Practical guides
www.2020insights.com
Practical guides
Internet-based marketing
How to make your website work for the business - generating visitors and business
Firstly decide what the purpose of your website is
Is it to sell something, give information or nurture relationships? It is key to decide this first. For example, on our website we offer marketing tips, tools and strategies that have been used successfully with the businesses we work with. So be clear on what you want your website to be and focus on it.
Your website should not be about you
Prospective customers aren't really interested in you. They are interested in what you can do for them. There is a fundamental difference. You certainly need to convey your pre-eminence in your field, but, beyond that, it should all be about your prospective customers. Step into their shoes, meet their needs and above all, give them solutions and solve some of their problems.
Give free information
If the purpose of your business is to add real value to people's lives, start now and give visitors information that they can use, and that could make a real difference to them.
Email addresses
Every time a business fails to capture someone's email address, they are turning down the opportunity to contact them for free. Offer visitors to your website an easy way of submitting their email address, so that they can see if you are as good as you say you are.
Once you have email addresses - use them!
Use the email address to communicate regularly with customers in an effective way; not just to sell things. You can use email to thank people for their business; make them a special offer; send a newsletter or recommend a product that they may be interested in - the list is only limited by your imagination. You could grow your business by 10, 20 or 30% just by adopting an effective e-marketing strategy.
Automate your emails with auto-responders
One of the reasons that email marketing is so powerful is because, when set up properly, your entire email operation can be automated. Using auto-responders, you can decide who gets which emails and when they get them. You can even create a system where people who purchase a particular product or service receive a series of emails leading them to further purchases.
Test pay-per-click advertising
You can get your website to the top of all the search engines simply and rapidly without spending months on search engine optimization by using pay-per-click advertising. This still enables you to get to the top of the search engines, but you only pay when someone clicks to go to your website. How much you pay will depend on how much competition there is amongst other advertisers in your category.
Consider testing internet advertising
The collapse of internet advertising after the dotcom boom gave advertising on the web a bad name. But for many businesses, it has become a key part of their marketing mix.
Consider testing internet advertising on a small scale. If it is successful and you are able to roll it out, it can be a superb way to reach large numbers of potential customers and clients very rapidly.