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Introduction
If you have a business, and want to be successful, you need to be a creative thinker and think outside of the box. The Internet is the perfect place for small businesses to establish their marketing campaign. Using the Internet for advertising is extremely cost-effective because it is so measurable and targeted towards the people you want to reach. Internet marketing allows you to compete with the competition and come out ahead.
This book will show you what you need to do to turn your online website into a resource that your customers can trust. You’ll also learn how to get more customers to visit your website. The main goal of this book is to teach you which online marketing techniques are the most effective for your business.
Some of the things that you’ll learn include:
- How to design your website to that you attract the customers you want.
- How to reach your customers through e-mail marketing.
- Why co-branding is important.
- How to choose online partners that are right for you.
- How to create customized content for you website so that your customers visit frequently.
- How to establish yourself as an expert in your specific industry.
- How to use your marketing budget without overspending.
This book will give you the latest information in marketing trends so that you make the most of your marketing budget. .
Marketing rules are the same no matter how big or small your business is: (1) brand your product, (2) determine who your target audience is, (3) get the sales, and (4) establish repeat customers.
Online Marketing Defined
The definition of online marketing is: Placing your business or product on the Internet for millions of users to access so that you can turn your website into a strong tool to maximize your sales and business potential.
But online marketing is much more than putting your advertising online.
Marketing online includes such areas as communicating with your customers, promoting your business or product online, and making sure that your website content is useful and up to date.
The great thing about online marketing is that you don’t need to have a huge budget to put together a marketing campaign that is effective. There are tools that you can use to make your marketing techniques easy and profitable such website templates, shopping cart templates, and online marketing templates.
What You Need for Online Marketing to be Successful
There are some important points to consider before you get into the strategies and intricacies of online marketing:
- Communication. An important part of online marketing is how you respond to your customer’s e-mail. You don’t want to lose potential customers after you’ve made the effort to have them visit your website and then contact you for more information. E-mail is a very effective and cost efficient way for you to generate more sales. The key to this effectiveness is “consistency”. You need to be consistent in your response to your customers. You’ll also want to make sure that the tone of your e-mail corresponds with the tone you’ve set in your website content.
- Human Resources. If you’re going to succeed online you need to have enough people working with you. Efficient websites incorporate a personal touch with a fast response time to customers. Your goal is to turn the visitors to your website into customers. The standard time for a return e-mail is from 48 to 72 hours. If you wait any longer to e-mail back you risk losing the customer. This means that if you don’t have the man power to return e-mail in two to three days you need to take another look at your marketing strategy.
- Products people want to buy online. Before you start marketing online you need to be sure that you have a product or service that people want to buy. Customers need to find a value in what you’re selling. There are two motivating factors when it comes to selling online: cost and convenience. Ask yourself if customers will find it easier to buy online than finding a local store. Is it cheaper for them to buy this from you online?
Online Goals
Once you’ve established that there is a need for your service or product you’ll be ready to determine your business goal and whether or not you can meet this goal online. If your main goal is to sell a product online you should decide how you want to make those sales.
For example, do you want customers to buy from you online or do you want them to come to you to close the sale? You’ll need to decide what action is needed for the sale to be finalized. Small businesses need marketing efforts that are targeted and precise.
Reaching Your Target Audience
A big factor to successful online marketing is knowing who your target audience is and how to reach them. To determine what types of customers you are trying to reach you should be asking yourself the following questions:
- What age group are you trying to sell to?
- Are you selling to a specific ethnic group or gender?
- Will most of your customers be married or single?
- How fast will most Internet connections be?
- Will you target customers who have children?
- What level of education will most of your customers have?
- Where will most of your customers live?
- Will your customers have any specific hobbies?
The more you know about your customers the easier it will be to come up with a marketing plan. You’ll also be able to design a website that is the most appealing to these customers. The biggest advantage of marketing on the Internet is that it allows you to become very targeted towards your desired customers.
Targeting Different Types of Customers
Marketing online is the same as marketing anywhere else. There are certain products, colors, themes, and lingo that will appeal more to some customers than to others. When you know what type of customers you’re targeting you can meet their needs so that you grab their attention. When you use certain features that pull customers to your website you have the ability to gain their attention, loyalty, and trust.
For example, studies show that most female shoppers like to save money and time. Over 80% of purchases in the home are influenced in some way by women. As well, these same studies show that women like to able to compare costs fast and easily without getting any kind of sales pressure.
If you’re trying to target women customers some things that you should keep in mind include (1) giving them a feeling of comfort and community, (2) let your website deal with everyday problems, and (3) focus on education, health, and family.