subject: Ideas To Use In Online Marketing [print this page] The Internet is a fantastic medium to reach out to your potential customers, clients and prospects yet does have a number of drawbacks. Until recently it was a very faceless environment, however the increasing use of online video gives us a tremendous advantage when dealing with customers.
Successful marketing is all about establishing a relationship; and that is so much easier when they can see and hear you. You may be very comfortable online, but some people are still sceptical about doing business with you over the Internet and you need to persuade them to trust you before they will buy from you.
These are my top 12 direct marketing principles you can use to make sure your Internet marketing really works for you:
1 History.
People want to know you are not going to disappear overnight so if you've been in business for any length of time then this will add credibility to you and your offers.
2 Statistics.
Use genuine statistics to give you more credibility by listing number of customers served, money saved, profits made, and so on.
3 Testimonials
I can't overestimate the importance of these so get them from your Customers and Clients saying how you and/or your products have helped them. Get experts in your market to validate and endorse your products and services and if appropriate get celebrities who you either 'rent' for your marketing, feature at your events or use by association.
4 Demonstrations.
With the use of online video and 'how To' DVDs it is very ease to show a demonstration of your product both on and offline. You can even demo an ebook by printing it out and talking through what it contains live on screen. Camtasia is free software that lets you make a screen capture video where you can demonstrate your website talking though the sales letter or giving a demo of how easy it is to download your ebook. This is great in markets that aren't considered 'tech savvy'.
What better proof that your product or service works than by showing an example of before and after. This treatment is very effective in diverse markets and you would be surprised at how mahy products benefit from it.
In our own business we use video to show how to confirm emails when signing up to our email lists, when demonstrating how to use our Membership site and examples of results in a number of our ebook markets.
5 Credentials.
What credentials do you have in your market? They don't have to be academic, but can awards, accomplishments, membership to organisations that are relevant to your market. Both I and Neil Travers my business partner are CIPD qualified which is a training qualification we attained while working at the Bank.
This is 'proof' of our ability to run workshops that are designed to aid the learning and intake and retaining of information by attendees and gives us increased credibility in their eyes.
6 Publicity.
You get greater authority and credibility as the expert or authority in your market with media exposure through articles about you. Show your market that you are in demand, and have status as an expert.
7 Celebrity Spokesperson.
To be used with caution. It can be effective but can also backfire when the market remembers the celebrity and the advert, but not what it was advertising.
8 Guarantee.
If you can't guarantee the product you're selling then find something else to sell that you can guarantee. Nothing gives more reassurance to prospects than a genuine, good guarantee.
9 Accessibility.
On your website have your full contact detail if possible as this will give a big boost to your potential customer confidence in you and your company. Using just an email contact is the worst and an email, phone and address the best.
Never give a PO Box as your address as it immediately makes people suspicious.
10 The Personal Touch.
Being visible in the business to your customers is a confidence booster for them. Add more 'YOU' in the form of photo's, audio and video all bring you forward in your customers mind and makes them feel like they know you already.
11 Make A Damaging Admission.
No matter how good your product is it will have a disadvantage somewhere. Admit it up front and honestly comment on this fact.
Answer Questions and objections up front and when a customer asks them via email or the phone. People can call our office throughout the week and email at any time with questions and that makes them feel safe to buy from us.
12 Excess.
Use a combination of as many of the examples above in your marketing! What may seem like overkill to you may not be enough to overcome some people's scepticism!
by: Neil Stafford
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