Hands Down Practical Internet Marketing For Small Business

Internet marketing for small business is an area that is shrouded in mystery. The seemingly dark art of prospering on the internet leaves most small business owners skeptical and unwilling to test the waters.

Others simply become discouraged by the apparent complexity of the learning and work it takes to succeed online.

If that is you, I have some great news for you. Small business owners are in the best position to succeed online. First and foremost, you are familiar with business realities so all the junk about clicking 3 buttons and making money forevermore thereafter does not work on you.

You are smarter than that.

Secondly, you already have, at the very least, a reasonable understanding of business fundamentals. Things like creating a product that your customers want.

Or, keeping a database of customers so that you can communicate with them and make money over and over again. You already know that.

So all you need is a push in the right direction. And that is the aim of this article. Obviously, it cannot solve all your problems. I mean, let’s be practical.

You need a book or course for that. But five key fundamentals of internet marketing for small business are well covered.

So make yourself comfortable and prepare to learn how to take your small business to the next level.

Let’s go.

Develop Authority

As a small business owner, the very first thing you need to do in order to succeed online is to develop authority. This means that you need to become the type of person people will listen to and take seriously.

Why is that important?

Well, as you obviously know, until the market trusts that:

Ø  you know what you are talking about;

Ø  you know what you are doing; and 

Ø  you can deliver the precise results they want;

they will not buy from you in sufficient numbers. You may enjoy a degree of success, but you will be merely scratching the surface in terms of how much better you could be doing.

So seeing as authority is that important, how can you develop it? How can you become the wise guy (or gal) sitting at the top of the mountain with a crowd of people stampeding to gain access to your sacred presence even for but a minute?

Simple.

Demonstrate your expertise to them before requiring them to buy anything from you. Do this by  helping them achieve one of their most desired results for free.

So for example, if you are an expert dog trainer, give your prospects a free report that shows them how to make their dog sit down quietly and calmly in any situation (even if rocket missiles are flying all over the placeJ).

If you do this, your prospects will see for themselves that what you say works. An when they see that, now you can say “jump” and they’ll ask, “how high?”

That’s the timeless power of giving before you expect to receive. The dog trainer in the above example can go on to sell a course on “How to Teach Your Dog Any New Behavior in Less Than 30 days”.

Do you think he or she will have more people lining up to buy that course after reading the free report and experiencing fantastic results? Unless you just got hit hard on the head with a rock, you answer should be an emphatic “YESSS!”

So develop authority by demonstrating your expertise. 

Use Outrageous Guarantees

When it comes to internet marketing for small business, one of the most powerful yet most underutilized strategies is using guarantees.

An effective guarantee will work where nothing else will. It shifts the risk from your prospect to you and so your prospect becomes more predisposed to buy.

That’s why all the top most internet marketers use guarantees. In fact, they use outrageous guarantees. The quality of outrageousness may take the form of a very long guarantee. Or it may take the form of a seemingly impossible offer.

A great example of ridiculously long guarantees is Dan Kennedy’s products. Usually, you have at least one year to try out any of his products and if you don’t get the results you want within that time, you can get a “no questions asked” full refund of your purchase.

The result?

He sells truckloads of all his products.

An example of a seemingly impossible guarantee is “Teeth that look whiter in 24 hours or double your money back!” Reckon people with teeth they are not so proud of will grab this offer? Absolutely!

So use outrageous guarantees. And why shouldn’t you. After all, you know that your product is of high quality. You put in a great deal of effort in creating it, months probably. So convey confidence that when your prospects use it they will achieve their desired result by providing a rock solid irresistible guarantee.

 

From Problem to Solution

Bill Gates is reported to have said, “I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act”.

Well, this is a classic marketing formula. And it has been stated in several different ways. For example, some say, “take your prospects from problem to solution”, or “from pain to pleasure” or “diagnose then prescribe”.

Basically they are all saying the same thing.

In fact, one of the most effective formulae (funny word) for writing a sales page that sales your products like gang busters is as follows:

Ø  State the problem

Ø  Intensify or exacerbate the problem

Ø  Provide the solution

Ø  Prove the solution works

Ø  Ask your prospects for the order

This is a timeless formula use by the highest paid copywriters on the planet and as you can see, it takes people from problem to solution. So Bill was right after all. If you take your prospects from problem to solution, they will be moved to buy your products and services.

So do this when you talk to your prospects in person, on the phone or via your marketing materials. It can change your small business dramatically.

Niche Marketing is Valid

Niche marketing is at the center of internet marketing for small business. Before we look at the reason for this, let’s look at the meaning of the word “niche”.

According to Microsoft’s dependable dictionary, the word niche also means, “place”, “position”, “function”, “calling”, “slot”, “role” or “forte”. From these synonyms we can deduce that “niche” can be defined as your particular place or position within a wider range of places or positions.

So niche marketing can be defined as marketing within the confines of a particular segment of your market. There are many segments, but you choose one or a few, your niche.

Now, the reason why niche marketing is at the center of internet marketing for small business is as follows. When people search the web, they are look for specific things. They look for specific solutions to their problems.

They don't look for every solution that your small business offers. They usually just want one specific thing. Think about it. When was the last time you searched for something online?

I am willing to bet my house that you searched for something specific like “how to bake a chocolate cake” or “internet marketing courses” or “the best weight loss program”.

You searched for specific solutions. And so it is a great idea to take a specific part of your small business online rather than the whole business.

For example if, you have a law firm an your area or jurisdiction allows you to market it online, cater to a one segment of your market. Maybe people seeking compensation for injuries suffered at their workplace.

You will do much better online this way. Your prospects will easily find you. Google will rank your website better because its spiders will easily understand its theme. Other websites will link to yours because of the depth of coverage on one specific topic.

In fact, niche marketing focuses on providing depth in terms of solutions to one particular problem or set of related problems. It is not about providing shallow solutions to a great deal of problems. It’s about focusing on a few problems deeply.

I never believed this at first but my experience has shown it to be the infallible truth. So niche down or small business when taking it online.

 

Use Case Studies   

Last but not least, use case studies to demonstrate how other people have used your solutions in order to achieve the results you promise your prospects.

Few things are as powerful as this internet marketing strategy because there is nothing as encouraging as watching another ordinary person follow a process and get results with it.

Case studies also provide social proof. And if you have been online for any length of time then you know how powerful this is.  No one wants to be the first at doing anything. Most of us want to see that someone else has tried something already before we can put but a toe in the water.

So use case studies. From your prospects perspective, they speak louder than your most persuasive sales presentation.

Conclusion

So there you go! You can use the above five points to boost the online success of your small business. As you can see, there is nothing impossible about making your business prosperous online.

In fact, the internet tends to reward you much more generously than most offline businesses ever could.

So start using these five strategies as soon as possible and watch your small business become the next internet success story.

And by the way, if you want to learn how to make your small business succeed online or you have never been in business and you want to start an online business from scratch, I highly recommend Dan Kennedy’s courses. (Not an Affiliate Link).

They are the best in the world. Period. No fluff or waffle. Just pure, practical information on how to succeed online in any niche. And this is based on several years of trial, error and eventually, extreme success.

To Your Success

If you want to learn about Internet Marketing for Small Business

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