Today’s the fourth of July, Independence Day here in the USA.

I’ve been posting for a week now, asking why you’ll be celebrating today and tonight. Have you thought about what the fourth of July means to you other than a reason to celebrate?

Tonight as you celebrate in the way that you choose, will you be celebrating independence, our nation, our political system, our economic system, or will you really be celebrating them all?

I hope you’ve taken time to think about the issues that I’ve raised in these “fourth of July” posts. And if you have shared your thoughts as comments, I thank you. If you’ve submitted any of these “fourth of July” posts to one or more social networks, I double thank you.

This is the first time that I’ve written a series of posts completely off topic for my blog and site. I expect Google won’t like them, but I hope you have.

If you found my blog because of these “fourth of July” posts, and you have any interest in marketing, I ask that you look at some of my many posts on market segmentation and more general marketing topics. If you find then informative, please come back and visit again.

My posts aren’t written for entertainment although I do occasionally tell a personal story to illustrate a point. I write this blog to provide good solid marketing information for small business owners.

If you’re a small business owner and would like for me to cover a specific topic on my blog, just leave a comment to that effect, and I’ll do my best to honor your request.

Thanks again for reading my “fourth of July” posts.

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Posted 7-4-08: Why Are You Celebrating
The Fourth of July Tonight?

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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.

Click the following link to get to the next post in this series:
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.

To read the next post, click here - Are You Celebrating Our Nation This Fourth of July?

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

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