Marketing IS the difference

Odds are, no matter what you're selling, thousands of others are selling a similar or even the very same product.

How do customers differentiate whether to buy from you or your competitor?

Harvey Mackay, author of "How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive," tells of his great company and his great product - Envelopes.

How do you set yourself apart from the competition when you sell envelopes?

Harvey came up with a unique way to set himself apart from his competition. Since most of his deliveries were to companies in tall buildings, he put his company name on top of his delivery trucks.

He became known as "the guy who puts his name on top of the his delivery trucks."

What does this have to do with your website?

It has everything to do with it. Harvey's company sells $40 MILLION dollars worth of envelopes every year.

Marketing IS the difference.

And 'Marketing' has everything to do with your online business.

1) It starts with your product.
Since thousands of others are selling a product similar to yours,
creativity is key. How can you make your product unique?
How do you position your product so the customer chooses you
out of a crowd of search engine listings? What features and benefits do you offer that your competitors don't?

2) Domain name and slogan
Choose your domain name carefully. Make sure it adds to your
uniqueness, while being interesting your target market.
Include the name or description of your product line in your domain name, if possible.

3) Tell your story
I have a friend who sells tortilla chips. His are the best in the land. So are everyone else's. But my friend has a story. His recipe has been passed down from generation to generation and originated in old Mexico. The 'secret' is in the process of making the chips so the flavor is locked in forever…you get the point. Telling a story can make you memorable.

4) Have a mascot or symbol
Do you remember Tony the Tiger?
"They'rrrrrrrre Grrrrrreattttt!" What product did Kelloggs sell?
Corn flakes! How boring are corn flakes? They are so boring, Kelloggs needed this animated tiger to make them memorable. And make MILLIONS for Kelloggs. Selling boring products can be very profitable.

Who would go to Disneyland if it weren't for Mickey Mouse?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

5) Website Design
You've put in hard work and spent good money to get visitors to your site. Make it easy to buy from your site.

Choose color schemes and site layout based on your customer's tastes, not your own. Present the image people expect.

If you are offering professional products or services, look professional. Pay for professional design if you necessary. If you are selling fun products, create a 'fun' look and feel to your site.

Write your ad copy in the style your prospects are comfortable reading.

6) Stay in contact with your prospects and customers
Create a newsletter, even if only to send positive quotes, fun messages, or anything...that your prospects and customers will find value in.
The golden rule in marketing is 'any touch is a good touch'
You never know when someone will be ready to buy your product.

If they remember your website, when they are ready to buy, you win.

7) Provide good customer service
The adage is true that if you provide timely customer service your customer will tell 3 people, but if it's bad, they'll tell 10.

8) Ask for referrals
Your best customers are also your best salesmen.
Ask openly for referrals. Offer something of value in exhange for them. You will be surprised at how many you get.

9) Keep adding to your marketing war chest
You don't have to be completely different - you just have to be 'distinctly'different. Olympic races are won or lost by 1/100th of a second. You only need to stand out just a little more than your competitor to be first in your customer's mind when they are ready to buy.

Try to learn and implement new techniques regularly.
I don't recommend doing 600 marketing activities at once. Try one or two at a time.

Once you master a technique, it becomes as easy as riding a bicycle. Before you know it, you'll have a full war chest of marketing skills working for you and you'll be swimming with the Sharks and swimming in the money!

 

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