Give Online Consumers Value Before You Can Earn Their Trust And Money​

byRoger G

887 followers

11 years ago

Online consumers are more sophisticated and wiser today than in the early days of online marketing. Consumers today demand value for money. As a marketer, you must first earn the trust of consumers by offering products and services that provide real benefits … to consumers. Successful marketers ensure their products or services deliver even more value to consumers than is promised. They always keep your promises. This builds trust and a good reputation.

It is of utmost importance to maintain this reputation. Consumers conduct business online where there is usually a lot of competition among businesses, and a wealth of information at consumers’ fingertips about competing products and services. The global reach of the internet means that consumers’ feedback may make or break a business. Positive consumer feedback is therefore vital to your marketing success.

Long gone are the days when internet marketers succeeded by using gimmicks to get consumers to spend their hard-earned cash. Gimmicks such as spam email and annoying pop-up ads are now countered by anti-spam and ad blocker software.

Consumers are now better able to conduct extensive research about products and services before making a purchase decision. Many consumers typically go through a pre-purchase phase where they may do any of the following:

·Check product reviews to see what other consumers are saying about a particular product or service

·Check the background and reputation of the business offering the product or service

·Compare features of competing products or services to determine which offers the best value for money

·Test product or service during a trial period, where this option is available, to decide whether the product or service solve a problem or satisfy a need as it is supposed to.

Not only are consumers more empowered to block the shady efforts of unscrupulous online marketers, they are also more tech savvy and likely to be fully aware of the red flags to watch for when doing business online. With the prevalence of scams and unethical marketing tactics, many of us are “battle- scarred” victims who are wary of such marketers. We are able to spot their deceitful tactics for what they are and treat them with the disregard they deserve.

Successful Online Marketers Focus on Addressing the Consumer’s Need or Problem

We are all consumers – even online marketers. No revelation there. We are all consumers in our own rights who deserve to get value for our time, attention and money. Consider if more marketers think like the consumers they are and truly focused on addressing needs other than their own. What a different marketplace this would be.

As marketers, let’s remain committed to offering only products or services that address the needs or problems of our target market. Ask yourself: Does my product or service add value to its intended consumers? Can my offering stand up to real scrutiny?

Prior to making a purchase, reading a blog or responding to a call to action, consumers also ask themselves questions:

• What’s in this for me?
• Is this worth my time or money?
• Can I rely on this brand/information/proposed solution?
• Does this offer the best value for money, relative to other alternatives?
• Is it safe to transact business here?

It is counter-intuitive for marketers to offer poor quality products or services for sale, or to try to scam consumers. Why? I could write another blog just to answer why. The short answer is that it’s unethical, may be illegal based on the circumstances and is simply bad for business.

Why then do some marketers set out to promote substandard products with little or no regard for consumers’ needs or problems? One answer is that it’s because of their unbridled, unethical pursuit of money. Their main focus is to just make money through whatever means.

For example, I have come across many “next big things” and “push-button money making systems” being marketed online. Want to know what’s common to all of them? They cannot be called products or services: they satisfy no consumer need or solve no problem. All they are designed to do is to make money for the person marketing them. Sounds familiar? Do some of those dubious multi-level marketing schemes come to mind?

While some consumers are duped into buying these sketchy things that under-deliver or, do not deliver any value, they really have no place in the market. Continued vigilance on the part of each of us as consumers will raise the standard of what is expected from online marketers. Are you doing your part as a game changer?