Sunday 29 April 2012

3 Effective Tactics Every Business Should Implement


Do you remember your first day as a business owner?  You were probably just like the rest of us... pretty darned happy and bit on the proud side.  Yeah, back then we thought we could conquer the world.  Now we're too busy conquering our own little corner of the world to pay a lot of attention to the rest of the world... unless it's to learn a few tips from successful marketers just like us who have made it big.  Tips just like these... that will apply to every market - regardless of the product or service - are a great motivators to try something new.  Yeah, you never know when the next idea will be worth a million dollars!

1.  Create  a Special Offer
A special offer is exactly that... an offer that is special.  Normally, customers would not be able to purchase this product or combination of products, and once the products are gone... sorry! 

You don't have to go out and order a bunch of new products to put together a special offer.  It don't take a whole lot... just use what you've got.  Grab a few items that are related, group them together, discount the price, and your customers will be excited to be getting a good deal.  Think about it from your standpoint... you've sold three or four items rather than one.  Yeah, combination offers are winning deals for everyone!

2.  Address the Small Customer Groups
Niche markets are everywhere, right under your nose!  Within the customer audience that you serve right now are groups of people who share common traits.  Think about it... maybe you have a group who speaks Spanish, a group of teens, and a group of middle class family men and women.

Evaluate these classes of people, and discover the unique needs and desires they share.  That will set you up to customize your advertising campaign directly to them.  It's not hard to take your current ads, and make a few changes to adjust to the niches.  They'll be impressed that you understand THEM, and the increase in your profits will be the best thanks you can get.

3.  Set Up a Winning Referral Program
Successful marketers develop the ability to turn their customers into advocates.  Often, they don't even have to directly ask customers to refer them to others.  Their willingness to go the extra wins customer loyalty and support.  Naturally, satisfied customers refer their friends and family to the place that will take good care of them.
Quality service and is the first step toward referrals, but you can easily take it one step further.  Studies show that every satisfied customer tells three people about you.  What would happen with a little incentive added to the picture?  Yeah, a lot more.  Give customers who refer friends a thank you - whether it's a discount, special gift item, or a simple thank you card - and watch the referrals spiral!
You can get two birds with one stone by implimenting customer surveys.  A few quick questions about what the customer does and doesn't like about your product, followed by a request for the names and addresses of friends and family who would benefit from the product, and you're all set to go with the contact information of a prospective customer!


Saturday 28 April 2012

3 "No Sweat" Tactics That Ban Customer Buying Objections


There are a lot of excuses floating around about why people don't buy.  Maybe you've heard some of them:  it's too expensive, it's not at the top of my "must have" list right now, or even when a deals too good to be true... it's too good to be true.  Customer objections are more easily overcome than you might imagine.  Let's take a look at 3 simple ways to wipe out those objections.

1.  It's Too Expensive.
Don't be fooled!  Most of your customers can get the money to buy the product... it's not a matter of having enough.  Let's face it... what they're really saying is that they can get a better deal somewhere else, or a deal that gives them a better value for their buck.

Now, don't give in to the temptation to drop your prices to "rock bottom" just because you hear them say it's too expensive.  There are ways to wipe out these objections without wiping out your profits!

Make it look like a better deal.  I mean, take a really good look at your product.  How can you increase the perceived value?  Maybe you can add a manual, a CD, or a downloadable book full of information about the product.  Let them think they are getting more for their buck, and the deal seems a lot sweeter to them.

Think about this... we all expect to pay more when we visit a specialist.  Sure, Wal-Mart is great if we're looking for a generic product, but when we want something from someone who knows what they're talking about we head for a market "specialist"... and expect to pay a little more as part of the deal.

How can you become a specialist who demands respect, and can get away with slightly higher prices?

"    Find niches within your market to address.  Hey, if you look closesly you'll discover groups within your market that stand out... businessness men and women, young mothers, retirees, etc. 

"    Dig in, do a little research and figure out exactly how your product relates to the special needs of these niche groups.

"    Speak to them as someone in the know.  Revise your sales materials to address the specific needs of each group.  Let them know you understand what they want  and need, and watch your profits skyrocket.


2.  I Have More Important Things To Get Right Now.
Yeah, buying now doesn't seem too important until... the deal's too sweet to pass up, and you have to get it today to get the deal.

What I'm talking about is banning the option of procrastination.  Really what your customer is saying is ... I have no reason to buy today.  Make the deal irresistible, and put a deadline on it.  It'll spur them into making the purchase a priority, NOW.

3.  I'm Skeptical... It's Too Good To Be True.
Most customers have been burnt by deals that seem too good to be true... they ended up costing more than they were worth.  The only way you'll ever overcome the skepticism is to build a relationship of trust. 

Unconditional money back guarantees eliminate the risk of loss, and show the customer that you are truly concerned with their satisfaction.

Let testimonials speak for you.  Evidence that you've delivered and gained customer satisfaction in the past goes a long way toward banning customer fears.

Be available.  Customers feel like everything is okay if they can pick up the phone or send an email and get quick answers to their questions. 


It really doesn't take a lot of rocket science to get through the shell of hard core customers.  These 3 tips will get you off to a good start.


Wednesday 11 April 2012

3 Innovative Ways To Build An Optin Email List That Stands Above The Crowd


With so many optin email lists out there, your really need to come up with a hook to attractive subscribers. It needs to have something special or different. It could be something you offer inside every newsletter issue, like interviews with experts. Or the hook could be a unique incentive that website vistors can take advantage of immediately when they sign up.

Here are 3 ideas you can use for your own sites, or use as inspiration to get you thinking a little outside of the box:

-- Build an Optin Email List by Creating a Private Members Only Site or Section --

Create a private web site and have people sign up to get free, immediate access. For example, you could say, "Subscribe to our free e-zine and get free access to our private membership web site!" You can choose to have them receive a username and password every time they want to login, or you can just provide a link to the site in your welcome email.

Your private members only site can be as big or as small as you want. Some of the things you can include inside are: reports, software, articles, ebooks, etc. Inside the site, you can advertise your affiliate programs, as well. And you can follow-up to let them know about updates, new products they might be interested in, the latest news in your industry, etc.

-- Build an Optin Email List By Giving Subscribers a Free, Tangible Gift --

Instead of offering a free ebook (or a whole package of them) like most everybody else, promise to give your visitors something they can hold in their hands if they give you their contact information.

For example, you could say "Subscribe today and get our new report mailed to you via First Class." You could print out your report on standard 8 x 11 sheets of paper, fold it up, put it inside an envelope, and mail it off.

Or you can offer a tips booklet and mail it to new subscribers. Or you can create your own CD full of information targeted toward your market and mail that. Or if you have a wholesale supply of a product of interest to your subscribers, then you can send one to each new subscriber. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Follow-up possibilities include: articles (your own or written by others), tips you pick up, news in your niche, reviews of products or other interested, related websites, etc.

-- Build an Optin Email List Through a Contest or Sweepstakes --

Hold a free contest or sweepstakes at your website where they must give their contact information, including their email address, to enter. Make the prize something that your niche market will be interested in. Otherwise, they'll never want to enter.

If you already have an ezine up and running, you could offer free automatic entry for new subscribers. For example, you could say, "Subscribe to our free newsletter and get automatic entry into our contest." You'll also want to retroactively include current subscribers.

You can announce the winner(s) at the end, as well as send any new contest announcements or product announcements. Or you can make this an ongoing contest, where you give away the same thing to one (or more) lucky people every month. That way you'll entice many subscribers to stay on your list.

You can find niche products to give away through wholesalers or dropshippers. Or you can create it yourself. One of my favorite ways to do this is create a CD-Rom with a guide or report (or sometimes several) that my niche market will find interesting.

Once again, you can follow-up with tips, articles, news, new product announcements, or just an announcement of each monthly winner(s).

Hopefully, now I've inspired you to take some action or encouraged ideas of your own with these tips. Any idea, the more popular it gets, requires you to think outside the box every now and then in order to be effective. Building an optin email list is no different. And with newsletters and ezines saturating the Internet day by day, you need to offer something a little different to make them want to sign up to yours. Or you'll just end up getting left behind.