My post a few months ago entitled Web Marketing 101 has generated a lot of positive feedback, as well as cries for me to fulfill my promise at the end of the post for a subsequent post on Web Marketing 102: Acquiring Customers Online. One warning: what this blog lacks in frequency (this is my 8th post this year) it makes up for in wordiness (er, "depth"), and I'll no doubt continue the trend here.
A quick overview
Please start by reviewing the post for Web Marketing 101 (that is, if you haven't committed it to memory). As a summary, the fundamental questions you must answer before you can really start marketing are:
- Who is your customer?
- What need(s) are you addressing?
- How much does it cost to acquire that customer (CPA)?
- How much is the "lifetime value" of that customer (LTV)?
Now, don't worry if you don't have final answers to those questions. It takes months just to get your head around them, and you'll spend years trying to perfect the answer. But, it's essential that you understand the methodology behind these questions. No matter how good you are at marketing, and how advanced your business is, the answers to these questions are works in progress.
Setting a few things straight
Every customer I talk to--without exception--secretly hopes that if they just put their business online the money will come pouring in. If you believe that, or are even hoping it in the back of your mind, STOP RIGHT NOW. Slap yourself silly. Pour come cold water on your head. Ask your friend to run over your foot with his car. Okay, are you feeling the sharp pain of reality yet? Does it hurt bad? Good. Now we can get down to business.
Marketing online is no different than marketing offline, except you are online. Repeat that a few times. Some things about being online are advantages: it's interactive, the customer can be in the comfort of their own home, the customer can be miles (even oceans) away, it can be the middle of the night, there's lots of room for pictures and words. However, these same advantages are also disadvantages: interaction can be overwhelming, the customer isn't face to face with you, the customer might be a little *too* comfortable at home, and all those words and pictures can get in the way of accomplishing what you actually want: sales.
Still, online marketing presents opportunities that no other medium can, and it all starts with one important concept...
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