First Step Marketing

Give-Aways

Online merchants have been using a variation of this idea for years—give something free, then sell something. Although this idea is not new to commerce (businesses have been using loss leaders for decades—selling products below cost to get shoppers into a store) it’s the right formula for the Internet.

A good example of this strategy is the free virtual bouquet that many flower sites offer visitors. Come to their site, send a free virtual bouquet via email and perhaps become a paying customer of real flowers in the future. In a similar vein, you can send a virtual greeting card to anyone on the Net by using many of the greeting card sites. Read the rest of this entry »

Online publicity is an important element of your marketing plan if you’re to rise above the noise level on the Net. But getting that publicity is not easy—it takes a lot of work, and can be froth with dangers. It takes a lot of planning and preparation and is definitely not a one-shot effort. A well-thought-out publicity plan gives your eBusiness the kind of portrayal you want in the media and your community. Over the long haul, good portrayal generates good credibility for your eBusiness.

The goal is to generate important coverage of your eBusiness at exactly the right time and in exactly the right place. Read the rest of this entry »

Surprise Them with Shipping Costs

Shoppers don’t like surprises. Before you put your customers through your order taking process, let them know what the actual shipped price of their order will be.

You can do this in one of two ways. First, present the customer with the full amount of his order before you ask for his credit card. If you can’t have offer that calculation, then have complete shipping and handling charges listed on your Web store—and make that list easy to find. This is even more critical for your international customers.

If you want to sell to international customers, then you have to let them know it. Give them the international shipping costs before they reach your order form. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Web site is here to serve your customers—not impress them. You job is to design a site and offer a shopping experience that gives consumers a quick, safe, and easy way to purchase something from your Web store.

So before you sit down with your Web consultant, and before your Web designer puts pointer to screen, be sure the 10 ways to drive customers away from your site are avoided.

Confuse Your Customers

That might be funny to you, but treating your customer with no respect will drive him away from your site for sure. And one sure-fire way to drive him away is to confuse him.

Keep your navigation simple. You’re there to sell. Customers are there to buy. Make it easy for them to find your products and buy them. If they can’t find what they want and order it in three mouse clicks, you run the risk of losing them. So, organize your site material logically from the customer’s point of view. Be sure to include clear directions for navigating the site from your home page. Remember that the home page of your Web store serves a variety of functions. It’s a map of your store, a welcome mat, and a marketing message all in one. Read the rest of this entry »

Generally, when people don’t have, they think about not having; when they have, they think about how not to lose it; and when they keep it safe, they think about how there is never enough. Therefore, people who are worried about not having enough allow it to infect their consciousness so much that they merely endorse the insecurity that denies prosperity.

Those who need things are at the mercy of a scarcity mentality. Most people, as well as the majority of businesses, suffer from this, although they are unaware of it. Often seemingly successful in spite of themselves, their competitive outlook actually limits them. The need of an individual for a greater income is no different from the need of a company for greater turnover and profits. After all, the actions employed in running a business are the expressed thoughts of the individuals that fuel it. Read the rest of this entry »

A key role of modern marketing is that of a management `mindset’ implemented throughout an organization rather than confined to a particular department (Payne 1995). This viewpoint regards marketing as a guiding management philosophy or ‘attitude of mind’ that puts the customer first, and it is commonly described s a ‘marketing orientation’. It is a much broader view of the role of marketing an has been envisaged in the past, and it cuts across a wide range of organizational functions. Successful adaptation of a marketing orientation requires effective management of all stakeholder groups (this means people with a particular — although not necessarily the same — interest in the activities of the company) such as staff, business partners, shareholders and suppliers, as well as customers. As Chaffey et al. note, ‘The marketing concept should lie at the heart of the organisation, and the actions of directors, managers and employees should be guided by its philosophy’ . Read the rest of this entry »

`Second-generation’ mobile phones introduced early in 2001 offer faster connection speeds and are starting to carry advertising. High response rates are currently enjoyed by advertisers (perhaps owing to the novelty factor!), and the most successful campaigns have been run by companies such as the Sun newspaper, which has used the mobile channel to advertise competitions being run in the paper itself. In other words, the Sun is using online advertising to drive its traditional core business — which is offline newspaper sales. Mobile advertising still represents a very small percentage of company promotional spend in comparison with more traditional media such as radio and television, but the figure is increasing. Business services via mobile channels are currently few and far between, but early experiments are under way with order placing, stock-checking availability and order tracking to facilitate supply chain integration. Read the rest of this entry »