|
|
A Few Thoughts On Pricing And The Roll Of Sales And Marketing
I recall addressing a sales team of mine at an off-site meeting several years ago - we sold multi-million dollar telecom infrastructure equipment. The issue of approved discounts dominated the session..."Anyone can give-away products and services."...
How Cultural Differences Affect Your Global Marketing Message
How Cultural Differences Affect Your Global Marketing Message by Ron A. Welsh Marketing across cultures worldwide is a thriving business as the world moves closer to a global economy. International companies have been marketing to countries...
Manufacturers Shift Marketing Budget Away from Tradeshows
In early Q3, TR Cutler, Inc. conducted the largest North American manufacturer survey about anticipated marketing budgets in 2006. Statistically significant findings indicated that nearly two-thirds (64%) of the manufacturers surveyed anticipate a...
Marketing Essentials -- The :15 Elevator Speech
You're at a conference. Someone steps in the elevator, notices your nametag and asks, "What do you guys do?" Quick -- what's your answer? You've got 15 seconds before the doors open. For most business owners, getting to the crux of what they really...
Marketing-Minded Financial Planners, the Media Wants to Give You Free Publicity
In this great country of ours, there are basically three ways to get yourself tons of media coverage. You can be a celebrity. Try becoming a TV, movie or sports star. That’s a good start. You can become notorious. Getting arrested, or enmeshed in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A New Twist on The Future of Internet Marketing
As we look forward into the new year, there is a level of uncertainty about whether our marketing lives will remain similar to how they are now -- or do a complete 180 and run in the opposite direction.
How can we predict what direction marketing will take in 2003? It's beyond my humble disposition to make a sure claim about the future of Internet marketing. However, with a mixture of my personal recent discoveries and those that I've found elsewhere, I believe I have a fairly predictable idea.
It's not what you expect.
Are you ready?
I believe that the future of marketing is in tangible items.
What?! How dare I make such a claim? Everything is supposed to be automated! The man in the eBook told me I can spend three weeks in the Bahamas, never lift a finger the entire time, and come home to millions in my bank account!
I know, it's a grueling concept. But hear me out. Just when you may think you know what I'm getting at, I'll be sure to throw another twist at you.
There are two reasons why tangible items will be the next big boom. First, they decrease the refund rate. With an automated system, it can't be easier for a customer to order your product, download it, then drop you an e-mail saying,
"Please give me a refund for XYZ. Thanks."
Goodness knows I've done it if the product didn't deliver as promised.
After pouring your sweat and blood into the wonderful eBook you created, how rewarding will you find it to keep up with the ever-increasing return rate?
On the other hand, if you ship a tangible product, what percentage of customers want to go stand in line at their local post office, and on top of that, pay for shipping costs to return the item?
Second, they increase customer loyalty. I don't know about you, but getting a tangible product in the mail always excites me. Lately I've found several websites that offered to send a free tape or CD with no shipping costs.
I've recieved a Robert Allen tape and CD, as well as a Dan
Kennedy tape on Magnetic Marketing.
That was it. I immediately had a considerably stronger attachment to the websites that sent me a tangible product with real, human hands, than those websites that offer a free eBook download or similar.
The website that sent the Dan Kennedy tape also sent a letter along with it. The site owner made sure I knew that if I ever wanted discounted Dan Kennedy products, I should visit www.xyz.com.
Any ideas on the first place I'll turn to when I want a discounted Dan Kennedy product?
You got it.
Here's the twist.
Instant gratification prevails on the Internet. People want food -- fast, so they get fast food. They want a movie -- now, so they order one on Pay-Per-View from their living room couch. Your customers want what your sales letter promised -- instantly.
Is that a problem that conflicts with the concept of tangibility? Quite the opposite. Your job is to come up with a way to split your product in half. One half can be an eBook, for example, which satisfies the desire for instant gratification. Your customer has material to keep him or her busy until your second half arrives in the mail.
This could be in the form of an audio tape, a CD, a manual, a video, or any other tangible item your creative mind might possibly dig up. Is everyone going to start using this strategy? Half tangible, half digital?
It's doubtful.
But if YOU want to be heads and tails over your competitors -- while gaining priceless customer loyalty, and a significant decrease in the refund rates your digital-focused competition is stressing over -- why not forget about jumping on the bandwagon with the rest of 'em, and take the wheel instead?
About the Author
Article by Rebekah Nahai. Get $139 of HOT-Selling Marketing Software FR~E When You Visit http://www.scamfreebiz.com Now! For Your FR~E Mini-Course, "The 7 Keys to Creating an Instant E-zine Subscriber Magnet," Send a Blank E-mail to ametips@virtual-responders.com
|
|
|
|
|
KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
  |
Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
marketing.about.com |
  |
Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
www.marketing.org |
  |
Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
www.marketingpower.com |
  |
Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
www.brandrepublic.com |
  |
Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
www.marketingmag.ca |
  |
BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
  |
Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
www.clicksor.com |
  |
Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
www.marketingjobs.com |
  |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
www.cim.co.uk |
  |
Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
www.technorati.com |
  |
Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
www.marketingprofs.com |
  |
Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
www.gmarketing.com |
  |
Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
  |
All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
  |
Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
  |
ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
  |
Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
  |
|