Take for instance typical small business owner in your area. Go into any local shop and ask them how many customers they have from out of state. Chances are it’s a very small percentage of their business. Yet with power of Internet, any local business – selling products or services – can change her business model from being a small local provider, to a small business with huge profits and paying clients around world. And it’s easier than you think. I know; I’ve done it myself.

I was one of those pioneers. I purchased my first computer in 1980’s. Remember Prodigy? I dialed in almost every day. So when Internet began coming on strong in early 1990’s, I jumped in with both feet, and brought our business online.

What I found was an incredible opportunity.

I started out as a small business owner, operating a photography studio, and servicing people within my local area. It was a traditional studio, offering standard portrait and wedding services. With two people, we opened a commercial location, and began contacting people within a 10-mile radius. But I knew there had to be a better way. And I found it on Internet.

Thanks to a powerful online marketing strategy, we found success quickly. Within 3 years, we shut down our traditional studio, and began operating a virtual studio online. Our clients changed from people in our local area looking for traditional portraiture, to people all over world falling in love with our virtual wedding studio, and flying us in to their location.

No longer were we stuck selling to people that resided in our local community. We established an extreme niche market, and went to where our clients were. We raised our prices substantially, and began living life others only dream about. By changing way we thought about business, we changed way we looked for clients. And our profits followed.

You too have that power. By changing way you think, you can change way your business operates. The possibilities are out there. But thinking differently can sometimes be difficult. It involves stretching out of your comfort zone. It involves creating changes in your business planning. And sometimes these changes can be difficult.

Start by asking yourself some basic questions.

Contrary to what many believe, through teachings of traditional marketing, you should explain what you sell in detail. People want and need to know everything they can about a product before they purchase. Just think about when you are buying a product. Do you just purchase without asking questions? You should tell as much about your product in all your marketing endeavours. When you do, your product is perceived as being better value.

Also, more interesting information you give your customer, more he or she can judge its suitability, can become emotionally attached to it and can justify buying it. A prospect who is well informed is more ready to buy. Informative face to face sales presentations close more sales and long sales letters outsell short ones. Your sales message cannot be too long, only too boring. Interested prospects will want as much interesting, appealing, stimulating and absorbing information as possible. You must provide it to outsell your competition.

2. Direct Your Marketing Focus To Your Intended Customers Only

When you keep your marketing keenly focused you will capture biggest number of sales. You must target your sales message directly at focused customers and no one else. If you run a business with multiple products you should narrow your focus to one product at a time. If you sell a range of electrical goods, for example, you should focus your sales message on PCs when you want to attract more PC buyers, then washing machines, then Hi-Fi Systems and so on. Do not try to feature all your products in one ad or one sales letter. This is what majority do.

You can steal a competitive edge by directly focusing on particular customers with an interest in a specific item. That way you will attract many more of those buyers because you are appealing directly to them and to them only. People are interested in one thing at a time and only buy one thing at a time. You must speak to them like they think – as if what you are selling is all they are buying. Your message must appeal directly to buyer you want and spell it out loud and clear:

“Don’t buy a PC this week, until you read this important message ...”

You will attract many more buyers with this specific message rather than a general appeal announcing all different products that you stock.

3. Here’s A Guaranteed Method of Getting Referrals From Your Clients

Let me ask you a question, “If you provide an impressive, ongoing, regular, attentive service to your customers and express a genuine interest in them after sale, can you think of any reason why they shouldn’t let you introduce your product or service to their friends and colleagues?”

I cannot think of any reason, can you? Here’s bottom line – your customers are your single most valuable asset and must be treated as if you fully understand this. This is procedure to follow:

Immediately after sale, you send a personal thank you letter, remember to restate some of main benefits which are part of reason they bought from you. This also helps in diffusing any post purchase remorse. In your letter you also emphasise that if they need any further help or assistance, information or further supplies you are here to look after their requirements.

Next you start communicating with your customer with all relevant information to let him or her feel that they belong to your ‘special extended family of customers’. All interesting informative news, up-dates, add-ons, new product or service information, tips and user stories should be communicated monthly to help increase value of purchase they made from you.