In the world of (Internet) Marketing there is so much information out there, some of which are true, others not so much and then there are those that are just mythical in that on surface it seems like good advice but the reality is your results can be so much better. With that said, I have three common marketing myths that can cause you to lose out on sales if you base your decisions around them. So if you want to see better results and boost your sales, read on.
Myth 1. People buy a product at the cheapest price they can find. This is an easily identifiable one, why? Because I believed it once and the fact is, this is just not true. There is a reason we have luxury brands after all so people surely like paying top dollar for stuff. Even in light of the ease of research that the internet affords – let’s tell it like it is, buyers are generally lazy and often don’t fully research. Believe it or not, many times people buy a product at a higher price even when cheaper options are clearly available. Now what causes people to buy? Why ‘buying triggers’ of course, the most common being:
Busting Myth 1: Establish your credentials – for example, I have over 5 years of marketing experience so I have a good idea of what works and what does not when launching an online business. Look for ways to enhance the perceived value of your product or service either by providing exclusive incentives or clearly demonstrating the value the consumer will gain from its purchase. Always try to nab some recommendations for your product/service within your sales letter. People rely on fellow consumers like themselves and want to hear about what others are saying about your product. Even if you’re new and have to handout a limited selection of free copies, something is better than nothing. Make it easy to purchase and receive your product by not introducing any barriers to purchase such as extra forms, obscure or complex payment methods. Myth 2. Offering your customers numerous different options will boost your sales On paper it sounds like people would like choice, but often times when it comes to making a decision it actually works the other way around. When confronted with several options, they (like myself sometimes) often react by either procrastinating or going to a seller who a much clearer product. Now I’m” not saying for you to avoid extras or up sells, just clearly state what is included in the product and don’t offer options that not only confuse but making your selling and processing more difficult. The human mind works better when offered the two options “buy”, “don’t buy”. Busting Myth 2: Only offer one product – or product package per page. You can have a clear (and short) menu on each page to encourage multiple purchases. Now if you got multiple options for a product or service – then give them different names or identifiers and present them separately. For example like different tiers of service “silver service” and “gold service” and so on. Always aim for small and easily understandable product or service ranges as well as being able to explain all of your products in no more than two sentences. If you can’t do that, then don’t expect your potential buyers to understand what you’re selling either. Myth 3. Everybody Needs My Product or Service OK, the reality is that most people don’t actually believe that they do need a particular product or service. Now with stuff like Iphones – your child will try and tell you they really need it as if life and death was on the line, but this is peer pressure that has been built with millions of dollars. This money spent on research into what their market wanted translated into a lot of sales. If you believe this myth then you also believe that you can succeed without doing much marketing or selling. Unfortunately, despite what some gurus will tell you – it does not happen that way. Undoubtedly there some very successful marketers around, but they will all admit that a great deal of market research, testing and reviewing of their offerings happened before they became successful. Building a successful business is hard work – most of it devoted to finding potential customers and then matching them with your products and services. Even if most people can use your product or service, you still need a focused marketing strategy to reach them and a persuasive sales message to close sales because you can bet your last dollar that where there a lots of potential buyers, there are just as many sellers, now so more than ever. Busting Myth 3: For the love of all that’s good do your research! Find out where your potential customers are, analyze their needs and what they are seeking to fulfill those needs. Search for a narrowly defined niche market where your product or service can solve a unique for buyers. Next, design your product or service around your research and these customer needs. Now you test, change and refine your product using buyer feedback. Unless you are one of the already established big shot marketers around, you’ll likely run into many myths that can cause to lose lots of time and money. Hopefully taking some of these into account will help get those big sales and better paydays. If you have anything additional to share or your own marketing myths, feel free to leave a comment. |
Frank Sheppard
NOTE: all opinions/views represented here are my own and do not reflect on any third party that I am affiliated with. Archives
May 2016
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