Basic Marketing Principles: Don't Put Up Your Website Withou by Merle

So you think you've created the perfect website.
It looks great, loads fast, and you perform marketing
and promotional duties on a regular schedule online and
off. There seems to be only one problem....no one is
buying your products. Did you rely on the essential
rules in marketing when you you created your site?
If not, you're in real trouble.

1) Great Customer Service?

One thing that will drive your customers away
faster than anything else is poor customer
service. This ranges from taking an eternity to
answer your email, to shipping delays. You need
to respond quickly, especially when it comes to
email. In our "hurry-hurry" society people will
not wait to hear from you for very long before
moving on to the next guy.

Do you have your email address on every page of your
website? Nothing irks me more then having to dig
through a site just to find an address to ask a
question. Do you offer a toll free number so they can
contact you? Easy to do and free with http://www.ureach.com
How about real time communication on your website? Take a look at
http://www.humanclick.com, which allows you to answer
questions from your website guests as they browse your site.

The more ways you give people to communicate with
you, the better. Many companies fail online due to
shoddy customer service. Don't be one of them.
By offering excellent service you'll stand out
from the crowd and build better relationships with
your clients. Remember it's easier to re-sell to
an existing customer than it is to find a new one.

2) Who Are You and What Do You Do?

Identify your company and your products on the home page. Don't
make people "dig" down into your site for the
answer. They won't; they'll just leave.

Also, make sure you describe the benefits of your
service or product right away. For example, will
it save time or money? Make you thinner? Is it
easy-to-use? People don't care about you, they
want to know "what's in it for me?" Tell them
and tell them fast, or risk losing them. Sales
are generally made on emotions. If you don't
trigger any by giving them a good reason to buy from
you, they won't.

3) Are you Charging the Right Price?

If you charge too much, no one will buy.
If you charge too little, people will think there's no
value or that there's something wrong with your product
or service. (And they still won't buy.) Before you set your pricing,
make sure you do a little research into your competitor's backyard.
That way, you'll have a better idea of where to set
your pricing.

Don't forget about "perceived value." Anything you can
add on in the way of free bonuses or free shipping
will go a long way in convincing folks to buy. With the
enormous amount of freebies floating around online, it
shouldn't be too hard collecting a few that relate to
what you're selling that you can give away with every
purchase.

4) Does your Copy Sell?

Make sure your text
helps motivate your customers to make a purchase. Sprinkle "powerful
headlines," "calls to action," and plenty of testimonials
from happy customers throughout your pages. Remember that
people read differently online; they skim. Make it easy
for them to catch the main points and benefits
quickly.

Also, offer a few different payment options and make
it easy to place an order. If they have to jump through
hoops, you'll lose the sale. Simple and Easy is
the way to go.

5) Is your Site Designed with your Target Market in Mind?

Does the look of your website cater to your target market?
You need to know demographics of your intended audience
before you even begin the construction process. Know your
market's demographics such as age bracket, income, education,
and whether they are mostly male or female.
If your site is geared towards teenagers, it needs to look
fun and hip (save the sophisticated look for their parents).
If your audience is middle aged businessmen you'll need
a more corporate look.Make sure you keep your core
audience in mind when choosing your fonts, site colors,
and any graphics.

If you remember to incorporate these basic marketing
principles into your website you'll not only have
a site that looks good, but actually does what you
intended it to do all along: Sell!

About the Author

Merle's Cyber Promotions http://www.mcpromotions.com/
"Creating Visibility Online for Small Businesses"
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