Mac-patterned pajamas, wallpaper, long underwear, rain boots, dog coat, and (human) bedding.

74. Scientists studying McDonald’s patrons found that female diners ate less when they were eating in mixed-sex groups rather than in same-sex groups, while male diners ate more in mixed-sex groups than in mixed-sex pairs, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health Psychology.

75. While only McDonald’s is on Twitter (with more than 2.8 million followers), both McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald have Instagram accounts. McDonald’s boasts 565,000 followers to Ronald’s 10,900.

Original Source -> 75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

source https://www.seniorbrief.com/75-mind-blowing-mcdonalds-facts/

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

Taste test: Burger robot startup Creator opens first restaurant

Creator’s translucent burger robot doesn’t grind your brisket and chow steak into a gourmet patty until you degree it. That’s just one room this startup, previously known as Momentum Machines, wants to serve the world’s freshest cheeseburger for only $6. On June 27 th, after eight years in development, Creator unveils its first robot eatery before opening to the public in September. We got a sneak peek…err…taste. When I question how a startup launching one eatery at a time could become a $10 billion companionship, Creator co-founder and CEO Alex Vardakostas looks me dead in the eye and announces,” the market is much bigger than that .” Here’s how Creator’s burger-cooking bot works at its 680 Folsom Street location in San Francisco. Formerly you line-up your burger vogue through a human concierge on a tablet, a compressed air tube pushes a baked-that-day bun into an elevator on the right. It’s sighted in half by a vibrating bayonet before being toasted and buttered as it’s lowered to conveyor belt. Sauces measured by the milliliter and spices by the gram are automatically squirted onto the bun. Entire soups, tomatoes, onions and blockages of neat cheese get wedges scraped off a few seconds before they’re quitted on top. Meanwhile, the robot grinds hormone-free, pasture-raised brisket and chow steak to guild. But rather than mince them all up, the ropes of meat hang vertically and are thinly pulped together. They words a loose but auto-griddleable patty that’s then plopped onto the bun before the whole pack slithers out of the machine after a total time of about five minutes. The mind is that when you bite into the burger, your teeth align with the vertical strands so instead of necessary harsh chewing it roughly defrosts in your mouth. If you want to be the first to try it, Creator is selling early access tickets at 10 am Pacific today. Otherwise it will be open for lunch Wednesdays and Thursdays until the public launch. Eventually, an app will let beings customize the exact fractions of all the ingredients, opening near infinite permutations. For now, the startup’s initial pre-set burger options include the classic-style Creator vs. The World with a mole Thousand Island special sauce, the oyster aioli Tumami Burger designed by Chef Tu of Top Chef, The Smoky with charred onion jam and the sunflower seed tahini Dad Burger from Chef Nick Balla of Bar Tartine. The taste of each is pretty remarkable. The spice pops out of all the fresh-cut and ground parts that shortcoming the preservatives of pre-sliced substance. The patties hold together as you munch despite being unusually tender. And subsequentlies I appeared less of the greasy, gut-bomb, food coma vibe that typically accompanies scarfing down a cheeseburger. ” This is the kind of burger you would get for $12 to $18[ at an upscale restaurant ], and it’s$ 6 ,” says Vardakostas. It might not be best available burger I’ve had in my life, but it’s certainly the best at that premium. A mint of that comes from the savings on labour and kitchen seat is guaranteed by a robot cook.” We expend more on our parts than any other burger restaurant .” The CEO wouldn’t uncover how much Creator has raised, but says it’s backed by Google’s GV, frequent food startup investor Khosla Ventures and hardware-focused Root Ventures. However, SEC filings attained by TechCrunch register the startup raised at least $18.3 million in 2017, and sought $ 6 million more back in 2013. It’s understandable why.” McDonald’s is a $ 140 billion busines. It’s bigger than GM and Tesla compounded. McDonald’s has 40,000 restaurants. Food is one to the top three biggest sells ,” Vardakostas clangs off.” But we “ve got a lot” of advantages. The average diner is 50 percentage large in terms of square footage .” Then he motions to his big robot that’s a lot smaller than the backside of most fast-food restaurants, and with a smile replies,” That’s our kitchen. You wheel it in and push it in .” From snapping patties to investigating physics Creator co-founder and CEO Alex Vardakostas What you miss in a benefactor is a superhero origin narrative. Some formative moment in “peoples lives” that impels them hellbent on solving a problem. Vardakostas has a somewhat convincing anecdote.” My mothers have a burger joint ,” he reveals.” My job was to originate several hundred of the same burger every day. You recognise there’s so much opening not taken because you don’t have the right tools, and it’s hard work .” Robots and engineering weren’t even on his radar grown up in the restaurant in southern California. Then,” when I was 15 my pa took me to a journal storage for the first time. I started reading about physics and realizing that this could be a alternative .” He went on to study physics at UC Santa Barbara, got to work in the garage, and finally drove up to Silicon Valley to machine the first robot prototype’s parts at the famous Silicon Valley TechShop. That’s when he met his co-founder and COO Steve Frehn.” Steve told me he was from Stanford and I was super terrified ,” Vardakostas remembers. But the two had a great working rapport, and a forte for recruiting budding mechanical designers from the college. Momentum Machine started in 2009, was a full-time garage campaign by 2010, incorporated and attached Lemnos Labs in 2012 and the startup began to reach serious advancement by 2014. In the meantime, other inventors have tried to find a business in nutrient robots. There was the now-defunct Y Combinator startup Bistrobot that arbitrarily spurted liquid peanut butter and Nutella on white bread and called it a sandwich. More lately, Miso Robotics’ burger-flipping weapon named Flippy realized headlines, even though all it does is thrown and cook patties on a traditional griddle.” We have an arm that plucks out the burgers, but that’s probably five per cent of the intricacy” of the full Creator robot run by 350 sensors, 50 actuators and 20 computers, Vardakostas scoffs. Breaking burger behavior The CEO’s past in the kitchen restrains Creator into contact with the human element. He tells me he pictures the relevant recommendations of a staff-less restaurant whatever it is you fiat on a computer sounds “dystopian.” In point, he wants to give his food service employees access to new vocations. Vardakostas reads with a rustle that” parties look at restaurant use as a kindnes occasion, but mortal, we just need a chance .” Citing to the old-fashioned Google policy of giving hires try out side projects, he explains how” Tech business get 10 percentage age but no one does that for restaurant craftsmen .” ” Something we got really excited about in 2012 and we’re just starting to execute on is reinventing the job of working in a store like this, where the machine it taking care of the unclean and dangerous work ,” his co-founder Frehn clarifies.” We’re playing around with education programs for the staff. Five percent of the cases they’re paid just to read. We’re already doing that. There’s a diary plan. We’re $16 an hour. As opportunities come up to fix the machine, there’s a course we’re going to offer people as amend or upkeep parties to get paid even more .” One tradition Creator couldn’t escape was French fries. Vardakostas says they’re basically the least health happen you can eat , noting they’re” worse than donuts because there’s more surface area exposed to the frier .” But cooks told him some people plainly wouldn’t devour a burger without them. Creator’s compromise is that burgers are paired with hearty miniature farro or seasonal veggie salads by default, but you are able to opt for a line-up of frites. Creator’s fate won’t really be determined by the burger robot and the people who work alongside it. The startup will have to prove to fast food diners that it can be just as quick and cheap but a lot tastier, and that they’re welcome amongst the restaurant’s bougie Pottery Barn decor. At the same period, it was necessary to convince most affluent eaters that a cafeteria-style ordering counter and low price don’t mean low quality. Oh, and the figure is a bit rich for a burger spot. For now, Creator won’t be licensing out its bot or franchising its eatery, though those could be advantageous.” I don’t want person putting frozen beef in there or blaming acces more ,” remarks Vardakostas. Instead, the goal is to methodically expand, and maybe take advantage of its petite footprint to be involved in airport terminals or bus depots.” We want to get out of San Francisco ,” Frehn confidently settles.” Our business pose is pretty simple. We take a really good burger that people like and sell it for half the expenditure .” Read more: https :// techcrunch.com/ 2018/06/ 21/ creator-hamburger-robot / http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/07/19/taste-test-burger-robot-startup-creator-opens-first-restaurant/

[ultralifehackerguru-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/20-things-didnt-know-mcdonalds/

20 things you didn't know about McDonald's

Zabotnova Inna/Shutterstock

McDonald’s is the perfect spot for fast and affordable food.

Whether you eat it often or only on special occasion, there are probably a lot of facts about the fast-food chain you don’t know.

From health facts to secret menu items, here are 20 things you probably didn’t know about McDonald’s.

Back in the early 2000’s, McDonald’s was synonymous with supersizing, grotesque methods of “food” preparation, fattening additives, and unnatural ingredients. Since then, McDonald’s has actually made some impressive health-centric changes – many of which, you might have never heard before. We’ve done the research and discovered these surprising things you never knew about the famous fast food company. Read up, then don’t miss out on our essential guide: Every menu item at McDonald’s—ranked!

McDonald’s used to own Chipotle

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

That’s right. One of the most notoriously unhealthy fast food chains once owned a 90% stake in one of the most health- and socially-conscious brands before selling it back in 2006, citing the Mexican restaurant as a “distraction.” The Big Mac chain invested in Chipotle back in 1998 when it only had 14 locations and helped it grow to 460 locations by the time it jumped ship.

Supposedly, McDonald’s wanted Chipotle to add drive-thrus to its restaurants, but in the end, Chipotle’s COO Gretchen Selfridge, told Bloomberg, “Bless their hearts, McDonald’s had a lot of great suggestions, and we were always polite about it. They really wanted us to do drive-thrus. They really wanted us to do breakfast. But we just really didn’t do any of that.”

Their food looks frighteningly good for its age

McDonald’s/Facebook

April 10, 2010 was day one of New York photographer Sally Davies’ “Happy Meal Project,” which documented what happens to fast food if left unrefrigerated under a glass case. Five months into the experiment, the Mickey D’s meal still looked edible while KFC fries bought and stored on the same day were white and furry with mold. As of January 2016, the hamburger and fries didn’t noticeably disintegrate.

Marion Nestle, chair of NYU’s food studies program, told Salon that McDonald’s would have to use “a lot of sodium propionate to prevent bacterial or mold growth.” Dr. Keith Warriner, a Canadian food scientist, explained that another reason might be due to the lack of moisture in the patty and bun during the steaming and toasting preparation. Without moisture or high humidity – ideal conditions for microbe growth – the burger dries out rather than rots. Even with a scientific explanation, it sounds so icky just thinking about it that we want a 7-day tea cleanse, stat!

McDonald’s customers love to spend time doing nothing

napocska/ Shutterstock

Using YouGov, a tool that pulls data on the typical customers of different companies, a survey examined what the average profile of a customer at McDonald’s looks like. The survey found that Mickey D’s customers tend to be females between the ages of 25 and 39 and have a discretionary income of at least $155 a month, as reported by Business Insider.

When it comes to what they do with their free time, McDonald’s customers’ favorite pastimes include sleeping, watching movies at home, playing video games, and “sitting around doing as little as possible.” They work in the wholesale and retail industries, law, and consumer goods. When it comes to describing themselves, McDonald’s customers say they’re motherly, loving, and bighearted. Oh, and most of them likely own a pet fish.

Their Shamrock Shake is basically corn syrup

Hollis Johnson

Don’t let nostalgia for this childhood favorite blind you from the cold facts: McDonald’s shake is blended with vanilla reduced fat ice cream (made with corn syrup solids), shake syrup (main ingredient: high fructose corn syrup), and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. While the small shake has 65 grams of sugar, the large packs in a whopping 113 grams! We think you should shake it off.

There really are diet-expert-approved meals at McDonald’s

JiMmy P/Yelp

Shocking, right? By saying sayonara to mayo and fries, and choosing the lower-calorie options (such as the McDouble), you can still enjoy McDonald’s guilt-free. Just make sure to guzzle down water, steer clear of empty-calorie added sugars in salad dressings, and check out What Diet Experts Eat at McDonald’s.

Donald Trump is a frequent customer

realdonaldtrump/Instagram

Our president loves the joint’s Double Quarter Pounder with cheese so much that he asks White House chefs to whip up ’em up. And we can’t say we’d recreate his go-to cheeseburger at home, too – the ‘wich clocks in at 770 calories and 45 grams of fat! If you thought that meal isn’t nutritionally ideal, find out What’s in Trump’s 2,400-Calorie McDonald’s Order.

The ingredients in those picture-perfect ads are real

mcdonalds/Instagram

McDonald’s posted a video back in 2012 that uncovered the makings behind why their food looks so different in the advertising than what you get from the restaurant. Director of Marketing Hope Bagozzi photographed a side-by-side comparison of a “fresh” quarter pounder with cheese to a burger prepared by a stylist using the same lighting. We were surprised to find out the ingredients used to make the picture perfect burgers are actually real, and they’re exactly the same as the ones on your plate.

The only difference? The stylist and Photoshop team spend several hours crafting the burger on the screen compared to the minute it takes to make the burger in your hand. Each pickle is hand-picked, ketchup is applied with a syringe, the cheese is sculpted using a heated palette knife, and all the colors are enhanced and imperfections are removed. As for the size difference? Supposedly, the box each burger comes in keeps the sandwich warm, creating a steam effect that makes the bun shrink.

Now introducing… McDonald’s Next

McDonald’s

According to Nielsen’s Global Health & Wellness Survey, about 50% of respondents are trying to lose weight and 75% of those people are planning to do so by changing their diets and focusing on more natural, fresh foods. In response to the world growing more health-conscious (in addition to sales declines), McDonald’s solution seems to be “McDonald’s Next.”

Instead of the iconic contrasting red and yellow decor and fluorescent lighting, one Mickey D’s location in Hong Kong was transformed into an eatery that features a silver interior, soft lighting, and an unexpected bonus: a salad bar. The seemingly misplaced offering is stocked with 19 ingredients including leafy greens, cheese, sauces, and the millennial favorite, quinoa. On top of that, McDonald’s Next offers free Wi-Fi, phone-charging stations, self-service kiosks, table service after 6 p.m., and premium coffee.

Happy Meals may help you lose weight

Flickr/Calgary Reviews

The Happy Meal isn’t just for kids anymore. According to a study in the “Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied,” when a small incentive is offered with a meal, as is the case with the toys found in McDonald’s Happy Meals, people are motivated to limit their portion size. As it turns out, the combination of a half-sized portion and a non-food gift stimulates the same part of the brain – the area responsible for reward, desire, and motivation – as the full-sized portion alone.

The study also discovered that, regardless of hunger, most people will choose a half-sized portion of food if it’s paired with a toy or monetary prize rather than a full-sized portion at the same price. Even though they ate less, people who chose the incentivized option didn’t consume more calories later in the day. So, if you’re looking to shed some pounds, opt for the Happy Meal: you’ll get to keep your skinny jeans and have a new toy!

They’re eliminating antibiotics — but only in certain meats

McDonald’s/Facebook

McDonald’s three-tiered plan made it clear that it’ll cut unnecessary antibiotic use in its poultry in U.S. markets by January 2018 and in all global markets by January 2027. But, the restaurant chain failed to give specific deadlines for pork and beef. “We remain committed to making meaningful reductions in the use of antibiotics in beef and pork and will share our progress on beef in 2018,” Marion Gross, senior vice president for McDonald’s North America supply chain, said in a statement.

You can order breakfast all day

McDonald’s/Facebook

There’s no denying it: people are lovin’ McDonald’s breakfast. And now they’re offering options such as McGriddles, McMuffins, Hotcakes and Sausage, and Fruit & Maple Oatmeal 24/7. Great news if you want a warm bowl of oats in the middle of the afternoon, right? Nope. McDonald’s Fruit & Maple Oatmeal packs in 33 grams of sugar – more than you get in a bag of M&Ms! Unfortunately, this healthy-sounding breakfast food will start your day with a sugar high and a certain crash.

They use cage-free eggs

Jocelyn Hsu/SpoonUniversity

McDonald’s has vowed to switch to cage-free eggs in its U.S. and Canada locations by 2025 in an effort to meet consumer demands. And with the All-Day Breakfast in full gear, that’s going to be a lot of eggs!

The Dollar Menu is returning

McDonald’s

For all of you drive-thru junkies, ordering a cheap meal just got a lot thriftier. The beloved Dollar Menu, which was discontinued in 2013, is returning on January 4, 2018 to replace the current McPick 2 value menu. Despite the discounted menu’s name, you’ll need to shell out two or three bucks for some of the items. Take a Look at McDonald’s New Dollar Menu to find out the new price points of your favorite cheeseburgers and McCafe drinks.

They serve superfoods

McDonald’s

Back in May 2015, the Golden Arches tested breakfast bowls at nine locations in Southern California, one of which included kale, as well as offered a whole wheat Kale & Feta “More-Ning McWrap” with baby kale, tomato, feta, and scrambled eggs. More recently, they debuted the Signature Sriracha 1/4 lb. Burger, which is packed with baby spinach and baby kale. Despite the nutritious addition of leafy greens, the spicy burger boasts a walloping 670 calories, 35 grams of fat, and 1,1010 milligrams of sodium.

Their McRib has no rib

Jerry Huddleston/Flickr

Despite the name of the back-by-popular-demand sandwich, there’s no actual rib in the McRib. Instead, the pork is pressed into the rib-like shape via a mold, just like Jell-O and slathered with sugary sauce, briny pickle slices, and onions. That sweet-and-salty combo makes for an irresistibly delicious sandwich – and a terribly fattening one. Just one sammich boasts 480 calories and 22 grams of fat!

They serve up mozzarella sticks

Hollis Johnson

While they’re still leaving the pizza to Pizza Hut, McDonald’s offers mozzarella sticks made with “100% real mozzarella.” According to their website, the three cheesy sticks pack in 190 calories and come with a tomato-based marinara sauce that we can guess contributes to the finger food’s 460 milligrams of sodium. Salt can hide in the sneakiest places, like in these 20 restaurant desserts with more salt than a bag of pretzels.

You can BYOB

McDonald’s/Facebook

Build Your Own Burger, that is. in efforts to meet consumer demands and expectations, the Golden Arches is launching its “Experience of the Future” restaurant design, which will feature kiosk ordering, table service, mobile app functionality, curbside delivery, and a modernized interior design. The concept launched in 2015 and after a successful trial, made its way over to the U.S. The home of the Big Mac plans to implement this new design in most of its U.S.-based free-standing restaurants by 2020.

They used to offer an organic burger

Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Ronald debuted his first organic burger – the “McB” – in Germany in 2015. While its patty was sourced entirely from organic beef, the toppings weren’t. Offered for a limited time only, the chain stopped selling the sandwich in early 2016.

Their chicken nuggets have been known to melt

Flicker

Chicken McNuggets are constantly under fire in the media, whether it’s because of pink slime claims, having more than 40 ingredients, or because they, uh, melt ? Former McDonald’s employee and Reddit user DFunkatron explained, “I accidentally left a whole bag of about 100 chicken nuggets out on a counter for way too long. They melted. Into a pool of liquid.”

Wondering why? It could be because the finely-ground chicken meat is combined with a water-based marinade of sodium phosphates, food starches, dextrose, citric acid, autolyzed yeast extract, and natural flavoring just to keep it bound together. No wonder pre-fry, defrosted nuggets melt – other than chicken, they’re mostly made up of additive water.

Drive-thrus are for vehicles only

Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Although you could’ve sworn you’ve seen your drunk friends getting served a meal via walking by the drive-thru, McDonald’s has a strict rule against that. “We have a policy that forbids us from serving people who are not in a ‘motorized vehicle’ in [the] drive-thru because it can be unsafe,” one employee admitted on Reddit. “Bicycles, electric scooters, and pedestrians cannot be served.”

(C)

[psychicadviceus]

Best Ways to Save Money

New Post has been published on http://aopsy.com/index.php/2017/04/22/best-ways-to-save-money/

Best Ways to Save Money

Saving Money

Saving money is an important part of the American financial system. Most Americans today have little extra money for extracurricular activities. Some have barely enough money to pay for food, utilities and car payments. In order to survive, you are going to have to learn how to save money. For starters, make a list of everything that you spend money on. Even if it is a pack of chewing gum. Learning how to save money has a lot to do with education. You must become aware of what you are spending money on and find corners to cut back. Saving money is actually a day to day procedure. Before you open your wallet to spend money on anything, you must ask yourself if you really need it. Do you really need that cup of coffee at Starbucks? Do you really need to buy a hamburger for lunch at McDonalds? Can it be cheaper if you brought lunch from home? Do you shop at Walmart or the mall? Are you using coupons?

Coupons are huge money savers at the end of the month. Many times I am in a grocery store and I hear the cashier say to a customer, “Do you know that this item is buy one get one free?” The customer often says, “I did not know that. Forget it for now. I am already checking out.” The customer really does want the free item, but don’t want to get off line to get the item. Instead of saying that, just tell the cashier to get someone to get it for them or get it after you are checked out. Leave your groceries at the counter and come right back. Even if you can’t use two of the same item, sell the other item on EBay or some other place.

Finding good coupons today are a lot harder than they used to be. I used to see so many in the Sunday newspaper. Now it is not as easy. People have caught on to how coupons save money and often sell them on the internet or in person. If you want coupons that you can actually use, call the company in which you want to do business with. Every dime that you spend on a company’s product is money spent out of your pocket. If you love Fruit Loops cereal, call the company that makes Fruit Loops and ask them for a coupon. Sometimes you can save fifty cents or more on a product. You can literally save over a hundred dollars a month by using coupons.

Fill Your Car up with Gas on an Indian Reservation

Most people live close to an Indian Reservation and don’t even know that they can save big on gas by filling up their tank once a week. Most Indian Reservation gas stations are cheaper than buying gas anywhere else. You don’t have to be an American Indian to buy gas from a reservation. If you don’t live anywhere nears an Indian Reservation, try to get a gas coupon from Winn Dixie. This month alone I have received two coupons from Winn Dixie for 25 cents off gas if I spend only $30.00 in their store on groceries. That is a deal that is too hard to pass up. The other day I had three coupons on my Winn Dixie card and I saved seventy five cents a gallon on gas. I was so happy.

Buy Your Cigarettes in a Cheaper State

If you smoke cigarettes, you probably know that they can get pretty expensive to buy if you live in one of the high price states such as New York City or California. Many people that live in Florida, Georgia and other states will pay less for cigarettes. It would be worth the drive to load up with a few cartons of cigarettes once a month to last you through until the next month. Yes it will take some time, but in the long run, you will save a lot more money than if you buy your cigarettes from the local candy store down the street. Use your calculator on how much gas you will have to spend money on once a month to take the trip. Is it worth the drive? For some it may be and for others, it may not be worth it.

Look for Buy One Get One Free Deals

Not every grocery store or store period is looking out for their customers to save money. Some grocery stores like Winn Dixie save their customers lots of money by giving them a buy one get one free discount. I once got two packages of chicken legs for only seven dollars.

Join a Wholesale Club

Wholesale clubs like Cosco and BJ’s save their customers hundreds and thousands of dollars every single year. The membership is affordable and usually only 40 dollars a year. You can buy almost everything that you need at these clubs in bulk. If you find yourself spending a lot of money on bulk items, see if you can team up with a neighbor or family member. You can split the cost and save money at the same time. Many people are wanting to save money now a days. You may not need four pounds of butter in one trip. However, your neighbor and you can split it and spend half the price.

Send Your Kids to Public School

Many parents today are spending way too much money on their child’s education. Just because your child is attending a private school does not guarantee them a job after they graduate high school. It certainly cannot give them a college discount. It also does not guarantee that they will do better in the real world once they graduate from college. After all, actress Cameron Diaz and Elton John were both school dropouts. Just because your child is the smartest in the class and has good grades will not guarantee them a more advanced job in the future. In fact, most people that make money in society are business owners and people that work for themselves. Most jobs today pay employees under $70,000 a year or less regardless of where they graduated from. Today, businesses don’t seem to be concerned if your child graduated from Harvard or a local college down the street from your house.

Many parents today are obsessed with sending their kids to advanced day school and computer camps in the summer. The list goes on and on.

Shop at Goodwill

Goodwill is a second hand store where you can buy almost anything that you need to include: clothes, furniture, computers and shoes. You can often find shirts for just $1.00 and shoes for under $5.00. It is used stuff, but you can often find items with their original sales ticket still on it. You would be surprised at how much second hand items are collected each year. Don’t feel any shame in shopping to save money. In fact, many people that shop at Goodwill find themselves saving hundreds of dollars each year. You can literally save a fortune from shopping at second hand clothing stores.

Buy Your Car at an Auction

Car auctions can save you thousands on your car purchase. You can often find the car of your dreams by bidding on one at an auction. First shop around to see how much the care that you really want is going to cost. Then ask yourself if you would be happy with a similar car that you can purchase from an auction. Many car auctions start their bids at just $500.00. Imagine driving away with a car that works great for a fraction of the cost.

Eat and Cook at Home

Are you really saving time and money by going to a fast food restaurant for your dinner? Drive through lines are becoming a lot longer than they used to be. Often, fast food companies are making you wait for your food a lot longer than 5 minutes. Are you really saving time? If you calculate how long it takes you to drive to the fast food establishment, wait on line and then drive home, it is about the same time as it would take you to the grocery store to buy food. Then you have to walk in your house, set up plates and silverware because most fast food places don’t give these items to you automatically anymore. Let me guess, you forget to ask the cashier for napkins, plates and a fork. Don’t feel bad, everyone forgets and fast food establishments know this. It is just a way for them to cut back on expenses at your expense. Now you are aggravated and have to get your own stuff all set up. Then you taste the food and it is often not what you thought it would be. Is it really worth it to go through a fast food line anymore? In my opinion no. I rarely have takeout food. However, the other day I was in a Polo Tropical drive thru. I waited over 20 minutes to get my food. It also took me twenty minutes of driving to get there and back. Overall, it took me nearly 40 minutes to get food. I could have made my own dinner in that time instead. What a shame.

You can save lots of time and money by cooking from home. Long gone are the days of fast food being fast food. Now you have to deal with long lines and companies cutting back on employees. Most fast food companies do not care about the customer anymore. They are simply in it for the profits. I avoid fast food chains as much as possible. Twenty first century fast food is not the same as 20th century fast food. Use your Local Health Department to Get Medical and Dental Assistance Most states have a medical clinic in which they can go for a tooth extraction or medical issue. You should not have to pay thousands of dollars to see someone if you are in pain and having an emergency. These places are set up for poor people to have somewhere to go in case they have an emergency. A regular extraction at a dental office can run you over $300.00. However at the health clinic it is often only $100.00 or free. See what options are out there for you before you start spending money on something. It is important for you to save money.

Get Food Stamps

If you are broke enough by the government’s standards, you may be able to qualify for food stamps. Many people don’t get food stamps because they are ashamed to receive them. However, your broke situation may not be your fault entirely. We are living in the worst economy since the great depression and leading experts like Ron Paul say that it is only going to get worse. Others also say that the economy is headed for a disaster. Many states now give discounted housing and food stamps to low income residents. See what you can qualify for.

Get a Government Cell Phone

Many states are now giving their low income residents free cell phones in order to make calls. You can send and receive calls. Some give you only 250 minutes or less per month. Hey, it’s free! See if you can qualify for one of these phones. You may be shocked to find out that you are broke enough to receive one of these phones.

Become a Foster Care Parent

Many broke adults today are finding themselves with a low income job that is barely paying their bills. If you have enough love in your heart to take care of a child, you can receive state money for your kindness. This has been going on for decades in the United States. However, in a bad economy, you may be able to take care of a child that is in distress and needs your help. If you are not cut out for parenting, then this may not be for you. However, if you already have a child and don’t mind taking care of another one, you can apply to become a foster care parent. Perhaps you would be better at taking care of an adult handicapped person that is a ward of the state as well. It is worth looking into if you have the heart to take care of another person besides yourself. Many foster care parents say that it is a rewarding experience to be a part of a child’s life.

Shop at a Farmers Market

Farmers markets can save you lots of money on vegetables. You can get fresh produce at your local farmers market. You may even be able to buy groceries directly from a farmer for cheap. There is nothing stopping you from doing this. Basically call a farmer up and see if they will do business with you. Many farmers are opening their farms now because people are desperate to save money.

Cut Costs on Cable Television

Many customers don’t know that if you have been a customer of your cable company for a long time, you are able to get promotional offers. Let us say you have a mid-cable package and it is costly. You may be able to get an upgrade in your service for cheaper than what you are paying now. Yes, many cable companies upgrade you for free and ask you to try the new package for six months. After the six months, you can stay with the plan or go back to your old plan. Either way, you may be paying $100.00 a month for your cable, but with the new offer, you may get it at 50% off. Isn’t that a wise tip of the day?

Buy Used Appliances on Craigslist.org

I find many great deals on Craigslist.org. Many of these offers are real cheap. I once saw a washing machine for only $100.00. It was in excellent condition. You can find many great appliances on this website if you are looking for one. You will eventually see that you can get almost anything that you need on this website.

Money Saving Mom

Many moms are trying to save money as best as they can. Many single woman today are also single mom’s that are caring for multiple children. Saving money is crucial for your survival. Another great tip for moms is to read books on saving money. In order to save money on books, go to a Barnes and Noble store and stay in the book store to read books. The bookstore allows their customers to read books even in their coffee shop. Many moms spend hours in Barnes n Noble reading books for free. They never buy anything and just read books every time they walk into the store. You are not alone in your money saving venture.

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[justingolak]

JGSS Episode 025 - No Pay For Play

If you've ever attended a “Raise The Minimum Wage” rally, fought for unionization, or schlepped to the student union in college for a free showing of “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” and you don't think that the forced amateur status of student athletes is the biggest current labor crisis in America, then you have to admit you're a hypocritical nerd.

I don't see any other way around it or explanation for it.  There's no reason that the collective support of those with traditional liberal working ideals shouldn't be heaped upon the back of college athletes��except for the fact that those same liberals collectively see someone that pushed them into lockers in high school when they look at those athletes.

Not only should collective support be heaped, but their issues should be triaged.  If minimum wage raising is an issue that is now raised on federal campaign trails and covered by major media outlets, there's no reason that this issue should be regulated to couple-minute blurbs on College Gameday pre-show video packages.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 11,800 people in the US making a living as “Athletes and Sports Competitors.”  There are also 460,000 student athletes in the United States.  That means, of all current athletes, at college level or post-college professional level, 97% are unpaid.

Or should I say, make no money.

Aside from not receiving a salary, student athletes are not allowed to make money off their name or likeness or receive any sponsorship deals.  And as far a their scholarships, something many people arguing for this as a non-issue like to bring up, a 2012 study found that the average football scholarship fell $3,000 short of what a top-division player needed to pay for school annually and that around 80% of football players on full scholarship were living below the poverty line.

So, that's how they stack up in their profession.  But what about the working world as a whole?

There are 2.6 million hourly workers in the US that make equal to or less than the federal minimum wage.  If you factored in student athletes into that figure, it would mean that of the people in this country making minimum wage or less, college athletes make up 15% of those people.  In fact, student athletes would be the job category with the 3rd highest amount of workers that make at or less than minimum wage.  And again, they don't make equal to or less than minimum wage—they make nothing.

And I know what occupy the resistance people love to scream: it's the worker's wages in comparison to executive salaries that is maddening.  And I agree, those figures can be horrific.  But college coaches aren't doing community service. They are high level sport professionals.  The average college football coach makes $1.64 million a year.  The average college basketball coach, $1.4 million.  Nick Saban, the highest paid college football coach, makes $11.125 million a year—that's only about $4 million less than the President and CEO of McDonald's (And a little over $5 million more than the next highest paid McDonald's executive).  And that's a MickeyDee's executive.  I would argue that a coach is more analogous to a district manager.  And for McDonald's, that job only pays $68,000 or so a year.  So, is a McDonald's employing averaging $8.90 and hour gross when compared to the $9,247 an hour that its president is pulling down?  Yes, of course.  But they're not sharing a locker room and the employee is not making nothing.

And also, his grease burns aren't giving him the mushy mind of an 80 year old when he's in his mid-40s.

But the problem is, college athletes aren't even really the McDonald's employee.  They're the hamburger.

They're the product.  A product that sells.  The NCAA is now making $1.1 billion a year just off their March Madness TV deal.  The Big Ten, a conference that houses Northwestern, whose football players attempted to unionize in 2015, signed a $2.6 billion TV deal just to air football and basketball games from their conference alone.  And, yes, the Northwestern unionizing did fail and encountered extreme push back from athletic departments and the NCAA.

As I stated up top, this isn't just a problem that needs addressed, it needs prioritized.  This isn't a sports issue.  And I think its classification as such deems it to the back page of newspapers and the last 30 seconds of news broadcasts. This is a worker's rights issue.  This is a fairness issue.  This is a corporate greed issue as much as anything that's met with populace outrage on Wall Street.

Now imagine that I wrapped this all up with a clever, concise, and biting “personal foul” pun.

[homestudyhelp365-blog]

Explain the term product-item, product-line and product mix in the context of the above situation.

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 MARKETING MANAGEMENT

 Section A :-

Case Study – 1

An electronic gadgets manufacturing firm wanted to market in India a small, handheld electronic instrument for measuring blood pressure at home. The price of the instrument was fixed at around Rs. 3000 a piece. Being a specialty product, it was perceived to have only a limited clientele. As the firm had no established channel of distribution, it decided to take the direct-marketing route. The product was unique in the sense that it offered the convenience of constant monitoring of blood pressure at home, in office or anywhere, without having to visit the doctor. It could save a lot of time and inconvenience, especially for busy professionals, executives, businessmen and all those who had a hectic work schedule. Since it was a relatively expensive product, senior executives, professionals and businessmen above 45 years of age, having an income of more than Rs. 15,000 per month were expected to be the prospective buyers. The firm adopted the following procedure for identifying and enlisting prospects. In order to prepare a cold list, an advertisement of the product, along with a coupon, was released in two leading business newspapers in Bombay. Interested individuals were asked to fill up the printed coupon and send it to the firm within 10 days to get a free booklet on management of blood pressure. Personal particulars relevant to identifying the ‘qualifying prospects’ Such as income, age, profession, residential address and details of any health-related problem were to be filled in the coupon. A majority of the people who responded were found to be suffering from blood pressure, obesity or heart-related problems. A cold list of about 5,000 individuals was generated on the basis of filled-in coupons. This list was further scrutinized and names of individuals below 40 years of age and those who did not fulfil the income criteria were dropped, as were the names of apparently non-serious respondents who might have sent the coupon more out of curiosity. The residual list of about3,500 respondents was treated as the hot list. Another alternative to this newspaper ad approach, as suggested by the research agency was to obtain a list of credit card holders from reputed banks such as ANZ Grindlays Bank, Citibank, Canara Bank, State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda. The firm could then have sorted out the names of card holders who were above the age of 40 and occupied senior executive positions in private or public organizations. This would have formed the cold list. Next, the firm could have sent a brochure and a personal letter to them offering to arrange a free demonstration of the product at their residences. All those who responded would have formed the hot list. However, this approach was not taken due to some logistic problems. The respondents were then clustered into different segments on the basis of their health status : those who had only mild blood pressure but no other problem; those suffering from obesity and blood pressure both; those suffering from blood pressure and some cardiac problem; those who had blood pressure and diabetes with or without some cardiac problem; and so on. This database of all the listed people with their detailed health profiles helped the firm in identifying specific needs of the respondents.

 Questions:-

 (a) What elements of promotion mix would be more appropriate for the company to market blood pressure instruments, and why?

 (b) What should be the long run promotional strategy for the company?

 Case Study – 2

For many years McDonald's enjoyed worldwide success built on a few well-known, highly standard conditions. The company with the Golden Arches served a simple menu - hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes orsoft drinks. The food was pricedlow, its quality was consistent, and it was served speedily from establishments that all looked alike and were extremely clean. In recent years, however, McDonald's has seen its growth rate slow down and its dominant market position slip. Why? The changes been occuring in the company's external environment. We will start with the population picture. Foir many years McDonals's main customer group was young couples with several kids. Today, people are marrying ata much later age and families have fewer children, so Mc Donald's traditional customer base is eroding. Then there are the cultural changes. Also consumers have become more health conscious. let's face it - burgers, fries, and shakes are not exactly at the top of dietitians menu recommendations today. Consumers want convenience. in the past they hopped in the car and drove to McDonald's. Today they can pop something into the microwave oven or phone domino's to have a pizza delivered. Another challenge came as consumers became more concerned about physical environment. McDonald's polystyrene hamburger packaging was attacked by people who demand the sue of recycled and or/ biodegradable products. Paralleling all these challenges were the growing number and effectiveness of competitors.

 Questions:-

 a ) i) Identify and discuss the major environmental changes being faced byMcDonald's.

ii) What course of action should the company CEO pursue to regain its dominant market position?

 b) What king of distribution channel would you recommend for the following products and why? i)Personal computers ii) Industrial lubricant

 Case Study – 3

The furnishing limited is a small chain of distributors of good quality office furniture, carpets, safes and cabinets. Within each category, the company offers a wide variety of products, with a great many variations of each product being offered. For example, the company currently offers some 4 different designs of chairs and 23 varieties of office desks. The company keeps in touch with advances made in the office furniture field worldwide and introduces those products which are in keeping with the needs of the market in terms of design, workmanship, value for money and technical specifications. Fine furnishing trades only in good quality furniture. Differences between its products and cheaper, lower quality ones are well known to those who have several years of experience in the business. An important feature the company feels is the availability of a complete list of components of the furniture system. This enables customers to add bits and pieces of matching designs and colour in the furniture. Such components are available for sale separately. Systems are maintained in stock by the company for a number of years, and spare parts for chairs and other furniture are always available. The trade is currently witnessing a downturn due to recession. Fine furnishing hasl also experienced the same over the past two years. In addition, it had to trim its profit margins. Last year, it barely broke even and this year it is heading for a loss for the first time in the company's twenty year history.

 Questions:-

i) Explain the term product-item, product-line and product mix in the context of the above situation.

 ii) Advice the companies in relation to its product mix. How will your recommendations affect the company's image?

 Case Study - 4

 Hotel holiday Inn spends a large amount of money on a bonus programme for frequent hotel guests, while the hilton corporation, a direct competitor spends hardly a fifth of the amount spent by Holiday inn on it. Hilton puts most of its marketing resources into nationwide print and television advertisements, while holiday inn does little of either. Traditionally, demand for hotel rooms has outpaced supply. But now cities have too many hotels; occupancy rates have come down and the room rates have also come down. Holiday inn believes that with its bonus programme, they can gather detailed information about the frequent customers and they can be approached through direct main, and also offer incentives like free meals, free stay in hotels particularly where occupancy is low. Yet competitors such as Jilton are of opinion that Holiday Inn is merely rewarding guests who would otherwise also stay at Holiday Inn.

 Questions:-

 i) How is marketing a service different from marketing a good?

 ii) What techniques Holiday inn should use to fill more rooms?

 Section B :-

1 a). Discuss the scope and relevance of the concept of market segmentation. Will the scope change with the opening of Indian economy? Illustrate how firms would be benefited in marketing their products and services by segmentation.

 b) Briefly discuss the concept of positioning. What is the positioning of i) Santro car ii) Indian airlines iii) Pepsi iv) Dalda ghee

 2. a) Discuss in brief the various pricing strategies used by marketers. Suggest suitable pricing strategy for i) Software ii) 100 cc motorcycle iii) Luxury car iv) Laptop

 b) How is a product management organization different from the market centred organization?

 3. a) Enumerate and discuss the major packaging decisions appropriate for the following

i) FMCG company

 ii) Consumer durable company

 b) Discuss the marketing strategies that may be used at the introductory and maturity stages of the product life cycle.  promotion methods directed at consumers, which can be used by a detergent manufacturer.

 b) Discuss the role of personal selling and advertising in promotional industrial products. How does it compare to consumer product promotion?

 5. a) Middlemen are parasites. This charge has been made by many over the centuries. Is this likely to be the case in a competitive economic system? Why or why not?

 b) You are marketing manager of a medium sized manufacturing company. The president has just made the following statement "The distribution activity is not a concern of the marketing department. The function of the marketing department is to sell the product ... let be rest of the company handle production and distribution." How would you reply to this statement. Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the statement and justify your answer.

 6. (a) Define the term marketing. Discuss the scope and appropriateness of marketing function in satisfying human needs and wants. Given suitable examples.

 (b) As a marketing manager, propose and formulate STP strategy for home fitness kit targeted at women. Discuss the base for your strategy.

 7. Write short notes on any three of the following:

 a)     STP strategies b) Functions of Packaging c) Elements of promotion mix d) Methods of sales forecasting

 Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets

Project Report and Thesis contact

aravind.banakar@gmail.com

www.mbacasestudyanswers.com

ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224