Marketing To Needs Or Wants

Feb 182012

Marketing To Needs and Knowing What Your Niche Needs

Let’s face it clever marketers know how to blur the otherwise clear understanding between what people need and what they want but marketing to needs builds business credibility and longevity.

Integrity isn’t a strong suit in the corporate world but thanks to the internet and immediate recognition those underhanded marketing shenanigans that used to fool the masses are now being exposed by millions of watch dog consumers.

Products and services without actual value have an ever shrinking market whereas products that offer true value do so because they meet real world needs.

Better and Better

The competition between quality products will usually produce improvements that go well beyond the actual need. Providing the price doesn’t become inflated with the additional enhancements those bells and whistles can be an added bonus to the campaign.

In terms of consumer electronics it’s easy to lose customers in the details. People are more apt to pull back from a decision because of information overload.

If you shop online you may have noticed that details, features or specifications are usually tucked behind a radio button the consumer needs to push. Only the immediate answer to a specific need is presented up front.

3 Things To Focus On

1.   Identify the need
2.   Answer the need
3.   Make the connection on an emotional level

Buying is basically an action driven by emotion. From the food at the supermarket to goods and services we attach emotions to every dime we spend.

Remorse is an emotion marketers seek to avoid and bringing home something that you don’t really need is the perfect recipe for buyer’s remorse.

Parents see this time and again in the mountain of toys their kids wanted but never used. Perhaps part of the guilt we feel over items we purchased but didn’t really need is carried over from our childhood experience.

It Slices and Dices

The multiple use item, or the item that meets multiple needs has a clear marketing advantage over something that meets a single need and a couple of wants.

Once again clever marketers know how to paint that second, third and fourth want as a need. The only person who can say whether or not it is a true need is the individual doing the shopping.

Marketing to needs within any niche is going to cover some grey area between end consumers. If you can honestly answer why a certain feature meets a need then your product and company integrity will remain intact.

Thanks in advance for sharing and if you have any questions about marketing to needs we’d love to help.

Using Direct Response Marketing For Network Marketing

direct marketing, direct response marketing, internet marketing, Leadership, Marketing, Network Marketing, online business world 1 Response »

Oct 102011

Direct Response Marketing and The Marketing Funnel

Every network marketer is continually looking to build networks within networks and direct response marketing is process for building them. This principle is logically sound because people are more productive working with people who share similar passions.

Whether those efforts are based on a new product release or a completely new business venture they’re reflected in a marketing funnel of any size and at any level.

At the top of our marketing funnel we’re looking for people who are interested in the online business world. That’s a broad niche but a niche nonetheless because everyone we find on the internet isn’t interested in doing business there.

Direct Response Marketing and Niche Marketing

Permission based marketing is accomplished when people choose to be courted as a lead or prospect. Direct response marketing begins before an individual first decides to be courted and continues until they sever the relationship.

The broadest niche is usually filled from responses to online content or ads at which point they become leads. Network marketing depends upon a steady flow of these leads even though many of them never buy or join your business.

The next response either through phone or email will determine if a lead becomes part of a smaller network or not. This process is the same if your lead list is 100 or 10,000 and continues as long as you have something new to offer (which in well developed funnels can be endless).

New Offers – Direct Response Marketing to your Existing Network

In the same way you would build a smaller network from a larger network, you would present new offers to appropriate networks. Sales and business building should always follow the response back to an offer and be directed to just those who welcome that courtship.

A gentleman used to ask permission from a lady’s parents and then the lady herself prior to courting her. Even if he’s the prince protocol must be maintained.

The quickest way to dissolve a network is to pitch them endlessly about every little thing you or some affiliate has available. Always asking permission at every stage of the marketing funnel engages the decision making process of your prospects; true leaders are also decision makers.

Teaching and Training – Direct Response Marketing and Leadership

Here’s another principle related to network marketing. Every network marketer leads a team of leaders.

Leadership is always a high priority for teaching and training. Everyone in the network knows how they arrived there and what is required of them provided they were engaged in the direct response marketing process.

Knowing why the process is important also helps preserve the integrity of the network. Learning how direct response marking works is far easier when you were a willing participant in that process, and easier to teach others as well.

Comments and questions are always encouraged. Thanks in advance for sharing.

Advertising Online For Local Traditional Businesses

advertising online, home business, internet marketing, internet presence, local business, Marketing, online business world, SEO, social media, social media marketing 1 Response »

Aug 142011

What Local Business Owners Discover When Advertising Online

Old school advertising methods still work for some but increasingly we find advertising online has a much greater impact for local business owners. I’m always impressed when a local contractor not only recognizes the differences in ROI between print and online advertising, but also takes the time to track results.

I spend a lot of time with network marketers or web based business owners who basically drive the demand for improvements to tracking online results. From a marketing perspective it really doesn’t matter where you invest your advertising dollar as long as you know exactly how well your ad campaigns are performing.

The potential to drill down to a well defined niche target and not waste money speaking to an audience you can’t possibly serve is why internet marketing beats print or public media advertising for cost effectiveness.

Advertising Online with Social Media

I don’t expect seasoned plumbers or electricians to have the same working knowledge of social media advertising. As long as they’ve experienced the potential of an ‘Adwords’ campaign they’re essentially predisposed to jumping into the deep end.

For most small business owners who service a local clientele the social media campaign can be managed in just a few hours a week. A family member or administrator can spend about 15 to 20 minutes a day updating, responding and sharing.

While hiring a social media manager may not be obtainable for all small businesses, the skills can be mastered by anyone. Most people already know how spread news online and the menus for placing ads in social media are as friendly as the platform itself.

SEO vs. The Chamber of Commerce – or – Advertising Online vs. Print Ads

Depending upon the business you’re looking to attract, joining your local chamber may be a good idea.

Businesses typically trust chamber members but these days the local chamber can be full of competition. Everyone has the opportunity to place their ads in the chamber’s directory but anyone who wants more information is going to find it online.

SEO is important for your online business world as it relates to being found according to the relevance of your site or other online content. Advertising online through SEO is usually considered free, although there is work involved. For local businesses most of that SEO effort is focused on location.

Advertising Online as a Fully Branded Entity

Recognition and reputation go hand in hand. Comments, recommendations and reviews drive interest.

What people are saying about you on the street defines your brand in the real world. What they say about you online defines your brand in the online business world.

Advertising online isn’t just about making a connection between the person who clicks your ad and your local business. It’s also about sharing your brand with them in a way that allows them to share it with the rest of their online world.

If you’re a local or traditional business owner with results or insight you’d like to share about advertising online we welcome your input. For practical help with every aspect of doing business online please visit ‘Free Online Home Business Training’ to discover how to apply the techniques used by home business owners for your traditional business.

Social Media Manager

internet marketing, social media, social media marketing 1 Response »

Mar 192011

Social Media Manager: New Career for a New Industry

Whether the engineers behind the first online social networks ever imagined they’d be creating an industry or replacing one, social media has impacted how business owners communicate with the public so profoundly that the social media manager has become one of the most sought after roles in internet marketing.

Earned media is a relatively new term with an extensive history. The intention of every business is to grow and growing through word of mouth required a great deal of money in the age of paid advertising. The problem business owners face today is exactly the same problem social media answers; how to grow.

Once Upon A Time

From the perspective of the TV audience the explosion of cable and satellite service made staying home far more entertaining. Dozens of channels makes it easy to find something of interest to almost anyone at any time day or night and recording devices eliminate or allow viewers to skip commercials.

Although the price of commercial airtime has drastically reduced, one very interesting commercial that never aired before is worth noting. Stations now advertise the potential advantages of advertising with them. Why is that?

In truth the likelihood of catching your target audience at exactly the right time of day in the hopes that they won’t change the channel when your commercial is on are slim. The more obvious problem is that no one is waiting for a commercial on radio or TV before they decide to make a purchase.

Why People Buy

Why people buy is far more important than when they buy. We all have a deep emotional connection to why we buy anything from food to houses. We decide to finally make the purchase when we find what we’re looking for.

Failing to make the emotional connection first is why interruption marketing costs far more than it’s worth. Business owners are leaving this model in droves because regardless of how many millions of viewers they can dazzle with a commercial they have no way of first establishing an emotional connection.

Everyone loves watching the Superbowl commercials. They vote on favorites and have contests. What amazes me the most is when those really ambiguous spots run for millions of dollars and everyone in the room says, “What was that for?”

Social Media Is Emotional

Right out of the gate people are engaged emotionally because that’s what social sites are all about. Earned media is the initial step when launching a marketing campaign on a social network.

This isn’t a three pronged approach or a complicated scheme. You don’t have to select your audience or sell them anything. Simply enter the virtual world of people who share an emotional connection to your products and services.

The atmosphere breeds the sharing of experience and provided you continually offer a valuable or rewarding experience, more people will hear about you. From the small business on the corner of Main Street, to the global reseller who works from home the benefits of a well managed social media marketing campaign are worth far more than it ever costs.

Timeless and Continuous

Speaking strictly in terms of how Facebook works the links that lead potential customers directly to your website are never hard to find. Posts that are shared can start going viral immediately because every single friend in that person’s network has the ability to post to their respective network.

The like button affects far more than the compulsion for others to read what their friend likes, it begs an emotional response, “Click like to agree with me!”

At one time called ‘Business Pages’ then ‘Fan Pages’ now ‘Like Pages’ Facebook now brings it all back into the same context. You like many of the things, including a business page, that your friends like, and they like what you like. And those pages you like are remembered conveniently in the left hand column (for now).

Professional and Social

How about the businesses that are looking for professionals to network with both online and in person? Social media managers help arrange the details of corporate events while giving them the friendly flavor that makes work more enjoyable.

Expanding your client list through exclusive social media networks is far more practical than the old school method of mailing out invitations. While email invitations may be a practical step to reminding people of upcoming events the real kicker is:
1.   An online video presentation of the event
2.   A detailed layout of the location
3.   Links to the hotel or conference center
4.   Online registration and booking
5.   Details of the events agenda

Images of a golf course, spa or restaurant go a lot further toward engendering an emotional reaction to a business event than text copy on a folded piece of paper.

Integration of Social Media

For those of us who always looked at social media marketing as one of the important aspects of an overall marketing strategy, the social media specialists have become far more valuable of late. At one time the challenge was simply to fuse business websites and blogs with social sites.

Now the challenge involves mobile communications and e-commerce within the same social setting. If you have a customer who’s ready to make a purchase you don’t want to send them to another store, you want to close the deal.

The bigger sites also want the same thing which is why they want users to have the ability to find whatever they need, schmooze, make a purchase, learn something new, or watch a funny video while riding the train home from work at night; all on a single app.

Tying It All Together

In an effort to make it all manageable for the common mortal companies are now developing sites that attempt to roll it all into one place meaning you can post to multiple sites from one location. If the intent is just to make an announcement that would be fine but imagine having to carry on the same conversation in 20 different locations with hundreds of different responses. Suddenly it doesn’t sound so easy.

Not to knock these companies because they do answer many important needs except for needing someone to manage it all. The obvious advantage of being able to post content in one location and have it hit multiple sites means that you only have to post it once, but what happens to all the responses that go unanswered? Not only is that not a good thing from a business perspective, it isn’t very social.

I’ve been asked whether a company should have their own SEO specialist and the short answer is yes. SEO and social media aren’t necessarily exclusive but they’re both critical in the online business world. I wouldn’t hire an SEO specialist that isn’t aware of the valuable part social media plays anymore than I’d hire a social media manager that doesn’t understand SEO.

The Big Picture

Marketing includes every aspect and every department associated with business and I’ve said before that you construct a business model with your marketing plan. If the marketing plan includes commercial advertising that no longer provides an adequate ROI the business model falls apart.

Like a building that has been damaged it is necessary to remove part of that structure in order to save the building. If you’re tracking the ROI of your print ads, radio and TV spots and they’re still effective, great. If you can’t track them it might be necessary to weigh their importance based on growth over the last 5 years.

Any paid advertising campaign whether it’s social media or billboards along the highway should be measured against growth. Businesses don’t advertise to sustain the same results or keep the same client base.

Why It Works

We’ve established that social media allows businesses to integrate themselves into the framework of specified society. You don’t have to invest in reaching people that are not interested in what you offer.

You have an opportunity to introduce yourself, your brand, your product, your service and your vision where you can expect a warm welcome. If done correctly you become popular and everybody likes you.

Outsourcing or hiring an employee to handle this aspect of your business isn’t going to be a choice for long and for some businesses it isn’t a choice any longer. Many companies are handing this responsibility over to current members of their marketing department. While most of the work done by your social media manager will involve consistently engaging your ‘friends’ they’ll still face the challenge of keeping up with the changes and developments affecting how the process works.

Join the discussion and share with your friends… Social media users and business owners both benefit from knowing the potential of what can be done.

Online Blogs for Business - Building a Blog In 3 Steps

home business blogs, internet marketing, internet presence, SEO 1 Response »

Jan 282011

Building a blog is becoming easier and online blogs continue to serve as the cornerstone for establishing an internet presence. Even larger companies realize they leave too much SEO potential on the table if they don’t utilize business blogs in their online business world.

First Step – Your URL (Domain Name)

Carefully deciding what to call your blog is essential if you’re hoping to optimize the potential of a specific keyword phrase that is unique to your business. Every good building starts with a plan and the domain name you choose can support every page and post.

If you don’t have a hosting account look for one that offers unlimited domain names as well as the first one free with your account purchase. Savvy business owners will utilize multiple blogs to serve specific areas of their business.

The first step is actually completed when you’ve purchased a hosting account and your domain name. You’ll typically receive a c-panel login ID and password to access your account.

Second Step – Installing The Software (WordPress)

Tech support is a feature of almost every hosting company although the quality of that support may not be the same, they should be able to assist you with any questions you have as long as you know what you want to do.

If you tell them that you want to install WordPress on your new domain they’ll either, walk you through it, refer you to a video or email the steps to follow. The most important step is to select the logon ID and password to access your blog.

During this process you’ll either install the script into the root of your domain or to another location if you want the blog to appear on another page in your website.

Third Step – Choosing a Theme (CSS)

You can either purchase a theme or select from dozens of free themes that are available within your blog. Most themes are robust and allow for a lot of customization even though they’re free.

The learning curve actually begins here when you start to feel your way around how the author designed the interactive menus of their particular theme. The more you understand about how your theme works, the easier it will be to manipulate.

Although building a blog is that easy the real work depends upon what you expect your online blogs to do. Your pages and posts should always reflect the central theme that your name suggests. The appearance should be attractive to the audience you want to engage.

Are you building a blog for business or do you have online blogs that you want to improve? Visit ‘Free Online Home Business Training’ for more tips and information on how to optimize your SEO efforts.

Top 3 Family Marketing Tips

home business, home business blogs, internet marketing 1 Response »

Jan 222011

As internet marketing has grown in popularity the gurus have been busy teaching home business owners to stay away from family marketing and marketing to friends and neighbors. While I fully understand their sentiment and sympathize with everyone who’s had to listen to a loved one trying to pitch a new business opportunity there are and will continue to be both business opportunities along with products and services that appeal to the people we know best.

Tip #1 – Relevance

Understanding relevance is one of the home business guidelines that applies to most of the online business world. Your niche market begins with knowing your audience and any content you post online should reflect their interest.

The same principle applies to family and friends. If they don’t already have an interest in your products and services they shouldn’t be considered a prospect.

Likewise if they have no interest in generating extra income or building a home business they aren’t qualified to hear your opportunity.

Tip #2 – Professionalism

Now that the overall category of people we already know has been narrowed down we can focus our attention on what we’d call a warm market.

Warm market prospects already have a relationship with you which eliminates that step from the your business plan.

When you approach them to finally share either your products or a business opportunity, that meeting should follow the same professional outline you’d use for someone outside of your warm market. They need to see the professional side of you and make the connection between you their friend, and you the business leader.

Tip #3 – Consistency

Don’t mistake this for persistency. If you’ve been turned down by a family member or friend it’s no different than a lead that had no interest; you move on.

The unique quality of a close friend or relative is that they will still have that relationship with you and if they’ve expressed any interest before they’ll remain a warm market prospect. They need to see a stable and long term dedication to your business.

Successful home business owners regularly build their teams through family marketing especially when the relationships with extended family are very tight. Those we love can always tell when we truly love what we’re doing and will always want to understand why.

SEO Is The Number One Question

internet marketing, SEO 1 Response »

Dec 082010

Say Internet Marketing and SEO Is The Typical Response

The local ‘ActionCOACH’ organization along with a nearby resort sponsored a ‘Knetwork and Knowledge’ event last night and as I introduced myself over and over again to other local business owners the very first thing they thought of after hearing ‘Internet Marketing’ was SEO.

Advertising online is still one of the most powerful direct response methods for doing business but searching continues to explode in a number of ways:

Searching from mobile devices
Searching on multiple engines
Searching within directories
Searching to verify public opinion
Searching to scrutinize an ad or the company in the ad

Business owners like everyone else love to buy things and online business owners are the most active online customers. The role SEO plays in E-commerce will only escalate because people feel empowered by their ability to find exactly what they’re looking for wherever they happen to be.

Becoming Number One

When the Action COACH asked who wanted to increase sales everyone raised their hands. Why not?

I scribbled ‘page one’ because that’s the ultimate goal of anyone wanting to do business online. When you get to page one on the popular search engines you automatically increase traffic to your sites which increases the number of sales.

Fancy advertising and powerful ad copy are useless unless the traffic is streaming steadily onto your website and SEO is responsible for making that happen.

The Number One Answer?

My ‘take away’ last night was a subtle reminder that the end process of someone searching a keyword or phrase is to find exactly what they’re looking for.

However, my goal is that they find what they’re looking for and buy from me (or my client if I’m setting up SEO for another business).

You see SEO will get the potential customers, leads, prospects or clients to your site, but unless you convince them that the benefit of buying from you is the right choice, the investment for SEO isn’t cost effective.

How you provide valuable solutions to immediate needs and convey the unique benefits you offer is the ultimate goal at the end of the SEO quest.

SEO is like the ultimate power tool for building your business online but it takes a set of tools to complete any job.

Share your thoughts and comments but more importantly share your value!

The Art of Technical Writing

entrepreneur, internet marketing, Leadership, Marketing, Teaching 2 Responses »

Oct 012010

Another Satisfied Customer…

I was involved in technical writing, technical training, technical experimenting and technical support long before I ever got into internet marketing.

Techie isn’t just a description for me it’s a type of personality disorder… means I never stop.

Treating technical writing as an art form is the privilege of master marketers because they always place the relationship with prospective customers ahead of selling. Even if the entire set of directions is contained in three easy steps you can add a few pictures or graphics and make non-technical consumers more comfortable.

HUH?

I sympathize with anyone who’s ever had trouble assembling or configuring a product they’ve purchased because of the technical writing in the owners manual. As a former tech support specialist I’ve spent years interpreting tech-speak into English or just re-writing the material so that people understood the directions.

It’s not polite to bash anyone. The circumstances surrounding each and every technical writing task are unique but the burden shouldn’t be on the consumer.

Some manuals are like following a top end GPS system complete with pictures of the intersections and surrounding buildings. Other manuals read like secret code that only makes sense online after you’ve found the cipher key that cracks the code.

Step By Step

Not only is a step by step approach to technical writing helpful to everyone but a major bonus feature for marketing professionals.

Some manufacturers actually include the steps on the outside of the packaging. Who doesn’t want that? You’ve already read the directions and understood them.

However, just because you’re providing steps doesn’t mean that whoever gets to follow them will arrive at the same conclusion.

Clarity

I have 4 girls and not one of them hears the same set of directions or follows them the same way. This process:
•   Reading
•   Comprehending
•   Applying
isn’t the same because different people process information based on personality, education and experience.

When you have to design a guide or manual it must be from the perspective of the person who has to process that information.

The Artistic Approach

Unless a variety of conversations have taken place between various people who’ve all tried to use your instructions beforehand, you can expect a few conversations after you’ve published your tech manual.

On the surface it looks more practical than artistic because including feedback before finalizing the book just makes good sense.

What makes for artistic writing of otherwise boring material is how well the information takes away any potential for confusion. Good art takes time to refine; great art takes even more time.

Why It Matters

Most people won’t make a conscious note of the frustrations caused by the operating manual on their new hardware but the brand suffers.

That manual can keep tech support response time short or as in my experience busy re-writing the manual via emails so that customers can get on with their lives.

Any information that describes your product or service reflects on your brand. Since you don’t want your brand to be ambiguous, you don’t want any copy surrounding it to be confusing or frustrating; clear concise copy makes for satisfied customers.

Are you frustrated by the process of creating an online business or taking your business online because the technical writing you’ve found makes it sound confusing and difficult? You don’t have to deal with that frustration any longer. Grab a copy of, “How To Create Your Online Business World In 6 Days” the guide written for people who want the technological advantage the internet offers without the technical confusion.

Finding Your MLM Market

entrepreneur, home business, internet marketing, Leadership, Marketing, MLM, Network Marketing 1 Response »

Aug 092010

Your MLM market is distinct and exclusive but they live among thousands of people who are definitely not who you’re looking for.

Knowing where to find them is a matter of knowing what they look like and what they’re looking for. Attracting your market to you is the easiest way of finding them.

List Building

When you realize that building a database or a list of people is the source for your future in the MLM business you’ve chosen, you’ll want to find ways to build that list.

The internet is undoubtedly the biggest body of water to fish in when it comes to adding names to your lead list. Not all leads have the same value and a big list doesn’t necessarily mean huge profits.

Different lures attract different fish and knowing who you want to reach affects what you’ll use to reach them.

Prescreening

Employers have been using prescreening techniques for years. They realize that by only conducting interviews with qualified applicants they save time and money.

Your MLM business depends upon converting leads into business leaders. It takes less time and resources when you’re dealing only with applicants who have already demonstrated leadership capabilities.

This doesn’t mean that you only have to choose people who have a proven history in leadership, but every person in your training program that isn’t already qualified will require more of your time and expense.

How To Find Them

People with specific interests in the products your MLM offers might make good customers but people interested in how they can leverage your MLM for significant profit or lifestyle enhancement will make great business leaders.

First you want to position yourself ahead of your MLM company or any other affiliate company you want to promote. Fish are attracted to lures but people are attracted to people.

Your demonstration of the exact qualities you’re looking for is the key. When you provide valuable information to people they always want more.

They Want More

Your MLM market is swimming in schools within the ocean of people with one distinct characteristic; they want more.

The people in your market aren’t satisfied with the status quo of working all week for a boss to pay the bills and feed their family.

The good news is that they’re always looking and it is much easier to attract the attention of someone who has their eyes and mind open.

I’d love to hear what you think of this article… share it with the people you connect with so that they can grow online… and as always READ IT, FEED IT & TWEET IT!

How To Create A Banner In Minutes

David Beairsto, entrepreneur, home business, internet marketing, The Power Of The Internet 2 Responses »

Jul 242010

Anytime Anywhere

Running a home business from anywhere is all about being able to do what you want when you want which includes work. Being able to create a banner in minutes means that while your sitting at the airport, coffee shop or the park you can create a banner if you have a laptop and internet access.

This video teaches banner creation with a tool called MyBannerMaker.com but be sure to visit the site and see some of the exceptional banners created with this tool. Quick, easy to understand and powerful, this tool puts the capability to finish a creative product in the hands of the entrepreneur who imagined the product.

Outsourcing will never go away but we work with a constant stream of people who are just getting started that need to know there are options out there… powerful options to do some really good work without paying someone else to do it; and waiting for them to finish it.

Banner marketing continues to be one of the most effective skills an internet marketing professional can learn and apply. An effective banner that draws quality traffic needs no maintenance; just set it and forget it.

Whether you decide to have banners created for you or learn to do it yourself this knowledge is valuable to everyone who doesn’t have that option. Besides… making banners is fun.

I hope you find this information useful. Please leave comments or questions below and as always… Read It (or watch it) Feed It & Tweet It!

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