.: Growing Sales Through Creating Connections
By:Alicia Smith
Category:Home / Business / Marketing
Your mission as a business owner is to develop a marketing strategy which offers your potential clients/customers a way to improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, provide more value, or open new opportunities for them which will motivate them to pick up the phone and buy from you. This requires that the focus of your marketing plan be placed on your customer - NOT ON YOU! Taken from The 90 Day Marketing Marathon Blunders from A to Z these ten powerful tools will support you in creating meaningful connections with your clients/customers and providing real time solutions to their challenges of the today.
1. Custom Assessments.
By using a tool such as Assessment Generator you can build custom assessments which will allow the visitors to your website the opportunity to engage with you while providing value which is memorable. With Assessment Generator you as the business owner will receive the basic results of the survey to see if clients are where they want to be in their lives or their businesses.
2. Online Survey Tools.
A well-designed online survey can greatly empower business, academic, and charitable organizations by finding out quickly what is on the minds of your current and prospective customers/clients. Creating an online survey can be extremely simple and convenient with a free survey tool such as Advanced Survey or Zoomerang. By designing a survey and sending this to your database, you can poll targeted groups quickly and in detail while obtaining real time results.
3. "Feedback" Hot Links.
As you update your website, author articles, or launch new products and services, add a “feedback hot link” to your site or to your e-mail signature. This link can state "Send me feedback" or "Send me your comments" and will automatically link to an e-mail which can be used for your website visitors to provide you with insight into what is working and what is not with your products and services. The key is to make communicating with you as easy as possible.
4. Weblogs With Comments.
A weblog is a simple yet compelling online environment, which will allow you to put your thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the web via a journal, photo album, or diary. With a tool such as Typepad you can provide your clients and customers with access to your online journal AND allow them the ability to comment to your posts. If you are blogging around a topic which creates discussion or a topic which can generate ideas for your new products and services, you will find that blogging with a tool which allows for comments will take your products and services to a more advanced and sophisticated level quickly and with the support of your customers/clients.
5. Client Scenarios That Create an Emotional Tug.
What are the typical challenges of your clients, what do they complain about to others, and what do they really want in life? Do they say things such as:
· I am a CEO, and I cannot seem to motivate my team.
· I am a pet owner, and I am looking for a Veterinarian I can trust.
· I am a Solopreneur who is working for a lunatic.
· I am a business owner who is looking to invest my money to double my financial wealth.
· I am a new college graduate, and I am looking for the career of my dreams.
By honing in on what's most important to your website visitors and actually posting these for the world to see, you will begin to connect with these folks in a way which calls the emotions to be tapped. List these client scenarios in bullet form on your website, and link each scenario to a very tangible benefit of what you can offer.
Example: If you are marketing to pet owners who are looking for a Veterinarian he/she can trust, link this client scenario to a special report on “The Top Ten Questions to Ask When Hiring a Veterinarian for Your Pet.”
6. Data Driven Landing Pages.
Landing pages, also known as “jump” pages in the world of marketing, are self-contained web pages that visitors are driven to for a specific purpose (usually for the purpose of collecting e-mail addresses.) Landing pages are very focused and usually contain a message, in most cases to allow you as the web host to determine what visitors click on as well as other statistics. A data driven landing page contains a form requesting the user to enter contact information, usually in order to get something, such as a free special report, newsletter, or to register for an upcoming event. By including a question on this page such as “What is the thing you most want in the area of _______________” (fill in the blank) you will be able to see trends of what folks most want, which can be key to the growth of your business.
7. A Research and Development Team.
A Research and Development team is a group of people you invite to join you in developing your products, programs, and services. Your R & D Team may be as small as ten people or as large as 1,000 people. It is recommended that you call on your R & D team at least two times per month, as they will provide you with valuable information about what is working/not working in your business, and they will tell others about what you are up to. As your business grows, you will want to continue to add people to your list so that you have a cross section of people, ideas, and perspectives from people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.
8. A Mastermind Group.
The purpose of a mastermind group is to share thoughts, ideas, opinions, and information. To be successful in business, it is important for this group to be supportive and to care enough about you and your business to provide you with honest feedback about what they see is possible for your business. Spend at least one hour per week with your mastermind group, and use the feedback gained to grow your life, both personally and professionally.
9. A Product/Service Development Team.
Are you ready to develop a new product or service, and you just don't know where to begin or how to make it happen? If so, invite ten of the coolest people you know to support you in developing the new product or service in exchange for a slice of the pie once the product/service is launched. People love to share their wisdom, especially when they know that they are involved in development of something that will be financially rewarding in the end.
10. Risky Business.
One time per month, add one product or service that is out of the norm or a little bit risky for you and your business. Why? Because it will keep your mind moving and will allow your customers to sample something which is cutting edge and exciting! Example: You are a bookstore owner, and you host a “Mystery Night.” Invite the public to preview the 12 hottest mysteries by attending a masquerade party on the premises of your bookstore - loads of fun, intrigue, and excitement. A suggestion/comment box can be situated near the door, inviting guests to contribute feedback and ideas for the next big event for your biz.
For more information on the 90 Day Marketing Marathon program please visit www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com
© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith All Rights Reserved
Article keywords: business, marketing, customers, clients, sales, sales management, product development, strategy
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Alicia Smith, a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping people Make Money Now. For more information visit:
www.InternetAssessments.com
90DaystoaProduct.com
www.discninja.com
www.Coachingblunders.com
www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com
Permission to reproduce granted if all attribution & contact information is included.
.: New Marketing Articles
1). Birkenstocks & The Customizable Art Of Footwear
Birkenstocks are a German brand of quality footwear, which is best known for it’s contoured footbed. When most people purchase a new pair of shoes, they expect to have a ‘break-in’ time. This usually lasts for a few days and, at that time, the shoe is pretty comfortable and broken in for everyday wear. The main difference with Birkenstocks is that they approach the ‘break-in’ time much differently.
2). Millionaire Marketing in 3 Small Steps
What is money? A child might say that it’s something rich people have and poor people don’t. An engineer might go into a detailed and lengthy explanation, but we all know that money is what really “makes the world go around.”
In the business world, money is the definition of success or failure. That’s why it’s vitally important that every entrepreneur has a good understanding of money – even if their business is still struggling to get off the ground.
3). Free T Shirt Offer – Are they really free?
The modern day craze has created a huge demand for designer clothing all over the world. Many young guns are going for a casual wear than what it used to be 20 years ago. A simple T-shirt and low waist jeans makes both the genders comfortable. It’s become almost a compulsory act to hang out in t-shirts and jeans even in colleges. Youths like to have wide collection of t-shirt of current fashion.
4). How To Promote Your Home Based Business On A Shoestring Budget!
Getting customers is the key to success in any business. There are many ways to promote your home based business - the only way to know which ones are best for your business is to test. Here are some tips for getting customers without spending a fortune!
1. Tell everyone you know that you are starting a business AND ask them to tell everyone they know.
5). Cash in on Neighbors
What could be more welcoming than the spicy smell of hot apple pie to receive you into a brand new neighborhood full of people you’ve never met? Hopefully you life has been full of warm, hospitable neighbors wherever you’ve lived. Perhaps not…
If you’ve ever had a bad experience with a neighbor, you know just how much those invisible people really know about you.
6). Technology Controlled Marketing
RSS feeds and blogs took Internet marketing by a storm in 2005. Every time we turn around there’s a brand new marketing vehicle speeding down the Internet highway. In the fast paced race of the virtual world, it’s easy to get swept away in the current of technology.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that computers have taken control of both our personal world and the business world.
7). Finding Your Niche In The Business World
Who am I and what do I love to do? Well, isn't this the twenty million dollar question! A more appropriate question might be "Who was I and what did I love to do?"
As you search to find yourself, and what it is you love to do, you may find the task harder than you thought it would be. Try to think about your childhood. Can you remember what thrilled you as a child? Like many people you've probably forgotten what brought try joy and excitement to your essence.
.: Top Marketing Articles
1). John Warwicker - Co-Founder of Tomato Design Company
Design company Tomato
( http://www.tomato.co.uk ) was founded in 1991 in London by John Warwicker, Steve Baker, Dirk Van Dooren, Karl Hyde, Richard Smith, Simon Taylor and Graham Wood. In 1994, Michael Horsham and Jason Kedgely joined.
tomato specializes in: Architectural Design, Consultancy, Drawing, Education, Electronic Interactive Media, Film & Commercial Direction, Graphic Design, Fashion, Motion Graphics, Music & Sound, Strategy, Branding & Identity, Photography, Publishing, Title Sequences, Typography, Writing.
2). The Benefits Of Branding
Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. Here’s why the effort to brand your company or yourself pays off.
1. Memorability. A brand serves as a convenient container for a reputation and good will.
3). Ultimate Wealth Package: Is It Worthy Of Its Name?
What Is Ultimate Wealth Package All About?
Have you been considering the Ultimate Wealth Package? The sales page makes a lot of promises, but doesn't give you much detail at all. So let me fill you in!
Ultimate Wealth Package is a guide that has been put together by a young guy named Mark Warren. Within the guide he shows you in simple steps how he himself made his internet fortune, and how you too, by following the same steps can do the same.
4). MySpace Marketing
With the ever-growing popularity of internet social groups, MySpace has become the leader. MySpace has become so popular; it has spawned a whole market of new business opportunity through marketing and advertising. No other website in the world allows one person the ability to communicate with millions of people with the click of a button. This has allowed e-commerce a new channel of communication with potential customers.
5). Eniva: The Next Billion Dollar Home Based Business?
Delray Beach, FL – While tirelessly searching for the perfect home based business opportunity, a Florida man stumbles across a real, passionate, solid, and trusting eight year old company called the ENIVA Corporation.
After researching the company, the products, and the founders of ENIVA, Brisson soon realized the potential of this fast growing Minnesota based company: the potential to be the next billion dollar home based business opportunity.
6). Subliminal Persuasion
Subliminal persuasion? It is simply influencing people at a level below their conscious recognition. Many people don't even realize they are being influenced by a smile, making even that a subliminal technique. Here are two more subtle methods.
Subliminal Persuasion Using Inflection
It is easy to assume that a sentence like "I can't promise you that price.
7). Avoiding A "Failure to Communicate"
It's in every classified ad and most job descriptions: must have excellent communication skills. Worse yet, once hired, it reappears annually at review time: Improve communication skills. What's a worker to do? Communication skills don't require a graduate degree, just some common sense, a bit of homework and a better understanding of the role communication plays — in everything:
Listen.