With more than two decades of experience in marketing, Internet marketing, and working with small businesses, Ive seen my share of failed and successful marketing campaigns. Regardless of the marketing discipline, online advertising, direct mail, etc., basic marketing principle stand the test of time.
Internet Marketing continues to evolve each and every day. No matter how complicated marketing seems to become, basic marketing principles still apply. It’s very common for those considering new marketing initiatives to abandon some of the tried and true methods in exchange for anything that’s new and promising. A good example is the concept of social media. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, sometimes at the expense of proven marketing methods.
Understand your target market. By having a really deep understanding of your market and what’s important to them you can have a positive influence on their buying behavior. A complete knowledge of who you’re selling to is essential if you want to deliver the right message at the right time. Don’t underestimate the power of knowing your audience and what motivates them.
The offer is very important. The offer you make to prospective buyers is one of the most important factors of any marketing piece. Direct marketing studies have proven that the offer accounts for a minimum of forty percent of the buying decision. Don’t spend your time in a way that doesn’t give all your time to design or copy without considering your offer first.
Run split tests. The concept of split testing is pretty simple but surprisingly, few ever do it. When you split test a web page or jump page, you determine which version produces the better outcome. Each time you test a single element so that you continue to improve results over the long term. This is time and money well invested.
Create a marketing team. It doesn’t matter what you know or what you can accomplish on your own. In marketing, you need a team. Build a group of individuals with a diverse set of marketing skills but share a similar marketing philosophy. This will strengthen the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and produces very good results.
Don’t sell on price. I’ve seen so many marketers fail because they sell on price alone. This leads to a discounting strategy, lower profitability, and often financial losses. Rather, focus on creating so much value that the price becomes insignificant to the value you are creating for the prospect.
Keep your messages consistent. Consider the entire user experience before you launch a campaign. From direct mail to website to offer, ask yourself if the prospect having a consistent user experience. If they are, then your campaigns stands above ninety-eight percent of others.
Create value after the sale. Marketing doesn’t end at the time a sale is made. In fact, more emphasis should be placed on building relationships with existing clients. This can often generate significantly more revenue at a much lower expense. Consider how you’ll grow your customer relationships and invest your marketing dollars. This is an investment that you can’t afford to overlook.
Keep testing. Testing is essential for the success of any marketing campaign. If you’re not testing your marketing campaigns, then you’re leaving money on the table. You should test everything from headlines and offers to marketing copy and the timing of campaigns. This can only improve results and generate more sales.
Integrated Marketing Works Best. You cant rely on one form of marketing to carry you to success. Its okay to generate most of your leads or sales through PPC marketing for example but what happens when your leads start to decline? Use multiple media sources to achieve your goals.
Have your own experiences. Nothing can replace your own personal experience. Know what works and what doesn’t by doing the work yourself. Once you have the knowledge, you can share it with your marketing team and rely on outsourcing to do the work for your. If you don’t have the real world marketing experience, you can’t get it from a book.
If you want to succeed with your next marketing campaign, consider these basic marketing tips before you brand out. Simple strategies well executed can generate positive results. Stick with what has worked for you in the past and build from there. Success comes with sustained and persistent efforts.
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