Welcome to Business Consultant Weekly

Vol. 2 Issue # 3 January 18, 1999

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In this issue:

1) Tip of the Week

2) FEATURE ARTICLE: Inspiring Trust on the Internet by Wanda Loskot

3) CLASSIFIEDS

4) FREE Resources

5) MARKETING MINUTE: A Formula for Marketing Success by Mary Sweeny

"Tip of the Week"

For most of us, the beginning of the new year brings new hope for making strides toward our business goals. Sometimes getting to the other side of our ideas takes reaching out for some help. The other day I ran across a list of phone numbers I thought should be in every one of our rolodexes. Here's a partial list:

Small Business Administration 1-800-U-ASK-SBA Created to help America's entrepreneurs form successful small enterprises, and offers financing, training and advocacy for small businesses in every state.

Internal Revenue Service, Help for Small Businesses 1-800-829-3676 Produces publications that offer advice to help small businesses meet their tax obligations.

National Association for the Self-Employed 1-800-232-6273 Provides access to resources and specialists needed to answer questions, and offers material to help small business owners stay current with the latest news.

American Success Institute (508) 651-3303 Nonprofit educational organization offering business and leadership programs through educational workshops and motivational videos and books to help small businesses become and stay successful.

American Marketing Association 1-800-AMA-1150 Can answer questions and concerns about marketing new products and services or evaluate a business' current marketing strategy.

FEATURE ARTICLE

Inspiring Trust on the Internet by Wanda Loskot

By now everyone knows that when it comes to building an effective website, content is king. And I bet we all agree that we talk about unique and useful content.

If content is the king - the ability to inspire trust is a crown prince. Just think - before you buy anything usually you usually want to be sure that you are buying a decent quality product that will be delivered in a timely fashion, and that the person who is selling it is not some fly-by-night operation.

You want to know that if anything is wrong - you can get help or even get your money back. If it is something that could require repair, you want to know you have good service available. You want to know as much about your vendor as possible. Right? Of course you want to know that you can trust vendors promises.

However, the reality on the web is different - the vast majority of sites don't even give a name of a contact person other than webmaster@domain.com!

It seems that the majority of websites fall into one of the two extremes - talking about themselves so much that people get turned off and leave their site from boredom (those are the sites boasting right from the beginning how long they are in business and bragging about their awards, credentials, associations, and you name it). On the other end of spectrum are those telling too little or nothing at all - and that hurts their business just as much.

One of my pet-peeves on the web are people who hide behind the facade of a supposedly large business, the WE-symptom. They talk about OUR website, OUR business, We sell, WE answer - while it is actually a one-person business where one person wears all the hats.

People do that because they think they inspire trust in their visitors. Actually they do just the opposite and hurt their business in the process. Sadly, by making this false claim - they make all their other claims unbelievable...

It is not only about giving them your real e-mail address and your real phone number - this is just a bare minimum. To build trust and relationships with your clients tell them the truth about yourself. It is called self-disclosure.

And don't be afraid of being vulnerable - people will really respect you for admitting your flaws. The more truthful you are with your prospects and customers, the more comfortable, safe, and non-threatening they feel with you. And in turn they are more likely to purchase your products and services.

Tell them who you are and how you arrived at what you are doing. Show them your picture so that they know it is a real human being behind your operation. It is not about HOW you look. It is about creating an impression of closeness and connection - just as during the face-to-face meeting. Here is example of how Jim Daniels tells his story how he left his corporate job to become a full time internet marketer http://www.bizweb2000.com/howiquit.htm

Multimedia Marketing Group (known from famous I-Sales list) is one of the few larger companies I know who introduces to visitors their entire staff: (no wonder they are so good - they DO know marketing!) check this: http://www.mmgco.com/team_mmg

And if you don't want to use a photograph - you don't have to. Especially if you can tell a story as well as Jim Heath, one of my web friends, professional copy writer from Australia http://www.viacorp.com/jim.html

On the web one thing is sure: the more you tell (and the closer to the truth it is), the more you sell!

Just in case you wonder - here is how I tell my visitors about myself http://www.loska.com/successconnection/aboutme.html

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Wanda Loskot is international business coach/writer/speaker author of referral system that will make your business work so that you can rest or play - register to win one month of FREE business coaching! http://loska.com/successconnection For FREE subscription to her bi-weekly "Referrals Unlimited" mailto:ru@oaknetpub.com with SUBSCRIBE in the BODY of message

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MARKETING MINUTE

A Formula for Marketing Success by Mary Sweeny

There are four components to every marketing effort. All four of these key components must be given careful consideration-for each can cause the failure or success of your marketing.

1. The Product 2. The Message 3. The Prospect 4. The Media

Consistently successful marketing requires knowledge and mastery of these four factors which, together, can produce the desired results.

It's simple multiplication

Product x Message x Prospect x Media = Response Rate Predictor

Applying ratings to each component, from 0-10, with 10 being best, allows us to illustrate the effect of each component on the response rate of any marketing effort. With this rating system and response rate formula, the ultimate Response Rate Predictor would be 10,000-10 x 10 x 10 x 10.

If you have a Product which rates only a four, the Message, Prospect, and Media ratings all must be perfect 10s to deliver a Response Rate Predictor of only 4,000.

If you have a Product which is a perfect 10 (demand is there, price is competitive, quality is high), a Message which is an 8 (professionally prepared, but untested), a Prospect list which rates a 10 (an existing customer list, for example), and you've got a tested Medium (a rating of 9), then you can be very confident in the potential success of this promotion, which totals a whopping 7200 Response Rate Predictor.

On the other hand, remember basic multiplication? Zero multiplied by any number, no matter how large, always yields zero. So you can have a perfect Product, and the perfect Message and use the perfect Medium, but if you send your letter to the wrong Prospects (a zero rating), your response rate will be zero.

Rating the Four Marketing Components

PRODUCT ­ You have to do your research. Is the product or service you're offering going to meet an existing need or demand? What percentage of the public needs or demands it? You must know the exact demand or need you are trying to fill.

Can the product be priced profitably and competitively? Does the product offer value? How about quality? Do the best you can to objectively evaluate your product-from the prospect's point of view.

MESSAGE ­ This includes the offer you're making (FREE booklet, bill me, FREE gift w/order, etc.), how you say it (the words), and how you present it (design elements).

Have you made an enticing offer? Does your headline grab the attention of your hottest prospects? Have you made your promotion look uncluttered, easy to read, professional? Once again, you must put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How will your message be perceived by them?

PROSPECT ­ Who are the best candidates for your product or service? Will apartment dwellers be interested in your lawn tractors? Not a chance. Will the small business owner who spends only $2,000 per year on marketing be interested in my writing and consulting services? Probably not. Sending the right message about the right product to the wrong prospect can be a total waste.

MEDIA ­ How will you get your message in front of your hottest prospects? Direct mail? TV? Radio? Print ads? This element of your marketing is just as important as the other four. Spending the money for a professionally written and designed ad will do you no good if you place it in the wrong publication.

How sure are you of the media you've selected? Have you had success with them in the past, or are they untested for you? Are detailed demographics available? Do the best you can to rate your overall confidence in the media you plan to use.

NOTE: People want power, love, money, recognition, acceptance, relationship success, career success, health, avoidance of hardships, and fun (among other things).

In general, people want to spend money, be affluent and feel good. People do not want to budget or be austere. They do not want to be involved with things that require work, cause risk to what they already have, or that are time consuming.

Use this knowledge to rate the four components of all your marketing efforts, then make needed adjustments as are indicated by the formula. You'll be amazed what happens to your response rate! ------------- Mary Sweeny is a Marketing Writer & Consultant and host of the complete MARKETING SUCCESS SITE! Improve the results of ALL your marketing --just by visiting http://www.MarketingPowerNow.com for FREE Marketing self tests, tips, reports, articles, Link Opportunities + daily FREE computer giveaways, FREE Postcard Service, more! FREE POWER MARKETING E-Zine mailto:subscribe@aweber.com

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