Marketing Strategies to Attract Your Targeted Clients & Customers

Editor's Notes

• #2: It doesn’t matter how accurately you target your customer or how perfectly you set up your site, you still have to get your offerings and/or services in front of as many of those target customers as possible. It all boils down to the marketing strategies you use; and whether or not they are the most effective choices for attracting your clients. Your best bet is to use multiple tactics that cross-link… but don’t just fire off every cannon you can get your hands on. Pick and choose which strategies will work best with your subscribers. Your goal is to present a consistent, lively image that mirrors what your customers or clients are looking for: You should be so in tune, they feel as if you are reading their minds and anticipating every need.
• #3: We will look at :Testing and TrackingInteractivityInteractivity with Website and MobileSix Effective Ways to Connect with your Market by MobileSharing ButtonsJoint Venture PartnershipsCreating Your “A” TeamSocial Media and Graphic SharingLinkedInYour Autoresponder – Your Best Friend
• #4: Let’s start with an overview of the basic strategies you should be doing . . .
• #5: Read first: Depending on your particular business model or customer habits…AFTER SLIDE:What are you trying to do with all these strategies? Not just make a sale, but build your subscriber database, so you can turn them all into loyal, repeat customers. That’s where the real money is: Selling to those who are already “sold” on you and your products. You’ve done the groundwork and got them on your List. Now, how do you keep them interested? Remember back in Module 2, we discussed Sales Funnels at some length? Well, keeping a steady, consistent flow of offerings in your Sales Funnels – and keeping those Sales Funnels all spinning in harmony with each other – is crucial to making your customers and clients so happy they keep returning. If you rush them with too many offers at once (before they’ve had time to digest the first ones) and not only do you risk turning them off, you risk causing “bottlenecks” – places where they get “stuck” in the tunnel, not moving forward. That’s why pacing is also vitally important. You need to know your customers well enough to be able to accurately gauge the average speed it’s going to take them to digest or learn to use the product they’ve just bought.  If it’s software, or a physical product, you need to have an idea of exactly when they’ll step beyond learning the basics and be looking for challenges or more advanced tips or additions. (Looking at it this way, it’s easy to see why planning not only your business, but your Sales Funnels too, is crucial to making the most of every opportunity.) Making a plan helps you avoid bottlenecks, as well large gaps during which time people forget all about you!
• #7: All the strategies in the world won’t help if you don’t track your sales and return on investment (ROI). You need to get into the habit of analyzing every result – from emails, to your Facebook and YouTube marketing, to promotions (online and off), to sales pages, to organic traffic on your websites. Many of the systems you’ll be using have tracking capacity: Take advantage and learn how to use this. (There are usually video tutorials.) Also make sure you install Google Analytics on each site or blog. (There’s actually a Google Analytics plug-in for WordPress.) Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you learn and track:
• #11: SLIDE FIRSTAnd this is just the tip of the Analytics iceberg.
• #12: SLIDE FIRSTGoogle Analytics also allows you to easily set up A/B split testing. This is where it allows people who click on your links to be served different elements in your ads and sales pages (such as a lily graphic for Group A but a rose graphic for Group B) so that you can analyze the results and see which one worked better… or if your “tweak” had any appreciable impact at all. If this intimidates you, you can also do this manually, by sending email A to half your list (pointing to Landing Page A) and a different one containing a link to Landing Page B to the other half – but it’s so much easier, once you’ve learned to navigate Google Analytics, to let this happen automatically! You should only make one change at a time, before testing. It’s worth repeating: All your marketing strategies will be a shadow of their full potential – if you don’t track the results and test your campaigns out.
• #13: Here’s another under-rated strategy, before we get to the big guns like Facebook, Mobile marketing and YouTube – and it will sound ridiculously self-obvious to say it – and that is actively engaging with your audience. Before you say: “Well, duh, of course, that’s a given…”, stop and think about it. How many times have you seen wonderful blog posts, interesting Facebook comments, Tweets that just beg an answer, and provocative emails – ones stirred either by strong feelings on a subject or an enthusiastic feeling of warm identification with the communicator? You spend your precious time writing a well-thought-out response or sharing some personal detail you don’t normally share, and the response is… silence. Most of us know how social networking works: We don’t exactly shrivel up and die when someone fails to respond. But here’s a plain fact not many people realize…
• #16: Make sure you go out of your way to respond to fans, followers and subscribers. Make the effort, no matter how “busy” you feel.  People visit social networks to feel connected – so connect! Even just pressing the “Like” button makes them feel you noticed them for a second or two, enough to appreciate your notice. They get a warm little rush of pleasure – no matter how tiny or subliminal. But it’s usually enough to make them read your next post with interest.If you’re trying to become the “go-to” person in your niche, you can’t afford not to engage with your fans, followers and subscribers at every opportunity.“But I Haven’t Got the Time…” Nobody has, really… but if we enjoy something, we usually manage to squeeze a few minutes here and there, right?
• #17: READ FIRST If you “don’t have time” to read emails yourself, ask your VA or another dedicated person to “read and weed” for you. She can promptly send back simple information in response to impersonal questions such as: “Where do I find your Handy Dandy Impersonator Mark IV? I’ve lost the link!” And she can alert you to letters you really ought to answer yourself (E.G. really appropriate and exciting JV proposals, personal letters, etc.)
• #18: Dedicate a day or two to monitoring your social networks and finding out the premium times when your followers appear online. (Make notes! Put them in a .CSV Excel spreadsheet.)
• #19: Make a daily habit of spending ten minutes during that period (a) uploading a photo, sharing a joke, asking a question, making an observation (b) clicking the “Like” button or thanking people who Retweet your tweets. (You’ll even have time to make the odd personal reply or unsolicited comment!) Ten minutes a day. That’s all it takes.Jot down the URL or Pinterest photo for any great information you can share as you come across these during the day.
• #20: At night, before you log off, use a free social management site such as TweetDeck or HootSuiteto schedule posts featuring the things you’d like to share at intervals during the day.
• #21: READ FIRSTIf you do invest in taking a few days to monitor when your subscribers and fans appear on social networks, you’ll find there are three groups of “regulars”:1.Those who appear during the same two hour period every single day2.Those who appear briefly several times during the day3.Those who visit daily – but not always at the same time (The ones who visit sporadically you probably won’t see at all!) Using this combination method of ten minutes of live interaction combined with pre-scheduled posts helps ensure your face and “voice” are present whenever they log on, furthering the feeling community.
• #22: Now that we’ve dealt with one-on-one communication, let’s take a look at even more interactivity. One of the hottest trends nowadays – one that hasn’t stopped growing yet – is Mobile addiction. And if people are not actually addicted, many seem pretty close to it!
• #23: SLIDE FIRSTPsychologically, it ties in with the whole “interactivity” theme – and selling is nothing, if not psychology-based! First, check your target market: Are they in the right age demographic to be Mobile-savvy? (18-34 being the peak and 35-50 a close second, according to the statistics – though, watching children nowadays, it may feel more like birth to 34!) Ask and survey your subscribers and clients: Do they prefer Mobile communication over emails? Do they like QR codes? (Do they know what a QR code is?) Do they prefer text messages? You can have apps created for your company or website relatively inexpensive to help you clients engage better with you. (Some of your services, such as shopping carts and social networks, should be able to provide these too. The reason people love Mobiles so much? Two words: Instant gratification.  They can let people know where they are with apps such as Foursquare. They can ask for recommendations to local businesses or websites (make sure yours is a site that’s recommended!)
• #28: So how can you connect with your audience via Mobile, if you’ve discovered they’re active users? How can you reach hidden segments who rarely bother any more with PC interaction?
• #29: Make sure your blog or website is optimized for mobile. Not only are there blog themes specifically designed for this, but you can also use the WPTouch plug-in for WordPress so that your site will display properly. (You can find it doing a search with “Add New” on your Plugins dashboard).You can also use AvidMobile, a service that can quickly customize and app your company site to display properly on Mobiles.
• #30: Consider using QR codes in your advertising, business stationery and products. A QR code is a special bar code that, when scanned with a phone camera, sends people directly to a link set by you. (Hint: Think of it as a Graphic – and put it on every surface you can think of, locally and online!) (It’s so easy to do: You can instantly generate QR codes for free at Kaywa, http://qrcode.kaywa.com/.)
• #31: Just as on Facebook, you will find that there really are times when people connect and check more frequently. (“Practical eCommerce” gives general peak periods as 5 p.m. Thursday to Monday, 9 a.m., as well as early morning, late afternoon and late evening.)It’s a proven fact that people are more likely to “click” or respond to a live message coming through, rather than ones they have to retrieve.4. Use coupons to spur subscribers to engage online, as well as on their mobiles. Many people don’t have apps yet to pay via mobile, although more of these are being released for more varieties of mobiles daily and studies show people’s fear of Mobile security issues are subsiding. So try to get their attention on their mobiles – and send them online to buy. (MixMobi is currently offering a free trial for Mobile coupon creation.)http://www.mixmobi.com/learn/create-offers
• #32: Use Mobile Virtual Business Cards – a great option for the service provider on the go. (Vcards is another service you can check out at AvidMobile.)Try the photo “blitz” technique. If your subscribers are socially active, ask them to snap a photo with their Mobiles of where they are now and post it on your Facebook Page. People love sharing photos, so ask for photos related to their (and your) niche interests, too. (E.G. “Photo of your pet”, if you sell dog beds online.)Oh. And be sure to comment and acknowledge those who do send!Do your best to create a sense of urgency – that they must click on your link or respond to your communication now. Do it with clear calls to action and incentives.Above all, make it fun to engage with you!
• #34: READ FIRST:Never underestimate the power of including social sharing buttons on all your websites (except Sales and Landing Pages – you don’t want them distracted from your offer!)Make it part of your checklist to ensure you: 1. Ask people to share your links, photos, coupons, content2. Put sharing buttons on your sites  Cross-posting between your sites and multiple social media alone can make the difference between modest and massive sales when your cross-shared material goes viral, thanks to people responding to your multi-shared requests.
• #36: Joint Venture partners are also a good option for those getting started. If you have the perfect product for another marketer’s list, you can approach her and offer advance copies to her list; either for free or at a “deal” rate for her subscribers.
• #42: This will be a vital part of making your business go supernova. Using the right staff or outsource contractors can add value to your business in spades: Instead of you finding yourself “amazing” at one facet of your online business functioning, “proficient” at four, “sketchy” at two, “hopeless” at one, and up and down on others, all areas would be covered by experts. When you have a strong team, each facet of your business is run in a coordinated, efficient way, with each specialist fine tuning and circumventing glitches.  You’ll also always have a sounding board if you want one. But before all that comes together, you need to make sure you create a real “A” Team. Communication will be the key. And this starts out with something as simple as having a company manual written (remember all those pages you’ve been adding to your binder?) Copy out the relevant pieces you want your new long-term contractor to know, and email or physically mail it to her. Do the same (or have her do the same, if she’s your new VA, office manager or project manager) with other team members – copywriters, your web designer, the shopping cart VA, your graphic artist. That’s what truly enables single marketers to turn into millionaires. People like Michel Fortin may appear as the figurehead and voice of his empire – but you can bet he has a dedicated team of specialists behind him, making this all happen. Add creating your “A” Team to your list of marketing strategies on your business plan!
• #44: READ FIRST:There are still a few final things left to say about the importance of social media in this day and age of online marketing: And one is… graphics are more important than ever. There are two powerful reasons for this: 1. Facebook’s Edge Rank algorithm2. PinterestFacebook is now featuring advertising (Sponsored Stories) within photos people click on. So Edge Rank has been “instructed” to give photo posts the highest priority nowadays. (Yes. That’s why Facebook seems to consist of nothing but photo posts nowadays.)  Pinterest is a new social network that has blown all stats out the water – hugely popular with a largely female demographic, it consists of simple image sharing via “Pinboards” you can create. 
• #45: You can log into Pinterest with your Facebook or Twitter account, once you’ve signed up. (You need an “invitation”, so just contact any of your friends whose Pinterest photos you’ve noticed and ask for one – don’t sign up without an invitation, or it may take as much as three weeks before you’re finally “allowed” to join.)
• #46: So there is now much cross-sharing between Pinterest and Facebook. The popularity of Pinterest has resulted in people’s shared content skyrocketing – and this could be you and your products, sites – or videos.  Not only are you able to cross-post and take advantage of Facebook’s Edge Rank algorithm, you can also use your Pinterest “pins” to drive people to your sites – as well as to your videos on YouTube (your Pinterest Pin displayed on Facebook as a photo to give your YouTube Facebook post more prominence). The other advantage of Pinterest: It has possibly the simplest, clearest and best Help section on the net. It’s really a “How to” manual – so make sure you read it before you do anything else! (The PinterestGoodies page will also prove invaluable, with quick video tutorials on how to perform various key Pinterest tasks such as generate instant code for “Follow me on Pinterest” buttons on websites and information on the PinterestiPhone app.)
• #47: “Pin it” social sharing buttons are available to put on your website (or even directly on your graphics themselves).
• #50: If your business is service-based, you absolutely need this professional social network. For one thing, you can find strong, targeted leads to clients, jobs and projects presented to you on a platter every day – customized and tailored to your keywords and interests (that includes the LinkedIn Groups you select – so select carefully!)For another, when business people are able to find your clean, professional, targeted profile on LinkedIn, it establishes almost instant credibility – and will often move even a new marketer to the top of Google searches (especially for your name). You can also choose to follow Companies whose business you would like to capture.
• #51: Finally, there’s Google+, another relatively new social network. After a hopeful start, it developed so many problems with its Google Places feature, that feature was pulled out of the social site. Without Google Places, Google + plummeted in popularity – but it does have some very nice features; and if your target market hangs out there, you should too.
• #56: SLIDE FIRST:This last feature alone makes Google+ a social site you shouldn’t ignore. Plus, like LinkedIn, a Google+ search result can add credibility to your name when it shows up at the top of searches for your name. Many people are hooked on Google+ and prefer it to Facebook, so it really does pay to make sure that’s not where large segments of your target market are discreetly hiding.
• #58: READ FIRST:Finally, a word about email marketing. It is not dead and should be given equal importance (or even greater prominence) than other strategies. Keep a consistent flow of both follow up and broadcast emails populating your autoresponder, to be delivered at regular intervals. Be sure to provide a variety of email types – not just offer after offer.
• #60: SLIDE FIRST:If you’re stressed about creating emails and you’re confused about creating an email follow up “series”, buy PLR (private label rights) generic emails for your niche. Use them as Templates and customize them to your specific market.  (After you’ve done this a few times, it won’t seem such a Herculean or confusing task: Writing email series will become second nature – like your daily ten minutes on Facebook.) Finally, remember you can always outsource Autoresponder maintenance and email writing – to a VA who specializes; or if it’s just the content that gives you headaches, to a ghostwriter or copywriter.
• #61: The rich variety of social media in play nowadays (combined with Mobile marketing) makes it possible for you to share and spread word about promotions with greater accuracy and imagination. Be creative. But above all, to succeed with all your marketing strategies, be consistent – and keep the flow steady. Happy Entrepreneurship – and here’s to your successful online economy!To recap what we discussed in this webinar:We looked at :Testing and TrackingInteractivityInteractivity with Website and MobileSix Effective Ways to Connect with your Market by MobileSharing ButtonsJoint Venture PartnershipsCreating Your “A” TeamSocial Media and Graphic SharingLinkedInYour Autoresponder – Your Best Friend