We live in a world where people are very cautious as to how they spend their money and they are very quick to object that “your price is too high”. That is why there will always be a company that will try to sell their product or service at a lower rate than their competitors.
But as business owners, we have to ask ourselves: am I selling value or price? This is something we need to think about. Rather than focusing on price, we need to focus on maximizing the perceived value and ensure that customers understand that it’s not just the product or service they are buying, but they must also consider the research and development, the ongoing support you will provide, the certainty of on-time delivery, your company’s history and reputation, and its market knowledge that went into your product or service. Taken together, those factors are worth a lot! Therefore you need to ensure that you educate your customers on this.
Despite your best efforts, there will always be some customers who are not going to be easily convinced. So what are you going to do when your potential customer says “No”? At this point you need to realize that they have a choice and if they choose to reject your product or service, that is not a rejection of you as a person. Neither does a single rejection mean that other potential custeomers would not see the value in your product or service. So ask yourself again: are you selling value or price?
Here at Mauco Internet Consultants this past few weeks, we’ve been trying to sensitize our clients on the benefits of social media and the need to adopt some form of social media marketing into their marketing mix. We thought it would be nice to share with you some benefits of social media marketing for your business. So what is social media and how can it benefit your business?
Social media marketing is the process of promoting your website or business through social media channels like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Today a rapidly growing number of small businesses are including social media ideas and strategies in their goals. The immense number of people who participate in social media websites has led to increased investment in the growing field of social media marketing.
If it isn’t already, social media marketing should be an integral part of your marketing mix. Social media marketing is a long term and time consuming investment and if done properly, can be very rewarding. This doesn’t mean that you have to jump on the bandwagon and launch an account on Facebook or Twitter for your business without giving some taught to the basics.
Often the social media channels you choose depends to a large extent on your product/service and your target audience. Let’s highlight just 5 benefits of social media makreting in your business.
Benefits:
The natural nature of social media marketing means your brand is exposed to large groups of people in a spontaneous fashion. This differs from paid advertising which has overt commercial overtones.
Social media marketing is defensible because once successfully mastered and implemented in your business, the social communities that you gather can be a great source of web traffic on top of any traffic you are already receiving from search engines.
If done properly social media marketing guarantees low cost and high returns. If done by yourself, social media marketing costs are limited to only the time you spend on the site. But having your social media marketing campaign implemented by a professional is often better asthe benefits will often exceed the cost.
It complements other efforts. Social media optimization and marketing is usually community-specific. It doesn’t interfere with any other methods of getting traffic to your website. It can and will fit perfectly with an advertising campaign targeting other websites or search engines.
Social media marketing doesn’t directly make you money. Rather it helps you generate a community of fans who are interested in your website or brand and will help you advertise same through word of mouth. This in turn will eventually lead to the purchase of your brand.
The viral nature social media marketing is what makes it so interesting and worthwhile. A successful Social Media Marketing campaign leads to a lot more talk about your brand and website online. When your message works with your users, they will spread your message more effectively than tradition methods.
So, are you using social media marketing strategies in your small business? What has been your experience or challenges of using social media marketing in your business? What are your thoughts about using social media marketing in your business? Please share your comments below. Till next time….
There are certain traits and skills that are common to many successful online entrepreneurs. You may not personally be strong in all traits and skills, but you can get by as long as you can delegate tasks that call for them to someone on your team that is.
Successful Entrepreneur
Good Communicator
Successful Internet Entrepreneurs use clear, simple language to communicate to their target audience and this outsells complicated language.
Calculated Risk-Taker
Successful entrepreneurs whether online or offline tend to be willing to take carefully calculated risks after careful thought and planning (therebyreducing the risk). This doesn’t mean you should procrastinate or over-analyze things.
More of A Doer Than a Dreamer
Its not enough to dream you have to roll up your sleave and get busy to make your dreams come true. Only when we do more doing than dreaming will we ever become successful.
Persistent
Most successful entrepreneurs are very persistent persons because quitters never win.
Cautiously Optimistic
Successful entrepreneurs are those that are cautiously optimistic and see opportunity where others only see problems.
Goal Oriented
Goal Oriented
Entrepreneurs take a lot of satisfaction in setting and reaching achieveable business-related goals. This helps them find satisfaction in their accomplishments.
Customer Oriented
They focus on understanding and satisfying the wants, needs and buying trends of their customers tend to thrive.
Passion for the Type of Business
Successful Entrepreneurs have a passion in their line of business helps them put in the long hours that getting a business up and running sometimes calls for.
Flexible
Things change rapidly, especially online. and successful online entrepreneurs are quick to adapt to change. Doing so can mean the difference between success and failure.
Skilled at Marketing
To be a successful entrepreneur you meed to invest in expanding your knowledge of marketing. Doing so can serve you well throughout your entrepreneurial career. Benjamin Franklin put it well, when he said: “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
Of course, there are lots of other skills and traits that successful Internet entrepreneurs have at their disposal, but the above list covers many of the most crucial ones. May it help you to also find success as an online entrepreneur. What traits and skills have helped you succeed? Feel free to share them by commenting below.
In a world dominated by corporate giants it can be extremely difficult for small businesses to compete, particularly if the infrastructure in your country is weak like it is in Nigeria. However, there are many advantages to running your own business and if you can get your strategy right, it’s possible to be successful.
shoe string budget
Owning a small business often means working from home. This allows you to save on costs by eliminating the overhead of separate premises. It allows you to have more flexibility in your working hours, and greater control over your working environment.
It is important that you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business, so that you can look for opportunities to build on, and also overcome any potential threats.
Doing so will help you market the business effectively by targeting the correct people and conveying the right messages about you, your products and your services.
For example, identify your Unique Selling Point (USP) and make it the main point differentiating your offering from that of your competitors.
Ask yourself whether your offer is in a growth sector, whether future demand will increase, remain stable or decrease and about the nature of the competition — what do your competitors supply?
Think in terms of the specialist skills, knowledge and capability that you have, or what you could do to challenge the existing market leaders. Can you offer an obviously superior service or product for the same or slightly more money?
website
It is now relatively cost effective to develop a Web site to promote your company this can be an effective way of raising your profile and publicising your services. It doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive process but since much business is now generated via the Internet it is a channel that should not be ignored.
It might also be helpful to strike up a partnership with a larger business, perhaps enabling you to use a desk in their offices once a week. By creating a symbiotic relationship with another business, you may then have access to more resources while they may benefit from your expertise.
If you have the opportunity, perhaps you could also attend local events, as they can prove valuable for networking and developing contacts. If possible, try talking to others working in your field to find out how they make the most of the infrastructure available in your country. By asking about their marketing strategies you may learn new ways of implementing yours. Find out as much as you can about your customers as possible as this will put you in a stronger position to respond to their needs and compete.
A small business will always have bigger competitors but this doesn’t mean you can’t compete successfully. Create your own niche market by being able to offer a tailored service or unique product that exactly meets your customers’ needs.
Your size potentially gives you much more flexibility to be responsive to your customers since you can build strong, personal relationships and spend more time working with them.
Most importantly, base your marketing decisions on accurate information about your costs, keep a careful eye on your product mix and stick to your business plan.
This way you stand a good chance of success. Try not to fall into the trap of attempting to compete on price alone and remember that, while profit requires sales, sales don’t necessarily equal profit.
We live in a world where people are very cautious as to how they spend their money and they are very quick to object that “your price is too high”. That is why there will always be a company that will try to sell their product or service at a lower rate than their competitors.
