Posts Tagged ‘marketing strategies’

Viral Marketing: Cheap and It Works!

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Entering the 21st century, humans now live in a wired world.  Every aspect of a person’s life is somehow connected to fast-evolving technology and the great information highway called the Internet.  One can work from home via telecommute, check investments with a few clicks, purchase goods from online stores, and even apply for fast cash loans with no paper documents to fax.  Indeed, this may be the best time to build wealth and make a profit from connectivity.  Many are taking advantage of fast internet, like broadbands, its easy and available access, like free WiFi zones, and the easy-to-set-up webspaces to do online retailing, trading, and marketing.

There’s a range of products and services sold and bought online by millions of Internet users.  Success stories have been heard as well as disastrous failures in taking on online-based businesses and jobs.  The difference between success and failure in any business—whether offering a product or a service—is the marketing strategy.Viral marketing, or word-of-mouth, is the perfect strategy to use online.  Whenever people receive a good comment or recommendation about a product or service from their family and friends, they are most likely to try it for themselves.When customers like a certain product or service, they would tell an average of 10 friends about it, as market research shows.Customers can also tell their family and friends about products and services they don’t like.  They would also tell other people about what they didn’t like about a product or service, thus, making it harder to sell the product and get repeat customers. 

That’s why, blogs and other social networking websites are becoming powerful marketing and selling venues since the strategy directly or indirectly utilized here is a potent one, that is, viral marketing.  According to marketing gurus, there are five most common types of viral marketing: pass-along, buzz marketing, a user-managed database, incentive viral, and undercover marketing.  Many websites became successful using the pass-along technique.  One of the first success stories is Hotmail.com.  It used an effective tagline attached to every email sent: “Get your free, private email at www.hotmail.com”.  People went to their site and signed up since it was free and the registration took only a few minutes.  Nowadays, even websites that offer payday advances use one-liners to advertise their fast and efficient services.

Starting a viral marketing campaign need not be as expensive as the traditional marketing done by established companies.

Building a winning online marketing strategy

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

If you wish to be a successful internet marketer there are some systems  for finding your online clients. Some may consider this to be a logical progression it is still the most important. One can increase the number of hits on a website by many means : SEO and email campaigns form a part of this strategy. Once you have people visiting your site, you must present a strong case to them for making a purchase. 

What is your approach to attracting clients once they land on your website? Are do doing the right things to entice these visitors? What do you offer to the visitors? Do you offer your services? Does your site require visitors to provide information? Offer them free downloads?

Internet marketing provides many attractive channels to grab the attention of visitors and compel them to buy whatever you are offering.  Planning an integrated online marketing strategy is very important for your business. Without planning you may not be able to derive maximum benefit from your internet business. An online venture is very much different from usual businesses, but there are similarities.
  
A significant aspect is missing in an internet venture. This factor can lead to a fall in profits or in some cases even business failure. An ecommerce site misses out in one important psychological aspect of selling –that of man to man interaction. If we observe carefully and think about the way we conduct usual  business we would immediately notice that there is no interaction without a salesman in the picture. Sometimes there is no verbal communication with the sales people. A nonverbal gesture like a pleasantly beaming face can persuade someone to make an impulsive purchase. Unfortunately,internet marketing has no such human touch and as a consequence buyers are left to take decisions based on hard facts. The conclusion is obvious evident. Imparting a human touch should form a corner stone of your online strategy.This will empower your site and increase sales. Click this link for web-based marketing strategies.

How often have we noticed that in our pursuit of technological prowess we forget that our customer is a human being and not a robot. We have to understand that our customer is a living entity.In fact defining the customer is crucial to the success of an online campaign. The demographics of the customer should be studied thoroughly and understood. What is the purchasing power of my visitor? What are his or her preferences? What are they looking for? These are questions which need to be answered before proceeding with any online marketing venture.

Where do your customers go to buy stuff? Which forums and blogging sites do they visit? Instead of a single point of sale you must have several online options. Giving exposure on various online platforms with different customer demographics will be ideal. While establishing your web presence you must pay attention to the web metrics such as traffic, popular search words, web page design and several such SEO concepts.What we have to offer is more important than the marketing aspect. Your project or service profile should be project on the right online medium. One must remember that free advertisements through search engine optimization may be a good online marketing strategy, but paid advertisements must not be overlooked. You can opt for online promotions which give you the option to choose from a variety of platforms. You can manage your expenses as well as effectively guide your online marketing strategy. Many of us hold the mistaken belief that the launching a website means an end to their efforts. In fact the opposite is true. There is no difference between a conventional business and an online venture. Both need nurturing at all stages. Taking adequate measures to improve all aspects of an online business is crucial to success.

Online business is a boon to the modern society.It has thrown up a variety of new marketing channels. This has lead to some unwanted consequences.We tend to become overconfident and feel that we can sell anything and everything on the internet. We forget that buyer is still the king and we still have to sell. By concentrating on one or two niche products you are likely to meet with success. We cannot underestimate the power of budgeting. Prudent management of our money is a must. Resource Planning and budgeting our finances is as important in an online venture as in conventional business. The expenses in building websites and promoting on various forums should be taken into consideration. The financial plan would also depend upon your online marketing strategy. In the final analysis your internet marketing strategy should take each and very aspect into consideration. The online world is exciting and full of opportunities. But only those who pause and think would succeed. The get rich quick mentality would just not work. Use this link for more online marketing strategies.