#1 Differentiate
There are basically two ways to make money selling a product or service. You can either sell it cheaper than your competition or you can differentiate your business by offering something of value to your customers. If there is no difference in your product or service, people almost always base their buying decision on price. (No one wants to have to compete on price.)
#2 Know Your Customer
Taking a broad stroke approach and promoting your product to anyone who can afford it will not be as effective as identifying who needs or wants your product and then working to understand them. What are their special needs? Customers want to know what your product or service will do for them. Does it make their lives easier? Does it save them money? Does it save them time? Does it improve their appearance?
#3 Develop Your Message
Good marketing messages are sharp and to the point. They answer the question “What can you do for your customer?”. Your marketing message needs to communicate who needs your product, the problem you’re solving, the benefits of your solution, the results that you produce and what is special about your product or service. Give your customers a rational reason to buy from you. Start forming your message by answering these questions:
- Who am I?
- What do I sell?
- Why do customers buy my product?
#4 Build Brand Awareness
Building a business identity or brand is critical to your success. Your brand symbolizes your product or service. One of the biggest challenges businesses face is to attract the attention of potential customers. A recognizable brand triggers people’s memories and gives you top-of-mind awareness. When potential customers are ready to buy, your business will be one of the brands that they will think of.
#5 Deliver on Your Promise
People say that everything you do is either a relationship builder or a relationship destroyer. What you say on your website is your promise. If you promise to deliver in 3 to 4 business days, make sure you do. It’s better to exceed your customer’s expectations than to over-promise. The same thing goes for trust. People like to buy from people they trust. As you build your reputation, ask your customers for testimonials that you can post on your website.
About Sherryl PerryWelcome! If you're looking for help building an Internet presence that fits your needs and works for you, you're in the right place. I blog common sense articles about WordPress, social media and SEO. My goal is to help small business owners and entrepreneurs understand their core business. Together, we can develop and implement business strategies that make sense to you.
Definitely keep to your promise, otherwise people won’t trust you in the future! Great tips here.
Sherryl,
I think that’s a good point to consider, using your own personal picture. And we need not say that you should look professional in that picture while projecting your most friendly smile. It’s still a part of the make a good ‘first impression’ principle. A friendly smile makes you attractive plus, it makes people subconsciously think that they can trust you.
Also, I’d like to add that the way customer complaints are handled also contributes to the success of the business. Complainers who got their complaints well-handled usually become loyal customers.
More powers to you! 🙂
Hi Audrey,
That’s a great point about smiling and making that first impression. Handling complaints and customer service could be a blog post of its own.
I don’t usually leave links in my comments but I think this post about customer service is a great example of a company that differentiates themselves: http://keepupwiththeweb.com/ambassador-of-buzz-social-networking-done-right/.
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Great article for people, who want to do online business effectively and become a really successful online entrepreneur. As an online entrepreneur myself i would like to say that it is extremely important for online business owners to have skills in online marketing and brand development. Just keep in mind that everyone can become a successful entrepreneur and always believe in your success!
Thanks Terje. You have such a positive outlook! I just tweeted your post and left a comment for you.
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Sherryl is right. It’s very important to use your own personal picture to promote yourself or your brand. And it’s advisable to use just only one picture so people will easily recognize you once they see you again in some other posts.
Not only do some people not use their picture, some don’t use their real name. Who wants to get to know someone who leaves a comment with the name “Basketball Sneakers”? They’re missing a great opportunity!
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But they no longer need to do that because they can use KeywordLuv right?
They certainly can but I’m not sure that most of the people who leave these types of comments have a real understanding of KeywordLuv or CommenLuv. Most of them don’t even use an avatar. I rarely accept comments from them unless the comment has real value. Sometimes, I take the time to email them but very rarely does anyone acknowledge that I contacted them.
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Andrea,
I think having your photo on your about page is a great idea. It makes it personal and as I always say, people like to do business with people they like. When you start promoting your website, you will probably start joining social networking sites and commenting on blogs and forums. I use Gravatar to mange my profile picture. When I comment or participate online, people will always see the same picture of me. After a while, (hopefully) people will get to recognize me and trust me. You may want to read my article that talks about using an avatar as part of building your brand.
having a website constructed at the moment,would you suggest a photo so people can see what you look like?