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Oktoberfest is an annual celebration held in Munich that dates back to 1810. The first edition of the post-wedding party to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, and invited all of Bavaria. The event was so popular it continued year after year.

So how does this relate to marketing?

If you have more than 200 years to perfect the art of having a party, there are many things to learn. Of promotion for the brand, everything seems to contribute to one goal: Gemütlichkeit – a work of German which roughly translates to a cross between fun, warmth, courtesy, cheerfulness, and fun.

As they say when the first keg was opened and the festival begins, “It’s tapped!” So here are the top five marketing tips you can learn at Oktoberfest:

1) Increase your prices are not necessarily the best solution.

Each year, the price of one liter of beer goes up, and every year, more and more people attending the Oktoberfest. What this tells us? Lowering your prices is not necessarily a good thing.

2) Planning is paramount.

Every year, several months before the 7 million people walk through the gates and the music starts and Clank mugs, Oktoberfest is planned down to the smallest details. Märzen beer is brewed in March renowned. Large beer hall holds 10,000 people built up months in advance. Even locals get in on the planning.

3) Make a charitable donation.

Hacker-Pschorr family – one of Munich’s most famous breweries and one of the “Big Six” were allowed at Oktoberfest – donated the land where the festival was held. They are present at the first Oktoberfest in 1810, and since they gave Munich fairs to festivals, it’s safe to say that they will be allowed on each one after. Giving can go a long way.

4) Be creative with your brand.

Beer has been around for a long time in Bavaria. So long, in fact, that there is little uncertainty when some of the Big Six manufacturers even created!

What this tells us? It produces high quality products, and then just stick to it, often can be the best way to build your brand.

5) Selling an experience.

Yes, people go to Oktoberfest for beer and pretzels, and music. Some go to a specific tent for special food served there. Some chose the hall because they like the band or decorations.

With so much interest in China’s booming economy we find ourselves working with many companies entering the local market. We thought we would share some of their questions (and answers) to help others look similar steps.

T. Where should I look for my business?

A. There is no simple answer to this, many foreign business investments that are found in or around major population centers such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Q. Is it easy to open a business in China?

A. Yes and No. The Chinese government has taken great strides to make life easier for foreign investors but it is not always a simple process and can vary widely between locations. Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is one of the easiest places to open a company, but labor costs are higher than in other regions may be greater than the advantages of it.

T. What is the best structure to use for business in China?

A. There are three main types of companies that are open to foreign investment in this country: Representative Office (RO), Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WoFE), and Joint Venture (JV).

Q. Whether doing business in China is much more difficult than doing business in the West?

A. No, but different from doing business back home. The complexity of culture rather than culture-based transactional relationships often mean that it is much slower than you expect (or believe) and there is generally a lower skill base in place, so that training and development and quality monitoring should play a key part in your strategy for success

Many business owners who do not know the fact that their business success depends on the selection of their employees. The people who work for you are the ones that will make your business grow and pick the right person or the person for the job is no easy task. One thing you have to have is the HR department of your own or you can actually consider the services of a company that specializes in that.

A great HR specialist to understand that they need to retain valuable employees and will try to find ways to make employees stay with the company. These specialists are also used to the fact that there are employees who stop working without notice.
An example of this process involves the following steps:

An employee doing the work required of him
That same employee seeking greener pastures and resigned from current job
HR need to replace employees who quit
Understanding what companies really want, their vision and desire
Look for people who qualify for positions
Schedule and then individual interviews that you have found
Choose the right person to hire
Welcomed new employees as part of a team
The cycle is repeated

This is often the case in most organizations. You can not blame people if they want to find a job that has a better compensation. In this day and age when everything is more expensive, this is just a natural reaction of people. This is also the reason why companies are doing quite well give importance to their current employees and provide more benefits or compensation so that employees will remain happy and you will no longer have to hire and train again and again.

There are two famous legends about Zappos.com customer service, the largest online shoe store in the world, that I wanted to share.

Several years ago, Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, met with several vendors from Skechers. One of the vendors have the desire for pizza late at night and suggested they should call the Zappos customer service for assistance. The group laughed. Zappos CEO is not. He thinks calling Zappos customer service to inquire about the pizza is a good idea. Tony Hsieh is so confident in his company’s customer service (a shoe company, remember) that he told the vendor to make a call and ask about the pizza.

Vendor out Zappos customer service line. Zappos rep brief and courteous to make sure the caller knows he called Zappos, then said, “Of course, I can help you, give me just a moment.”

After a very brief pause, polite representative gave a list of the five nearest pizza parlor is still open. He expressed his personal recommendations in a very professional, offer to read the information in the above text, phone, or email-which is best for the caller.

As you can imagine, everyone at the table was stunned. Everyone but Tony Hsieh.

Here’s another example of Zappos:

“One of the most crazy stories,” said Jerry Tidmore, who runs a help-desk concierge service Zappos’, “is that guests check in at the Mandalay Bay hotel (in nearby Las Vegas) and forgot his shoes.”

According to Tidmore, the guest called Zappos, where he originally bought the shoes, look for a replacement, but they do not have any in stock. So companies are finding the right size underwear at a local mall, buy them and submit them to the hotel – all for free.

Yes, it is the stuff of legend.

The key provision of the legendary Customer Service

Entire books have been written about this issue, but here’s a few buttons.

1 – Focus on what you can do. Do not ever say ‘I can not,’ or ‘I’m not allowed.

Remember this: You are not guaranteed to have everything in stock all the time, you are not guaranteed to be able to answer every question every time, but you are guaranteed to help customers all the time. Period.