Marketing Tips

What? That's the whole idea isn't it? NO! People never buy products! Think about it. People don't buy washing machines. They buy clean clothes. People don't buy gift baskets - they buy the warm fuzzy they get from giving them. People shouldn't buy a website! They should buy a money making tool!

Ask yourself - why do people want to buy your product?
How does it make them feel?
How does it benefit them?

Sit down with a pen and paper with your team and brainstorm it out. The answers you will write down will become part of your marketing campaign.

TIP 2 - THINK PUNCHY

Don't get into long technical explanations of how great your product or service is. Come up with three punchy phrases that will grab your potential clients attention. If you haven't sold them in the first 30 seconds you are unlikely to. Get their attention. Ask them a question they can't resist. E.g.

Want more money?

We have found that the most effective way to do this is by using a flash element on your page. People use to use a lot of intro's. These days this isn't so effective as people skip past them or worst - leave your site! A flash element at the top of your page can get across your marketing message very effectively.

TIP 3 - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The majority of Internet users are men and women aged between 25-40. They are on average fairly savvy about websites and get lots of exposure to them. They will quickly judge your business and compare it to the thousands of other websites they have already seen. It IS important to have a great looking site that looks professional and gives you credibility.

The majority of Internet users are from the TV generation. They want snappy, sharp graphics. They can absorb a lot of information quickly. They are the feel good generation and they want to know that you are going to help them feel good. Lots of animations and you will appeal to youth. Having cool features like store locators do appeal to the older generation. But if you want to be taken seriously you need to have a great looking site and offer services and have interesting content that adds value to the users Internet experience.

Specifically - know your audience that your product will appeal to. Think about who will decide to buy your product. Aim specifically at them.

A lot of car commercials demonstrate this. If they want to appeal to a female car owner - their add is about buying lifestyle, fun, and looking good. They don't bother going on about what's under the hood... (I am a female... when I buy a car my first question is 1) what color is it. My second question is 2) What's the stereo like.... think about the car adds around at the moment with women driving with their friends, radio blaring.... its the lifestyle they are selling.

If they are trying to appeal to the male car owner the commercials focus on the testosterone obsessions with power. Its about the 1000 horsepower bla bla bla bla. They aren't selling the car... they are selling that feeling of power and excitement that a male gets from driving a car.

So get that ol' pad out again and do some more brainstorming.

Who buys your product/service?
Why?
How old are they?
What status/occupation?
What gender are they?

Do a full profile of your client. In doing this you may discover you have a niche' and that you are appealing to a certain type of client. Understanding this can help you focus your campaign. This will also help you identify where to market to (see Tip 5)

TIP 4 - LOOK TO THE EXPERTS

Don't try and do it all yourself. Sure you need to keep your costs down but employing someone to help you out and being real about your budget to them can ultimately save you a fortune and save time. (the most precious resource you have). Most designers and marketers are happy to help you save money by getting you to do a lot of the ground work. The difference is they know exactly what is most effective and how to get results.

TIP 5 - HAVE A PLAN

OK... you have a great looking website... you have fantastic key words, you've submitted it to the search engines. Now what?

Having a great looking website and a great marketing phrase is still not bringing the clients in. Work out a plan and follow it. You've identified your audience - now get their attention.

Get out that old notepad and think about your audience...

What are they doing?
Where do they go?
Where do they spend time?
Where will they be most receptive to my advertising?

If you are marketing hair products don't just pay for your keywords and hope for the best. Why not come up with a brochure and send it out to some salons. Keep it simple with a link to your website.

If you mainly appeal to teenagers... think about adding some games to your site and buy keywords relating to the games. While they are there they just might buy your cool T-shirt.

Your marketing plan will be as unique as your business. Take the time to do the ground work and focus and you WILL achieve results.

He who fails to plan - plans to fail.

If you need help with your website Contact us and we would be happy to give you a FREE appraisal and come up with some solutions to suit your budget.