Last updated 21:53, Thursday, 20 March 2008

Computers with Keith McMean

AS a business having an Internet marketing strategy gives you a measurable and definitive way to target your chosen market and position your business so that those looking for your services or products are finding you easily – this was explained in last month’s column.

This is only the first level of the sales process, but it is vital to the success of your online business, but remember traffic marketing is not sales and should not be thought of as such.

Traffic can be increased by search engine optimization, using pay per clicks, or marketing your site in advertising campaigns, newspaper and radio for example. After completing the marketing step which brings the traffic you must then turn your attention to selling your services or products to your visitor once they get there and making it an easy process.

How are you approaching those prospective clients and customers that are visiting your site? Are you persuading them to take the necessary action that you require them to take? Have you defined well enough what it is that you want them to do? Perhaps you want them to...

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There are proven methods and tactics that you can use online to increase your sales conversion rate and get that prospect to become a valuable customer or client.

If you haven’t taken time to plan your Internet Marketing Strategy you have made a costly mistake that could be damaging to your business and costing you customers.

Consider this for a moment “What is the annual worth of just one customer to you?” Is it £25, £250, or perhaps £2500? If having an Internet Marketing Strategy would help you cultivate and convert just one new customer each week would planning that strategy be worth it to you?

Truth is that Internet Marketing differs in many degrees from traditional brick and mortar marketing, but there are a few strategies that remain the same and must be present in order for your online marketing to be successful.

This is just one example:

What is the Missing Key Component in the Virtual Sales Process?

When marketing online you are missing a key component to the sales process. Do you know what one thing is lacking and could cause a real problem and cost you a loss of sales if not approached with a real solution? The answer is human interaction. This has been the single biggest struggle to the e-commerce businesses in recent years, how to get visitors to part with their hard earned cash.

Let’s think about this for a moment. When a person enters a physical shop they are met with the interaction of a sales person, good or bad. Face-to-face contact takes place and over 90 per cent of normal communication between the two people is non-verbal.

Websites or virtual shopfronts as they are becoming know as don’t allow that non-verbal communication to take place in the traditional way and the friendly sales person is replaced with the cold technology of a website.

The key question we must ask ourselves here is “How can you provide that human interaction to potential clients and customers so that you are able to move that client or customer through a successful sales process?”

So how do we get around this problem? Answers next month!

If you would like further information on this or any other online subject, email Keith at enquiries@ keithmcmean.co.uk