X-Ray Vision For Web Marketing

Seeing what others miss
How many small business owners really have an accurate description of their web market?

The reason this question comes up is because the vast majority of business web sites do not even speak to their market. In fact, the only people the web site speaks to are company people such as owners and managers.

We can all see the company clearly in any business design, but our market is not interested in our company. They have their problems and they have no need, right now, to know what wonderful people make up this business web site.

If our market cannot see how the web site is trying to help them then help is not there. If our intention is to build a relationship with our market then the help we offer needs to be the first thing our market sees. They love this and they want this and it is the best part of our marketing.

How do small business designs block their own market?
A good analogy is found when we meet someone that only talks about themselves. We get bored instantly when we realize they have nothing of interest to offer us.

I remember growing up as a young kid and with friends we would sometimes run into this older character that bragged about his rich uncle that had a Cadillac a block long and he had to take it to the airport to turn it around.

We weren’t fooled but we got a good laugh. At least he was entertaining even if he wasn’t helpful. And after the second time there was nothing new and we got bored by his bragging because this guy didn’t care who he talked to as he just kept telling the same stories.

Isn’t this just like a typical small business web site?
Not once on the page is there any recognition of who the web market is. Not once does the web site mention a problem their market experiences and the causes for the problem. Not once is there a sense that the web site cares about the market and wants to serve that market.

No, all that the web site shows is that the only interest is in selling us something whether we need it or not. That’s their story being told over and over.

The bottom line about customer relations
As small business owners we get in our own way and totally block any communication with our own market when we focus on our product or service. Nobody is interested in us talking about ourselves and what we have to sell.

Read any business home page and it tells you about the company and why you should be impressed with the company, but you cannot find a clue as to the market. Not even with X-ray vision can you find who the market is.

Our market wants to know how we can solve their problems and we totally ignore the issue while we talk about product features and benefits. We actually think that a product description is real content – but no one cares about our product description, in fact, no one even cares about our product until they know it really has a solution to their biggest problem.

How does it feel?
How does it feel when someone ignores you?
How does it feel when someone asks you to buy?
How does it feel when someone asks us how they can help?

The last of those 3 questions is what attracts us the most. It captures our interest and our curiosity. It is just like getting a free gift because that is what it is, and we are going to benefit by learning something we never knew before.

How did we get here in the first place?
How did we come to build such poor marketing web sites? We got here by listening to web designers instead of thinking with a business mind. Web designers paid a lot of attention to us and our business and it all felt good and so we thought we were on the right track. The end result is that our web site pays a lot of attention to our business and zero to our web market.

Lesson learned
We cannot let our web designer be the one to design our web site. All we want our designer for is to do the technical aspects of building a web site. It is our job as small business owners to figure out what our web market wants and how to serve them best.

Okay, so you want ideas on how to display your helpful information and a web designer could help if they forgot all about their trendy design packages. It is going to take something different in web design to put your helpful information first, but in bite size chunks.

Navigation for information is going to take some thinking. Hypertext lists may work. Paragraph intro with hide and click drop down information may work. Hover text with slide in info may work. The real job of a web designer is to help you find and use the best means of providing information to your market.

Seeing your market
I challenge you to go look at your home page, or any other business, and see if you can figure out who the market is. Almost all small business web sites fail to identify their market and you can’t build a relationship by saying, “Hey you, look at what we have!” But you might sell if your web site said, “Hey farmer Jones, would you like a fence post that lasts 100 years?”

How do you get X-Ray eyes?
To acquire x-ray eyes you just need to look inward, that’s where you find all your insight. It’s not difficult at all and if you’ve ever been caught daydreaming then you are using insight.

We need to pretend that we are the market. We are the homeowner with a leaky pipe, or the guy with a hole in his shoe. Whatever we sell we need to be that market and wrap ourselves up in the problem that this market has. If we don’t feel the pain then we can’t talk about it, and we want to talk about that pain and how we are going to solve the problem that creates the pain.

When we then put our eyes back on our own web site we can see through the filler we thought was real web content. We can see as our market sees and we will find lots of things in need of change.

Using logic and foresight
Analysis and logic can confirm, or it can contradict the feelings and insight you have about your market. I recommend using insight and if logic doesn’t back it up then toss out the logic.

Why toss out the logic?
The web does not work with factual data like demographics. Instead, web marketing works best with psycho-graphics where beliefs, habits, Likes & dislikes, and shared values play a big role in defining a market. These are intangible and emotional values that are difficult to back up with logic.

We need to go with our emotions and intuition because they are the same tools we use when developing social skills, and our web site is sorely lacking in social skills.

Before we even think about connecting with social networks we need our web site to express its own social attitudes.

What Is the Best Home Based Business To Start in 2013?

The first thing to keep in mind is that the best home business to start is one based on the internet. It is no secret that more and more people are buying products and services online and, as the sales of online business transactions continues to increase, sales in the offline world continue to decrease.To begin an online business from home you do not need a lot of technical skills or a lot of money to get started out. There is no age barrier, or level of education required, it does not matter about your current internet practical experience or even that you do not have any products to sell.The best home based business simply starts with no stock. So, how can you have a business without any stock to sell? Basically, you sell products and services on behalf of other people and when you sell them the product owner pays you a commission. This home based business model is called online affiliate marketing.Unlike a traditional offline trading business, an online affiliate marketer does not have to buy the stock before he or she goes on to sell it. Firstly, you find products and services which are currently popular. This can either be physical products or digital products. Digital products are those which a buyer will download directly to their computer. This may be something like an education course.Once you have found a product, you promote it to a target audience who would be interested in it. When somebody buys it, you get paid a commission.For example, you can become an Amazon affiliate (which costs you nothing) and look for a product that interests you and that people are currently buying. Let’s say for example it is camping equipment. You insert an advertisement in an online camping magazine for the latest high-tech tent which you found on Amazon. When somebody clicks on your ad and buys the product, you will get paid a commission.This is why affiliate marketing is one of the best home based businesses to start. You do not have to worry about shipping the product, holding it in stock, sorting out any returns or any other customer queries.If you do not want to get involved with physical items and you prefer to have a home based business that sells digital products, you can find a huge selection at Clickbank. This is an online marketplace that deals in thousands of digital products for many different markets. Again, there is no cost to become a Clickbank member.Keep in mind that your home based business is a business and not a hobby. It will require work and some investment. Whilst the set up costs for the best home based business are a lot less than a traditional bricks and mortar business, it will need financial commitment for such items as a website, hosting, marketing, advertising, mentoring and education.An online home based business may not appeal to some individuals as they might believe that they do not have the technical skills required to get the best home based business possible. All of the reasons for not setting up a home based business on the internet can be readily overcome if you are prepared to learn and have the determination to build a sustainable and long term business.

A Small Business Advisor Makes Good Business Sense

Let’s face it. When you’re first starting up a business, you need help and advice. Even if you have an MBA from Harvard or are an experienced entrepreneur, you need someone to bounce ideas off of and check in with to make sure you’re on track for business success.Technically, there are only three times during the life of your business when you absolutely need a small business coach: when you’re first starting up, when you’re ready to grow and expand, and when you’re ready to move on.What do most people do? They hire one small business coach to help them start up. Then, they hire another specialty coach when they’re ready to expand and, finally, another business transition coach to help them close out their business.That’s three different coaches for three different stages. And, each time you hire a different business coach, you lose continuity. Is that really what you want?After all, your start-up coach has been with you from the very beginning, through thick and thin. She knows everything about you and your business. She’s walked with you through your fears, she’s pulled from you the heart of your business plan, and she knows what dreams you secretly hold for your business.Do you have any idea how valuable that kind of knowledge is?Well, let’s say you phase out your relationship with your start-up coach, and it takes you 40 hours to bring your next business coach up to speed. At approximately $200 per hour, that’s at least $8,000. And we haven’t even added a dollar amount for your valuable time spent “training” your new coach.At that price, wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to have one business coach who could start up your business, help it grow, and stay with it through its entire life cycle?Enter, the small business advisor.What to Look for in a Small Business AdvisorWhy do we treat hiring a business coach differently from hiring a financial advisor? You don’t hire three different financial advisors-one at the beginning of your investment years, one in the middle, and another when you retire-do you? No, you hire one financial advisor with the intent of maintaining a lifetime relationship with him, from beginning investments to retirement dividends.The same should be considered when hiring a business coach. Instead of thinking “business coach”, think “business advisor.” Instead of thinking “short-term coach”, think “long-term relationship” with a small business advisor who can be with you through the entire life of your business.Do you think that’s impossible? Think again!A small business advisor is the golden egg of small business know-how. She’s not only capable of helping you write your business plan, she can carefully analyze your business circumstances, assess the business market environment, and help you develop a long-term strategic plan that will take you from start-up to exit plan.Some small business coaches are actually small business advisors, whether or not the title “advisor” is on their business card. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to find out whether or not the coach you’re considering has the desire and the skills to work with your business from beginning to end.A skilled small-business advisor has the training and insight to:· Understand your goals, your dreams, and your reasons for starting up, growing, and transitioning your business.· Create a small business growth strategy that meets your short and long-term needs.· Understand the nature of business and offer wise counsel and continuous monitoring that will help ensure that your small business is positioned for success whether the market is booming or fraught with uncertainty.Best yet, she is someone you can trust who will be with you from start to finish.What You Can Expect from a Small Business AdvisorFirst and foremost: a comprehensive approach.The first thing she’ll do is sit down with you in order to obtain a thorough understanding of your current business situation and find out what you want to accomplish.Much like a financial advisor, your small business advisor will ask you questions about your current business, the future of your business, your growth timeline, the level of risk you’re comfortable with, and the return you expect to get when you sell your business.Periodically, your small-business advisor will meet with you to revisit your business strategy to make sure your business is on track. She’ll also work with you to make any necessary adjustments. That way, you can be sure to reach your business goals.Just as having a financial advisor manage your investment portfolio makes good financial sense, having a small business advisor who offers a comprehensive, long-term approach makes good business sense. A trusted small business advisor can add an enormous amount of value by guiding you through the many complicated business challenges you’ll face from start to finish.So, take advantage of all the expertise your small business advisor has to offer. Share your dreams and goals with her to build a valuable relationship that goes beyond traditional small business coaching to encompass the whole life of your business.