I just bought 4 more books from Amazon.com, All about Retail Store Marketing. One looked promising. It was written by someone who actually had a Retail Store. She sold gifts. She had useful information on inventory control, hiring, location and taxes. But what she said about advertising sent chills running down my spine.

She talked about an Advertising Budget. In other words, setting aside a specific amount per month just for advertising. Usually this is in the form of a percentage of gross sales. Eight percent is common. Ive heard up to 15% of sales as your best budget. These figures are given by sincere, educated people as some kind of fact. NO, NO, NO!

This shows a complete misunderstanding of what advertising really is. Advertising is an investment made to generate new customer sales. These people are treating it like advertising is an expense. If you track ad performance, this difference in perspective will pay really big, really fast.

Lets say you mail a flyer, or put an ad on TV or the Radio, and the ad (or series of ads) costs you $1000. Is $1000 your budget? It shouldnt be. If the ads bring in only $500, what will you do next time? Hopefully not spend it again, even though it was your budget.

If you run an ad for $1000 and it generates $5000 in new business ($2500 in profit) do you stop just because you already reached your budget? No. If you can double your money in thirty days you do it as often as you can.

If you test new ads and track your response, you will quickly see that you just keep re-investing in proven ads and dump the losing ads. Thats how you grow. Are you guessing about what works and not analyzing your losers? Thats guaranteed to keep you in the “Ad Budget” group. In other words, not knowing what works.

Ads either generate a profit or they dont. If they do, keep doing the ads as long as they are generating a profit. When they eventually die, bury them. All ads eventually die. The only people that keep saying that you need to repeat an ad to make it pay are ad salespeople.

If your ads work, who cares what the budget is? Dont stop! If your ads dont work, who cares what the budget is? STOP!

This is the real advantage of tracking ad results: Youll know which ads pull their own weight and adjust accordingly.

In France, the group recorded in the third quarter overall growth of 7.2% to E 19.6 million, including 4.2% organic growth, confirming the trends observed in the first half. In an economic climate, however unfavorable, the group continued to reap the fruits of its marketing efforts. At 9 months, sales reached E 71.5 million an increase of 7.7% including 4.4% organic.The group continues to strengthen its geographical position with the creation of the quarter of eight new centers that complement the mesh of the group in the regions of Alsace, Aquitaine, Brittany, Ile de France (2), Nord-Pas de Calais, Rhone-Alpes and PACA. With 21 new centers created or acquired since the beginning of the year, the group is perfectly in line with its development plan, the network has now reached nearly 440 centers.

In addition, new creations and acquisitions currently under negotiation could be finalized before the end of the year. Revenue totaled E 1.5 million, down slightly from the previous year (E-80K), but decreased by E 0.3 million on a comparable basis. After the phase of internal reorganization, the group is currently conducting targeted marketing campaigns to increase mens wallets gradually the traffic centers, with an expected effect on sales in 2012. At 9 months, the turnover amounted to E 5.9 million, a level equivalent to that of last year.The group expects to accelerate its growth in the fourth quarter due to a more favorable basis of comparison in December, including traditionally the biggest billing month womens sandals of the year.

Audika recall having set a goal for 2011 a total turnover of around E 115 million coupled with an annual operating margin greater than the first half. With nearly 440 centers in 90 departments and 14% market share, Audika is the ferragamo mens shoes French network of centers specializing in hearing aids. The group is present in Italy since 2007 where he now relies on a network of nearly 60 centers. Positioned in the market for Seniors, Audika aims to consolidate its leadership in an area still very fragmented. Audika is listed on Euronext Paris, compartment B. SBF 250, CAC Mid & Small 190, CAC Small 90.

The global smart card industry has been witnessing dynamic changes for the past few years, and these, in turn, have created significant opportunities for the market participants. New and attractive growth prospects are being witnessed due to EMV (Euro pay, MasterCard, & VISA) migration, Long Term Evolution (LTE) deployment across the globe, and government support. Moreover, the entry of innovative smart card devices in the market will further strengthen the overall industry in the long run.According to our research report “Smart Card Market Forecast to 2014”, the global shipments of smart cards are estimated to reach around 6.1 Billion units in 2011, growing at the rate of around 11% over previous year. A major chunk of this market is captured by four companies, namely Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Oberthur, and Morpho. Though telecom sector is still the major user of smart cards, other sectors, such as financial services and healthcare are also expected to augment the rate of usage. Furthermore, the huge demand for smart cards will be seen in emerging markets as some of the key manufacturers in these regions are expanding their market reach. Increasing penetration of 3G, and renowned focus on payment transaction will give a further boost to the momentum. In addition, the liability associated with EMV standard is also driving many banks to issue smart cards. Backed by such positive factors, the global smart card shipments are expected to post a double digit growth (CAGR of around 12%) during 2011-2014. business market researchContactless technology is the buzzword in the global smart card industry. Increasing demand for contactless smart cards is mainly being fuelled by Near Field Communication (NFC), mass transit projects and e-passports.

The volume of secure microprocessor contactless smart card shipment is likely to grow at a CAGR of around 22% during 2011-2014. At the applications front, financial services sector is the key user of contactless smart cards, and e-passports and other identification (ID) applications hold the prominent position in the government sector.The report is an outcome of an extensive research and in-depth analysis of the global smart card market. It took into account almost all the key aspects of the market. The report is categorized on the basis of industry applications in sectors, like telecom, transport, public sector and financial services, and country wise developments in the smart card sector.

The report also investigates the current market trends, and analyzes their impact on the future performance of the industry. Moreover, with a focus on the competitive environment, the report provides a comprehensive description of strengths and weeknesses of the market leaders. Overall, the report aims at providing clients with an optimum source of knowledge and statistics on the smart card industry.List of Figures:Figure 4-1: Global – Smart Card Shipment (Billion Units), 2009-2014Figure 4-2: Global – Forecast for Smart Card Shipment by Application (%), 2014Figure 4-3: Global – Secure Microprocessor Contactless Smart Card Shipment (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 4-4: Global – Secure Microprocessor Contactless Smart Card Shipment by Application (%), 2011Figure 5-1: Global – Smart Card Shipment in Telecom Sector (Billion Units), 2009-2014Figure 5-2: Global – Smart Card Shipment in Transport Sector (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 5-3: Global – Smart Card Shipment in Government/Healthcare Sector (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 5-4: Global – Smart Card Shipment in Financial Services (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 6-1: US – Number of Contactless Payment Cards in Circulation (Million Units), 2009 & 2012Figure 6-2: India – Number of Smart Cards in Circulation (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 6-3: China – Number of Smart Cards in Circulation (Billion Units), 2009-2014Figure 6-4: Japan – Number of Smart Cards Issued (Million Units), 2009-2014Figure 6-5: South Korea – Smart Card Shipment (Million Units), 2009-2014For more information kindly visit :Smart Card Market Forecast to 2014OrBharat Book BureauTel: +91 22 27810772 / 27810773Fax: + 91 22 27812290Email: info@bharatbook.comWebsite: http://www.bharatbook.comFollow us on twitter: !/Sandhya3B

U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years.

The drop spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in U.S. history, with COVID-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths.

Black life expectancy has not fallen so much in one year since the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. Health officials have not tracked Hispanic life expectancy for nearly as long, but the 2020 decline was the largest recorded one-year drop.

The abrupt fall is “basically catastrophic,” said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality.

Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author.

Other problems affected Black and Hispanic people, including lack of access to quality health care, more crowded living conditions, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst, experts said.

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It’s an important statistical snapshot of a country’s health that can be influenced both by sustained trends such as obesity as well as more temporary threats like pandemics or war that might not endanger those newborns in their lifetimes.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.

Other findings in the new CDC report:

—Hispanic Americans have longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans, but had the largest decline in 2020. The three-year drop was the largest since the CDC started tracking Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago.

—Black life expectancy dropped nearly three years, to 71 years, 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000.

—White life expectancy fell by roughly 14 months to about 77 years, 7 months. That was the lowest the lowest life expectancy for that population since 2002.

—COVID-19’s role varied by race and ethnicity. The coronavirus was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people and 59% among Black Americans.

—Life expectancy fell nearly two years for men, but about one year for women, widening a longstanding gap. The CDC estimated life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys vs. 80 years, 2 months for girls.

More than 80% of last year’s COVID deaths were people 65 and older, CDC data shows. That actually diminished the pandemic’s toll on life expectancy at birth, which is swayed more by deaths of younger adults and children than those among seniors.

That’s why last year’s decline was just half as much as the three-year drop between 1942 and 1943, when young soldiers were dying in World War II. And it was just a fraction of the drop between 1917 and 1918, when World War I and a Spanish flu pandemic devastated younger generations.

Life expectancy bounced back after those drops, and experts believe it will this time, too. But some said it could take years.

Too many people have already died from COVID-19 this year, while variants of the coronavirus are spreading among unvaccinated Americans — many of them younger adults, some experts said.

“We can’t. In 2021, we can’t get back to pre-pandemic” life expectancy, said Noreen Goldman, a Princeton University researcher.

source : newsday.com