Internet Marketing Plans – Under A Microscope

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If you’re just starting out with a new website idea for your business in 2010, the choices you face are about 50-times what they were 10 to 15 years ago. It sort of reminds of the 1970’s. If someone asked what kind of ice cream you’d like to have, they meant – would you like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry? Back then, that was about it!

By the time the 80’s arrived, there were about a zillion different flavors available. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry were considered “boring” flavors by most people! The same thing was true of the toppings. Whipped cream, chocolate and fudge were the original standards. Ice cream sure has come a long way! So have a lot of other things.

When it comes to Internet Marketing, your business is faced with so many “flavors” or marketing methods to choose from, it can be tempting to try a little of everything, especially if you’re just getting started with a new site or project. Starting out with a blog-based site can be a decent idea IF you’re going to update it regularly. By regularly I mean – at least once a month. If you’re going to update it every six months or longer, (or can’t stick with it beyond the first 2-3 months) forget about having a regular readership.

Blogging can be used as a plug and play type of system – great for some companies, not so great for others.

Many companies new to Internet marketing and publicity decide to go all out when starting a new site because they don’t want to leave any of the hottest trends out of the mix. They want to have a large Facebook following, a large Twitter following, loads of information on their site, etc. Even if they have enough staff to dedicate towards accomplishing this, they usually (9 times out of 10) leave out the most important element in the entire process.  A real marketing plan.

At the end of the day, marketing is about making money for your company – not anything else. Successful marketing plans boost the bottom line. Build it and they will come? In some cases that actually can happen, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to spend a dime once they get there!

Successful marketing is, at its very core, an enticement. It’s an enticement to try… and buy.

Upper-scale restaurants, such as Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, use this method to perfection. Everything from the colors on the wall, to the font style used in their menu, is designed as an enticement to experience the pleasures of fine dining.

When people hear the word, “entice,” they usually think of something sexual in nature because our society has used sexual allure as part of the attention-getting process for years.

No, enticement goes beyond the obvious to the not-so-obvious.

Disney World and theme parks, in general, are designed to entice children and the younger crowd with a variety of sights, sounds and even – scents, to enter into an overall experience in which the sum is greater than the parts. Parents, not wanting to disappoint their children, part with their money accordingly.

A successful enticement elicits the intended response. For example, it could suggest ease where there would normally be – effort. It offers enjoyment instead of boredom.  Style for blandness.  Recognition over obscurity. Wellness over weakness. Success over failure. The list can go on and on.

Internet marketing and publicity encompass everything from the color combinations, to the type fonts… the social media to the ezines, the brochures to the video – all these things need to harmonize to create the overall enticement to – TRY & BUY.

One of my clients sells a product called the “Forearm Forklift.” The product is designed to help people move heavy, awkward objects without injuring themselves. It’s a great concept and the enticement – suggesting ease over strenuousness lifting is clear and well-defined.

Some enticements are more obvious than others. Years ago there was an expensive information type of product on the market by an older marketing veteran that was basically “copycatted” by a younger upstart who was just getting into the business. The older man was very vocal about it, saying the younger guy was just parroting what he said and had no real-world experience. I took a look at the younger guy’s website. Sure enough, the wording and sales copy was very similar. The price, however, was drastically different.  How much different? Basically, the newbie was selling his product for $19.95 while the original was around $197.00.

Would you believe I bought the $19.95 product? My thinking was, I had no intention of buying the more expensive product, to begin with… but the idea of getting such “expensive” information so cheaply was a strong enticement. And the fact that the older fellow was so mad told me the information had to be very similar. The younger marketer didn’t plagiarize the product; he just created a similar version with the same facts – using his own words.

It was actually pretty good, too. Had the older marketing veteran not said anything, the enticement to check out the younger guy’s product would have been non-existent. After all, the site was definitely a “poor man’s version” of the original. Sort of like buying an off-brand soap or brillo pad from a dollar store. Sometimes curiosity kills the cat, other times – it gets the cat a pretty good deal!

Enticement coupled with intrigue is a powerful magnet whose pull is… practically inescapable. It’s the element that can give more strength to a whisper than it does to a shout.

This principle can be applied to any and every type of product and service you can think of. Some people use this principle unconsciously as they mimic and copy other ads and techniques they see around them.

Believe me; you’ll know when you’re doing it right. The results will speak for themselves.

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JimGaliano.com
Internet Marketing, Publishing & Publicity Consultant