|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impulse shopping in the checkout lane may be what drives grocery store profits, but chances are it doesn't do a thing for your business. Your customers are far more likely to need up to nine contacts from you before they trust you enough to buy from you.
Nine!
That's up sharply from when I entered the marketing field lo those many years ago, and you should expect that number to continue rising over your career too. The good news is that there are some very simple steps you can take to eliminate some of those contacts, or at least shorten the time span from initial contact to first sale.
The first step is to acknowledge that we've created our own monster in our efforts to build our businesses. On average, we're bombarded by more than 3,000 sales and marketing messages everyday. That's 3,000 times a day someone waves something in our face, or shouts something in our ear in an effort to get us to buy this, do that, and spend the rest now.
Next, think about how you react to this daily assault. As consumers (for ourselves or our company), we've all gotten very good at tuning ads out online. It's a basic survival tactic.
Like warriors on a dawn patrol in enemy territory, we'll jump from a site two seconds after we land there if we catch a glimpse of an annoying animated gif whosits or doodad in the corner of the page. We use weapons like search engines, popup blockers, personal portal homepages and newsreaders to filter out all but the information we want to see right now.
But we do more than try to avoid them. We sneer at blinking yellow "security alerts" that offer to eliminate adware deposited on our computer when someone clicks on something like a blinking yellow security alert message. We roll our eyes at Hollywood style hype. And our response to claims of "new and improved" anything is a yawned, "yeah, right."
We've become jaded, cynical, distrustful, and focused on nothing but fending off all distractions between us and the information we're online to retrieve. Is it any wonder we arrive at the end of our day exhausted, with cramped hands, hunched shoulders and clenched jaws?
Now switch hats quickly and look at this from your perspective as a business promoting yourself online. Any way you can help a battle weary consumer get more value out of your website and emails will help you earn their business, right?
Obviously, giving them a clearly marked path from landing point to information source wrapped in an appealing design is something you must do. But that alone may not be enough to win their dollars. You still have to win their attention and their respect before they'll set foot on that path.
Fortunately there is a very simple, affordable way you can do it. With no shouting.
Today's streaming video tools allow you to easily provide visitors with a brief personal message that does more than command instant attention. A simple greeting that you create and manage yourself opens the door to a genuine conversation. All the technical barriers of the web fall away in the face of it and your visitor learns what he needs to know about you in seconds.
How? Your expressions, your gestures, your smile, and your tone of voice, hold more power to attract attention, convey a deeper meaning to your message and convince people of your sincerity than anything else you can do. Scientists have proven that up to 93% of what we learn and remember from a conversation comes from these unspoken, and unwritten clues.
Your human visitors absorb and process all that complicated information a matter of seconds in an attempt to answer one question. They're looking for the consistency between your words and your non verbal message that will tell them whether or not they can trust you and believe what you say has value to them.
That makes you the very best tool you have to increase your credibility. If you're feeling too shy to step in front of the camera consider this. As a consumer, you wouldn't dream of turning off your spam filters and popup blockers, or opening every attachment that came your way.
As a businessman using the Internet to generate leads or sales for your company, can you really afford to leave your big gun at home?
Copyright 2005 Liz Micik
Liz Micik turns your video learning curve into a fast and easy profit curve in her newest book, "Cue the Director: 10 Simple Steps to Online Video Success."
Visit http://www.powerpresenters.com to have free weekly video tips emailed to you.
Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!
Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!
Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!
Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!
Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!
The following strategies are used every day to boost sales from any commercial website. Most are simply common sense whilst others may take some time to master.... Read More
'FREE' is the reason people are successful, and make a fortune marketing on the internet, yet 'FREE' is also the reason 90% of people fail miserably!It is... Read More
For a web site to make the most money it must be a direct response web site. That does not mean that sites with contents do not... Read More
If you have ever studied search engine optimization, then you'll know that most educators place tremendous importance on performing good keyword research. After all, it's true that... Read More
The Internet has opened up a whole new era of business opportunities. Falling trade barriers combining with easy access to trade information thanks to the Internet have... Read More
There is a firestorm of negative press regarding LookSmart's recent marketing stumbles via numerous discussion groups, including two of the oldest and most influential, I-Search and I-Advertising... Read More
How successful is your online business? Are you achieving the monetary rewards that you'd hoped to achieve when you set up your Web site?If not, you may... Read More
Are you thinking about starting an online business? Have you already started one and you're not making the money you'd like to? If you answer yes to... Read More
Everyone has heard about viral marketing but what is it and how long will it survive?Viral Marketing is the creation of a message that is self-perpetuating and... Read More
It will happen! TV and the Internet will eventually merge into one giant multi-media "melting pot" that includes everything from live footage and old reruns to garage... Read More
Have you been searching without success for a way to make money on the internet? Maybe you've been going from one idea to another ? wasting more... Read More
Who would have thought that a TV network dedicated to selling products on a cable network could become a success?Besides most people hate commercials? What would make... Read More
According to Google.com there are over three billion web pages online today. So what are you doing to separate yourself from the crowd? How are you targeting... Read More
Many people want to achieve financial freedom and they know very well that running their own business has always and will always be the best road to... Read More
Before I expand on the above heading, I do have a slight confession to make - you will have to do 'some' work for this process to... Read More
2005 is a great year for affiliate marketers, as online businesses will continue to grow exponentially. 2004 showed a major transition to the type of products sold... Read More
Finding the GOLD!!!G'Day from the kitchen table of Scott WilsonTime to deliver on our promise of hot and usable information to help you learn and grow an... Read More
If you are new to the Internet Marketing arena, or have a limited advertising budget, it must be hard to see where you go to get the... Read More
When you offer your products via an email campaign to get people to visit your Web site, you reap many rewards-you create more profit, spend a lot... Read More
I recently noticed that my friend's two-year-old, Conor, is getting to be quite the big boy. For one thing, he has suddenly morphed from a pudgy baby... Read More
It's true. Just think about it for a minute - the World Wide Web as we know it has really only been around for around 10 years... Read More
It is difficult to for a real estate agent to be successful today without a Website. First, your customers and prospective clients expect you to have a... Read More
1. Product or Service That Sells WellYou want to find a product / service that sells, and sells well. You need something that people want, not something... Read More
So you've got everything in place, busily working away for you. You've got your banners out, you've exchanged links, you've optimized your site for the search engines,... Read More
There is one piece of software that is always going to be purchased like hotcakes regardless of how the market is. No matter if it is a... Read More
Okay, so you're looking for new ways to grow your online business and you can't help but notice all those adult oriented matchmaking sites popping up (literally)... Read More
Creating mini-sites that grab your browsers and prime them into buyersIf you're familiar with autoresponders this will be simple, but yet many affiliates don't even think of... Read More
There is an interesting phenomenon on the Internet and that is free public domain content. This is content whose copyrights have long since run out, or other... Read More
There's no doubt that one of the things that excited you about operating your online business was the thought of making money while you sleep. Having free... Read More
Web commerce is all about courtship, not salesmanship. In life, a suitor can't go from first date to the engagement ring in one afternoon. Courtship is an... Read More
Everybody wants to learn how to make money on the Internet. What about saving money for retirement and your future? If you don't do it, who will?... Read More
Do you want to unleash a tsunami of sales at your website?If yes, then use these 10 online sales, electrifying insider's tricks of the trade.1. Sell an... Read More
Would you like to accelerate profits at your website?Here are the website marketing tactics to do so:1. Make copies of your web site in many different languages.... Read More
What if you could send out all the information that your potential customers have requested without checking your email or answering a phone? While this may seem... Read More
Using limited time offers can spark a feeding frenzy that will sell tons of your products or service. The key to success with this is ensure that... Read More
To most people Internet Marketing looks like a good way to make money from home, which is possibly the main reason while people start. The shame is... Read More
The other day I had an appointment to meet with a client about a real estate classifieds website. We decided to meet at a local restaurant and... Read More
The easy days are gone when you could build your website and two or three months later see it heading for the top of the searches in... Read More
Is internet marketing and the potential for it saturated? I have wondered this many times but pure logic wins me over. It has at many times caused... Read More
"E-commerce"A word pervading our society, making headlines around the world, and causing the stock market to rise and fall with startling ease.It seems every business news story... Read More
One of the "secrets" in Internet Marketing is knowing that you need to be patient enough to develop the kind of business building savvy that people want.... Read More
This old saying which addresses the variability of the weather in Montana is also applicable to the volatile market dynamics for an online business. If there is... Read More
Are you aware of how vitally important and valuable CONTENT is to your online business? In fact, content can do more to build your business and profits... Read More
When you first make a decision to start an Internet business or to put your existing business online, it helps if you have a realistic appreciation of... Read More
I believe it is a principle of human nature that has always been there. You see it in kids digging in the woods for that 'hidden treasure'.... Read More
You can attract 1,000's of prospects to you. You only need to be equipped with your own web site and an unlimited product or service to sell.There... Read More
Your turn to succeed has come.I am happy to offer you 10 blazing internet marketing ways to sky-rocket your profits at your website!1. Use a "P.S." at... Read More
Once you have decided on your ideal business to create and have research the feasibility of it, you will then need to figure out what your target... Read More
If you are considering launching a website for your business or entering the lucrative world of e-commerce by starting an online business, there are a few things... Read More
That is a great question!We all know by now that the long term success for having an online business comes from building and maintaining a database, and... Read More
The following excerpts were taken from an interview held with successful web marketer Darren Cronian in June 2005.LM:You are successfully promoting Worldwide Holiday Homes, without a marketing... Read More
When Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith founded Hotmail.com they promoted it with a simple idea they called "Word of computer" advertising. Every message sent by a subscriber... Read More