Marketing - Getting it right brings BIG Benefits

Getting it Right

If you are reading this, the chances are that you are likely to be in business or perhaps thinking about creating a business.

Being self employed can be very rewarding, it can also be soul destroying for the unwary or the undisciplined, so how can you make sure that you do the right things to make your business grow and prosper.

Understand your target Audience

Blanket advertising or promotions may attract business, but targeted marketing and advertising will win more than the scattergun approach every time. It is essential to remember that brochure readers will at some point probably read all or most of the brochure that they will have picked up.

Getting the approach right!

On the other hand, visitors to your website will scan the content quickly to find what they are looking for, they will not read word for word everything that is on the page, unless it really interests them and they have actually honed in on something they wanted.

When writing content be prepared for this and cater for the browser rather than the reader by using teaser text which give just enough information and then provide a link which would take the visitor to a page should they want to read the whole of the text on a specific subject

Here are some points to remember: -

1. Never Assume that traditional marketing techniques will work on the Internet, chances are they won't!
   
2. Don't Make your website look like your brochure
3. Don't Make your brochure look like your website
4. Too often business owners are failing to target properly for client types and preferences – on the Internet and when using traditional marketing techniques
5. Get to know about and understand the Seven P’s of Marketing (The Marketing Mix)
6. Work with people who understand how to market on the Internet, it’s a skill that can take some time to master so use someone who is good at it, it will save you time and money in the long run.
7. Work with good marketeers when using traditional marketing methods, they can get you places you would never achieve on you own, if they are good at what they do. Usually a good Internet Marketeer will work with a good traditional marketeer, so use their contacts to your advantage. Bill Gates has said that if he only had two dollars left one of them would be spent on PR!
   
8. Ask advice about costs, if you can’t afford it then look at ways you could be able to afford it, such as grants and loans which spread the cost over one to five years. It could really bring results more quickly. The alternative is to do if from working capital and that could take you some time. Good marketeers will usually have contacts who can help you with costs if you don’t want to use your own bank.

It's Doers not thinkers that make the world go round

You can strategise all you want when planning and starting a new business, the same if you are running an existing business; all the planning in the world will not bring in one jot of profit if you don't DO something about it. Alan Sugar in a recent episode of the Apprentice berated his prodigies and shouted at them "I want Doers not strategists" and he's right.

Now I will go along with that statement most of the way, however where I won't is in the planning. I firmly believe that a little planning goes a long way and can save loads of miss-spent cash so by all means plan and plan well, but don't forget that at some point some one in the business is actually going to have to get out there and make the planning work.

An unbelievable number of business plans lie on floors and in dusty drawers and cabinets because the plan had no one to take the idea and actually "Make It Happen!." Once you know what you are doing the planning is the easy bit. Getting out there and doing the business is the hard bit, so what are the failings that we should all be trying to avoid?

Know your market:

Probably the biggest failing with owner managers is lack of understanding their market and not carrying out market research to establish the potential for success or failure. Modern technology when used properly has removed the lack of foot-fall past a business or lack of buyers locally for the internet turns even the smallest of businesses into International Players. If you don't have any experience in marketing I would suggest that taking a Marketing course would be a sound investment. You can find some useful hints on marketing freely available if you visit the Cumbria Business Portal where tips are freely available.

Here on the Cumbria Business Portal you will be able to view the seven P’s of the Marketing Mix and other marketing tips for using the Internet to promote your business.

Common Website Mistakes

Whether you're using a web designer to build your site or doing it yourself, there are simple mistakes that most sites make.

Have a read through this top ten list and check them against your website. They're easy to fix and will make a fantastic difference to the usability of your website. But most of all, they'll help you make more sales or increase the number of enquiries from your site.

1. Avoid clutter. NEVER underestimate the value of 'white space' on a page. White space on a website makes it easier to see the message, the products and make a decision to actually buy something.
2. Avoid jargon, okay so some things are technical but don't resort to too much industry speak, your customers might not understand a word of it even if you do! Don't use acronyms without explaining their meaning and try to make your message clear.
3. Don't assume that everyone will understand what you've written. Where possible expand on your topic using descriptive words. I went to a meeting where someone talked about 'continuous stationery', I had no idea what he was talking about and I had to ask, he spent forty minutes of his presentation asking for leads into businesses who used continuous stationery. I asked who might use it and what it actually was and he told me that haulage companies use it for delivery notes and invoices, finally I understood his message and was able to refer him into several companies. I don't know his industry or his jargon and he forgot that. If I hadn't asked my questions he'd have missed the opportunity to talk to those companies.
4. Repeat the benefits, incentives and features of your product/service. It's like the advice given with public speaking or presentations. Tell them the main message at least three times - repetition builds reputation.
5. Break down text into headings, sub headings and brief paragraphs. Don't use too much concentrated text because your readers will just skim a page, not 'read it'.
6. Use relevant content, your website should do what it says on the tin.
7. Keep the format the same across the website, so that users know they're still on your site and recognise it when they visit you again.
8. Don't use clever words or talk down to your visitors they shouldn't have to pick up a dictionary to work out what you're saying to them. Know your audience. The same article wouldn't appear in The Times and The Sun newspapers, it would be rewritten to match the vocabulary and reading preferences of the target audience.
9. Check your spelling and grammar, it looks very unprofessional to your users if your text is badly written or your spelling is appalling.
10. Appeal to the visitor's emotions. I might like the rubber duck you're trying to sell me, but why do I want to buy it? Make me want to buy it by reminding me of the rubber duck I had in my bath as a child, or how much fun the rubber ducky can be. Play on my emotions and I'll buy your product.

Next week I'll be talking about page layout and how that will help your visitors to find what they want quickly and easily.



To read more articles on these subjects visit our main website for information on ecommerce websites.