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Winning Tactics For Increasing Conversions
Winning Tactics For Increasing Conversions
Increasing conversions begins at home.
Many marketers believe that they have a traffic problem, but this is rarely the case. Traffic is everywhere! You can find free traffic via social media and forums or you can pay for traffic via advertising. However, if your visitors aren’t buying, then traffic isn’t going to help! You need to be able to convert your visitors into buyers and there are a few solid principles that you can follow to increase your chances of this.
By the way, if you want a handy resource to refer to about increasing your conversions I have a great free checklist that will become an incredibly useful tool for you, and you can get it here.
K.I.S.S. i.e. keep it simple
You need to ensure that people who reach your website are able to take immediate action, without being confused in the process. Guide them by the hand and show them exactly what you want them to do; don’t assume anything.
For example, if you are sending people to a landing or squeeze page, you want the incentive offer to be bold, upfront and centre and the opt-in form above the fold, so they don’t have to scroll down to see your opt-in form.
It is absolutely critical to make sure you’re using a powerful headline to grab their immediate attention, and are featuring benefits via bullet-point style so that the information is broken down, easy on the eye and simple to digest.
Here are some other things to bear in mind:
Make Visitors Do Less Work.
If you are sending visitors to a squeeze or landing page, it’s important that you only ask for the information that you absolutely need. The more information you ask for, the less likely they are to opt-in. People guard their personal details jealously and with good reason.
Keep it Simple (again)!
Bearing the previous point in mind, your opt-in form should only ask for their name and email address to minimise objection and increase your opt-in conversion rate. Remember that you can segment your lists later when your subscribers begin to open and respond to your various email campaigns, but to maximize opt-in rates, you need to keep it really simple.
It shouldn’t take your visitor more than a few seconds to fill in the required information, so they can subscribe to your list.
Minimize The Need For Too Much Navigation
Keep the page crisp and clean so that you don’t confuse visitors about what action they should take. A confused visitor will likely leave the page and may never return so you need to make it as straightforward as possible for them. Remove ALL unnecessary words and navigational options.
Spend more time on an awesome headline than on graphics because a compelling headline will capture their attention and convince them to continue reading every single word on your page until you have closed the deal. It really is that powerful and can persuade visitors into becoming buyers, and makes believers out of the sceptics. Simply put, less is more.
Copy What Is Working For Others
Become an avid study of successful landing and squeeze pages from competitors within your niche and save yourself time by designing your opt-in pages around what has proven to work. You really do not need to reinvent the wheel here and if you know a page is working for someone else, then it makes sense to use a similar formula in your offers.
Offer An Irresistible “Bribe”
You need to ensure that you are offering something of clear value that resonates with your target audience. Don’t try to be something to everyone on one squeeze page. Create different offers/pages for different types of potential customers. This way you can really start to segment your lists up front so that you’re really able to connect and communicate with specific customers via your email sequences which are tailored to their specific interests. This can have a massive effect on open rates and engagement as you are writing specifically to their wants/needs/desires/concerns.
OK, you have put all the above into action. Great, so what is next; how can you increase conversion rates even more?
Well, next, you need to understand the importance of a powerful USP and how it’ll set you apart from the competition. And believe me, it’s a game changer.
Do you know what an USP is?
Basically, it’s what will allow you to stand out from your competition so that you’re able to maximize sales and build a brand recognized for value.
Arguably, one of the most important elements of branding is to find your company’s Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.
Some people call this the Unique Selling Point. Either way, your brand needs to offer something that makes you different – something they don’t, can’t or won’t offer – to differentiate you from your competitors. What is it that makes you different or unique? Why should someone choose your company or products over your competitors? You really need to spend time figuring this out and then you need to integrate that USP into your sales copy as well as all other aspects of your sales funnel. It needs to be everywhere, in all aspects of your copy, blog posts etc. so people can see it and (hopefully) resonate with it.
Most likely, your product will already have a USP; your job is to identify what that is, and highlight it in your sales copy and marketing campaigns.
It all begins by evaluating your product objectively. Ask the following questions to help you find its USP:
- How can it improve someone’s life?
- How can it help your prospect?
- What does it offer that other products fail to provide?
- Is your product easier to use than the competitions?
Now, it goes without saying that before you even think about creating your USP, you need to know your target audience. Again, here are some questions to get you started:
- What is most important to them?
- What are they struggling with the most?
- How can you truly connect to your target audience?
- What is their greatest challenge?
The closer you know your audience, the easier it will be to develop a USP that means something to them. This process will enable you to create an ideal customer avatar; give them a name too! The more you know about this “person”, the better.
There are many different strategies that you can use to create a USP for your product. Direct marketing legend Dan Kennedy uses a specific question that he needs to answer to identify the USP and that question is, “Why should I choose to do business with you versus your competitor?” The very reason that you created a product in the first place could hold the key to defining your USP.
Think about how your product is different than others on the marketplace; how does it add more value? How does it address a question, concern or simplify a process, such as reducing a learning curve, saving your customers time or money?
Your USP will differentiate you from your competition; more than any other aspect of a marketing campaign ever will.
Follow these simple strategies and I can virtually guarantee that your conversions will increase. And this will result in more opt-ins so you will have a bigger list to market to and hopefully more sales and profit for you.
So, get it done! 😉
11 Things You Should Know About Internet Marketing
11 Things You Should Know About Internet Marketing
Using the internet to promote goods and services for your business is generally known as internet marketing or online marketing. This process may also be referred to as electronic marketing, e-marketing and e-commerce.
Internet marketers use a wide variety of strategies to make their business visible to their target audience, or niche. These strategies include SEO (search engine optimization), blogging, direct marketing, email marketing, content marketing, social media marketing and the list goes on.
There are many advantages and disadvantages that come with internet marketing as a business model and we are going to be looking at a few in this article.
Advantages
There are many advantages that come with having an online internet marketing business and these include cost, reach, technology, 24/7 availability of products/services. These are primarily customer advantages, but the business benefits include reliable data collection, quick competitive analysis and personalisation.
1. Cost
Compared to traditional brick and mortar or offline marketing, it is much cheaper to promote your business online using the internet and this is especially true about advertising. In fact, there are many ways to promote your business online for FREE! Unlike traditional ad media such as the TV and newspapers, your online ad spend will be a fraction of what it costs to promote a business traditionally. As well as being cost-effective, internet marketing is also time-saving because it takes less time to find prospects, turn them into buyers (hopefully) and complete their transactions.
As there are little to no overhead costs, the returns on investment (ROI) that comes with online marketing far exceed that of traditional marketing. If you have a good target market and laser focused marketing strategy, you will get higher and (sometimes) instant returns on the money you spend when placing online ads. And don’t forget that many of these techniques are completely free and will still yield good returns.
Staffing costs will also be lower when compared to a more traditional offline business. Hiring costs for virtual assistants is far less than on the high street and you can outsource all over the world!
Cash flow is also often improved. As consumers pay for the product before it is dispatched, this helps to improve the cash flow for the company, making sure that the business can pay any suppliers and other costs (such as online marketing tools) on time.
2. Reach
There’s also the advantage of being able to get in front of a global audience with your online business (unlike a traditional business that is normally restricted within a specific boundary of operation). This opens up so many new opportunities and even allows you to compete on a global scale, even with the big guys! If you already have a traditional business, it is a good idea to move some of your operations online, so that even if your offline office is closed for business, customers and prospects will still be able to visit your website and place their orders.
3. Technology
The amazing technology that powers the web, and also your online business is one of the major benefits of hosting your business online. And the technologies are only going to get better and more sophisticated as time goes by. With reliable auto-responder services, you don’t have to worry about your emails being delivered (email marketing) to your target audience in a timely manner; delivery is almost instant! And you can even schedule emails to go out on a daily/weekly basis on autopilot! On the other hand, the traditional direct mailing system can take days, or even weeks to deliver mail to their destinations, especially when you are mailing globally.
4. Availability
There is no time restriction on when a consumer can shop online because the internet is always available. Many online sales now start at midnight on a particular day encouraging customers to shop all hours of the day. For example, many retailers will start post-Christmas sales on the 26th of December at 00.00, but many consumers are starting to shop even on Christmas Day itself!
5. Data collection
Every time a customer interacts with your business, that interaction is captured. The business can then use this data in a number of ways. To start with, information can be analysed to find out which are the most popular products/services being sold. Secondly the data can be used to assist in segmenting their customers, profiling them and sending customers promotional material based on past buying habits. This can even go a step further with potential customers, as you can now retarget them with ads based upon their browsing history, so they see relevant, targeted ads tempting them back to buy.
There has been much controversy over the amount of information that is being collected online by various companies. This is of particular importance when it comes to social networking sites and there has been many a debate as to whether customers should be able to opt out of that information being shared to third party users.
6. Competitive analysis
Any business owner knows that it is important to analyse your competitors. The internet allows businesses to analyse their competitors’ online strategy quickly and easily. You can keep an eye on what new products they are releasing, react to any price changes, or use the internet to discover all sorts of secondary data on your competition. The internet allows you to react quickly to any change in a competitor’s strategy, and enables you to try to provide a service that at least matches, but preferably beat your competitors. Just keep in mind that they can do this too!
Browsing competitor websites can also provide a wealth of background information about the business such as:
- Accounts and trading activity
- Company objectives, culture and ethos
- The size of the company
- Where they are located physically (if appropriate), number and type of sites that the business operates from
The internet often has information about your competitors (and you) which is prepared by independent organisations which are not connected to competitors so the data should be reliable.
7. Personalisation
When customers log into their accounts, a business can make their web experience almost unique. Using a membership portal which requires them to login is definitely a preferred option here as there are so many benefits, from offering special offers to that particular customer, offering an add-on to their recent purchase, (much like Amazon does), or by allowing the customer to personalise their own products, like Nike does with their trainers. Personalisation allows the business to form stronger bonds online with customers who they don’t have any physical interaction with, and this helps to form long term online relationships thus ensuring customers come back regularly.
Disadvantages
Not everything is rosy! There are always going to be some disadvantages to any type of business and internet/online marketing is no different. Some of these include loneliness, motivation, no face-to-face contact, and once again technology!
1. Loneliness
Do not underestimate this! Many people dream about working from home and living the “laptop lifestyle” but it can be pretty lonely working on your own, especially in the beginning when you may see little reward for your efforts. Try to involve those closest to you such as a spouse, family and friends.
2. Motivation
This is intrinsically linked to point 1. If you are lonely, not seeing much reward for your efforts, and have negative people surrounding you (we all do), it can be very difficult to stay motivated. This is a trial which pretty much ALL online entrepreneurs MUST overcome to become successful, but this is a very real danger and can have a serious impact on your relationships, but you need to hang in there because the rewards are well worth it!
3. Face-to-face contact with customers
This is a real downside to online marketing; the lack of a tangible physical connection. Limited face to face contact really is one of the major drawbacks of internet marketing because nothing beats having a potential customer in front of you. Businesses that are solely based online aren’t usually able to build strong personal rapport with their customers. As a result, there is the possibility that they may lose some of their customers to more traditional competitors who use strong customer service tactics. But the good thing is that more and more people are turning their buying power online for the convenience it provides so all is not lost!
4. Technology(!)
Ah, so you have probably noticed that this can be an advantage AND a disadvantage! The virtual nature of internet marketing increases marketing complexity. When you are just starting out it can quickly become confusing when trying to choose which online marketing techniques will become profitable.
Customers also face complexities in the aspects of shopping online and may have security concerns leading the un-informed consumers to stick to conventional buying rather than enduring such online purchase complexities.
And there are such a myriad of tools to accomplish a particular task that it can quickly become overwhelming. Just look at the number of auto-responder services, domain name providers, hosting providers, page builders and it can quickly lead to despair. In fact, this is probably the number one reason why many budding entrepreneurs give up before they even really get started which is a real shame.
Don’t be one of those people; if you want to learn more about the technical basics of having an online business, I have a fantastic free report that you can download here.
So, there you have it. 11 things you should know about internet marketing broken into the advantages and potential disadvantages of internet marketing and running an online business. I’m sure you will agree that the advantages definitely outweigh any potential pitfalls. So, what are you waiting for? Go out there and claim your slice of the online pie, and if you want to remove the confusion around the technical aspect of running an online business, then download the Internet Marketing Startup Report now.
The Benefits Of Selling A High Ticket Product
The Benefits Of Selling A High Ticket Product
If you’re an Internet Marketer who has an online business, you should always be looking ahead to the end goal i.e. have a long term vision for your business. If you are like most businesses, the majority of your costs are going to be on your “front-end” offers that you are using to attract new customers, so the majority of your profits are going to come from “back-end” products and ideally these should be “high-ticket” products. This is the single most effective way to scale your business and is also a fantastic way to build your own brand and reputation as a premium seller.
So What Is A High-Ticket Product?
Well, the answer is simple really: it is a product or service that you’re going to charge a lot of money for. There’s no strict definition of where a high ticket price should begin as this is largely determined by your niche and the market you are selling to, but the minimum is probably at least $97 and this can easily rise to $2,000, $10,000, $20,000 all depending on the nature of the item, the marketplace and your own status. This is why branding is also critical in allowing you to position yourself as a premium seller/brand.
Why High Ticket Is The Key To A Long Term Scalable Business
The obvious advantage of a high ticket item is that you are able to generate a lot more profit from far fewer sales. Rather than earning $17-27 for an ebook, you might now earn enough to live on for a week, month or even a year by selling this one, high-quality, exclusive product.
At the same time, high ticket items help you with your positioning and authority status; they make you appear more important and they will help you to strengthen your brand. Think about this; when you price your information product or service, you are simultaneously valuing yourself and other peoples perception of you! If you are willing to sell your time for $10 an hour, then people may well think you’re small time and a low-end seller and it can be difficult to remove this perception.
Because of this, it is critical to try to move your new customers up your value ladder and offer them high-ticket offers as soon as you can, because even if they don’t take you up on the offer immediately, it cements in their mind that you have high-end, quality information available when they are ready for it. And all this establishes authority and expert status which will allow you to charge premium prices on front-end offers in the future. Think about that: if you’re charging $1,000 for a front-end product, then you must be the real deal.
There are other benefits too. One is that having fewer customers means that you will have less customer support issues, fewer emails to answer and fewer complaints. Another is that high-ticket customers actually tend to be the best type of customers who have the fewer complaints in the first place as they are willing to pay a premium for the information that they require; it’s all about the mindset!
And when you get to this situation, you can now start selling a product that you really believe in and that really delivers quality and value. At the same time, you can care for each of your customers and give them the time and attention they deserve.
How Do You Get Started?
The problem here is that a lot of people don’t have the confidence and knowledge that is worth a high-ticket asking price and so they’re too shy to start asking for that much money.
This is definitely not the case. There are plenty of things you can sell that will be worth $2,000 and more; the key is just to understand why people are willing to pay that kind of money and to find something unique and worthwhile that you are able to bring to the table.
Remember, if you are going to be selling high-ticket items, it goes without saying that whatever you’re creating and selling should be the very highest quality you can produce. And this also applies to your marketing. Targeting the right people with your premium offers not only results in sales but it will also ensure that you don’t get people asking for refunds or bad-mouthing your product as they are premium buyers and a valuable commodity to have in your business.
Your aim is to get as many positive testimonials as you can; NEVER underestimate the power of social proof! Not only will this help you sell more copies but it will also give you the confidence in your product and your abilities to produce premium high-ticket offers in the future. It is a great feeling to know that what you are selling is definitely worth the money you’re charging, and that it is having a positive impact in your customers lives.
So what are you waiting for? Get cracking and start creating your high-ticket offers today and become a premium seller in your niche. If you aren’t sure where to get started I have created a short report that can help you on your way. If you would like a copy just click on the image below and I will get a copy to you immediately so you can start to reap the benefits of adding a high-ticket line of offers in your business.
Starting Internet Marketing? You Are Not Alone
Starting Internet Marketing? You Are Not Alone
Internet marketing is something a lot of people are interested in getting started in, but their eyes glaze over once they hear terms like FTP, domain names, hosting, script installation… all those terms that all internet marketers have to learn eventually, but seem so daunting to a beginner.
This post is going to cover some of the most important things you’ll need to know as a newbie to internet marketing.
We’re going to cover topics such as domain names, hosting, cPanel and FTP and in future posts we will cover much more. We’ll cover some of the technical basics that you need to get started in internet marketing as it is these technical things that stop so many people from even starting!
Domain Name Registration and Management
The first thing you’ll likely need to know is how to get a domain name. Your domain name is your website’s street address, basically. It tells web browsers how to find your website.
A domain name looks like this >> your-domain.com
And your web address would look like this >> http://www.your-domain.com
While you could get away with using a web address such as:
http://www.wordpress.com/your-business-name
The fact is there are some problems with this.
First of all, it doesn’t look as professional as using your own domain. If you’re hosting on a free platform like WordPress or Blogger, you may find people aren’t as likely to trust you, especially if you’re selling something.
Another potential problem is that free hosts have a variety of different rules you must follow. Some of them don’t allow you to use advertisements on your site. Others don’t allow you to use plugins. These rules and limitations can be extremely restrictive and hamper your marketing efforts greatly.
Finally, if you don’t have your own domain on your own hosting, you will be extremely limited with what you can accomplish with your website itself. Running WordPress on your own domain will allow you to use custom themes and plugins on your site, for example. While hosting on the WordPress servers limits you quite severely.
There are many different places to buy a domain, but not all are created equal. Some have higher fees than others, while some use tricky or deceptive means to entice buyers to use their services.
The most commonly used registrar by internet marketers is:
NameCheap has very fair prices, and they are known for being honest and having excellent customer service. Additionally, you can Google “NameCheap coupon and you will get a discount code that will take a fair amount of the purchase price of a new domain name.
WhoisGuard
NameCheap offers a service called WhoisGuard that comes free with a brand new domain. What is WhoisGuard? Well, it protects your private information from potentially prying eyes, spammers and stalkers. This service is absolutely invaluable when it comes to privacy.
There are a couple of minor potential drawbacks to using it.
Some people may not trust you if you use it, so it may slightly lessen sales. But the odds of someone checking your WHOIS information before they buy from you are relatively slim.
Additionally, some people say Google may penalize your site if you are using WhoisGuard, but there is no real evidence of this. It is purely anecdotal. This is nothing to worry about for most people, and unless you are in an extremely competitive niche SEO wise, it’s not worth considering.
If you don’t want to risk disgruntled customers or crazy stalkers showing up at your front door, this is a great way to protect yourself.
Choosing a Domain
First of all, don’t be suckered into buying anything but a domain that ends with the .com extension. It’s been proven that domains that end in other extensions have a tougher time ranking well in the search engines. Not only that, but if you want people to be able to remember your domain if they want to come back and have forgotten to bookmark it, you really need to have the .com version. It is what people instinctively visit.
Ideally, you want to choose one of two types of domains:
- Short, unique and brandable
- Keyword rich
A short, unique and brandable domain would be something that is one or two words, easy to spell and remember, unique enough to stand out in people’s minds so they remember it, and clever enough to be highly brandable.
Here are some examples:
- Twitter.com
- Pinterest.com
This type of domain is best for online stores, social media sites, and other types of sites that focus on products or services more than content.
Keyword rich domains generally contain one major keyword phrase that you’d want to rank well for in the search engines. These don’t work as well for SEO as they used to, but are still beneficial to some degree.
Examples would be:
- HowToBuildATreehouse.com
- FreeGroceryCoupons.com
- BestCasseroleRecipes.com
I have no idea if any of those are currently being used, but they are examples of the types of domains you might want to get if you were trying to rank for those phrases.
Hosting
If you buy a domain name, you must have somewhere to host it. If your domain is your street address, your hosting is basically the building in which your company resides at that address.
There are many reputable hosting companies to choose from, but perhaps the most popular among internet marketers are Bluehost and HostGator.
>>Bluehost: warr.us/bluehost
>>Hostgator: Â warr.us/hostgator
HostGator has a very affordable plan called Baby Croc that costs about $10 per month and gives you all the space and bandwidth the average person can use. If you happen to use more than your server can handle, you may need to get a dedicated server, but if that becomes the case, you should hopefully be making more than enough money to afford it.
HostGator also has the Fantastico system, which will allow you to install scripts such as WordPress with just a few mouse clicks and with ZERO knowledge of technical stuff like databases.
The minimum specs you will need from your hosting company will depend on what you want to accomplish with it and how much traffic you think you’ll be getting, but most companies are fairly flexible. You can move up or down in plan size pretty much anytime if you find you need more options or if you’re paying too much for stuff you don’t need.
At the very least you will probably want:
- FTP access
- Unlimited domains
- Unlimited or reasonable storage
- Unlimited or reasonable bandwidth
- Fantastico (for script installation)
There are other features that come in handy, such as regular automatic backups to protect your websites in case of crash or hacking, but nothing is really critical. Most hosting companies these days will offer such features, anyway.
cPanel
One thing you may need to become acquainted with is cPanel. Your hosting company will probably provide some basic tutorials to help you learn to use it. But if you want to add new domains to your account, setup redirects, install software, etc., you will need to learn to use it.
>> https://www.cpanel.net/products/cpanelwhm/cpanel11/tutorials.html
FTP
FTP, also known as File Transfer Protocol, is a method of transferring files to and from your hosting server. This is used for uploading images, HTML files, etc.
You will need to use a FTP program if you need to transfer files, and unless you’re using WordPress (installed with Fantastic) exclusively, you will likely need to upload files at some point.
There are some great free FTP programs available for most OS platforms. Very few people would need the features that come with paid FTP programs, anyway.
Here are a few to check out:
>> http://filezilla-project.org (Windows and Mac)
>> http://www.coffeecup.com/free-ftp/ (Windows)
>> https://www.smartftp.com (Windows)
>> http://www.coreftp.com (Windows)
Check the instructions that come with the individual programs to learn how to use them. Most are quite simple so get stuck in.
Hopefully this post helps you to look at some of the more technical aspects of Internet Marketing with a little less trepidation.
This post is actually part of a larger report that I have put together and if you want to get hold of a FREE copy you can do so HERE
Benefits Of Branding Your Business
Benefits Of Branding Your Business
Almost every business has a trading name, from the solopreneur to the largest multi-national corporation but it would be fair to say that only a small minority of those businesses would have what could be classed as a brand.
Branding is the process of creating distinctive and long-lasting perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity including aspects of personality, quality, origin, liking and more.
Although most people will associate brands with big companies, even a small business can use branding techniques to great effect.
So what is branding?
Well, the basic concept of branding and identity is quite simple; it is to create a look and feel immediately identifiable and recognizable in their niche. Good branding can increase the value of the product/service that the company provides and also the company itself. A company’s identity in their marketplace can have a huge impact on their profitability.
Many people think of branding as just a company logo and/or colour scheme, but it goes much deeper than that. Your brand should be built around a core mission statement that reflects your values as an individual or company.
BONDING
Having a strong brand helps you to bond with your customers and prospects providing that your brand resonates with your target audience. If your core beliefs and values as a brand are in line with your target market, this can build an incredibly powerful bond with them which shouldn’t be underestimated.
It is human nature to flock to those who reflect our own core beliefs and values, so your brand should be built around these to attract the right consumer and repel those who won’t resonate with you.
RECOGNITION
This is one of the main benefits of branding; customers and prospects are much more likely to remember your business. A strong brand name and logo/image helps to keep your company image in the mind of your potential customers.
If your business sells products that are often bought on impulse, a customer recognising your brand could mean the difference between no-sale and a sale. Even if the customer was not aware that you sell a particular product, if they trust your brand, they are likely to trust you with unfamiliar products. If a customer is happy with your products or services, a brand helps to build customer loyalty across your business.
ACCEPTANCE
If a business develops a strong brand this can have a knock-on effect in that they become accepted as a “player” in their niche and this in turn can build preference for their products. Think about it; when consumers are faced with choices in a store, they will typically favour a brand they have purchased before and trust. This is plain common sense as they can know exactly what to expect from their purchase. This is an important advantage if you sell products that customers purchase frequently, such as food or other household products. In that sense, a strong brand makes an important contribution to customer loyalty and, just as importantly, your profits!
NECESSARY
If you can develop a strong brand strategy, you can become a necessity in your customers eyes. This means that you have been able to build true brand awareness and loyalty. This should be a long-term goal for any branding strategy as it will virtually guarantee your success when people start evangelising about your brand and its products or services.
DESIRE
At first glance this may appear to be identical to “NECESSARY” above but when it comes to desire, we are talking about positioning yourself as a desirable, even luxury, brand. A classic example here is Apple. In all honesty, Apple products are NOT truly innovative (although the iPod was when it was first launched) and yet they have raving fans (discussed in “NECESSARY” above). The differentiator here is that these raving fans are willing to pay a premium for these Apple products and this is mainly due to the fact that when the original iPod was launched it was truly innovative. This one product launch has basically enabled Apple to position itself as a desirable, luxury brand and are able to charge premium prices. This may be the ultimate goal for any business, but many will not succeed, but don’t lose hope because just be being “NECESSARY” you will have an extremely stable and profitable business.
Did you notice that the above points spelt out B.R.A.N.D?
Are there any disadvantages to branding?
Having a strong brand will almost always be a positive attribute BUT there are a couple of instances where this may work against you.
Negative Attributes
If somebody using your product or service experiences a negative event, that will inevitably become attached to the brand. For example, a massive recall or unintentionally offensive ad campaign can tarnish a company’s brand and image, and this may result in the company to needing to completely rebrand itself to recapture its place in the market. And in todays totally connected world of social media, if somebody starts bad mouthing you or your product or service, it can be devastating.
Can Become Too Common
Many brands strive to be No. 1 in the minds of consumers. Take Coca-Cola as an example; many people may request a Coke when they go to a restaurant, but this may not necessarily mean a Coca-Cola product, but any soda i.e. it has become part of the vernacular. While it is the goal of branding to become the standard, it is not the goal to become the generic term of a line of products.
Ok there you have it, branding in a nutshell.
If you want to learn more about branding, I have a free report giving you a lot more information than I have covered here. Click here to get access to the report:
If you are serious about branding your business then I urge you to watch this special video training all about branding and how it should fit into your overall business strategy. You can access the video training here: