This four-pronged marketing model is used by most successful businesses and is the foundation of comprehensive marketing plans. Here’s more on the 4 Ps: Product: The goods or services your business is offering.Price: How much the consumer can or will pay for your goods or services.Place(ment): The location or environment where the product will be sold.Promotion: How your product is positioned and advertised. The easiest way to incorporate the 4 Ps is by answering these four questions: What are you offering?...

As an investor, it’s important to understand how voting shares work and how they differ from other shares you might buy. Learn what voting shares are, their features and advantages, and how to buy voting shares in a company. Definition and Example of Voting Shares Voting shares are shares of stock offered to investors by public companies that come with voting rights in the company. Voting shares are usually common stock, the type of shares that are most frequently issued by corporations....

Are you considering buying a house, and making sure your credit is ready? Here’s what you need to know. How Your Credit Score Impacts Your Mortgage Prospects If you’re planning to buy a home, your credit score will play a big part in the process. At the start, it will determine which loan options you can even consider as a homebuyer. While some loan types require minimum scores as high as 640 (conventional adjustable-rate loans), others go down to 500 (some FHA loans)....

As of 2022, it also includes optional drug coverage (Part D). Medicare can also refer to comprehensive plans offered by private companies (Part C/Medicare Advantage Plans) and supplemental plans (Medigap), also offered by private companies. First introduced in 1965, Medicare covered almost 63 million people in 2020, the most recent year for which comprehensive statistics are available. Medicare is an important part of your retirement plan. Learn the basics of what Part A does and how to sign up for it....

Also, just because a prospective employer asks a question, does not mean your former employer has to answer it. Many employers have policies about background checks that limit the information they’ll share with another company. Learn what employers can legally ask about you, how former employers (and other references) can answer, and how you can prepare for a background check. Why Employers Conduct Background Checks Why do employers want to know so much about you?...

But “sole name” is the key term here. Many individuals hold joint bank accounts with someone else, which can help you avoid that problem. Learn what happens to a joint account when one of the owners passes away. How Does a Joint Account Work? With a joint bank account, one or more people have full access to all money contained in the account, regardless of who opens it or who makes any of the deposits....

In community property states, spouses typically have equal responsibility for debts taken on during the marriage, no matter which spouse incurred them. Community property is all property, including debt, that is acquired during the marriage. This property is owned equally by each spouse. Debts are likewise considered community debts in most cases. In non-community-property (also known as equitable distribution) states, marital debt—debt owned by both spouses—is divided based on many factors, including how much each spouse makes and why the debt was incurred....

Organizations can do a poor job of introducing and using this type of multi-rater feedback process. But, it is possible, with the right steps, to do a good job of introducing and maximizing the value of 360-degree feedback. This matters because nothing raises hackles as fiercely as a change in performance feedback methods, especially when they may affect decisions about an employee’s compensation. The feedback provides insight into the skills and behaviors desired in the organization to accomplish the mission, vision, and goals and live the values....

Acronym: BCLAlternate name: Comfort letter The confirmation letter isn’t a guarantee of payment but shows a third-party seller that you have the financial resources available to complete the transaction. The exact requirements for what is included in a bank confirmation letter will vary depending on the country you live in. Regardless of your location, the letter typically must contain the signature of a bank representative who is permitted to authorize this type of transaction....

Negotiable instruments are written documents that serve as a substitute for money when purchasing something, for instance, checks, bank drafts, promissory notes, and even certificates of deposit (although certificates of deposit are almost never negotiable). A bank endorsement signifies to a seller that a negotiable instrument will be honored when presented to the customer’s bank for collection, provided that all terms of the transaction agreement are met. Alternative Name: Banker’s acceptance, time draft...

Alternate name: Giro credit It’s common to use a bank giro transfer to pay recurring bills automatically every month. For example, you might set up a giro arrangement for your credit card, phone, water, electricity, or telephone bill. You could also use a bank giro transfer to move funds between your own checking and savings accounts at different participating banks. Businesses might give your customer the option to use a bank giro transfer to pay for your products or services....

Nikada / Getty Images For example, if you’re a forex currency trader, you might focus on trading U.S. dollars and British pounds (GBP). How Forex Currency Trading Works The foreign exchange currency market, also known as “forex,” is the world’s largest financial market. More than $5 trillion is traded on the exchange every day—that’s 25 times the volume of global equities. The majority of the world’s currency is traded through this huge, highly decentralized marketplace....

Learn what an LLC is and why a business owner may form one. Definition and Example of an LLC A limited liability company (LLC) is a kind of business entity that offers its owners liability protection without the complexities that come with setting up and operating a corporation. Acronym: LLC For example, if a business owner wants to set up shop, they generally have three choices: a corporation, a partnership, or an LLC....

Alternate name: Luxury goods, superior goods Quality and craftsmanship are also important. Artisanal items, like a handmade leather wallet, may be considered luxurious along with items bearing the logo of a designer whose items are not sold everywhere. Over time, many products that were seen as luxury goods have become more accessible. In the early 20th century, running water was considered a luxury. So luxury goods do not remain constant and can change status as income, technology, and other factors change and progress....

MNCs can have a major impact on the economies of each country in which they operate. They create jobs and add money to the local tax base. Both at home and abroad, these companies often face critics, who perceive that the impact they have on these countries may do more harm than good. Definition and Examples of Multinational Corporations To be considered a multinational corporation (MNC), a company must derive at least 25% of its revenue from operations outside of its home country....

According to the American Bar Association, a security deposit is defined as “money to protect the landlord in case the tenant damages the property or fails to pay rent.” When you rent or lease an apartment, the landlord can ask for a security deposit before you move in. Depending on where you live and local landlord-tenant laws, this can be capped at one to two months’ rent. Security deposits give landlords a measure of financial reassurance in the event that you break the lease, have to be evicted, or damage the property....

A shareholders agreement is similar to a partnership agreement or an LLC operating agreement—all of these documents are agreements between owners. But the shareholders agreement doesn’t detail the operations of the company. The bylaws of a corporation describe the duties and responsibilities of the board of directors in their role of overseeing the corporation activities. The shareholders agreement is just between the shareholders. Why Does My Business Need a Shareholders Agreement?...

Let’s assume you own 100 shares of a stock that you believe will soon go down in price. To protect against an anticipated drop, you purchase a long put option (100 shares) to hedge against your losses. A long put option becomes profitable—generally speaking—as the underlying equity decreases in price. How a Short Hedge Works A common short hedge occurs when an investor purchases a put option alongside a stock they plan to hold for a long time....

d3sign / Getty Images For instance, if you wanted to know information about how shares of the Coca-Cola Company were trading, you’d look for the company’s stock quote. You’d see its ticker symbol, which is KO. You’d also see the price of each share, which was $64.74 on May 6, 2022. The stock quote shows you much more than just the current share price. It includes valuable data that you can use to evaluate the company’s shares as you decide whether to buy or sell....

Learn how tax lien certificates work, plus some benefits and risks, before adding them to your portfolio. Definition and Examples of Tax Lien Certificates Tax lien certificates represent a form of debt that’s tied to real estate. Alternate names: tax executions, certificates of purchase, tax sale certificates The National Tax Lien Association (NTLA) describes tax liens as “instruments offered for sale by local county and municipal governments as a method of recovering property tax dollars deemed delinquent due to the property owner’s failure to satisfy the debt....