| Hello again Name and welcome to the second part of your internet strategy primer. Today we'll cover:
--------------------------------------------------- 1. Integrating your on and offline businesses Assuming you have an offline business, you need to be very clear about how your online operation will complement it. Define from the start exactly how the two will work together, which parts of the sales and customer service activities will be done online and how you can improve service and cut costs by moving any processes online. You need to identify every step in the customer's experience of your business. A good example is customer communication. Lots of business communication is intrusive, thoughtless rubbish that gets rightfully binned or deleted on receipt. But communication as customer service, for example a reminder that your car's service is due from your local mechanic, is positively welcomed because it's timely, relevant and helpful. And sent by email, it won't cost anything either. You can probably write down pretty quickly why you think your current customers buy from you. And, if you were to ask them, you might also be fascinated by their answers; how well do you really know them? The point is that your website, emails, banner ads, press releases and everything else you'll be doing online will be far more powerful if they replicate what's good about what you do successfully offline. To analyse this you need to break down the sales process into several steps from initial awareness to repeat purchase. At which point do you give customers best value? When and why do you lose them? Are there clear trends demonstrating that, for example, after two years they stop buying? Perhaps because you take them for granted and stop trying? ---------------------------------------------------------- Protect your business from crashes, viruses and hackers and save over 15%. Depositit is the leading online data back-up solution. Incise subscribers get nearly 20% off standard prices. Find out more here ---------------------------------------------------------- This kind of analysis can boost both sides of your business and save you a fortune in marketing costs. Getting new customers is a lot harder than keeping current ones. Having a website is a great way of opening up new markets locally, regionally, nationally or internationally. But it can also be a way of adding more value to your current proposition. Suddenly you've got a 24 hour business presence accessible across the globe – how can you use it to keep customers and get them to buy more from you? Here's some examples:
2. How to define your brand values Small businesses don't usually think of themselves as brands. But the fact is that every business has a brand – an intangible combination of the emotional and rational benefits of buying from you – your reputation in other words. What's the point of brands? Take the difference between BMW and LADA cars. They both get you from A to B but you'd pay far more for a BMW. And that's the real point about brands. They add value to customer perceptions and command higher prices . To build a picture of your brand, find out why people buy from you, not your competitors. Why do they stay with you – or leave? What role does price play? And service, reputation, locality, innovation, convenience and so on. Build a clear picture of the value people get by buying from you and make sure every manifestation of your business – from business cards to the way you and your staff behave to your products and marketing – is designed to reinforce that. Your logo, marketing, website, premises and vehicles are all visual and verbal ways of expressing what your business stands for and what you deliver. A well co-ordinated communications strategy builds synergy across all elements of the marketing mix so that every pound or dollar you spend goes much further. If you'd like to discuss this important and neglected area of small business marketing, please call or mail me on +44(0)870 420 3181 or at paullock@incisecomms.co.uk 3. Promoting your site and building a list of hungry customers This is often the bit that small businesses baulk at - yet it's impossible to succeed online unless you promote your site. The good news is that if you're targeting a niche, telling your target market about your product and service is much, much easier. You can place your ads precisely where they'll stimulate most interest. We'll go into much more detail about the practical things you can do to maximise your budget's value in future lessons. But, with performance-based advertising (Pay-per-click), you can avoid the hit and miss of traditional ads because you only pay for the exposure when a prospect visits your site. We'll also cover search engine optimisation and many other tactics in detail and I'll give you plenty of tips on what to do and where to go for more help. A tool I can strongly recommend is Michael Green's How To Promote A Product – 24 Power Keys Guaranteed to Promote any Product(or service)on the Net at Any Time!. I use it myself. I've only implemented Keys 1-7 but I'm already a big fan. One thing you must do, if at all possible, is to keep in touch with your market by email. It's low cost but immensely valuable. To get the most from your internet marketing you'll need: - a high quality product or service that appeals to the needs of your target market. That's it for now. All the best, Paul NOTES 1. Please forward this course to anyone you think might find it useful, whether they're just considering starting an online business or already running one. To get the email, they can sign up in less than 10 seconds at http://www.incisecomms.co.uk 2. As a reader of my course, you're my most important critic and commentator. I welcome all reader feedback. Email me anytime at paullock@incisecomms.co.uk 3. If you really don't find the course useful, then reply to this email with the subject field 'unsubscribe'. I'd appreciate any feedback. 4. Lastly, I've taken every care to check the informationand advice I give. However, I regret that I can't be responsible for any loss that you may suffer as a result of the advice or from any omission or inaccuracy. This disclaimer also applies to 3rd party links.
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