Avoid these common pitfalls and begin to advance your online business.
Lately I’ve been approached by marketers who are developing new business ideas. But it seems they keep getting stumped and overwhelmed. Not knowing what direction to go in, to actually build there online business.
A lot of this overwhelm stems from the fact that most resources online don’t offer exactly what you need, all under one roof. Marketers are scattered all over the web, trying to piece things together. Forced to rely on trial and error, without a true guide or any reliable marketing strategies.
As a result their is a consistent pattern. I continue to get asked these same for questions. All which become major stumbling blocks which can hinder your new online business ideas.
So let’s approach these 4 questions one at a time with a systematic method.
How do I get started?
This has to be the most common question of all. To add to the problem most “best practices” will tell you to just get “out there” and “get started”. But what does that mean?
So here’s something more actionable. You more than likely have a strong idea for an online business. The problem is that you don’t have a well thought out concept.
Here’s what I mean. An idea would be to go on a road trip with a friend. A concept would be to create a situation where you guys can talk and iron out some problems that are starting to resurface that should have been settled in the past.
A powerful concept can be formed into a “what if” question. So ask yourself a series of “what if” questions about the change and impact that you, your brand, and your product can have on the marketplace.
How do I catch the right person’s attention?
In the age of traditional marketing we could simply use broadcasting techniques. We knew that our potential customers were either in front of a television or a desktop/laptop.
Now that technology has evolved, so should our marketing strategies. Our customers have the complete control of how and when they receive our message. Which calls for a higher degree of relevance from our part.
As marketers we will too often create a target market and stop there. But times have demanded that we create buyer personas. A buyer persona is a real life group extracted from your target market.
Being laser focused like this will enable you to create content that speaks directly to your customer’s needs.
How do I keep my customers and audience engaged?
This has been a topic of discussion even more because of the rise and popularity of social media marketing, along with trends on the latest “best practices”.
The bottom line is that you need to deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time.
This is why it is so important to know your buyer personas. Remember that people are mostly online looking for answers and are in heavy search mode.
So optimize your content by ensuring it presents a compelling solution to the informational needs of your audience. Map out your content so that it is layered in a sequence of stages. The same stages of the search that your ideal persona will be going through in their hunt for a solution.
How do I stay relevant in an overly crowded marketplace?
Among all of the noise online, this can deflate many online business ideas. Marketers fear that it is impossible to be heard or seen within their audience. This is where differentiation plays a chief role.
Remember that idea that evolved into a rock solid concept? Remember that series of “what if” questions?
Well the answer to those questions are going to be the lifeblood of your business. Better known as your value proposition.
When you ask “what if” your product can do “XYZ”, then that value and solution should bring a compelling argument.
In order for your value proposition to have force and momentum driving your customers through your funnel, then it should be…AppealingExclusiveClearRelevant
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