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Hidden away was the news that spending on Internet advertising is going to exceed 10 Billion Dollars this year, for the first time ever. The actual figure for the year is over $13 billion, and roughly translated into real money that’s £7.5 Billion.
Why is this important and what’s this got to do with your home-based online business?
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Do you want to know what it takes to successfully market a web site and generate repeat sales?
It's simple really.
You must position yourself as a perceived expert. It doesn't matter what product or service you are selling, this same premise will hold true.
What is a perceived expert, you ask?
Good question.
Gone are the days where you could build a simple company web site, list your products and send customers to an order page. New web sites are sprouting...
Would you like customers to say positve things about your
business to others?
This articles reveals one way to retain and grow your
customer base.
Don't you just love a freebie? I know I do.
I've been in two situations recently as a customer, when I received an unexpected freebie. After ordering my usual bagel and coffee at the Bagel Bar,
the girl behind counter offered me a free bottle of mineral water. I was about to ask for a glass of water anyway, so this came as a welcome surprise.
A few days later found me buying a steak at the meat counter in my local supermarket. I was having a chat with the guy behind the counter about the fact that there didn't seem to be too much meat for so much money.
He obviously took pity on my miserable face when he said - "Tell you what sir, why don't you have this other steak for the same price" and he slapped another one on top!
So what's the customer service lesson here? The lesson is that most customers, love a freebie and if they receive one from a supplier it builds a positive
relationship.
As customers, we're more likely to return and do business with people who give us freebies and we're more likely to tell other people about our positive experience.
I once read a story article about a restaurant owner who would occasionally give people a free meal. When a group of diners or a family asked for the bill he would spontaneously announce that on this occasion they were his guests and they didn't have to pay for their meal.
Can you imagine how these people felt - what they said to friends and work colleagues the next day? That free meal probably cost the restaurant owner a lot less that advertising in the local newspaper and it also brought in a lot more new customers.
The Law of Reciprocity states that - "If you give someone something or do something for them - they will want to repay you - to give you something."
Why don't you think of some little unexpected freebie you can offer your customers that'll encourage them to return and also tell others about their positive experience. And while we're at it - why not try the same thing with
members of your staff. Even your personal relationships - a small unexpected gift or an act of kindness can do wonders for any relationship.
Believe me, once you start to do this, you'll have many more satisfied customers, happy staff and appreciative friends.
Like most, my first few attempts at network marketing failed miserably. Looking back, I now realize this is because of how I was taught.
Like most, my first few attempts at network marketing failed miserably. Looking back, I now realize this is because of how I was taught. The most poisonous of the crap your upline tells has got to be that everybody is a prospect. This idea alone is probably responsible for more failures in this business than anything else. You want to lower your self-esteem a couple notches? Try using the 3-foot rule more than a few minutes.
So if everybody is not your prospect, then who is? Many these days are focusing on people looking for home-based businesses, but is this really going far enough? My own experience with this has shown me that many people looking for legitimate home businesses consider network marketing taboo. I've seriously had people ask me, "Is this MLM?" When I say it is, more often than not, the line goes dead. They have their reasons, many of them valid, but that's a whole other subject.
I've also encountered people who were looking for business opportunities who wanted nothing to do with selling. What? Show me one business that stays afloat without selling. Too many of these people believe the hype that's out there. You know, like "No selling involved?" This alone makes them less than ideal candidates to be considered a target market for network marketers.
Who then? Who understands network marketing requires work and discipline? Who has made their names list, done business presentations for their families and friends and, because they were taught to find a way to snake their business opportunity into every conversation, now find themselves not being invited to family gatherings and such? Well, considering more than 95% of network marketers fail within three to four months, the answer should be somewhat obvious. The target market for network marketers is fellow network marketers.
I'm not saying to persuade those in other companies to join your opportunity. More than likely, that would also end in frustration. However, with a 95% failure rate, there are a whole lot of people out there who believe in network marketing but haven't been given the proper support or training. This is where you come in.
If you target these disillusioned, but motivated souls, you'll find a gold mine. By teaching them solid, no nonsense marketing techniques, many are likely to succeed, which translates into more success for you.
Coming from the "Internet generation," I understand the importance of doing your business, or at least advertising your business online. The Internet has opened up a wealth of possibilities to businesses that were simply not available 10 or 15 years ago. But before I start telling my age, please let me explain further.
Open 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week
The Internet never closes down for the end of the business day or the weekend. Your businesses information and contact information is available at any time. This means that potential clients can research and decide if they want to do business with you, without having to contact you. Before, the only time a potential client could inquire about your business was during business hours, unless you wanted to give out your private phone numbers and cell phone numbers. Now, they can send you an email, and you can answer it at your convenience.
More Information Then Ever Before
The Internet does not constrain you to a certain number of words. You literally have unlimited amounts of space to talk about, advertise, and display information about your business. Before, you would have to fit what you felt was the most important information into a 30 second commercial, or a specific size of brochure.
Global Users
Before the Internet, you were required to spend large amounts of money to advertise anywhere but your local area. You had to rely on people driving by or hearing/seeing one of your local ads in order to do business with them. The Internet however, is reachable by every country on the planet, and a website or online ads usually costs exactly the same whether people from your hometown, or people from the other side of the world are viewing it.
Changeable Content
When creating a business brochure or handout, you had to make sure you only put none-dateable information in there, because after all, once they are printed, you cannot change the information. This created potentially large advertising costs, and sometimes many wasted ads due to changing information. Likewise, you were unable to change the text or print on a radio or TV ad until that ad ran its campaign. Online, changing information is as simple as point and click. Your phone number changed? Simple, log onto your website or ad and change it.
Small Cost, Large Results
We all know how expensive traditional advertising campaigns can be. A simple ad in the newspaper now costs about $15 a week, a billboard around $600 a month. However, advertising online is far less expensive. For example: a static, 5 page website will cost you around $109 (if you choose the right designer) and about $3 a month after that. That is a total of $145 dollars a year. Posting to search engines where clients can find your business is free, and allows visitors to search for, and find your website. If you choose to advertise your website on other networks, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. That allows you to control the amount of money, and you only pay for the people that actually see your website. Small businesses or businesses with small budgets and get, and maintain a website for about $.39 a day.
Overall, the Internet is not one of the best ways to successfully advertise your business. If you are new to the Internet, you may want to consider hiring a professional to develop and maintain your advertisements for you. When searching for a designer and web developer, please pay special attention to their details. Here are a few things that you will want to avoid:
1)Template Websites- Templates, sometimes called cookie cutter websites, are pre made designs and set ups of a website. Any number of other websites can use the every same template for their website. In the event that a potential customer has visited a website with a similar template to yours, then chances are they will either not take your business as serious, or reference your business with that website. Ask the potential designer if your website will be unique or made from a template before you do business with them.
2) Hourly Rate Design- Some web design companies offer "hourly rate web design." It has been found that many hourly designers will tell you something takes much longer to complete then it usually does. In this case, you will end up paying for hours of work when the work only actually took a few minutes, or they will hold your website hostage until you do. Look for set packages that list what you will get, no matter how much time it took to complete.
3) High Hosting Charges- Many new business owners and business owners not familiar with the Internet will let their web designer host their website for them. While there is nothing wrong with this, be cautious of the amount you will be paying month for their hosting. Small businesses that only require small website should not pay over $3-$7 a month for hosting. Larger businesses or businesses with large or dynamic websites should never pay over $10-$15 a month. On the other hand, you may find a design company offering free hosting as an introductory offer. If this is true, be sure to ask how much you will be paying for hosting once the offer expires.
4) Long Completion Times- Web design is a complicated process, however, a good designer can finish a website in a rather small amount of time. Be cautious of web designers that take a long time to complete each website. This may be a sign that they may have to much on their plate. If that is the case, then chances are you will not receive the proper attention and care that is needed to make a website a success. Always ask a potential designer how long it typically takes them to finish and publish a website.
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