These 3 marketing myths can cause you to lose sales if you base your marketing decisions on them. Weve given you some marketing tips to blast each myth and boost your sales.
Myth 1: People buy a product at the cheapest price they can find.
That is not true - if it was then companies like Rolex and would not exist - Timex would have put them out of business a long time ago. Despite the ease of research that the internet affords - buyers are generally lazy and dont undertake full research. Even on eBay where it is far easier to check the relative prices of a product - people often buy a product at a higher price than they could. So what causes people to buy These are called buying triggers - the most common are:
* Confidence in the seller
* A high perceived value
* Recommendations
* Ease of purchase
Blasting Myth 1:
Establish your credentials - for example we have over 20 years of business consultancy experience - so we know what works and what does not work in a business.
Find ways of enhancing the perceived value of your product or service by adding extras or clearly demonstrating the value of its purchase.
Ensure that you include some actual recommendations within your sales letter.
Make it easy to purchase and receive your product by not introducing any barriers to purchase such as extra forms, obscure or complex payment methods.
Myth 2: Offering your customers numerous different options will boost your sales
When confronted with several options, most customers have difficulty making a decision. They often react by procrastinating - and going to a seller who offers a clearer product. Now by this we dont say add extras or up sells, just clearly state what is included in the product and dont offer options that not only confuse but making your selling and processing more difficult.
The human mind works better when offered the two options buy, dont buy.
Blasting Myth 2:
Only offer one product - or product package per page. You can have a clear (and short) menu on each page to encourage multiple purchases.
If you have more than one option for a product or service - then give them different names and present them each separately. For example you can call them silver service, gold service, opal service etc. This is what we did with our various marketing services and it works quite well.
You should always aim at a small, easily understood product or service range. You should be able to explain each of your products in one or two sentences. If you cant do this - how do you expect your potential buyers to understand what they are buying
Myth 3: Everybody Needs My Product or Service
Unfortunately, most people dont believe that they do need a particular service of product. Obviously with items such as Ipods - your teenager will try and tell you they really, really, really need one, but this is peer pressure that has been built up with millions of dollars. Much of this was spent on research into what there market wanted - and they got it right!
If you believe this myth then you also believe that you can succeed without doing much marketing or selling. Unfortunately, despite what some marketers tell you - it does not happen that way. Undoubtedly there some very successful marketers around, but they will all admit that a great deal of market research, testing and reviewing of their offerings - happened before they became successful.
Building a successful business is hard work - most of it devoted to finding potential customers and then matching them with your products and services. Even if most people can use your product or service, you still need a marketing strategy to reach them and a persuasive sales message to close sales - because you can bet your last dollar - that where there a lots of potential customers there are just as many sellers.
Blasting Myth 3:
* Do your homework - find out where your potential customers are, what particular needs and desires they have and what they are seeking to solve these.
* Look for a narrowly defined niche market where your product or service will solve a unique need of the customers.
* Design your product or service to meet these needs.
* Test, Change, Test, Refine, Test and obtain customer feedback.
Unless you are one of the millionaire marketers around - you will find many myths that you follow and potentially lose money on. Hopefully the ones above have helped you.
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Copyright 2006 Biz Guru LLCLee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own site With over 20 years management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses. Also visit for all our informational products.
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Youve probably already read articles about how to select a search engine marketing (SEM) vendor, as theyre a dime a dozen. Most are written by an agency owner, highlighting areas they are strong in to optimize the soft-sales pitch. If you think this just another one of those articles good call! Rather than focus on traditional evaluation criteria for selecting an SEM vendor (i.e. credentials, case studies, references, published articles, conversion rates) Im going to outline value-add criteria that truly generate an ROI for your business. Below are 6 elements any good vendor (SEM or not) should provide as a strategic partner interested in your bottom line.
Education
On the most basic front, an SEM vendor should add value by educating you, the client, by sharing their knowledge of SEM strategies, tactics, technologies & trends. Does your SEM vendor send you news (either ad hoc or via newsletter) Do they maintain a SEM resources section on their site, or an industry blog One way weve educated our clients is by hosting a free half-day seminar, bringing in our valued partners and industry leaders to share the latest and greatest you usually have to spend big bucks to see at Search Engine Strategies.
Experience
I started my career in high tech PR, representing a technology company (now called LapLink). For the first year I pitched their product to press & analysts, Id never even seen the application, let alone used it. Once I had an opportunity to try it, I was amazed, and it helped me do my job that much more effectively. Lesson learned. Has your SEM vendor tested or use your product regularly We not only make a point of experiencing our clients products, but we often purchase them. Some are easier than others, as a bag of Kettle Brand Chips are not as much of a financial commitment as a hot new LCD projector from InFocus.
Feedback
Ive been a customer of WebTrends & WebPosition since the products first launched. Since then, Ive had the opportunity to provide input on future iterations of the products. The same goes for our other service-based clients. If your SEM vendor isnt providing you feedback based on their experience with your products or services, theyre either ignorant or fearful, and neither is helpful to the evolution of your company.
Referrals
Regardless of whether or not your product or service is useful to an SEM vendor, they should be sending you potential prospects and partners. If they dont, they arent a strategic partner and youre missing out on growth opportunities. We regularly refer customers and partners to clients, not to mention recommendations on potential vendors and employees. This is particularly true for long-term clients like InFocus and Marqui, who come to Anvil as a trusted partner with a variety of requests.
Exposure
Due to my background in PR, Ive spent a good amount of time promoting Anvil via press releases, syndicated articles, speaking engagements and awards, but thats not unusual. What is unusual is if your SEM vendor does that for you. Even though we do not offer PR services per se, were always looking for opportunities to promote our clients. Weve brought a handful of clients into speaking opportunities, and even included them in pitches that have resulted in press coverage.
Strategy
If youre the type of company that doesnt look to vendors for strategic business advice, please stop reading here. If youre the type of company that is always looking for that edge, and is open to input from vendor partners, you should already have received unsolicited advice from your SEM vendor. On more than one occasion, weve had to be brutally honest with our clients about short-sighted marketing strategies (that impact us directly) or even bigger picture business strategy (branding, positioning, infrastructure, etc.) based on our collective knowledge and experience. It takes a strong company to listen, and an even stronger company to act on that input. So far, telling clients the truth hasnt hurt us.
Moving Forward
Assess your current (or potential) SEM vendor based on the number of the above criteria you believe they meet or exceed. One point per element gives you a possible score of six. Below is a helpful matrix that provides suggested next steps in your pursuit of the ideal vendor.
Score:
1-2: Start looking for a new vendor. SEMPO is a great place to start. 3-4: Time to have a heart-to-heart about your desires and expectations as a client and set goals 5-6: Youre in good hands; continue to foster and evolve the relationship.
Indeed, any good SEM vendor should go the extra mile for your company. I have no problem demonstrating my dedication to clients. I liked one client so much, I married her. Talk about commitment.
Kent Lewis, President, Anvil Media, Inc.
With a background in integrated marketing, Lewis left a public relations agency in 1996 to start his search engine marketing career. Since then, he has focused on helping clients solve business problems via the Internet. Lewis founded Anvil Media, Inc. in 2000 to help clients enhance their Web site performance, increase their visibility and generate sales online. He was also Director of Marketing and Business Development at goodguys.com, an online electronics retailer. Lewis is creator and Editor-in-Chief of Anvil, a free monthly e-zine and is an adjunct professor at Portland State University. He speaks regularly on emarketing-related topics at industry conferences like Search Engine Strategies. Lewis sits on the board for Portland Advertising Federation and is actively involved in local charitable organizations. He recently founded Anvils Annual Get SMART Gala event to raise awareness for childrens literacy. Lewis received Portland Business Journals Top 40 Under 40 Award in 2004.