Actually, I was the person
being whisked across country, a few years back, to negotiate
the sale of a web site I had built. With a lot of hard work
and a carefully executed positioning I created the opportunity
to make more than I thought possible from what had started
as a just for fun web site marketing project.
Whether you are a builder, accountant, realtor, market
researcher, or manufacture loudspeakers or baseball bats,
the way you position your firm can determine your success.
Do you want prospects to seek you out?
Do you want people to pay you more?
Do you want to stand head and shoulders above your competition?
With a simple positioning strategy you can get more attention than you
imagined and bring in those high-margin projects and the profits you want.
Here's how I positioned one of my ideas for success.
1. IDENTIFY A NEED
In 1999, a new search engine was appearing on the Internet almost every
week. Some were much better than others. Knowing which search tool to
use was confusing. Through my own interest in finding better tools to
navigate the web, I'd discovered a common need.
2. EDUCATE PPROSPECTS TO DEMONSTRATE
YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Based on four years of study of search engines and a book I'd written previously
on marketing to the search engines, I'd become an expert on how they did
and didn't work. To help my own online research and to help others, I built
a web site that provided a directory of search engines and reviewed their
usefulness and functionality.
What are your areas of expertise?
The objective of my site was simple. At a time when most people were just
discovering the web, I wanted to help them find the best possible search
tools for their particular task. My mission was to educate people about
how to find what they were looking for online. The site primarily focused
on the growing number of reviews I authored. Instead of leading with information
about my credentials, I used the content on the site to demonstrate my
knowledge.
What can you do to educate your prospects?
How can you demonstrate your expertise?
Discover how to
get your prospects' attention and get their
business with a brilliant
sales and marketing message and elevator speech.
Get '15
Second Marketing'
3. IDENTIFY AND REACH YOUR
TARGET MARKET
Now I needed a way to get people to the site. While my target market was
almost infinite - anyone searching the Internet - my advertising budget
was zero. (Remember I was doing this as a back pocket project while maintaining
my small business marketing consulting practice.) How could I attract attention
and get people to come back to the web site again and again?
I identified online editors and reference librarians as
identifiable, approachable groups with a high level of
interest and influence. I started an ezine directing readers
to current search engine reviews and updates on the site
and published approximately once a month.
What is your stay-in-touch strategy?
Discover the specific tactics to using articles to attract
new business in, 'Opening
Doors with Your Articles'
RESULTS
After just three issues of my ezine reporters started calling me for radio
interviews and magazine articles. I received an offer to buy the web
site with the price tied to the number of monthly visitors and page views.
Three months later I had grown traffic to the site from thirty thousand
to three hundred thousand page views per month and closed the deal.
Use these strategies to attract
more clients with your web site marketing. I've
detailed the tactics you can use to build your business in
'Creating
Web Sites that Sell'
POSITIONING YOUR COMPANY
To position your product or service for success:
A. Identify a Common Need
B. Identify a Market
C. Demonstrate Your Expertise to that Market
D. Continue to Stay in Touch
If you've been in business for three years or more you've accumulated a
wealth of experience and knowledge. The more you share your ideas, the
more people will view you as an expert and seek you out. Give your prospects
examples of your expertise and they will think of you when they need your
products or services.
You can use an ezine, your web site, a book, workshops or
public speaking to demonstrate your knowledge and put your firm ahead
of the competition. Using the strategy outlined above and
a little effort you can position your business for success and put
yourself in front.
Take
your web site marketing and your business to the next level
to increase sales and profits.
Index
of Marketing Ideas and Marketing Articles >
Use
these sales & marketing ideas to grow your business.
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