Your Website Is The New Lemonade Stand

by: Alexandria Marx

Internet marketing is a new place with the same old purpose. When I first learned about Internet marketing, it felt as if I had been there, done that. I reached back in time to find how Internet marketing today was something I already did, years ago. I was a nerdy kid who was more interested in commerce than dolls. I persuaded my dad to help me setup a lemonade stand on the lawn in front of our one-story home. I mixed up a batch of fresh squeezed lemonade, grabbed my mother's favorite milk glasses, and hung up a cardboard sign with the words, "Lemonade 10¢." I greeted my first customer within the hour. It was fun stuffing all those 'In God We Trust" dollar bills into an old cigar box. Today, dollar bills fly across space and deposit themselves into my bank account. That's different! But commerce is still the exciting challenge that left my dolls unattended on the shelf. The Internet has opened up endless possibilities for commerce. And just like the sign I hung up years ago, we still put signs out to attract buyers. It's not so different. You meet people, show them your wares, let them know why your lemonade tastes better than anyone else's and after they buy a glass and take a sip, they come back for more. It is such a simple concept, it's a wonder why so many marketers make it sound so confusing. Think of Internet marketing as if you were tacking up a sign on your lemonade stand. Now, think of your website as your lemonade stand. It's easy to see that all you have to do to attract more customers is hang up lots of signs all over the neighborhood. Now, picture yourself standing on your front lawn as cars speed by and no one stops to buy a glass of your frosty lemonade. That's what happens when you don't put out any signs. There are many places where you post your advertising sign on the Internet. Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com are well known hot spots to post your sign. It's called pay-per-click advertising. You rent sign space, but pay only when someone clicks your link and lands on your web site page. What if you get hundreds of clicks at $1.00 each. Yikes! That can add up. But it is a real sunny day when the visitors that come from each click, engage your offers and become a new business contact. That's a lot of lemonade! But what if people land on your web page and don't like the color of your lemonade. Sales conversions will be low to non existent. So before you hang out any signs inviting customers to your website, do a sales checkup. You want the words on your web pages to show and tell visitors just how tasty your offers are. You want both substance and persuasion throughout your web page copy. If you're not sure how to write your copy, there are many professional advertising copy writing services ready to help you. Speaking of your web page copy, another way to bring buyers to your web site is search engine optimization (SEO). This is like dressing up your lemonade stand sign with the right words. How many takers would I have gotten when I was a kid if my sign read, "Cold Beer" when I was clearly selling lemonade. People who stopped by for a beer would not be pleased. And what if I wrote those words in a foreign language. People would be confused, and so would search engines. It is just as important to speak in a language search engines understand as it is to speak in a language your web page visitors understand. Search engine optimization makes that happen. And the beauty of search engine optimization is you get free clicks. It's like posting signs all over the Internet inviting customers to come and buy a glass of lemonade. But in this instance, all your posts are free. You don't pay for the clicks you get. How cool is that!! Internet marketing may be a mystery to you, and you may not even know enough about it to even consider it as a necessary arrow in your marketing quiver. Who wants to run up a credit card on this unknown thing called Internet marketing. Unfortunately, this nebulous selling environment is it. It's the place. Your website is the new lemonade stand, and Internet marketing attracts buyers. We meet and we both benefit. We still have that in common. If you have a website, check your web pages for substance and sales persuasion, optimize key pages and start marketing online. Post those signs. Let people know how good your lemonade is.

About The Author
Alexandria Marx has 20 yrs direct marketing copywriting, web design and Internet marketing. She's published two books on sales and marketing, and offers sales checkups and marketing tips for small business. http://www.dm-creative.com

Target Audience – One of the Four P’s

by: Rita Cartwright

Do you know who your target audience is? If you don’t know, you are not maximizing your advertising and/or marketing efforts. A marketing strategy blends the elements of the marketing mix, also known as the four P’s (product, price, placement, promotion). The promotion element involves communication, and one type of communication is advertising. The advertising strategy combines the elements of a creative mix. This mix includes the target audience, product concept, communications media, and the advertising message. In order to create an effective advertising message, it is important to know who your target audience is. The target audience includes the end-user, the person who makes the purchase, and the one who influences the purchasing decision. For instance, McDonald’s target audience is made up of children and their parents. The children influences their parent’s purchasing decision. Therefore, McDonald’s advertising message is directed toward the children, as well as their parents. The process of determining who your target audience is begins with segmenting the consumer market; finding the right niche. This process begins with identifying groups of people with certain shared characteristics within a broad market. The categories of characteristics are geographic, demographic, behavioristic, and psychographic. Then combine these groups into larger market segments according to their mutual interest in the product’s utility or benefit. From these segments, choose your target market. Your target audience includes your target market. The target market in the previous McDonald’s example is the person(s) who makes the purchase. Target audience is larger than the target market. Segmenting the business market is just as complex as segmenting the consumer market. Business markets are identified by using many of the same variables used to identify consumer markets. Additional variables used are business purchasing procedures, SIC Code, or by market concentration. The product/service market consists of all types of consumers; however, groups of consumers have similar needs and wants. Begin with market research; identify your groups with shared characteristics; combine these groups into larger markets; and select your target audience which includes your target market. Before you create an effective advertising message, it is important to know who you are talking to. Do you know who your target audience is? Rita J. Cartwright is a Virtual Assistant and owner of RJ’s Word Processing Services. She received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing from Arizona State University. More information about Rita and her company can be found at http://www.rjswordprocessing.com

About The Author
Rita J. Cartwright is a Virtual Assistant and owner of RJ's Word Processing Services, and she began her business in 2002. In 1998, she received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Marketing from Arizona State University with a minor in Spanish. More information about Rita and her company can be found at http://www.rjswordprocessing.com

4 Ways To Increase Your Company's Sales

by: Marc Entz

When faced with diminishing sales or a shift in profitability, sometimes a company will seek opportunities to expand sales by using different marketing methods. These time-tested marketing principles are used by businesses to seek out new opportunities to satisfy the needs of the consumer. There are 4 ways to increase sales and expand revenue for your company. It is not necessary to use more than one of these methods. The best choice of the 4 methods is the one that will meet the needs of the company and the consumer best. This will provide a win-win situation for all concerned. To increase sales consider one of the following methods for seeking opportunities in your target market: 1. Market Penetration: Increase the market share of your current products in your present market. By up scaling your marketing mix you can increase your sales. To do this you advertise your present products more frequently and promote your company's image to the public through institutional advertising and publicity. 2. Market Development You can also try to sell your present products in new markets. You have to do some market research on the needs of the consumers in these markets first. Your product may have other demographic groups that need it as well. This is a recommended area to investigate for more profit. Often your present products are in demand in other locations, with other age groups, or professional groups. This is an opportunity for more sales many companies look for. 3. Product development You can increase your sales by offering new and improved products to your present market. This will give you an edge over your competition. Your customers will view your company as being progressive and up to date. This is not only a great way to increase sales, but your customers will remember your company because of the unique product you sell. 4. Diversification If you are well established in one line of business, you may wish to diversify into a totally new one. This means moving into a new market with a new product. This can keep your profits on the rise. Here again, market research and marketing plans have to be made first. As you can see there are opportunities for gaining sales in all four areas. The best choice for your business depends on your goals and the resources you have. The best way to capitalize on these strategies is to start with your present strengths and look for market opportunities that complement them. Then do your market research and planning. The sky is the limit when you plan ahead using these proven marketing tactics. This article may be reprinted in full. The resource box and hyperlink must remain intact.

About The Author
Marc Entz is the Editor of The SavePress Smart Money Directory, a new upbeat site for people who like valuable resources for saving money. You can read several articles with tips for business or pleasure, or catch up on a variety of related news at our website online now: http://www.money.savepress.com