And that need belongs to a particular target market, yes?

So…your job is to move the prospect from a vague awareness of that need all the way to action to handle the need. In other words, you’ve got to get him to buy. This . . . → Read More: Aiming for Profit]]> Your product or service focuses on a specific need, right?

And that need belongs to a particular target market, yes?

So…your job is to move the prospect from a vague awareness of that need all the way to action to handle the need. In other words, you’ve got to get him to buy. This is commonly known in marketing as the AIDA formula: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. You need to move him through each stage. These stages look roughly like this:

Well, this series of steps assumes the prospect starts out unaware. Your task is to move him through all four stages. This is not necessarily so. Your prospect could already be at any one of these four stages. Your marketing strategy and plan should take into account not only who your target market is and exactly what need you fulfill, but where in those four stages are you targeting? If you target one particular stage, you can better tune in to the prospect’s mindset and concerns.

You could position your entire company toward those in a particular stage. This would narrow the size of your market, but it should be easier to increase the conversion rate for those you do engage. A generally more profitable approach is to launch specific sales campaigns, perhaps specific websites, focused on one stage only.

An example:

You specialize in camera equipment, and you want to target those ready to buy now. A customer who is ready to buy has been researching different models and has narrowed it down to his top choice, a Canon PowerShot S95. What will he search on? His search terms will be “Canon PowerShot S95″, “Canon PowerShot S95 discount”, “Canon PowerShot S95 warranty”, etc.  You set up a quality website just about the Canon PowerShot S95, optimized for his exact searches.

You want him to buy from you. He may be very educated about cameras and the model he wants, but he has no awareness of, or trust in you. How do you handle that? It is actually not very difficult. He is already sold on the manufacturer and model, and there are other factors that engender trust, such as the BBB, warranties, awards. Your site needs to parallel and reflect what he trusts. Perhaps the look should have the same colors and feel as the Canon site. Warranties and awards should be displayed. And, of course, your site must have the professional look of  an established photography site.

Another example:

You are targeting the beginning photographer, the person who has probably not yet bought his first serious camera. You are starting out with the goal of bringing up his awareness of what he could do and how rewarding it will be. And you will need to identify his early needs and how to move him through awareness, interest, desire, and finally to action. The site design, copy, and emotional appeal will be quite different from the first example. When you recognize this and embrace an exact audience, your sales will go up.

One of the most common mistakes in marketing is to target too broad a market. The narrower your focus and the more exactly you address that need, the easier it will be to make sales.

Why? Well, there is search engine positioning, branding, overall credibility, and a way for your target market to interact with you. But do you actually have something . . . → Read More: Does Everyone Have a Voice?]]> You need a blog.  That’s what they all say – the consultants, Internet marketing gurus, wikipedia, everyone. And that blog needs to be the hub of your business.

Why? Well, there is search engine positioning, branding, overall credibility, and a way for your target market to interact with you. But do you actually have something to say?

There are actually two things to look at here. Your company offers a product or service. If you want business, you must put it out there. You must clearly project what you have to offer and what value you bring to the client. Then there is you as an individual – you viewpoint, values, and perspective. To some degree this is reflected in your company, but projecting an opinion, a viewpoint, or fundamental principles is not necessarily part of your company.

Some people are just not writers. Some people will never be writers no matter how much training they get or how much they force themselves to write. The obvious solution is to make a video or audio. If you can’t write, have someone interview you. But still, some people are just not very good communicators.

What if you are a crack programmer? Do you need to write? Do you need to be regularly posting to a blog? You do need a professional web presence. Perhaps it should be a on a WordPress platform. But what you need most of all is to convey your stellar programming skills. If you do that, you will always have business.

You don’t need to be the one to write your website copy; there are many qualified professionals who can do that. If more of us stuck to what we are really good at, the world would be a more productive place.

Perhaps a blog in not the right channel for your voice. Perhaps it is the code you write or the sales presentation or customer service you deliver that is your true voice. Whenever you put your skills and talents out there, you are using your voice.

Go back 20 years ago and more. If you were graduating from college, you would interview with a number of companies, most likely large corporations, and then take the best offer. Perhaps it was what you were looking for, but most . . . → Read More: You’re Not Who You Used to Be]]> Times have changed. Your place in the business world has changed … forever.

Go back 20 years ago and more. If you were graduating from college, you would interview with a number of companies, most likely large corporations, and then take the best offer. Perhaps it was what you were looking for, but most likely not quite. Then you stayed awhile. Your work became the center of your world. Your coworkers and business associates became close friends.

And who were you? You were a Software Developer for Apple or a Business Development Manager for Microsoft. The business card proved your worth, your position in the world. The company gave you stature and identity. Your name meant little without the title and company.

No more. Positions with companies come and go. Many of us now have companies as clients rather than working for them as employees. Our identities now lie squarely in our own hands. Who you are and where you fit in the world it up to you to define and put out there for all to see.  This is not just a result of social media. This is a shift in our culture and way of interacting with each other both inside and outside  the work environment.

If you want to create the life you want to live, you need to not only create the you you want to be; you need to put yourself out there for all to see.

Creating a career for yourself used to entail determining if you were a round peg, a square peg, or a triangular peg, and then find ing the hole that seemed to fit the best. Now we not only define our own unique shape, but we also create the space where we will fit.

This is the dawning of the Age of the Individual.

I don’t meet too many on the fence, but I do meet some undecided.  I talked with one last week who had joined LION on LinkedIn – meaning he was . . . → Read More: I Read Your Crap, Now You Have to Read Mine]]> We all know there are 2 camps when it comes to social networking: the Bigger is Better Camp  and the I’m Not Promiscuous Camp.

I don’t meet too many on the fence, but I do meet some undecided.  I talked with one last week who had joined LION on LinkedIn – meaning he was agreeing to link to anyone who asked. Maybe he was going to unjoin and take the selective stance.

The day he joined he received a message that was …. (drum roll) … A Sales Pitch! One that had nothing to do with him or his business.  So what do you think he did? Complain? Unjoin? Attack?  Nope …. He sent his own sales pitch back.

As he explained to me, “What the hell.  I figured, ‘I read your crap, now you have to read mine.”

Now what could be a better way to bring in megasales than using that giant network?