Marketing In A Virtual World Written by Steven Van Yoder
Before Internet, small business owners like yourself were usually limited to a local market -resorting to expensive advertising and brochures, direct mail, cold-calling, networking at local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary. You hoped customers found you through word- of- mouth or a Yellow Pages ad. Today, you can work with a consultant, a financial planner, or a business coach across country as easily as someone across town. In Internet age, prospects often find you (instead of other way around). This is age of virtual customer. Yet, although Internet has made it perfectly reasonable to land a major client you've never met in-person, it has also created new expectations among consumers. Prospects now "Google" around to find someone with your skills. They expect you to make a good virtual "case" for yourself. If you don't pass test, or make a bad impression, or appear lackluster compared to your competitors, you will lose potential client. The only way to be truly successful in business is by establishing a good reputation. And understanding way business has shifted in Internet age can help you bring potential of marketing your business into virtual world. The Virtual First Impression The Internet has increased expectation among consumers that businesses will have a credible online presence. Many of us now form "first impressions" of people and companies via our Internet browsers. From moment your name and business appear in a Web browser to moment your Web site loads, your first impression often means difference between a shot at your prospect's business, or being shut out. Think about it. You have probably used Internet to research a company or a person you're considering doing business with. Certainly potential clients and customers are checking you out online, too. Prospects you've never met are forming opinions about your business at click of a mouse. Internet first impressions are not just influenced by how your Web site looks, but also by how often your business appears or how high it ranks in a web browser. Become an Online Center of Influence We all know people who command rapt attention whenever they speak. Others want to listen to, learn from, and emulate them. They are centers of influence, a distinction you can pursue online by developing following qualities: * Share inside knowledge with your target market; * Participate, listen, contemplate, and offer thoughtful responses; * Be willing to voice an opinion; * Assume leadership positions in your industry Certainly, experience counts. But this is not only prerequisite to becoming an online center of influence that will earn you distinction of 'trusted advisor' within your target market. Start by making your Web site a resource for your industry. Feature lots of useful information, including articles, links, downloadable files, customer resources, and anything else of use to your target market. Be generous and give, give, give! Create a Virtual Podium with Teleclasses Teleclasses are a great way for businesses to develop a virtual reputation. They can be promoted easily by email, and provide information to prospects, clients, and customers all over world, with minimal cost and effort.
| | PR tips - should we issue a press release?Written by Jo Chipchase
Question: Why should your business issue a press release? Answer: because you have something to say, you want to say it in public and a press release encourages press to say it for you. And because you want to show your business in a favourable light from outset and begin longer-term process of building awareness and understanding of your product or service. There’s plenty of research to show that young companies – weighed down by business of simply running a new business – pay scant attention to PR, yet that’s exactly what they should be doing from very start to get their names and products known. For most businesses, PR isn’t about spin or abstract maintaining of “good relations” with press and public; it’s simply about telling people that you and your products or services are there and letting them know why they should be interested. It’s about getting column inches in newspapers and magazines and fulfilling adage that an inch of good editorial is worth a page of advertising. It’s about making your sales easier. Issuing press releases is a mainstay of basic PR. It’s how you start ball rolling with press. The good news is, if approached in right way (whether you do it yourself or use an affordable professional, this activity need not cost earth). But do remember that you’re presenting your business to public. A release that’s poorly written, with grammatical or spelling mistakes, or full of jargon, or long-winded and unfocused, can do you more harm than good. Given importance of PR, there’s something to be said in favour of paying for professional writing skills. PR writers don’t just turn out good English: they know how to structure a press release and present facts in a way that appeals to busy journalists and grabs their attention. The next question is: “When should I issue a press release?” Certainly, issuing releases willy-nilly, at whim, is no good. The time to make a business announcement is when you have something topical and newsworthy to say (but remember: what you consider topical might not be of interest to wider world or to journalists). All releases need a strong ‘hook’ – in other words, an angle that will appeal to editors and give your story a good chance of gaining coverage. So, what would be considered newsworthy? For starters, perhaps you’re launching a new product or service? Or opening a new branch? Or you’re launching a spin-off venture from scratch? Whatever it is, it should be presented as offering something reasonably new and interesting, not just as a “me too”. Hopefully, your product or service has particular benefits and applications that will appeal to your market segment and generate interest. If whatever you’re launching is technically innovative or it’s being marketed in an unusual or high profile way, you could have basis of a release. In this case, make sure you don’t fill your release with unnecessary jargon or marketing-speak that could alienate journalists, such as “the cost effective, integrated, seamless, one-stop-shop solution to meet all your business needs.” Tell people what it is you’re actually offering. The above example is full of hype but what’s product? An accountancy service? A stationers? An abattoir?
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