Posts Tagged ‘marketing’
Increase Sum in Your Check Account with Follow-Ups
We’ll be examining what makes follow up to prospects/customers so important on our online world today.
Are you familiar with this scenario?
- Joined an affiliate program with good pay-out.
Well, I am.
This never ending cycle is what I used to do.
Until I stumble across a training article from Six-Figure Income Marketing Group ? “The Fortune is in the Follow-Up!” I wake up.
I was clearly informed of this statistics:
The average sale is closed as follows:
- 2% on 1st contact
- 3% on 2nd contact
- 5% on 3rd contact
- 10% on 4th contact
- 80% on 5th-12th contact
— The National Sales Executive Association
I then think: if follow up is so important what information can I give to my prospects?
The answer is easier then I thought it could be…
That is, I can get plenty of informative articles and e-books from the affiliate programs that I’ve joined.
Gathering all the articles and e-books I can utilize from my entire affiliate program is the next step I took in forming my own follow-ups.
What I need now is a good autoresponder that can do the work for me 24/7.
Throughout my research I found that a free autoresponder is good for short term follow-ups (approx. 20 emails).
If you want to use a free autoresponder be sure to find one that is third-party ads free! You don’t want your competitor’s ads showing up and get all the customers from you!
I often use free autoresponder for short term training courses when prospects joined under me.
I then use a paid autoresponder to organize a long term email campaign!
Most of the paid autoresponder gives unlimited follow-ups which is the key point to follow-ups and sales conversion.
After you’ve found the best autoresponder for you or you could follow the link in the resource box below to find out some of the *good quality* autoresponder that I recommends.
You can now start thinking about organizing your follow-up emails.
Here are some of ideas to help you sort out your articles in order:
Caution!
If you are buying or using free email lists is sure to double check with the list providers the sources of their leads.
You don’t want to end up with a lot of spamming warning!
Reminder: To build relationship is the key element to bear in mind when following-up with your prospects.
About The Author
(c) J M Chiang. Janice Chiang publishes Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to support people looking for *best-rated* opportunities and latest time-saving tools. Send a blank email to mailto:valuenmbiz@getresponse.com today.
Customer Service Is More Than Just Being Nice To People
Many organizations tackle to the issue of customer service by exhorting their employees to speak with a smile. Be polite. Never lose your cool. But isn’t that a little like closing the barn door after the horses have gotten out? Good customer service should be about a good customer experience with your product. This begins with the relationship your company cultivates with a customer.
This relationship will be tested by the entire process of the buyer seller relationship.
1. The images and promises of the marketing campaign
People begin to form opinions of your company and products from the messages they receive before they even purchase your product. Often, they receive these images before they have even thought of buying. Will your images match the experience?
2. The ease of ordering/purchasing the product
Once someone has decided to purchase your products or services, how easy do you make it for them to do so. Is there someone to answer the phones or will they get a voice mail message? Actually, many companies lose sales in this way. Some people, who want to act now, will simply hang up and go on to the next company that will answer their call. Also, many leads are not followed up A message is left but no one gets back. When the buyer does reach you, are your systems in place to make the purchasing process as simple as possible? Buyers want to feel that they’ve made the right decision in choosing your product. By creating an easy process for ordering, you help them feel confident in their decision.
3. How well does the product live up to the expectations of the marketing?
Your customer now has your product in his possession. Will it live up to any hype used in the marketing campaign? Or will there be a letdown when the actual product does not match the expectations? Marketing is a powerful force. It will create expectations that must be fulfilled by the product. When it doesn’t, it can create customer satisfaction problems. Make sure your product matches expectations.
4. How well will the product live up to the expectations of the customer?
In addition to the marketing message, a customer usually forms his own expectations based on past experiences with similar products, observations and conversations with others. Will this add to the experience or create a letdown? Product must match expectations or exceed them. Anything less will create a potential customer service problem.
5. When something goes wrong, how is it fixed?
Do you acknowledge that problems can happen? Have you decided how to satisfy customers? Have you looked at the financial ramifications of your solutions? Better yet, look at the product itself. If you find many customers with similar products, perhaps it is most appropriate to address weaknesses in the product itself.
6. What are the procedures?
Even with the best of products, problems can occur. It’s best to address these issues beforehand. Decide what processes will be used to satisfy your customers. Think about replacement ? and its cost, discounts, etc. If you are going to replace a product, how quickly can you get it to someone? As a replacement, it must take precedence over new orders. Customers will tell more people when they’ve had a bad experience then when they’ve had a good experience. Solving customer problems not only affects that specific customer but many other people as well.
7. Can your organization be easily reached or is the process frustration to most?
Everyone has frustrating stories to tell about voice prompts that go nowhere. They don’t cover your problem and they continually loop back into the system without a way to speak to a live operator. Make it easy for people to speak with someone. Test your systems thoroughly. Automation can be a great help and a cost saver for organizations but it must be used judiciously.
8. Can the customer service rep actually help?
Customer services reps must be empowered to solve problems. They must be able to do more than empathize and smile. Nothing is more frustration than a nice customer service rep that is unable to resolve your problem. Give your staff the appropriate information and training. Let them have responsibility and accountability for their actions. Employees tend to rise to the level that is expected of them.
Good customer service requires an ongoing examination of methods. The questions discussed above will start the thought process necessary to truly deliver world class service.
Jo Ann Kirby is president of KRG Communications Group. She has 20 years experience in sales, cusotmer service, telephone sales, management with an extensive background in training and development. Her background also includes extensive b2b telesales management experience. Jo Ann has been published in The Toastmaster, NAPPS Network and Commerce magazines. More can be found at http://www.krgcommunications.com
Chris Carpenters Google Cash – An Ebook Review
It is rare to find a brand new blueprint for making cash on the internet. The continuous churning of rehashed and ripped off regurgitated pablum has plagued the internet guru market for the last few years. But ever so often with some persistent digging you find a gem. Google Cash is that shining diamond on the coal-heap of get-rich-on-the-internet promotion.
With the pending IPO of Google and all the hype surrounding it, it’s easy to overlook the hidden fundamentals that make Google such a marketing miracle. The Google Adwords program allows savvy marketers to reach highly desirable eyeballs at a predictable cost. Google Cash is a startlingly frank analysis of this fast-paced direct response medium.
You sell hand-made knitted scarves. You can place your ad directly in the path of people searching for one. With some elbow grease and a sharp pencil you can figure out to the penny what you can afford to pay for that ad. And you can target the world or Little Rock Arkansas with that ad thanks to the awesome interface and techno-wizardry of Google Adwords. What used to take 3 months in the “old days” of marketing back in the nineties takes 3 hours today!
Chris Carpenter lays out a step-by-step blueprint for generating extra income on the web using Google Adwords. He pulls back the curtain and reveals his own successful campaigns and even some of his stumbles in this marketing arena. He demystifies the mathematics and explains the entire process at a Grade 10 comprehension level.
If I had a teenage son or daughter, I would get them to stop working at McDonalds and get them investing their free time in building an online auction business. I used to hate cleaning the garage. Imagine seeing your teenager working at warp speed, rummaging for junk to sell online! It’s possible thanks to Google Cash.
Can anything and everything be sold online through Google Adwords? Frankly, the astounding answer is yes! If a human wants it, you can put it in front of them. The Google Adwords interface is the single most powerful direct-response medium currently on the planet. With 300 million daily searches, with a little bit of imagination and creativity you can find a target niche for your product.
Think of Google Cash as a starting point rather than a be-all-end-all solution. For the price, it delivers great value. But you have to take action with this guide. Even though it lays out the step-by-step path to follow, you’ll still have to invest the hours building your keyword campaigns and creating your Google projects. Even though there is real brain work involved, the potential rewards of developing your own online cash machine with Google outweighs the short term sweat equity. I think you’ll enjoy Google Cash.
David Ledoux is an online entrepreneur, freelance writer and author. He is the creative force behind http://www.best-online-auction-links.com and http://www.free-palm-programs.com
The Hazards Of Your First Credit Card
You probably don’t need me to tell you credit cards are easy to get a hold of; at least, that is so in the US and UK. How many weeks pass without a glossy brochure promoting a credit card popping through your letter box? And that’s just your mail; the tv advertising budgets for credit card promotion are enormous, with some famous faces often adorning your screen, smiling beautifully as they tempt you. How does anyone resist that promotional onslaught, coupled with the peer pressure, and the “have now, pay later” culture in which we live? Well, the fact is, few people do resist. If you are credit worthy and have no credit card, you are something of a rarity.
Credit cards are almost as easy to get as your fruit and vegetables from the local supermarket. The thing is, you can have a bad credit history, and still get deluged with offers of easy credit. Even if you have just filed for bankruptcy, you may still get more offers of credit cards than you know what to do with!
Because of the ease of availability, credit card debt is all too easy to get into. Not just once, but over and over again. Partly it’s psychological, as we may not feel like we are spending real money. That is, until the chicken comes home to roost, and the bill comes. By then, of course, it’s too late; you have a debt for which you are legally responsible. The credit card companies have slick marketing departments who know we are weak, and that we may easily fall prey to temptation.
It is often recommended, when trying to establish a good credit report, that it is a good idea to get a credit card, and then use it to spend wisely. Experts will advise us to pay our bills on time, and never to exceed the credit limit. However, when you get you first credit card, nobody really goes to any real trouble to warn you, bluntly, of the pitfalls:
1. It is easy to be lured into spending up to the credit card’s limit; before you know it, that one moment of weakness a month has taken you up to the limit.
2. You may have a low interest rate to begin with, but that was an introductory offer; a lure; a bribe; to get your business and your money and tempt you more and more. Soon, the permanent interest rate will kick in. How does 20% pa sound? It could be that much. Were you warned how quickly that builds up? How the monthly interest alone may make it difficult for you to pay your monthly repayment every time, on time?
3. Close on your credit limit and with high interest charges, you miss a payment and go over the credit limit. Unknown to you, you are now getting black marks on your credit report
Unfortunately, when times are difficult, over use of credit cards is far too easy. If you are short of cash for any reason, it is easy to reach for the credit card. But if you find yourself tempted to use it for day to day expenses, then you are on the route to credit card debt problems that will mar your credit report for a long time to come. That can affect mortgage applications, car loan applications, and even your desire to move to a new apartment.
Always bear in mind that credit card debt has long term risks. If you have got this far without a credit card, think long and hard if you really need to apply for one. It is true that if you use credit cards wisely, you can build a credit history that brings rewards instead instead of risks. But the temptation is always there. Always remember that you are paying the bank for the privilege of having a credit card, and you are paying a high rate. If you think you may succumb to temptations too often, then be different: save as much as you can each month, and then if you hit upon hard times, you have the option of reaching for the savings account instead of the credit card fix. For non-cash convenience, you can use a debit card rather than credit card.
Roy Thomsitt is owner and part author of http://www.eliminate-credit-card-debt-now.com
Fishing Team Gear Helps Teams Market To Sponsors
Competition between offshore and inshore anglers has skyrocketed within the last few years. As the competition increases, so does the need for fishing teams to differentiate themselves and stand out from other teams. To do this, fishing teams are acting more like businesses and taking marketing and branding seriously. There are several reasons why increasing amounts of fishing teams are moving towards self-promotion.
First of all, it is a sheer numbers game. There are more and more well run fishing tournaments available to the average angler these days. Everything from the “mom and pop” type local tournament, to entire circuit series, like the H.O.T. Fishing Circuit, that has the likes of the NASCAR points system. With circuit and big money tournaments becoming the more common, more anglers are fishing them. And these tournaments are not cheap. That leads us to the second reason.
Secondly, since anglers fishing more tournaments, they are spending much more money to fish them. This costs a considerable amount of money. The costs and fees involved are registration fees, gas, bait, boat purchase and maintenance, insurance, a large vehicle or truck to pull your boat or dockage fee at a marina. Plus you must not forget food, beverages, lodging and any other associated travel costs. Fishing teams are looking to save money and seeking out corporate sponsorships from fishing and marine companies. This can become a very important goal to competitive fishing teams to help defray costs.
But actually getting a fishing, marine or boating company to fork over big bucks to help with expenses is not an easy task. They get inundated with sponsorship requests on a daily basis. Fishing teams wanting to catch the eye of a sponsor, promote their team and project a professional, winning image is something that fishing team gear can provide.
Fishing team gear is a very effective way for teams to brand and self-promote. Just as a company would do, a fishing team must first establish and promote a consistent identity and brand. This is where a great, eye-catching and professionally designed logo comes in. Selecting a logo and who designs it is very important. The logo needs to be unique, easy to recognize and accurately reflect the image of the team. There are a few design firms who specialize in marine and boating industries, so doing homework on this will pay off. Using the internet to search for these companies is a quick and easy way to determine who has experience and understanding of the competitive fishing arena. In addition, some companies offer exclusive marine artists who can design custom fishing team designs.
Once the logo determined, fishing teams need to brand everything. Teams have matching t-shirts, visors, baseball caps, boat lettering, stickers and anything else they can put their name on. Many teams are even going beyond standard team t-shirts and are having professional embroidery sewn on to more high quality apparel and hats.
In addition to team gear, the most important piece of marketing machinery for soliciting sponsors is a fishing team website. Team websites can promote and profile a fishing team, it’s crew, accomplishments, tournaments wins and photo gallery. Websites are an effective tool for teams to showcase their commitment to promoting a professional, winning image. In addition, websites offer a way for sponsors to get in contact with teams they might not have even noticed before. It’s a pretty impressive sight for the sponsors to come upon a team that has a professionally built website with a professionally designed logo. In addition, they would notice the photographs featuring the crew winning tournaments in their team gear. Besides reinforcing the team’s name and identity, it also shows the team’s important understanding of brand promotion -and that is what sponsors want to see.
If you are one of the millions of Americans that participates in competitive fishing tournaments and want to further promote your team’s brand and identity, consider investing in some high quality team fishing gear. Not only will you create a presence on the water and on the World Wide Web, but you may also catch the eye of some well-needed sponsors.
Copyright Troy Denson, http://www.BoldWater.com
How to Make Money from Internet Auctions
If your business is not using eBay and other Internet auctions, you could be missing out. Here are just a few ways of generating additional income, profits and cashflow from online auctions.
1. Convert Excess Assets to Cash
Sell personal or business items that you no longer use. For example, are there slow moving inventory items in your store? A major camera store chain sells their slow movers, quite successfully, through eBay.
2. Buy and Sell Anything
Sometimes people put things out in the garbage because they don`t need them anymore and don`t know anyone who could use them. You can successfully sell some of these items by Internet auction.
As well, if you pick up bargains from garage sales, flea markets, importers, wholesalers, closeout dealers or other sources, these items can also be sold through online auctions.
3. Drop Shipping
There are suppliers who will ship one item at a time for you. You don`t have to stock any inventory. You simply pay your dropship supplier out of the money you receive from your auction sale. They will ship the product directly to your customer.
For further information about drop shipping, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/dropship.html
4. Self-Publishing
Do you have expertise in a specialized area of interest to people? Then, you could publish your own information product.
A very popular format for self-publishing information products is the electronic book (or e-book). E-book compilers, some of which are free, are readily available on the Internet. When people buy your e-book, they can download it from your website or receive it by e-mail.
You could sell such self-published information products on eBay and other Internet auction sites. Incidentally, online auctions are an inexpensive method of testing the market for your information (or other) products.
For further information about self-publishing, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/selfpub.html
5. Reprint and Resale Rights
You may not want to produce your own information products presently. Or, perhaps, you may already have an information product, but would like to supplement your income with additional, related product offerings. This is where reprint and resale rights come in.
You can buy the rights to reprint or resell excellent information products created by other people. Some of these rights are inexpensive.
In addition to selling these products from your own website, you can use Internet auctions to create extra sales. Another advantage of online auctions is that they can create additional traffic for your website.
For further information about reprint and resale rights, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/instantpub.html
6. Sell Your Services
Do you design logos or websites? Do you sell consulting or other services? These, also, can be successfully sold through eBay and other auction sites.
7. Run an eBay Consignment Shop
There are still people who don`t have a computer or who don`t use eBay. You could sell on a consignment basis for them, taking a commission on the successful sale. You would need to charge for advertising expenses incurred, such as eBay listing and selling fees.
8. Promote Affiliate Programs through Auctions
Some affiliate programs have brandable e-books that contain your affiliate link. When people order from the e-book that they bought from your online auction, you get credit for the sale. As well, some of those purchasers may sign up as affiliates, earning you additional commissions.
Some of these e-books have valuable information that is worth the nominal value you would sell it for on eBay. In other cases, such an e-book is readily available for free. In this latter case, you might consider selling another related product and offer the e-book as a free bonus.
For further information about affiliate programs, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/affiliate.html
9. Supply Fellow Online Auctioneers
During the gold rush days, it is said that those who sold picks and shovels were more likely to make money than those panning for gold. Similarly, since there is such a big market for online auctions, you can make money supplying eBayers with information and auction tools to help them start and grow their own online auction business.
10. Internet Auction Consulting
As you gain experience and expertise in online auctions, you might consider charging for your knowledge.
Consulting services, seminars, information products and other ways of packaging your knowledge can earn you additional income streams.
For more information about consulting, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/consulting.html
These are just a few of the ways you can profit from Internet auctions.
For more information about Internet auctions, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html
RESOURCE BOX:
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.
For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/
Tips for Creating Brilliant Business Names
Imagine if Yahoo! had been named TheInternetDirectoy. Or StarBucks was christened “Premier Coffees”. The names would be far more descriptive than their current ones. But they wouldn’t embody the essence or spirit of the companies they represent. Even if they offered the exact same goods and services, it’s unlikely Yahoo! or StarBucks would enjoy the same market share they now possess if given the more descriptive, and arguably accurate, names.
Now why is that?
In short, great brand names leverage our emotions. They resonate with the experiential right side of the brain vs. the logical left lobe. And emotions carry more motivational “charge” than logic. People buy emotionally and then justify rationally. And because great brand names create mental “pictures” they equate to a proverbial thousand descriptive words. They are the zipped files, the condensed soup, the computer macros, that all expand and unfold in our minds every time they are seen or heard.
Creating emotionally charged names requires knowledge, expertise and a knack for wording. The first place to find positively charged names is in the words themselves. Words have equity and that equity can be transferred into a company or product name. For example, a company that wanted their customers to see their products and services as fresh, new and exciting borrowed the emotional charge associated with the word “virgin”. That’s how we have Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records. A computer company demonstrated its fresh, friendly approach to the industry with the consumable name Apple. A campy clothing company exuded adventure with its name Banana Republic. An online job board wanted to impress employers and job seekers with its massive listings? hence Monster. And need I mention Amazon? Borrowing on the attributes intrinsic to a word or phrase is a natural way to instantly instill emotion in a brand name.
But with more and more dictionary words being used, hoarded and trademarked, what’s a company to do? Another way is to simply put familiar positive words into unique combinations. Witness our previous example of StarBucks. What’s brighter than a star or has more mass appeal than money? Does it say coffee? No, but it sounds more appealing than “The Coffee Corral”. And more importantly, company names rarely exist in a vacuum. They are on a sign above the store, or on a proposal or on a business card being handed over by a salesperson. There is contextual support that helps fill in the blank so the name doesn’t have to do all the literal, descriptive explaining. That’s where a lot of companies err. They make the name explain their category rather than evoke their benefits.
Yet another way of accomplishing this task is by creating a word that sounds “ish”. When I say “ish” I mean it sounds like it matches the company or product- even if it doesn’t make sense. An example you ask? But of course. My favorite is Viagra. It has the “V” of vigor and vitality, plus the “iagra” of Niagra. While not an existing word, it plays on existing, familiar parts and patterns of speech that create a natural flow to the name. Hence the name Viagra is, in my book, “ish”. It fits the product and the category. Cialis doesn’t. Which means Cialis will have to buy the emotional bond with lots of emotion-rich (and expensive) advertising. It can be done, but it will cost. A whole lot.
Borrowing existing word equity, creating unique combinations and inventing “ish” words. Just three of the ways to develop a great brand name. Try each of these techniques and if you can’t come up with a name, ask a really good Scrabble player!
Phil Davis – President, Tungsten Brand Marketing
Phil’s life goal of “creating environments where people thrive” reflects his desire to assist in personal, professional and business growth. Phil founded and ran a full service ad agency for over 17 years and now works full time as a business naming and branding consultant. Phil resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside Asheville, North Carolina.
For more information visit: PureTungsten.com
Email: Phil@PureTungsten.com
