Fly High in Business with Tips and Advice from the Budget Airlines!
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It’s a simple fact of LIFE: There are those with money "to burn" on things like Park Avenue condos, vacations in the French Riviera, Ferraris and Porsches, Rolex watches and I can only dream what else…
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It’s a simple fact of FLYING: There are those who do not bat an eyelash at the prospect of shelling out $2,000 for a first class ticket…and then there are many, or perhaps most of us: those who shop around for bargain-basement fares; that adventurous quest to find the cheapest ticket to our travel destination.
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And it’s a simple fact of BUSINESS: There are those businesses which cater to an upscale, wealthy clientele, and correspondingly, those who shop for products and services there. And, conversely, there are businesses which provide less costly services and seek out customers and clients who might be interested in saving some money.
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The Budget Airline Business-Model and What It Can Teach Us:
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The Budget Airlines learned something very important not so long ago, way back when the skies were dominated, some say monopolized, by the big carriers which offered similar services at similarly high, non-competitive prices.
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The aspiring budget airline gurus looked at ticket prices to a certain destination which were, let’s say for the sake of argument, $600. They looked at reducing or cutting back on certain non-essential services and amenities such as reserved seating, priority boarding, multi-fair schemes, in-flight meals and in-flight entertainment. Without these extras, that same $600 seat on USAir, Delta, and Continental could now be had for $300 dollars on airlines like JetBlue, Virgin America of Sir Richard Branson, Southwest and AirTran. A business idea was born!
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Now it was time for the public to decide. Of course, as mentioned before, there were those prospective fliers with large wallets and even larger bank accounts who preferred to fly "Amenities Airline", but many other people were willing to give up the hour-and-a-half movie, a terrible meal and first-class seating to save a lot of money. Soon, the Budget Airlines were not only competing with the big-guys, they were beating them at their own game!
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In these times, in almost any business sector, can be found two different types of businesses which label and characterize themselves in two very different ways. There are those with more affordable prices which market and promote themselves to the masses, and there are those which market themselves to an upscale-clientele, or as many say, to, "the discerning customer." Each of the approaches is valid and legitimate, each owner knows that there are various market segments and neither can be faulted. Everything might have just continued very well for both sides…until one thing happened…
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Call it what you like: "economic downturn," "recession", "the biggest global financial crisis since the Great Depression." The rich saw their bottom-line slashed and the "Average Joes" living on Main Street began to seek out more and more ways to save money and stretch their dollars.
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Applying the Principles to Our Businesses:
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So, what can we as business owners, freelancers and independents do to prop-up our businesses and strive for profitability in the current financial climate where prospective clients and customers are not as inclined to spend and the next financial crisis is only one bank-failure away? Perhaps we can borrow a thing or two from the same mentality and business-acumen which has allowed budget airlines to become the shining stars of the business world!
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- Realize that in these ultra-competitive times, your prospective clients and customers will be shopping around for the best deal.
- Know, and demonstrate to your customers and clients, that offering a service at a lower price does not need to mean sacrificing on quality!
- Price your services competitively. Take a look at what others are charging and charge accordingly. Over-charging can mean pricing yourself out of the budget of many potential customers.
- Bear in mind that seeking out that next "big" client and huge project might be difficult. Oftentimes, several small projects from several small clients can give the same return, or even bigger, than a mega-project.
- Consider cutting back or cutting out "frills" and extras which seem to be wasting your time or detracting from your bottom-line.
- Assess the market niche which you are trying to crack and decide which segment you wish to market yourself to: are you a business for "discerning clientele" or are you the business for Main Street’s "Average Joe?" It’s important to keep in mind that with our pricing spelled out in the public realm for all to see, it’s not always possible to appeal to both.
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Whether your business is new and "just taking off," or whether you have been piloting your business for many years, I wish you much success and hope that your business soars!
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Hello! My name is Yonatan Maisel. I am a professional writer, published author and business-blogger.
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