Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Q4 and Annual 2019 GDP: Economy Grows 2.3% in 2019
Economic indicators
Wilbur Ross
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 482-4883
publicaffairs@doc.gov
Today, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the fourth quarter and annual gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. The Bureau found that the real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter and 2.3 percent for all of 2019, continuing to beat expectations.
“Since the beginning of this Administration, critics have predicted doom and gloom for the American economy,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. President Trump continues to unleash incredible growth in the American economy despite the effects of Boeing’s problems with the 737 MAX and the General Motors’ strike. GDP for 2019 is more great news for the American economy and is even better than what today’s numbers show due to those two special factors. Beyond this, Americans continue to experience tremendous increases in employment and wages that prime 2020 for further economic gains. When you add in the benefits of USMCA, the Phase One Deal with China, the two trade deals with Japan, and the re-working of the free trade agreement with South Korea, America is back and competing on the world stage.”
The GDP continues to beat performance predictions before the 2016 election, and there was other good news in the BEA report:
The U.S. has the largest GDP of any country in the world, and it continues to grow at a sustained rate. U.S. GDP reached an all-time high in 2019 of $21.43 trillion.
The growth of the goods GDP rose by an impressive 4.7 percent, while services was at 1.7 percent.
Consumer spending increased by 2.6 percent last year and spending on durable goods surged by 4.7 percent in 2019.
Personal income reached an all-time high of $18.6 trillion, up from $17.8 trillion in 2018.
The personal savings rate increased to 8 percent for the year, with Americans saving $1.31 trillion in 2019, up from $1.21 trillion in 2018.
The long period of massive import surges of goods is finally abating. For the year, imports of goods rose by only 0.2 percent, the lowest yearly increase since 2009.
To view the Gross Domestic Product, Fourth Quarter and Annual 2019 full release click HERE.
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Wilbur Ross
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Year: <span>2020</span>
Traditional Marketing Techniques
Recently, I spoke to two entrepreneurs about possible ways of marketing their business. I sensed from our conversation that they were not fond of online promotion. They were not knowledgeable about online marketing and they were looking for an alternative way to promote their business. Therefore, I did not suggest any digital marketing media such as websites, blogs or social media. My suggestions were time-tested old school techniques.
Get involved with the community by joining the Chamber of Commerce or Rotary. These organizations will help you get connected with the local community. You can participate in charity fundraising events, donate your time and services, or do public speaking engagements that demonstrate your expertise on a particular topic.
Mail/email marketing is a strategy to connect with your customers and prospects. You can use mail/email to send out routine information like appointment reminders, but you can also use mail/email to send out marketing materials like newsletters
Newsletters are a means of keeping your consumers informed. Your newsletter may include news articles related to different topics ranging from industry news to current promotions. Giving out tips is a customer service technique of reassuring customers that you care about their satisfaction, even when they don’t need to come into your office or store.
Attending trade shows and fairs will create brand awareness in the community for your business. This gives potential new customers and suppliers a chance to view your brand. Something as simple as a free sample of your product or service can be a stimulus in creating interest.
Hopefully, you found some of these suggestions helpful.
Email Marketing
The benefit of email marketing is a cost-effective method of sending your message to your customers or potential customer whose names and email addresses you have amassed. This treasure trove of prospects can be contacted regularly with a monthly newsletter, periodic promotional announcements, and special offers.
Email marketing can create stronger awareness for your business, products and customer relationships.
Top 5 email platform providers
1. Drip Ecommerce CRM (www.drip.com) Drip-powered brands are using E-commerce CRM data and marketing automation to build personalized marketing experiences, drive meaningful engagement, and earn long-term customer loyalty.
2. Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com) Bring your audience data, marketing channels, and insights together so you can reach your goals faster. With Mailchimp, you can promote your business across email, social, landing pages, postcards, and more — all from a single platform.
3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud (www.salesforce.com ) Reach individual customers through hundreds of features to help you create tailored, relevant content — from basic email marketing tools to sophisticated cross-channel campaign functionality.
4. Campaign Monitor (www.campaignmonitor.com) Create beautifully branded campaigns with this simple email builder.
Editors can spend more time doing what they do best—engaging people through email. It’s all the builder you need and then some.
5. SendInBlue (www.sendinblue.com) Promote your brand and grow your business with beautifully designed emails
Social Media Advertising vs Traditional Advertising
Advertising media in America had its inception almost three hundred years ago when Benjamin Franklin published the Pennsylvania Gazette which included print advertising. In 1922 WEAF NY offered ten minutes broadcast radio time for $100.00. In the late 1940s television was the new addition. About a decade ago we saw the emergence of a new medium online marketing.
I’ve read many articles online extolling the superiority of social media marketing over traditional advertising. There are strengths and benefits to each form of advertising. The one major benefit to small business owners is the low cost and flexibility of social media. Choose a comprehensive strategy that works for you.
When creating ad copy there are certain elements that are basic to different forms of advertising media whether using print advertising, direct mail, email or an online landing page. The fundamentals remain the same.
1. Make the offer, give the prospect a reason to learn more about the product or service.
2. The headline explaining the key benefit or offer you are making.
3. Include an image, one or two striking pictures that illustrate the offer.
4. The body of the ad includes details about the offer, details about the store or product and any other information you want to highlight.
5. A call to action. Set a time limit, clear and concise instructions for what the readers should do.
6. Include contact information with the logo.
Please leave comments on topics would be interested in reading.
Social Media Marketing for Small Business
Modern advertising has traditionally been the domain of print, broadcast and direct mail media. These forms of advertising have required large financial expenditures that were out of reach for most small businesses. Print promotions required an advertising agency to create artwork, and write copy adding to the cost of the ad. Television advertising requires scriptwriters, artists, film crews and other support personnel again, a major expense.
The internet has ushered in a new dawn with the advent of social media marketing which has no financial expense, just the cost of your time. This democratization of advertising and sales promotion had given small businesses the ability to reach a large audience. Software to create graphics, photos and video are available at very reasonable prices. An example is an ad created by my former students who were marketing management majors at Penn State. They had limited experience with camcorders, editing software, and scriptwriting, but they created a commercial for a small business.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6aaptd5ean0x5i8/Our%20Family%20Cafe.mp4?dl=0
With some effort, you can do the same.
Here is a list of the top social media marketing sites.
1. Facebook (www.facebook.com) Best for B2C (business to consumer)
2. Twitter (www.twitter.com)
3. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) Best for B2B (business to business)
4. Instagram (www.instagram.com) Best for selling visually-oriented products.
5. Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) An image curation website
6. Youtube (www.youtube.com) video-hosting website
7. Yelp (www.yelp.com) Crowd-sourced review forum
8. MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) email marketing service