Marketing your Home Town Business on the WWW
| Category: Online Promotion | Date: 2003-09-17 |
"Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still."
--Chinese Proverb
You have opened up a little shop and would like to increase your traffic. There are lots of ways to do this. Of course, there is local advertising -- print, radio, television, and billboards. There is word of mouth, which in most communities is still the most effective marketing device. Then there is the World Wide Web.
Most folks just click on their user-friendly computer, open up Netscape composer, Microsoft Word or some similar program and make a pretty nice looking homey page. Now, it probably loads slowly so before anyone can read your name they have clicked somewhere else unless the surfer is your Mom or sister. And, you probably have forgotten to ask people to leave their e-mail address so you can send them updates. And, did you remember to put up a form so that they can automatically order something without having to travel through a maze of pages that are not easily navigated? You already understand the problem. You have entered a New World of communication that you intuitively know can help your business but how can you make the most of it.
Creating and maintaining a professional web page presence for your business whether it is local or global is going to require a minimum of five to ten hours of work a week. And, for most, this will be work in a medium that can be a little tricky. You could of course hire a web master but unless you are sure that you are going to get a return on your investment on the web. This can be a place of the "Big Internet Rip Off" as either your sisters friend has a website and wants to become a web-master or you are solicited by a professional who wants you to invest from $500 to $10,000 on a website. That is a lot of money when you are watching the pennies so that you can turn them into dollar profits.
And if you hire a professional what do you really need?
Do you need a fancy looking website that just makes one drool over the graphic abilities of the designer? No.
Do you need a simple website that describes your business in a visually pleasant way? Yes.
Do you want people to stop by once and say, "Ms. New Business is doing great. I sure hope she succeeds. Her mom would be so proud." Doesnt buy anything. Doesnt come back? No
Do you want people coming back again and again. Stopping to read about you, your products, your services and becoming a member of your business community? Yes.
If you got that last question right, then you are on the right track. Successful Internet marketing for local and global business depends upon trust, loyalty, and community building.
Trust: Trust on the Internet is a little different than trust in your store in the mall. At home, most folks know you so your reputation is at least (we hope) fairly stable. Building trust on the Internet is a different issue. The factors involved in building trust on the Internet include:
1. Testimonials: Publish the nice things that people say about you. Dont be shy -- be a Leo.
2. Consistency: Your web pages must have a consistent theme that makes people feel comfortable. You will do much better if you appear to be an information site rather than a sales site (Although we know you are doing this to generate sales)
3. Navigation: It must be easy to move around your site and your visitors should be directed in a pattern that suggests buying just like you set up the aisles and displays in your physical store.
4. Lagniappe: In New Orleans a Lagniappe is a value-added item. Reward people who discover you on the Internet and then come into your store and purchase something. This could be anything from an inexpensive product that you give away for promotion, a coupon with a discount, an invitation to a special event and so forth. The important point is to remember nothing sells as well as the 13 donut dozen.
5. Product: The greatest trust evolves from having the best product at the best price delivered in the best way possible.
Loyalty and Community Building: Loyalty based-marketing on the Internet involves factors that create interactively between you (the owner) and your web site visitor. Loyalty is a result of electronic community building. There are several factors to help build your electronic community and thus expand your market base for your business.
1. Message Boards: Message boards are interactive communication. These can be set up so that the visitors to your web site can communicate with each other and share information. A message board will fall on its electronic butt if it does not have a moderator. A moderator is someone who goes on the message board and stimulates conversation and answers posts (expertly) when folks have questions.
2. Newsletters: Electronic newsletters are your least expensive direct marketing devices. However, the way a newsletter is designed, written and delivered will either make your a marketing guru or a marketing embarrassment. Newsletters must be informative, easy to read, have lots of white space, and be archived for future access.
3. Content: No website is worth a visit to look at a list of products (unless you are looking for spare parts for a 1972 BMW that is out of stock). Information must flow through your website like a good wine through a magnificent party. The content must be written to address the demographics and interests of your visitors. It must be updated on a regular basis. These updates are announced in your newsletter. Good content is absolutely mandatory to attract customers, keep them coming back, and establish your reputation (see area about trust).
4. Chats: Chats are a wonderful community building event. You (or an expert of your designation) goes on line at a specific announced (and promoted time) to answer questions and give information about your special products and services. Chats should probably not be introduced until you have an e-mail database of at least 200 people and dont expect more than 5 to 8 people to show up the first time. Chats take time to build.
Conclusion
If you are consistent in building trust, loyalty and community and if you are persistent in your marketing efforts you can and will effectively use the Internet to increase the sales of your home town store.
About the Author
Myriam Maytorena, M.Ed. has been working in sales and marketing since the early sixties. In the mid-nineties she entered to fascinating world of Internet marketing and writing. Visit Myriam anytime at manifestreality.com or http://virtualgrandma.net
myriam@manifestreality.com
http://www.manifestreality.com
--Chinese Proverb
You have opened up a little shop and would like to increase your traffic. There are lots of ways to do this. Of course, there is local advertising -- print, radio, television, and billboards. There is word of mouth, which in most communities is still the most effective marketing device. Then there is the World Wide Web.
Most folks just click on their user-friendly computer, open up Netscape composer, Microsoft Word or some similar program and make a pretty nice looking homey page. Now, it probably loads slowly so before anyone can read your name they have clicked somewhere else unless the surfer is your Mom or sister. And, you probably have forgotten to ask people to leave their e-mail address so you can send them updates. And, did you remember to put up a form so that they can automatically order something without having to travel through a maze of pages that are not easily navigated? You already understand the problem. You have entered a New World of communication that you intuitively know can help your business but how can you make the most of it.
Creating and maintaining a professional web page presence for your business whether it is local or global is going to require a minimum of five to ten hours of work a week. And, for most, this will be work in a medium that can be a little tricky. You could of course hire a web master but unless you are sure that you are going to get a return on your investment on the web. This can be a place of the "Big Internet Rip Off" as either your sisters friend has a website and wants to become a web-master or you are solicited by a professional who wants you to invest from $500 to $10,000 on a website. That is a lot of money when you are watching the pennies so that you can turn them into dollar profits.
And if you hire a professional what do you really need?
Do you need a fancy looking website that just makes one drool over the graphic abilities of the designer? No.
Do you need a simple website that describes your business in a visually pleasant way? Yes.
Do you want people to stop by once and say, "Ms. New Business is doing great. I sure hope she succeeds. Her mom would be so proud." Doesnt buy anything. Doesnt come back? No
Do you want people coming back again and again. Stopping to read about you, your products, your services and becoming a member of your business community? Yes.
If you got that last question right, then you are on the right track. Successful Internet marketing for local and global business depends upon trust, loyalty, and community building.
Trust: Trust on the Internet is a little different than trust in your store in the mall. At home, most folks know you so your reputation is at least (we hope) fairly stable. Building trust on the Internet is a different issue. The factors involved in building trust on the Internet include:
1. Testimonials: Publish the nice things that people say about you. Dont be shy -- be a Leo.
2. Consistency: Your web pages must have a consistent theme that makes people feel comfortable. You will do much better if you appear to be an information site rather than a sales site (Although we know you are doing this to generate sales)
3. Navigation: It must be easy to move around your site and your visitors should be directed in a pattern that suggests buying just like you set up the aisles and displays in your physical store.
4. Lagniappe: In New Orleans a Lagniappe is a value-added item. Reward people who discover you on the Internet and then come into your store and purchase something. This could be anything from an inexpensive product that you give away for promotion, a coupon with a discount, an invitation to a special event and so forth. The important point is to remember nothing sells as well as the 13 donut dozen.
5. Product: The greatest trust evolves from having the best product at the best price delivered in the best way possible.
Loyalty and Community Building: Loyalty based-marketing on the Internet involves factors that create interactively between you (the owner) and your web site visitor. Loyalty is a result of electronic community building. There are several factors to help build your electronic community and thus expand your market base for your business.
1. Message Boards: Message boards are interactive communication. These can be set up so that the visitors to your web site can communicate with each other and share information. A message board will fall on its electronic butt if it does not have a moderator. A moderator is someone who goes on the message board and stimulates conversation and answers posts (expertly) when folks have questions.
2. Newsletters: Electronic newsletters are your least expensive direct marketing devices. However, the way a newsletter is designed, written and delivered will either make your a marketing guru or a marketing embarrassment. Newsletters must be informative, easy to read, have lots of white space, and be archived for future access.
3. Content: No website is worth a visit to look at a list of products (unless you are looking for spare parts for a 1972 BMW that is out of stock). Information must flow through your website like a good wine through a magnificent party. The content must be written to address the demographics and interests of your visitors. It must be updated on a regular basis. These updates are announced in your newsletter. Good content is absolutely mandatory to attract customers, keep them coming back, and establish your reputation (see area about trust).
4. Chats: Chats are a wonderful community building event. You (or an expert of your designation) goes on line at a specific announced (and promoted time) to answer questions and give information about your special products and services. Chats should probably not be introduced until you have an e-mail database of at least 200 people and dont expect more than 5 to 8 people to show up the first time. Chats take time to build.
Conclusion
If you are consistent in building trust, loyalty and community and if you are persistent in your marketing efforts you can and will effectively use the Internet to increase the sales of your home town store.
About the Author
Myriam Maytorena, M.Ed. has been working in sales and marketing since the early sixties. In the mid-nineties she entered to fascinating world of Internet marketing and writing. Visit Myriam anytime at manifestreality.com or http://virtualgrandma.net
myriam@manifestreality.com
http://www.manifestreality.com
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