Marketing: September 2008 Archives

Small Business Thought of The Day -  Direct Marketing Tips You Can Use Now

Tap into the power of direct marketing when developing your marketing plan. Direct marketing is a tried and true method of advertising that is easily adaptable to newer ways of communicating with customers.

Your goal in direct marketing is to turn readers into buying customers. Effective direct marketing starts with targeting the right audience. Blanket marketing will only increase your costs relative to your return. Make sure you are focusing your efforts on the right potential customers.

You message should be compelling. Concentrate on jazzing up your headline to catch the reader's attention and convince him or her to read further. Include a call to action, telling your reader what next steps to take. Never leave your reader wondering how to access your products or services.

Evaluate your direct marketing efforts. Use AB testing, also called split testing, to compare the effectiveness of your marketing plan efforts. Calculate your ROI, your return on investment, to determine whether direct marketing is increasing your business. Do not assume your plan is successful just because you are getting a response; run the numbers and make sure your increase in revenue exceeds your increase in expenditures.

If your evaluation shows room for improvement, change one aspect of your plan and try again. Repeat this step until you have achieved the best conversion rate. Do not change multiple parts of your plan at once; you will have no way of knowing what change actually caused your improved results.

The success of your direct marketing plan will depend on your preparation and strategy. Create and continuously adjust your direct marketing efforts to achieve the highest return on your advertising investment.

See Also:
Direct Marketing - 6 Simple Tips You Can Use Now

Small Business Thought of The Day - Market Research Tips

Internet marketing is all about targeting your customers for the greatest return on your advertising investment. To target your market, you have to understand how consumers choose the products they buy.

Market research gives you the information you need to effectively appeal to your customers. It gauges consumer interest in your product and helps you identify where and how to advertise your product. Effective market research relies on collecting and analyzing reliable data about consumer habits and opinions.

You can perform your own market research by surveying your existing customers or inviting potential customers to participate in evaluating your products. By communicating with your customers, you can improve your products and service while building customer loyalty.

You can also install software that will track how users view and use your web site. Understanding the behavior of your web site visitors helps you advertise more effectively.

There are several types of market research that focus on the product itself. Demand estimation tells you if your product is sellable and how much competition you face.

Commercial eye tracking research determines how your product appeals to consumers. Test marketing lets customers try out your product and make recommendations for improvement.

Other market research methods focus on the consumer's perception of your company. Brand name testing, usually through surveys, evaluates your name recognition and your appeal with potential customers. Ad tracking, the most quantitative research method, evaluates whether viewers respond to your marketing techniques by following through or abandoning the sale.

Before investing in your internet marketing campaign, take time to really learn your market. Know what your customers are looking for and what they like. Targeting your customers through market research will prevent the waste of precious advertising resources.

See Also:
Market Research Tips For Your Small Business

Small Business Thought of The Day - Failing Marketing Campaigns

Banner ads, eBay, pay per click search engine marketing, email campaigns - there are plenty of internet marketing techniques for your business to choose from, and more ideas are developed all the time. With so many choices and a worldwide potential market, it seems impossible to fail at internet marketing.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. If not planned carefully, internet marketing can drain your budget without bringing in new customers. Effective internet marketing means getting the right message to the right people.

Present a compelling reason for customers to buy from you. Project the reliability and trustworthiness of your business through your website and your emails. Be professional and respectful of the time and intelligence of potential customers who visit your web site.

Your message should be that you trust your customers to make the best choice, which just happens to be your business, and they can trust you to deliver what you promise.

Target your marketing campaigns towards the people most likely to buy your products or services. Research your target demographic and direct your internet marketing campaign towards groups within it. Find the people who want your product and inform them about you. Alternatively, place your advertisements where people who buy your type of product or service can find them, and wait for them to come to you.

If you already have an internet marketing campaign that is not performing well, evaluate its message and its audience.  You may find that some minor tweaks in your strategy will fix your problem, or you may decide to call in experts and do a complete overhaul. Either way, improving your internet marketing campaign can only improve the performance of your business.

See Also:
Why Internet Marketing Campaigns Fail and What to Do About It

Small Business Thought of The Day -  Search Engine Marketing  Tips

Search engine marketing is different from other internet marketing techniques. It is a passive form of advertising, requiring little outreach effort on your part. By choosing the right keywords and writing persuasive copy, you can effectively bring to your site potential customers who already want to buy.

The advantage of search engine marketing is that it allows consumers to find your business themselves. You don't have to pay for marketing to people who are not interested, and you don't risk getting a reputation for aggressive marketing techniques. Customers trust companies that they find on their own.

Search engines have gotten more sophisticated and continue to improve. Marketing through search engines is therefore evolving as well. Many of the improvements are rooted in new research about consumer behavior. Search engine marketing campaigns are increasingly targeted and effective as the technology and the techniques advance.

A successful web site will continue to draw customers after the first visit. If the content is engaging, traffic will increase through repeat visitors and word of mouth advertising. As traffic increases to your website, your organic search engine listing improves. As more people find your site through direct links or the unpaid search engine listings, your pay per click budget will decrease.

Most internet consumers turn to search engines to find or compare products they want. Create a strong search engine marketing campaign to tap into that market of buyers.

Even with a small budget and limited time, your business can find new customers through search engine marketing.

See Also:
Search Engine Marketing Works Here's 5 Reasons Why

Small Business Thought of The Day - Email Marketing Tips

Email marketing is a great way to connect with your customers. It is one of the original internet marketing techniques and is still very effective. Done correctly, email marketing builds customer loyalty and attracts new customers.

The most important concept in email marketing is that quality is much more important than quantity. An effective marketing email must be relevant to the readers' interests. It must invite existing and potential customers to visit your business web site. It must create a rapport with the recipients and remind them of why they would rather shop with you.

Focusing your email recipient list improves the rate of the return on your investment. Start with your existing customers and invite them to opt in to your email list. You can buy email marketing lists as well, although doing so raises the risk that your business will end up on a list of spammers. Sending out large batches of email is not effective when 95 percent of them end up blocked by a spam filter.

The key is to target your email marketing to people who are likely to welcome it and buy your product or service.  Partnering with another business in a complimentary industry or the same geographic area can give each of you access to an expanded customer base. Create a connection with those customers through similar interests, and they will be happy to receive your emails.

Email marketing has remained popular because it works.  Think of your email campaign as a networking tool and create messages that your customers will want to share with other people. The potential for expanding your market is exponential.

See Also:
Email Marketing That Gets Results