by John Marshall on February 2, 2010
What is Marketing? Many people believe marketing is the same as advertising, and yes it’s true advertising is in marketing but overall marketing encompasses a lot more then just advertising. Marketing is a whole process that is vital to any business having a chance to succeed in today’s competitive markets.
Entrepreneurs Understand Exactly What Marketing Is: The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.
Marketing entails everything from your research to your advertising and everything in between. Companies spend huge amounts of money hiring marketing firms trying to create that perfect marketing strategy. The problem with this is it cost a ton of money and if you are reading this article you are probably a small business owner looking to understand how to market online.
So lets break it down, regardless of the product you are trying to sell follow these steps and improve your overall results. (Which should mean more money for your business.)
Identifying Customer Needs- If you are in a company that sells a product already just think about what need does that product fill for your customer.
Example: If your company sells a weight loss pill then the customer need that your are trying to fill is weight loss.
Identify Your Target Market- This is so important do not skip this step and once you figure out your target market write it down. Think really hard about who wants to spend money on your product or services. (I’m sorry to tell you but, not everyone wants to spend MONEY on your product, I don’t care what you are selling.) The more specify your target market is the better conversions rates you will see.
Example: You wouldn’t market a steak diner to a vegetarian. If you did then you wouldn’t make a sell and you also lost some marketing dollars!
Making the items available at times and places that meet customers needs. Once you find out who your target market is you must find them at the exact time they want to buy your product.
Example: Lets say your selling golf clubs and your target market is people looking to buy a new putter. So you place ads in google so your ads pop up when someone types in the search box..I want to buy a new putter.
Provide Service and Follow Up. Build a relationship with your customers make them want to work with you or buy from you in the future. It is less expenses to keep existing customers then to recruit new ones.
Now if you are a true entrepreneur and really care about your business I encourage you to sit down and create a marketing plan. Write everything down on paper and keep coming back to it every month and really narrow your marketing efforts down. Many businesses fail and I can ensure you if you are trying to start a business online and you don’t have a marketing plan in writing you will fail.
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by John Marshall on January 10, 2010
People with entrepreneur characteristics make a decision one day, to start a business or have a job for their whole life. Normally an entrepreneur weighs the advantages and disadvantages to starting a business before they make that decision. With the unknown looking them in the face many entrepreneurs sort through the list.
Advantages
- Control your life
- Ability to reach your full potential
- Having a chance to do what you enjoy
- Unlimited profits
Disadvantages
- Sacrifices at startup
- Stress level can be high
- Long hours
- No steady income
- Risk of losing your entire investment
After looking at the list, the average person only looks at the disadvantages and focuses on the negative parts. It’s only the true entrepreneur, like Henry Ford or Bill Gates, who sees both the advantages and disadvantages. Carefully calculating both sides, entrepreneurs find a way to take the negative and turn it into a positive. Many entrepreneurs have failed at starting a business, but it was the dream of being a business owner that let them feel alive. And for this reason they didn’t fail, but only learned more for their next business opportunity.
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by John Marshall on January 9, 2010
Entrepreneurs are sometimes given stereotypes. Some are consider to be larger than life figures who enjoy every second they live. Many are portrayed as greedy heartless people who will do anything to make their business a success. Now maybe some entrepreneurs are like this, but it is impossible to put a large number of people into the same group. The majority of entrepreneurs are different then your average person they tend to have different characteristics then most.
The Top Ten Characteristics Found In Entrepreneurs Are…..
- Entrepreneurs are disciplined and can hold them self accountable.
- Entrepreneurs are a ball of physical energy.
- Entrepreneurs like to be in control.
- Entrepreneurs are very confident and believe in themselves.
- Entrepreneurs they love what they do and know their market.
- Entrepreneurs are very passion about succeeding in life.
- Entrepreneurs always learn from their mistakes and don’t make it twice.
- Entrepreneurs are willing to keep learning new skills.
- Entrepreneurs are good leaders and can lead a team to complete a common goal.
- Entrepreneurs will take a risk on new opportunities.
Do you have many of these characteristics and are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur? If so,fill the form out below and learn how to become an entrepreneur online.
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by John Marshall on January 8, 2010
Opt in leads are the only leads you want in your sales funnel. Stop wasting money on buying leads and calling people who don not know who the hell you are. If you are currently buying leads or thinking about buying leads, Stop! Don not waste your money! Maybe you are just trying to find out how to generate opt-in-leads on your own. If that’s the case, you have come to the right place.
First we have to go over what is an opt in lead. Opt in leads are simply when someone comes to a website and puts their information into that website requesting more information. That is an opt-in-lead.
It’s really that simple, but it turns out people still buy leads. Now what’s wrong with buying leads you say? Well first you are paying money for them, second you get them from a company who is selling those leads to multiple people. Finally when you call those leads, 9 times out of 10 they do not care what you are trying to sell them.
So what are the steps to getting opt-in-leads and saying good bye to painful calls to cold leads.
Step 1: You have to have a product or service someone needs. When I say needs, I’m not talking about everyone you know. If you have a business opportunity you should find people who are looking for a business, not your 85 year old grandma who can’t even send an e-mail. Don’t force your product or service on to people that just pushes them away.
Step 2: Create a website so people can look at your website and see if your product or service is for them. On that site you will have a place for them to enter their information asking for more information on what you have to offer. This is an opt in lead you have their information, they want to know more about your product and it was free.
Step 3: After you have a website up and running, you must send people to your website that are looking for your product or services. This is were marketing comes into play. You must learn how to market your business correctly at this point. If you are selling houses in CA you want to market to people who want to buy houses in CA not NY.
This process is not that hard and can work for anyone who is trying to sell something. If you would like to know more about this process fill the form out below.
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by John Marshall on January 7, 2010
Thinking about using social media to market your business? Maybe you are on the fence or maybe you’re against social media. If that’s the case you need to take the next 4 minutes and watch this video. It will open your eyes and show you why social media is so important.
If you are still reading this you watched the video and realized how important social media is. So how can you learn how to market on social media.
Developing a Social Media Strategy:
- Social media isn’t free it takes time but I’m going to show you how to leverage it to save as much time as possible. I will work with you to ensure that the correct social media strategy are being utilized.
- I will give you access to hours of social media training that cover Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Myspace, Blogging, LinkedIn, and more.
Launching a Social Media Campaign:
- Once you have put together the strategy and identified the areas you want to attack, it is time to launch the campaign.
- After you start your campaign the learning never stops as social media is evolving everyday. The only way to stay ahead is to stay plugged in with people who are in the marketing trenches day in and day out.
Are you ready to start driving leads with social media into your sales funnel? If so fill the form out below and get in contact with me.
Helpful links on Social Media Lead Generation
LinkedIn Marketing
Built Your List On Social Media
Youtube Marketing: Marketing On Youtube 101
Don’t Get Slapped By Social Media
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