Is our fourth of July Independence Day a celebration of our economic system?

Some people contend that it is our economic system that has enabled the USA to become so prosperous. Certainly it encourages taking risks to better oneself, and the benefits of those risks often benefit many people with more and better products and services, more jobs, advancing technologies, etc.

Other people believe that our economic systems makes it difficult for regular people to start and grow a business. According to the Small Business Administration approximately five percent of USA businesses fail every year. Most of these failures are small businesses.

Still other people could care less about small businesses. Large investors, and many people who just invest in stocks through their retirement funds, just want a good return on their investments. So they tend to favor large business.

But even in large businesses, some people find the way our economic system works disturbing. For example CEO salaries have increased 340 percent since 1990, while average worker’s wages increased only 36 percent. In 1980, CEO incomes were 42 times that of the average worker in a corporation. Now CEO incomes average 532 times more than their workers.

Most CEOs are employees. They didn’t start their corporations. They didn’t take the risks. They just work there. And sometimes they don’t even make the company profitable.

Many people see a problem in an economic system that produces such disparities among workers. But you can bet that CEO’s, members of boards of directors, and large investors don’t think it’s a problem. If they did, they would change it.

As a small business owner do you know how your target market members feel about our economic system? Or do you just assume that they feel the same as you do? If you’re not in the same social class as your target market, you’re probably wrong.

That’s why market segmentation is necessary. It reveals differences by social classes, lifestyles, and many other market segments. If you aren’t aware of those differences, you can make fatal marketing blunders.

So what do you think of our economic system. Is it the reason that you celebrate this fourth of July?

Leave a comment and let others know why you’re celebrating the fourth of July. And if you like this series of posts, let others know by submitting it to your favorite social networks. Buttons are provided below.

For the concluding post in this series, click below:
Why Are You Celebrating The Fourth of July Tonight?

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Posted 7-3-08: Are You Celebrating Our Economic System This
Fourth of July?

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Is our fourth of July Independence Day a celebration of our political system?

If so, it has changed considerably from our first Independence Day. We already have 27 amendments to our constitution. Then we have many Supreme Court rulings that have altered our political system in some way.

Some people lament every time the Supreme Court makes a ruling that changes our political system. Some never support amendments. Such people are constitutional purists. They believe that the “word” of the constitution must be upheld.

Other people rejoice when the Supreme Court overturns some Congressional law or regulation, deciding that it is unconstitutional. Some people devote their time and their money to getting amendments past. They believe it is the “intent” of the constitution that must be upheld.

So some people lament every change, while others celebrate. Some people contend that our system is broken, especially during election years. Yet, others are content with our growing, changing political system.

You may be in one of these groups of people, or you may be more in the middle, or you may just not care one way or another. We all have different beliefs, especially about our political system. I believe these differences make us strong.

But they also complicate small business marketing, and that’s another reason why business owners of all sizes need market research. Market segmentation is the market research that best captures differences in people by market segments. It helps business owners to better understand what their target market members believe about politics and other issues. Thus, it improves marketing.

Our political system has changed drastically from the one that our founding fathers envisioned. And it continues to change.

So is our political system what we really celebrate on Independence Day? Is it what you’ll celebrate this fourth of July?

Leave a comment and let others know what you think. And I encourage you to tell others about this series of posts on the “fourth of July”. You can use the buttons below to submit it to your favorite social networks.

You can access the first post in this series below:

Why And How Will You Celebrate The Fourth Of July?

To get to the next post in this series, click the link:
Are You Celebrating Our Economic System This Fourth of July?

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Posted 7-2-08: Are You Celebrating Our Political System This
Fourth of July?

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Is our fourth of July Independence Day a celebration of our nation?

We celebrate the fourth of July as Independence Day because the Declaration of independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

Was our nation formed on that first Independence Day?

Our constitution, that really established the USA as a nation, wasn’t adopted until more than eleven years later on September 17, 1787.

But even if you believe that the fourth of July does celebrate the formation of our nation, is it the same nation today?

Originally the nation was 13 states in what is now one little corner of the mainland USA. But 50 states now span thousands of miles on the mainland. Then there’s Alaska and Hawaii.

So is the USA nation as we know it today, the same nation that it was then? If not, are we really celebrating our nation this fourth of July?

USA citizens feel differently about the state of our nation.

If your a country music lover like I am, you’ll surely remember the trouble that the Dixie Chicks go into for making negative statements about President Bush and the war in Iraq. Many fans burned their CDs and refused to go to their concerts. Some even called country radio stations and complained when their songs were played.

Yet, music stars in other genres could have easily escaped such criticism and loss of fan support. In fact, in some genres, it may have earned them fan support. The Dixie Chicks failed to understand that country music fans, as a whole, are very patriotic, and that failure costs them loads of money.

Small business owners cannot afford to make such mistakes.That’s why market segmentation is so vital.

What do you think as you celebrate the fourth of July? Or do you even think about it?

I’d appreciate your comments to get a informal poll on why we celebrate the fourth of July.

And if you like this series of posts on the fourth of July, will you please submit one or more of the pages to your favorite social networks. Several buttons for the most popular are provided at the bottom of this page. Or if you are an Onlywire member, you can use its link.

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Are You Celebrating Our Political System This Fourth of July?

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Posted 7-1-08: Are You Celebrating Our Nation This
Fourth of July?

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Is our fourth of July Independence Day a celebration of our history?

It is certainly based in history. But what historical event are we celebrating?

Is it the day that our founding fathers declared our Independence from Britain?

Is it the beginning of our revolutionary war?

Is it the ending of that war?

I know it’s on the anniversary of our founding fathers’ acceptance of the Declaration of Independence, but was that the day that we actually became an independent nation. I’d say that day was the ending of the revolutionary war.

In fact, it seems to me that our Declaration of Independence was actually a declaration of war against Britain. Had we lost that war, we would not have become an independent nation, at least not at that time.

The confederacy made a similar declaration to become independent from the USA, but lost the civil war and did not get that independence.

So when you celebrate the USA fourth of July Independence Day, are you celebrating an historical event or something else.

We all celebrate different holidays in different ways and for different reasons. That’s just one of many reasons that market segmentation is important. If I celebrate the fourth of July as Independence day, but you think more of it as a celebration of the USA history, I must recognize that we celebrate for different reasons. Otherwise, a marketing campaign for the fourth of July with you as my target market will surely fail.

Yet, so many small business owners assume that everybody thinks just like they do. That’s a sure way to get poor return on marketing investments.

I’d love your comments, and will appreciate you using the buttons at the bottom of the page to submit this series of “fourth of July” posts to your favorite social networks.

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Posted 6-30-08: Are You Celebrating Our History This
Fourth of July?

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As we near the fourth of July, the day that we in the USA celebrate Independence Day, it’s important to consider what we are really celebrating?

Is our Fourth of July Independence Day a celebration of of our history, our nation, our political system, our economic system. Or is it a celebration of all these things.

Today and through next week, I’ll be departing from my usual posts on market segmentation and other marketing-related topics to think about the USA fourth of July Independence Day. I’ll be providing some thoughts that you may agree with or that may even make you angry that I dare express them.

But I believe that questioning is a good thing. It helps us to grow as a people and a nation.

To start this series of fourth of July posts, I want to discuss our people and then I request your input.

Besides Native Americans, the first residents of our country were from Europe, mostly from Britain. Now we are a nation of people originating from many countries and many continents.

Our first culture was one of similar backgrounds and shared culture, but now our people have many different backgrounds, and culture diversity is the norm. Diversity of all kinds has changed the USA from a “melting pot” to a nation with many subcultures and many languages.

In fact, this site is built on better understanding the many USA citizens. Market segmentation is really just a way to understand people’s differences. It’s needed by business owners because we have become so diverse.

So for this fourth of July, I want to start by celebrating our people and their diversity. This is where I request your comments. Please tell me and my readers:

Why are you celebrating this fourth of July?

How will you celebrate it?

Who will you celebrate it with?

Will you buy lots of fireworks and make lots of noise? Will you go to a community sponsored fireworks display with your family? Will you get drunk with your friends? Will you stay home and watch a patriotic program on television? Will you blend celebration traditions from another nation and another culture with the USA traditional celebrations?

I’m going to have my mother, brother and their families over. We’re going to cook out a late dinner. Then about 9 p.m. when it gets dark, we’ll go out on the deck in front of my third floor office and watch the fireworks across the several ridges and mountains that are in view from the deck. We may even share some wine, but it will be a quite family evening. That’s the traditional way of celebrating in my family.

Now tell me about your plans for the fourth of July and, if you please, how those plans relate to your family, your national heritage, and your culture.

And if you want others to read about your plans or you just enjoyed this post, please click on the buttons at the bottom of the page to submit it to the social networks that you belong to.

To get to the next post in this series, click here - Are You Celebrating Our History This Fourth of July?

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The fourth of July Independence Day?

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