Internet Marketing Part 6. (Final Chapter of Internet Marketing).

bybillmac65

319 followers

Updated 9 years ago

Step 2 - Use Permission Marketing to Capture your Visitor's Contact Details and begin a Lifelong Relationship with them.

If you want to transform the effectiveness of your website, consider changing it from a site whose prime purpose is to sell to a site whose prime purpose is to begin a relationship with your visitors. You should be able to get at least 10% of visitors to give you their details.

This way to do this is to offer your visitors something free, and of real value, in exchange for their email address. This could be:

• A Free Report
• An Article
• Subscription to a Newsletter
• Access to a Private Site
• An eBook
• A Physical Product (e.g. CD - Rom)
• A Sample of your product.

E-Marketing to Existing Customers

The power of E-Marketing should not be underestimated. Email offers you the opportunity to communicate instantly with your customers - and it costs you virtually nothing.

The first step is to set up a system that allows you to obtain the emails of all your customers and potential customers. This can be done:

• When they telephone.
• When you meet them.
• With a form on your website.
• On forms, reply cards, etc.

When you obtain people's emails, explain how you'll be communicating with them and get their permission to communicate.

Only use permission based E-Marketing. Don't be tempted by lists offering you millions of email addresses.

You can then use email to communicate with your customers as frequently as you feel appropriate. Emails can be used for a variety of purposes:

• To send basic information on your product or service.
• To send information on new products or services.
• To follow up on a mailing list or phone call.
• To send initial information to people who contact you by phone.
• To direct people to your website.
• To ask for referrals.

Links to the following can be found at:

• List Mail Pro - Excellent Autoresponder
• Aweber - Popular Autoresponder
• Web Marketing Magic - Autoresponder and shopping cart
• Google Adwords - For Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Yahoo - Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Hyper Tracker - Split - Testing tool
• Marketing Experiments - A gold mine of advanced Internet Marketing testing and measuring results - and it's FREE.

1. Joint Ventures

One of the most effective strategies for achieving rapid, low-cost growth is through Joint Ventures. These wok by teaming up with businesses or individuals who have access to the types of customers that you want to reach.

For example, an interior designer who has to build a business from scratch would be risking valuable resources to build that business by advertising. But if they were to team up with three major retail estate agents and ask the agents to recommend them to everybody who buys a new house - they have instant access to their ideal customers at no up front cost.

The financial arrangements are up to you and your partners. Maybe the estate agent earns a 20% commission on all new business. Perhaps the interior designer recommends the estate agent agency a freebie design service for their new home.

However you do it, you should seriously consider Joint Ventures before you spend large amounts of money on advertising or other more expensive forms of Marketing.

2. Referrals

Referrals are a wonderful way to grow your business. Firstly, they are free. Secondly, nothing is more powerful than a recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague.

However, while many businesses rely on referrals - few are proactive in seeking referrals.

If your highest purpose in business is to add value to people's lives, you should have no hesitation in asking your customers and clients to recommend you. You should also encourage them to give you the contract details of anyone who may be interested in hearing or reading about what you have to offer.

There are many options for a Referral Program. These include:

• Encouraging customer recommendation
• Acquiring contact details of possible referrals from existing customers
• Incentives - vouchers, discounts, introductory offers, etc.
• Programs that reward the referrer
• Viral E-Marketing

3. Risk Elimination and Guarantees

In most businesses, a significant proportion of those who make contact with the business fail to buy because they have 'objections'.

Those objections will normally be around price. But when a customer who is interested in what you are selling tells you they can't afford it - what 90% of them mean is that they have not yet seen or experienced the value, to the point where they are willing to spend the amount you are asking.

For that customer to go ahead and buy from you, it involves them taking on significant risk.

If you can eliminate that risk - your sales are likely to rise, often by amounts that may surprise you.

So Risk Elimination is the process of making your interactions with your customers risk free for them.

Methods of Risk Elimination include:

• Total Guarantees
• Limited Guarantees
• Free Introductory Offers
• Reduced price Introductory Offers

The process of reducing or eliminating risk is not just limited to specific offers. All of your communication to your customers (conversations, letters, brochures, Internet, etc,) should address their fears and concerns. Part of meeting your customers' needs is addressing their concerns and reducing their perception of risk.

* Coming up soon I will publish 12 Powerful Referral Strategies*