Marbella SEO
Posts Tagged ‘start-up’
Handle the Learning Curve in a New E-Business
Do you want the bad news about starting a new online business first, or the good news? The bad news is that you have an immense amount to learn. The good news is that there is a lot of reliable information on the Internet that you can find for free or for relatively little money. The bad news is that you can’t trust everything that you find on the Internet and that there are some unscrupulous folks out there. The best news is that you’ll be able to distinguish the valuable from the worthless sooner than you now think you will be able.
One of the best ways to start your exciting education if to locate free or inexpensive course with the basics of starting online. If you actually follow the lessons and apply what you learn, you will start to be able to distinguish the quality of the offers you encounter and the credibility of the sources.
You will discover that the reality of starting your business will fall somewhere between the extremes of the unscrupulous types who tell you that you can work half an hour per week in your pajamas and retire in a year and the other extreme of thinking it is an impossible task, as you may be thinking now. Yes, you’ll need to get organized. You must structure your available time carefully, and promise yourself and your family that your excitement over your new adventure will not occupy all available time.
Browse related topics (those you learned about in your short, hopefully free, course) on article directories, like A1Articles.com or EzineArticles.com. Consult blogs that you deem to be trustworthy. Find information about keyword research, business niche selection, design of business sites and other such related topics.
Don’t rush out to buy anything, yet. The next step is to sit down with some paper and pencil. From the list of things that you don’t yet know how to do, decide what you find interesting and and what sounds so boring that you would rather outsource the tasks. Don’t worry, you can learn to do anything on that list. Simply decide whether you want to invest your available funds in learning resources or in labor to actually perform each task.
Now, at last, the time for shopping has arrived. If you find yourself tempted to buy an instructional product that you find, say a course on affiliate marketing or a set of videos about search engine optimization, hit your pause button. At this point, you should do two things: 1) Bookmark the web page so that you can find it again. 2) Analyze the structure of the sales copy, because eventually you want to be able to write a sales pitch that works as well as that one apparently did on you. Then, find a lot more products in the same category, so that you can later compare the alternatives.
In most cases, I impose a mandatory three day waiting period before I buy something I’ve just found. That gives me time to consider it rationally, removing myself from the emotional responses elicited by the well presented offer. After those three days have elapsed, if I am still convinced by the miracle cure that I discovered, I use my bookmark to find it again, pull out my payment card and buy to my satisfaction.
The most important part is this: Implement what you have learned! Your new knowledge does you no good unless you act upon it.
Positioning Your New Internet Business
When you begin a new online business, there are so many things to do that it is easy to overlook or postpone addressing some of the most important aspects of marketing. One of the decisions that you should not omit from your initial planning is the positioning of your business.
Basically a marketing position describes your unique place in your niche. The key word here is unique. What makes you different from your competitors? What features and benefits do you offer your target customers or clients that the other players don’t?
-Client Service – Nearly all businesses claim they have great service. If you can provide exceptional service compared to your competitors, your clients will remember you. I’ll never forget calling a surly handyman to try to get him to my home for an emergency on a weekend. He acted like he didn’t want my business and then told me it was going to be $200 for him just to show up, no thanks. I called roto-router who gave me amazing service, a guarantee, and the whole bill was less than $200. I now use that company for all my plumbing, whether emergency or not.
-Extraordinary Features and Appealing Benefits – Identify clearly what it is that you stress in your business operations or with your products or services. Maybe you are a “full service” dry cleaners or you specialize in cases just like theirs. Possibly you offer more size options of your apparel than any other online store.
-Price Point – Not everyone can offer the lowest prices and still make a profit. But you must be certain to convince your prospect that your products and services are worth whatever it is that you charge.
-Negative Features – Is there something you don’t have that annoys customers of your competitors? I’m not saying use negative advertising, but just mention the feature and tie it to a benefit. I’m annoyed when I have to pay for parking to go shopping at Mall. Instead of touting free parking, a mall that wants to speak to me might declare, “you’ll never have to pay for parking”. This drives home the pain of shopping with a competitor without going negative.
-Authority – Many companies tout how long they’ve been in business. All of these things build trust in the mind of the consumer. What trust-building factors do you have that the competition does not?
-Etc. – Whatever you can think of that allows you to demonstrate that you are different from your competitors (in a good way, of course) is useful. That’s really all positioning is. Spend some time thinking through each phase of your business to see what you can point to in order to stand apart.
Proper positioning is critical from the first day that you open your website for business. Traffic to your website is a precious resource. You need to be sure that your unique position is evident as soon as that first potential customer arrives. After all, you need that person to return time after time. You’ll have time later to worry about other types of your continuing online business development, but the time is now for clear positioning.
Handle the Learning Challenge in a New Online Business
Do you want the bad news about starting a new online business first, or the good news? The bad news is that you have a great deal to learn. The good news is that there is a lot of reliable information on the Internet that you can find for free or for relatively little money. The bad news is that many of the sites that you will come across are scams (at worst) or not credible. The best news is that you’ll be able to distinguish the valuable from the worthless sooner than you now think you will be able.
One of the best ways to start your exciting education if to locate free course with the basics of starting online. There should be no (or minimal) charge for the rudimentary information. As long as you are diligent in following the lessons and applying what you learn as you go, you will start to be able to distinguish the quality of the offers you encounter and the credibility of the sources.
You will discover that the reality of starting your business will fall somewhere between the extremes of the unscrupulous types who tell you that you can work half an hour per week in your pajamas and retire in a year and the other extreme of thinking it is an impossible task, as you may be thinking now. Yes, you’ll need to get organized. You must allocate your time efficiently, and don’t forget about life’s priorities along the way (like family, your ethical standards and enjoying what you do).
Look for free information about some of the topics you learned about in your introductory course at article sites, like A1Articles.com or EzineArticles.com. Consult blogs that you deem to be trustworthy. Locate sources for information concerning topics such as your business niche selection, search engine optimization, design of business sites and many more topics.
It’s not yet time to go on a buying spree. Put the brakes on any shopping urges. The next step is to sit down with some paper and pencil. From the list of things that need to be done in starting your business, decide what you find interesting and what you might prefer to hire done. Don’t worry, you can learn to do anything on that list. Simply decide whether you want to invest your available funds in learning resources or in labor to actually perform each task.
Now, at last, the time for shopping has arrived. Fight any urge you have to immediately buy an amazing sounding product, whether it’s a course or a remarkable piece of software. Instead of following your impulse to buy now, do these: 1) Bookmark the web page so that you can find it again. 2) Analyze the structure of the sales copy, because eventually you want to be able to write a sales pitch that works as well as that one apparently did on you. Then, find a lot more products in the same category, so that you can later compare the alternatives.
In most cases, I force myself to abide by a three day cooling off period before buying an informational product or new software. After those three days have elapsed, if I am still convinced by the miracle cure that I discovered, I use my bookmark to find it again, pull out my payment card and buy to my satisfaction.
Beware! Buying can make you feel good, but your new purchase does you no good unless you use it, and using it means implementing the strategies that you learn about or the procedures for which the software was designed. In other words, you must act!
Creating a Unique Marketing Position for Your Start-Up Online Business
If you are in the middle of starting a web based business, the last thing that you want is someone adding to your list of decisions you need to make. However there is a topic that needs your attention during these early stages of business planning.
While the word positioning sounds like just another example of marketing jargon, its value can’t be emphasized too much. Positioning is identifying what there is about your business that makes it stand apart from all of your competitors.
-Customer Service – Almost every business claims they have great service. If you can provide exceptional service compared to your competitors, your clients will remember you. I’ll never forget calling a surly handyman to try to get him to my home for an emergency on a weekend. He acted like he didn’t want my business and then told me it was going to be $200 for him just to show up, no thanks. I called roto-router who gave me tremendous service, a guarantee, and the bill was less than $200. I now use that company for all my plumbing, whether emergency or not.
-Extraordinary Features and Appealing Benefits – Identify what it is that you stress in your business operations or with your products or services. Maybe you are a “full service” dry cleaners or you specialize in problems just like theirs. Possibly you offer more size options of your clothing lines than any other online store.
-Price Point – This doesn’t necessarily mean you have the lowest price. You may be the most expensive in town, and that’s OK if you convince your customers you’re worth it.
-Negative Features – People probably find some things at your competitors annoying. Maybe they feel that they have to wait too long to get an answer to their questions. If that’s a good angle for you, try not phrasing it as a special positive feature, but frame it as a negative that they don’t have to worry about with your business. For example, you might say, “You’ll never have to wait for an answer to your questions with us.”
-Credibility – Some businesses like to brag about their long history. If your business is new, you need to find a different way to establish your credentials. Perhaps you might say that you bring fresh ideas to your industry or niche. Adding logos from recognizable, trusted sources helps as well. Join the Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau. Work to obtain the endorsement of a magazine or a professional organization. Display those endorsements prominently. Plan for the future by soliciting testimonials.
-Others – Whatever you can think of that allows you to demonstrate that you are different from your competitors (in a good way, of course) is useful. That’s really all positioning is. Spend some time thinking through each phase of your business to see what you can point to in order to stand apart.
Proper and effective positioning is critical from the first day that you open your website for business. Traffic to your website is a precious resource. You need to be sure that your unique position is visible and clear as soon as that first potential customer arrives. After all, you need that person to return time after time, because returning customers are the best kind to have. You’ll have time later to worry about other aspects of your continuing online business development, but the time is now for clear positioning.