Server Cache ? Basics
All internet users have some favourite websites that we tend to visit often. Or relate to certain information online quite frequently. What does this indicate? One, every time one is visiting a website, there is a demand on the enterprise bandwidth. Two, one is wasting time in going through the web server to the website he or she is interested in. This is where a server cache comes into picture.
A server cache is a dedicated server that saves information on web pages or internet content locally. Cache means temporary. So a server cache is just a temporary storage point. This has been found to be extremely useful because it speeds up access to data and also reduces the demand on the enterprise bandwidth thereby enabling effective traffic management. The other benefit of cache servers is the availability of stored information offline.
Now, a huge database of internet information or website usage cannot be placed in a cache server. The latter has limited size that is optimized based on performance desired. So lot of techniques like web caching are in place to select the particular information that will be stored in the cache server. “Least Recently Used” is one such technique wherein the webpage which was farthest in the usage history is thrown out. So basically, this list becomes dynamic entirely dependent on the user’s activity in the server. Another technique is based on size of the file cache.
Certain servers keep two caches – small file and large file. Each of these caches has predefined minimum and maximum limits to the file size for entry to a particular one. Files having greater size than the maximum size allowed for an entry to the large cache are not kept in cache. While small file cache uses the physical memory, the large file cache uses the virtual memory or what is stored via web caching.
Server cache is enabled by clicking “yes” to cache_enable parameter in the server {} block. It can be disabled by clicking the cache_enable parameter to “no”. By default, it is set to “yes”. Now, not all files can be cached. Legally, caching can be applied only to the content that has been declared cacheable by its owner. But these days, content owners exercise more control on their content because of the monetary aspect and for faster traffic management. Hence most of the content is declared non-cacheable. The goal of caching in is merely to minimize the need to send requests the need to send full responses. The former mechanism is termed as “expiration” while the latter as “validation”.
Computers and the Internet Have Democratized Modern Marketing and Sales Reach
The World Wide Web, the Internet, and the “Information Superhighway.” No doubt about it; the web has brought the biggest revolution to marketing since the printing press. Even bigger and more profound perhaps, since at the time of inception of printing and mass marketing few could afford the cost of a book, if indeed the consumers of the time could read, yet most in the United States and Canada now own a computer with Internet access or at least have ready access to World Wide Web, the marketing power of the Internet, and the use of this sophisticated communications, marketing and analysis tool and set of tools. Smaller nimble firms with the wish to promote their wares and services to the masses of consumers now are on a level playing field with Goliath firms with massive resources, yet not with the flexibility of quick and thorough action to deliver the message or messages to their customers and potential customers in a most prompt and timely manner and fashion.
Look at what used to be the dominant media and powerhouse of its time – newspapers and the mass media.
Newspapers are part of the “old school” of mass media. Newspapers and its sister mass market forms of broadcasting were the way to go – the most powerful, effective and cost-efficient means of promotion.
Marketing would delve into product research, focus groups and the like. A message, or at best a few direct messages, would be developed and directed towards the given target market or perhaps markets. At the best there might be several different “campaigns”. Yet the role of the marketing remained the same; “broadcasting” that was to blast out this message in mass broadcast form to all. It was in essence a matter of simply throwing mud against the wall, hoping some would stick.
Tell the message 200 million times. If only 1/10 of a percent of those who listened or saw the promotion bought the goods or service promoted well then the advertising firm would well convince the owners or management of the firm that they “were on the gravy train” and they had not only a profitable campaign but a marketing, sales and profit success on their hands.
The days of the broadcasting mode of marketing and sales are long gone. It’s just too expensive and wasteful now. With the internet and computerization being more efficient, effective and ultimately cost efficient technologies, products services and options have opened up. Customers, groups of customers and clients can be targeted almost exactly to a tee. Different sets of customer groups can be exactly almost surgically met in the marketplace. People are “much smarter “now. They cannot be as simply fooled as not long ago. The consumer can conduct easy research, promptly and thoroughly in a manner that few of the largest organizations with the greatest resources, whether they be large monolith marketing companies or government organizations, not long ago.
It might be said that computers and computer technologies have “democratized “the marketplace both from the standpoints of consumers and smaller companies and organizations wishing to promote their goods and services to the marketplace. Now even the smallest outfits can compete with the “big boys”. It’s a brave new world out there – not only for those wishing to sell but for consumers as well,
The days of product “broadcasting” to the market and marketplace are long gone.
Implementing an Effective Marketing Strategy
Developing, writing and implementing a successful Marketing Plan starts with solid Industry and Market Analysis and concludes with an implementable Marketing Strategy and Marketing Programs. A Marketing Plan is not developed and implemented independently; rather, it should be developed in tight coordination with your Business Plan Products and Services Section and at last implemented through your Company’s Strategic and Sales Plans. This article gives you an overview of what an effective Marketing Plan contains.
There is a certain approach and building-block process to developing a Marketing Plan. The place to start is analyzing your Industry: its current state; who the major participants are; changes in the industry; opportunities, economic modeling forecasts; and examining who else may enter the industry. With that completed, move on toward determining how distribution works in your industry and how technology affects its distribution systems.
After your analysis on the Industry tier is complete, it is time to particularize your focus to analyzing and defining your Market Segments.
Determinants of Market Segments are Demographics, Geographic’s, Customer Needs, Buying Patterns, Psychographics and so forth. Once your Market Segments are defined and analyzed, then for each of the Market Segments, explain how the Market Needs lead these identified groups to buy your products and services.
Having determined your market segmentation strategy, it much easier to derive your Target Markets. It is important to determine what market groups are the most vital and important to your enterprise, including what Market Niches to target. It is vitally important to narrow done and finely define your target customers’ characteristics and needs.
Determine what target market groups are more advantageous and potentially profitable than others.
The next step in the Marketing Plan Process is to analyze Market Trends from a Strategic standpoint. Look at Market Trends as a way to get ahead of the market direction, knowing with a probability of certainty where it is going before hand. Having constructed the nature and direction of Market Trends, you can now adeptly and realistically visualise your Market Growth and specific Growth Rates. Your Growth Rate Projections should identify in detail the relationship between your potential customers, sales, revenues and ultimately, profits.
With Market Trends and Growth rates determined, it is time to explain the Nature of your Competition, why customers choose one provider over the other and why customers will buy from your company instead of these competitors. Provide an elaborated competitive summary of your Products and Services’ Variables, ranking them in comparability to your Competition (example variables: Pricing, Sales, Trends, Positioning Clarity, Quality, Value, Reputation, Packaging, Advertising, Customer Service, Target Market Focus, Innovation, Brand Awareness and so forth).
Having established your Competitive Gap Threats, you can now develop a detailed Analysis of your Competitors. You must show how you can bridge your Competitive Gaps, clearly show you can effectively compete, and what areas your business is better than the Competition. It is important at this juncture to illustrate how Competitively Positioned your Company will be in the Market. Specifically, what is your Positioning Strategy and what your areas of specialty and customization? With your Company’s Competitive Positioning Strategy clearly defined and established, you can clearly explain your Company’s Competitive Edge.
Two parts remain in the Marketing Plan: the Marketing Programs and Marketing Strategy. These two vital parts are very closely linked together as the marketing program is the implementation platform of the marketing strategies.
It is important to call up that the term “Marketing” is defined as the broader effort of generating Sales Leads on a large scale basis and enticing customers to consider your products and services. Your Marketing Strategy will explain how your Marketing Program will support your Company’s Strategic Plan and specifically identify the Sales Appeal of your Products and Services. Elements to consider: Company Uniqueness, Products and Services, Positioning; Attracting and Maintaining your Market.
This is further developed in the core ingredients of the Marketing Strategy.
– Positioning Statements: Strategic Focus on the most important Target Markets; the Market’s most important Needs; and how your Products and Services meet those Needs. State the Main Competition; how your Products and Services are better.
– Pricing Strategy: Provide a Price Breakdown of your Products and Services and relate your Pricing Determinants and Strategy to your overall Marketing Strategy. Consider things like: What your Products and Services cost you to produce and sell; what your Margins will be; Discount Policies & Strategies; Dealer and Distributor Margins; Recouping R & D costs; Possibility of Pricing Wars; Critical Supply and Demand factors; How Pricing will change over time, etc.
– Promotion Strategy: This component of your Marketing Strategy will answer how you spread the word about your Company to future Customers, and how you will Promote your Products and Services. Elements to consider: Advertising, Public Relations, Trade Shows, Events, Direct Mail, Internet Strategies, Seminars, Sales Literature, Expected Response Rates, Promotion Costs, Name identification, Brand Loyalty, Advertising Budgets, Incentives; Advertising Message, Theme and Vehicles; Customer Communications and so forth. It is important to determine the Marketable Differences in your Products and Services over your Competition.
– Distribution Strategy: How will you / who will distribute your Products and Services? What is Unique in your Distribution Strategy compared to the Competition? What are your Distribution Strengths? Types and numbers of Sales People? Sales People Compensation Structure? Sales Territories? These are some of the questions you should be asking while developing your Marketing Strategy’s Distribution System.
The last Section of your Marketing Plan deals with your Marketing Programs. Areas to consider include:
? Defining Marketing Programs
? How the Marketing Strategy will be implemented
? Identify specific Marketing Plans
? State Market Gaps and how they will be met
? How performance of your Marketing Programs will be measured and quantified
? How your Target Markets relate
? How you will capture Markets others are competing for
The Marketing Programs put your Marketing Strategy into action, bringing “life” to your Marketing Plan.
Start out the new year strong with good Business Turnaround Process to pave the way for success. Consider using Venture Capital Business Plans to increase your likelihood of business success and growth. Frank Goley is a highly experienced business plan consultant, and he is author of a business plan book. Frank also writes the business success blog, and he has written over 170 articles on business success.
Tags: Effective, Implementing, Marketing, Strategy
