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"You
might think that because you are local you can only sell your products
to local clients, but by having a website you can attract potential
clients from all over. You may never know whether the visitor on your
website is a poor guy from some town a 1000 miles away, or a company
executive browsing the internet from a local hotel room looking for
products, opportunities or services (which may be yours) such as a
dentist or for a replacement part for his laptop"
Online marketing can be applied to every business... no matter what
kind of product or service you sell.
Don't believe me? Let me give you an example...
Let's pretend you own a hair salon. Obviously people are not going to
search online for a hair salon; they're going to look in their yellow
pages, get a recommendation from a friend, etc... Your hair salon
caters to a local market, not a global market. So why should your
salon be online?
Because if you're a smart business warrior, every time someone comes
to your salon to have their hair cut, you're going to get their e-mail
address from them while they are paying you. Then you're going to make
a note of the date and kind of service you performed for them.
There is a lot of power in doing something like this!
Why? Because three weeks from now when you realize business
is slow you can simply sit down and write your customers an e-mail...
Dear [insert customer name here]:
Thank you for your visit on March 14th 2003 for a cut and perm. I just
wanted to write and thank you for your business. I also wanted to let
you know that for the week starting April 1, 2003, we're offering a
special 20% percent discount on hair cuts to all of our valued
customers.
However, you must book your appointment in the next 48 hours for this
to apply.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Regards
[your name]
at L'Air Hair Studio
Once you've sent your e-mail, you can be sure that your phones will
start ringing and the seats of your salon will fill very quickly. I
guarantee it. Will this technique generate more business?
Definitely!
How much time did it take you? Almost none!
Did it cost you anything? No!
Are they going to come back? Of course! Why would they go back to the
salon down the street that doesn't communicate with them when you are
not only keeping in touch with them, but offering them an incentive to
come back? All you need to do is remind that you're there. And it
costs you nothing!
This is the beauty of the Internet. Every business - I don't care who
you are or what you do - should be online.
If you're not online, you're losing money!
Is this technique going to make you rich? No, it isn't.
Is it going to make you more money? Absolutely!
Use the Internet creatively. Don't just do things the standard
way...be unique! Use the Internet to create the kind of loyalty and
rapport that turns a first time customer into a lifetime customer!
You see, by providing this kind of amazing service, you going to make
your customers feel special. Your business will stand out in their
minds because you have taken the time to develop a bond - a feeling of
communication - that draws them back.
It's easy to do, it works, and it takes no time at all when you use
the right software.
However, I think we should realise that this isn't going to last
forever, so get in while the going is good! Soon, more entrepreneurs
are going to catch on and realize that techniques like these could
really increase their business. But guess who will have beaten them to
the punch? You!
Because you discovered it first.
There are some significant advantages to promoting your business
online as opposed to offline. These include...
- The online aspect of your business can be easily automated
so that it demands very little of your time and attention
- You can work at your own pace
- Much lower lead costs! The expense of getting new
customers is a fraction of what it costs using traditional media.
- Access to more customers! You can attract a broad
customer base from around the world while spending very little on
advertising. [This is virtually impossible to accomplish using
traditional media.]
- Lower risk! Testing new ideas, new products, and
new sales copy costs you virtually nothing!
Compared to traditional advertising media, online marketing is
ridiculously quick, cheap and easy. On the Net, you can test your ads
in a matter of hours with almost no expense.
Where else can you
place an ad and start receiving orders within an hour?
With the compliments of:
Peter Carruthers
Business
Warriors
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